Anticipation of Face-To-Face Resumption of Classes: A Grounded Theory of Community-Motivated Leadership Style from the Sentiments, Views, and Insights of Institutional Leaders

Abstract

Even though academic leadership style seems to be popular nowadays, there is still much to discover on its practice into higher education in the context of the new normal. This constructivist grounded theory unearthed the interconnectedness of the three types of situational favorableness to develop a community-motivated leadership style based on the sentiments, views, and insights of institutional leaders. Data were collected through intensive interviewing from fifteen participants composed of campus administrators and college deans. Employing simultaneous comparative analyses revealed varied cohorts of institutional leaders who use organizational skills, foster team synergy, and work with the community to achieve goals appropriately. Investigating the cornerstones of community-oriented leadership, situational favorableness comes with (a) leader-team relations: provide appropriate conditions for learning and instruction, consider the need for licensure exams and laboratory skills, respond to community needs; (b) task structure: design or layout programs, start the plans, create community-based committees, and; (c) position power: designate roles in the system, enforce policies to the members of the learning community. Applying the Contingency Model to the projected face-to-face classes, community-motivated leaders would tend to work with stakeholders situated into wider learning spaces to change the situation favorably for the learners, teachers, and the whole learning community.