Understanding How Transformational Leadership Inspires Organizational Commitment During Change in Community Colleges

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how transformational leaders in community colleges in the southeastern region of the United States described how they inspired their employees to commit to organizational change and overcome commitment challenges. The theories of employee commitment and organizational change comprised the theoretical framework for this study. Two research questions guided the study: (a) how do transformational leaders describe their strategies about inspiring their employees’ commitment to organizational change in community colleges and (b) how do transformational leaders describe how they inspired their employees to overcome challenges to organizational change in community colleges. This qualitative descriptive study included a purposive sample of six senior transformational leaders from community colleges in the southeastern region of the United States. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, surveys, and field notes. Data were transcribed and analyzed by thematic categorical analysis. Results showed that listening to your employees, being transparent, building personal connections with employees, providing professional development opportunities, and allowing personal passion projects to be integrated into the work were key elements in ensuring employees’ satisfaction and loyalty. Results also showed that communication was essential to building more personal connections with employees in establishing loyalty and ensuring satisfaction.