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Abstract
This case study sought to identify Leadership Frames (Bolman & Deal, 2003) that were espoused by the President of a historically Baptist College, and to ascertain if there was leader-follower congruence in the perception of those Leadership Frames. Survey research, a structured interview, and focus groups were used to assess leader-follower congruence in the perception of presidential leadership.
Research participants were the President, Senior Administrators, Faculty Members, and Trustees at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The Leadership Orientation Questionnaires (LOQ, Self and Others, 1990) were used with permission to secure relevant quantitative information on four Frames (Structural, Human Resource, Political, and Symbolic). The interest was in learning whether the dependent variable parties (President, Senior Administration, Faculty Members, and Board of Trustees) interpreted the President's actions (independent variable) similarly.
Structured interviews, first with the President of Samford University and then two focus groups composed of the institution's Faculty and Trustees identified (a) striking successes Samford University had experienced under the leadership of the sitting President, and (b) leadership characteristics or values attributed to those successes. Qualitative findings supported and clarified information gleaned from the survey responses on the President's use of multiple leadership Frames. However, the findings were inconclusive concerning leader-follower congruence as to which Frame best described the President's leadership. This research allowed for stating that persons entrusted with the responsibilities of leading Baptist institutions of higher education, and perhaps other denominationally related institutions, should consider learning how their leadership style is perceived by relevant constituencies, and give careful consideration to employing different approaches when circumstances so dictate.
