Instrumentation. The instrument used in this study was based on the Higher Education
Leadership Competencies Survey (HELC Survey). This survey was originally created by
Zachary Smith (2007) for his dissertation “Creating and Testing the Higher Education
Leadership Competencies (HELC) Model: A Study of Athletics Directors, Senior Student Affairs Officers, and Chief Academic Officers”. This survey was chosen because of its direct relationship with the research questions and topic relevance. The HELC survey instrument was created in 2007 based on the work of McDaniel (2002), as a mechanism to evaluate her work on the Fellows of the American Council on Education (ACE) as a target study sample, analyzing important competencies and outcomes related to their roles as ACE Fellows and aspiring upper level leaders in higher education. The HELC offered a quantitative data collection method to enrich McDaniel‟s findings within her qualitative based study.
This study was relational in nature as it examined the relationship between generations and valued leadership competencies. Information was collected via a survey distributed to a sample of the target population of student affairs administrators employed at 4-year public institutions. An additional question which may be answered by this study is „What do you believe are the three greatest challenges facing higher education leaders over the next five years?‟ as this was included as an open-ended question within the survey.
Hypotheses
The primary hypothesis for the study was that different generations of student affairs administrators will prefer competencies in their leaders that are different from those preferred by other generations.
Main Effect Hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1: The Millennial, Generation X, and Baby Boomer generational groups of student affairs administrators employed at 4-year public institutions of higher education will differ in their ranking of preferred leadership competencies.
Null hypothesis. There will be no difference in the leadership competencies ranked as most valuable by different generations of student affairs administrators employed at 4-year public institutions of higher education.
Another hypothesis was necessary to incorporate subsequent variables. The researcher hypothesized demographic covariates, such as gender, and race and ethnicity would impact how respondents ranked competencies, as well as covariates related to work experience or years in the field. The secondary hypothesis is that there will be a difference in the leadership competencies ranked as most valuable by student affairs administrators employed at 4-year, public institutions of higher education based on differences in gender, race/ethnicity, and years of experience.
Interaction / Covariate Hypothesis:
Hypothesis 2: Gender, race/ethnicity, and years of experience in the field will influence the leadership competencies ranked highest or most valuable by different generations of student affairs administrators employed at 4-year, public institutions of higher education.
Based on current literature in the field, the researcher predicted that certain generations would prefer certain leadership competencies, which correspond to the general values and beliefs of the generation. These predictions were based on the characteristics attributed to each generation (explained in depth in Chapter 2) and applied to the relevant competency items in the survey instrument.
Those belonging to the Millennial generation are characterized as valuing autonomy and support from superiors (McGuire, By, & Hutchings, 2007). Therefore, this group may find competencies that involve professional development and the leader‟s support of others‟ advancement to be more important than other generations. This may also be validated since Millennials are more likely to be newer professionals in the field. Millennials may prefer competencies that relate to diversity issues and promotion of equality since this generation contains more individuals from diverse backgrounds (Juriewicz, 2000). This may also be related to the influence of race or ethnicity as a covariate.
Generation Xers may place higher value on competencies related to the use and understanding of technology since this generation has been described as valuing new technology and entrepreneurship, and express frustration when working with more mature individuals that do not embrace technology. Members of both Generation X and the Millennial generation have both been characterized as valuing fun and enjoyment in the workplace, so those competencies related to sense of humor may have higher scores than for the Baby Boomer generation. In addition, both the Millennial and Generation X groups are also characterized as valuing teamwork so it is likely that they will value competencies related to fostering teamwork as more important than the Baby Boomer generation. Baby Boomers are characterized as employees with high levels of company loyalty and lifetime employment, thus these respondents may place a higher value on competencies that favor the organization, such as understanding the institutional culture and building relationships with constituents (Jurkiewicz, 2000). Based on the collection of literature the following general predictions were made regarding the results.
1. The Millennial generation will differ in their ranking of preferred leadership competencies related to professional development and diversity, ranking these higher, or more important, than the Generation X and Baby Boomer groups.
2. The Millennial and Generation X groups differ in their ranking of preferred leadership competencies related to humor and teamwork, ranking these higher, or more important, than the Baby Boomer generation group.
3. The Baby Boomer generation will differ in their ranking of preferred leadership competencies related to building partnerships and institutional culture, ranking these higher, or more important, than the Millennial and Generation X groups.
Significance
The data collected from this study has the potential to add new and valuable knowledge and insight into our current understandings of perceived leadership in the workplace; specifically the working environment of student affairs at institutions of higher education. This study identified the most preferred leadership competencies for all student affairs administrators. This process of identification provides a better understanding of differing beliefs and approaches to leadership.
There are several possible approaches to collecting information on leadership competencies. This study, following in the form of Smith (2007) and the HELC, focused on the leadership competencies that current administrators prefer in their leaders rather than measuring or identifying competencies in current leaders. This cognitive approach to leadership perceptions leads to results that highlight differences in preferences of leadership in terms of specific leadership competencies. Potentially, these differences could be between generational groups, gender, years of experience, and/ or the managerial level of the administrators. Determining and highlighting these differences can contribute knowledge to the field of student affairs, especially in regards to leadership development and training for potential future leaders. Those planning the curriculum for graduate programs in student affairs or workshops for new professionals can use this data to determine specific competencies that are preferred by administrators in the field, and as a result, may contribute to more effective leadership. The knowledge gained from these findings may assist different generations in better understanding each other within the workplace, in terms of their values in leaders and leadership characteristics.
For example, if differences in preferred leadership competencies are identified among the groups, administrators may use this to develop specific training plans for their workplace. Specifically, if younger generations are found to value different leadership competencies in comparison to their more seasoned colleagues, altered training could impact the retention and development of young professionals. Training for future leaders in the field can be enriched by focusing on the identified competencies which are valued by the younger generation, and helping potential leaders further develop these competencies. As with any study, there is the possibility that no significant or meaningful differences will be found in the results. However, in the event that the findings indicate there are few or no differences, this would confirm that an emphasis on different leadership styles is not necessary in training new professionals or in graduate preparation programs.