University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

The awareness and practice of intentional leadership

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The awareness and practice of intentional leadership

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Content THE AWARENESS AND PRACTICE OF INTENTIONAL LEADERSHIP
THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

by

Denise Renee Campbell

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements of the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2009

Copyright 2009 Denise Renee Campbell
ii
DEDICATION

I am grateful for the tireless efforts of Dr. Melora Sundt. I am further
indebted to Dr. Robert Scales, Dr. Katharine Harrington, and Dr. Felicia Hunt for
the enthusiasm and unwavering academic support. I am thankful for the ongoing
creative inspiration from Ron Law and my parents Jerry and LaVeta Campbell.
My continued appreciation to Abigail DuFretay for the courage to complete this
project.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION ii
ABSTRACT v
PREFACE vii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
Leadership Communication 1
Effective Leadership 6
Purpose of the Study 9
Research Questions 11
Research Paradigm 12
Research Method 13
Dissertation Outline 13

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 14
Tools 14
Leadership 29
What is Said about Leadership 30
Skills and Traits 41
Conclusion 50

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 54
Participants 57
Recruitment 58
Research Method 58
Data Collection and Analysis 59
Interview Process 60

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS 62
Structure of the Interviews 65
Interview Phase 1: Level I and Level II 66
Interview Phase 2: Level II 69
Interview Phase 3: Level III 72
Interview Phase 4: The Acting Approach 86

iv
Table of Contents (continued)

CHAPTER 4: Interview Phase 5: Additional Findings
Supporting Intentional Behavior 91
What Leaders Say about Themselves and
Each Other 99
Conclusion 107

CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR
FUTURE PRACTICE AND RESEARCH 109
Findings and Limitations 109
Implications for Future Practice and Research 118
Conclusion 122

BIBLIOGRAPHY 125

APPENDICES 131
Appendix A: Stanislavski: A History of the System 132
Appendix B: Interview Questions 138
Appendix C: Example Program Curriculum for Young Leaders 140

v
ABSTRACT

Moment-to-moment level of communication includes looking specifically at
what leaders are thinking and doing during each fragment of a short transaction.
Do leaders use intentionality on a strategic broad based level, a daily level, or a
moment-to-moment level? If they do, how aware are they of this behavior?
Leadership literature represents a large variety of hypotheses regarding what
constitutes a good leader and how to become a good leader. There is abundant
information on the perceived ingredients necessary to create the best leader
possible. This study focuses on communication, in particular, the question as to
what effect it has on the practice of leadership. The purpose of this study is to
discover the level of intentionality used by individual leaders through exploration
of one communication transaction in its moment-to-moment sequence. In order to
examine the level of moment-to-moment intentionality used by interviewees, levels
of intention are broken into three categories.
The three categories include overall strategic goals/intentions, daily
scheduling goals/intentions, and moment-to-moment goals/intentions. Exploring
the effect of what the acting approach might have on the effectiveness of a leader
may be useful to those who work in leadership settings. Exploring intentionality at
the moment-to-moment level is important to the field of leadership for two reasons.
First, exploring how intentionality is used to strengthen moment-to-moment
communication by leaders supports individual leadership relationship building and
vi
communication skills overall. Second, if intentionality has in fact been learned or
taught, it may then become a valuable tool for the growth of future leaders.
Exploring the degree to which leadership communication is intentional at the
moment-to-moment micro level is significant for growth in overall leadership
practice. If this acting approach, which includes a specific set of tools, can assist
leaders in communicating more effectively at a moment-to-moment level, then it
may be useful to the skill of leadership and higher education overall.
vii
PREFACE

On September 13, 2001, I sat with my former theatre director, Ron Law, on
the back patio of his home somewhere outside the Poconos. Having survived the
attack on the World Trade Center two days prior, I felt jolted and unsteady. One
truth emerged for me though, and that truth, from my perspective, was the ability
and ingenuity of everyday men and women who had saved the lives of many on
that day. Had these people always been natural leaders or did the fear of death
spark such brilliant recourse?
For the past eight years, I have analyzed my own leadership abilities and
reflected upon the survival mechanisms I used on September 11, 2001. I have
grown to understand that I often use an acting approach based on intentionality
known to actors as the use of “action” and “objective.” I have been an actor since
my days in college but only after the events of September 11, have I become aware
of how often I utilize the acting approach outside the theatre. Since this discovery,
I have been fascinated by the question of how leaders think and behave. I am
interested in whether leaders use intentionality at any level, particularly, when
communicating on a moment-to-moment level. If a leader does use intentionality
at a moment-to-moment level, I am interested to know how intentional behavior is
learned.
Moment-to-moment level of communication includes looking specifically at
what leaders are thinking and doing during each fragment of a short transaction.
viii
Do leaders use intentionality on a strategic broad based level, a daily level, or a
moment-to-moment level? If they do, how aware are they of this behavior? If a
leader is intentional, I am interested in how they decided to use intentionality in
leadership communication. I wonder if the leader simply “figured this out” over
time and experience or if they were taught this skill. My hypothesis is that
effective leaders who use a moment-to-moment level are using intentionality in
their communication with followers; further, the acting approach could be taught to
prospective leaders, thereby improving their performance.

Leadership Tomorrow

The presence of strong leadership will continue to be an integral part of our
expanding educational system. Unfortunately, we will soon lose a large portion of
our workforce that includes people working in leadership positions. “By the year
2011, the leading edge of the Baby Boom workforce will be 65 years old and
eligible for full retirement. And that generation's collective wisdom will leave with
them unless it has been transferred to younger employees” (Goman, 2006, 1).
Current leaders carry a responsibility to share and equip the rising generation with
skills necessary in leadership positions. The purpose of this study is to reveal the
use of intentionality in leadership practice at the collegiate level in order to offer in-
depth knowledge to the field of leadership overall.

ix
An Ambiguous Definition of Leadership
It is difficult to ‘do’ what we do not know how to wholly ‘define’.
Leadership has been defined numerous ways over the past 50 years. If we have
difficulty finding a collective definition of leadership, how can we describe how it
can be done most effectively? The dilemma with our current understanding of
leadership is that there is no universal definition of the term. Rost (1993)
suggested: “Neither the scholars nor the practitioners have been able to define
leadership with precision, accuracy, and conciseness so that people are able to label
it correctly when they see it happening or when they engage it” (Rost, 6). To
further this thought, Northouse (2003) suggested that “leadership” is akin to the
words “democracy,” “love,” and “peace,” and that it has different meanings to
different people. Additionally, Northouse offered an expansive definition of
leadership, which encompasses leadership as a process, an act or behavior, an
influence, something that happens in groups, and maintains attention to goals.
While this definition offers insight into what leadership entails, it does not provide
a uniform or concrete definition.
One definition given by Northouse states that: “Leadership is a process
whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal”
(Northouse, 3). This explanation of leadership answers the question of what
leadership is from one point of view. It explains what leadership involves, and
where it occurs. However, it offers no prescribed method on how to go about being
a leader. Perhaps, a unanimous definition is difficult to uncover because, as Bennis
x
(2003) suggested: “Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It
is precisely that simple, and it is also that difficult” (xxxiii).
In addition to the difficulty of defining leadership is the challenge of
determining what exactly makes a good leader. Bennis (2003) described leadership
as being “like the Abominable Snowman, whose footprints are everywhere but who
is nowhere to be seen” (19). Because it is so difficult to pinpoint exactly what
makes a great leader, it becomes difficult to teach or provide a model to those
interested. Therefore, if we have a difficulty in establishing a universal definition
of leadership, how can we describe how it can be done most effectively? This
study considers leadership as a process between a leader and followers and assumes
the leader holds the responsibility to develop, articulate, and carry out
organizational vision through appropriate relations with the follower(s).

Leader Relationships

Leaders and followers relate through communication. Bennis (2001)
suggested: “Leadership is a relationship between those who aspire to lead and
those who choose to follow” (Bennis, 84). The relationship between a leader and a
follower is significant and the communication that happens between the two will be
considered the primary part of leadership analysis in this study. In order to explore
the connection between intentional leadership and the acting approach, this study
examines what we currently know about intentional leadership and leader
xi
relationships. While communication between the leader and follower can be
discussed from the perspectives of both a micro and macro lens, the purpose of this
study is to explore the extent to which leaders are intentional at the micro level of
moment-to-moment communication in hopes of offering insight into leadership
practice at large.
Exploring intentionality at the moment-to-moment level is important to the
field of leadership for two reasons: (1) Exploring how intentionality is used to
strengthen moment-to-moment communication by leaders will support individual
leadership relationship building and communication skills overall; and (2) if
intentionality has in fact been learned or taught, it may then become a valuable tool
for the development of future leaders. Further exploration identifies whether the
use of the acting approach can serve as a model that enhances the leadership
process through intentional communication. Exploring the degree to which
leadership communication is intentional at the moment-to-moment micro level is
significant for growth in overall leadership practice.

1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Leadership Communication

Placing an acting approach alongside current leadership theory is unique,
except when we consider that both are rooted in communication skill. Leadership
theories generally focus on leadership skills at a macro level. Current leadership
frameworks explore styles of interaction, characteristics for organizational
direction, and the communication of visionary goals. The theatrical process relies
on visual tactics similar to leadership frameworks. Theatre directors draw upon big
picture visions and macro applications throughout the rehearsal and production
process. However, to supplement these larger production goals, rehearsals can
focus on short segments of scenes in order to strengthen each component of the
entire production.
Macro theories of leadership are abundant. For example, Bolman and Deal
(2003) offered the following four leadership frameworks: symbolic, political,
human resources, and structural. These four frames are offered to leaders for
exploration in pursuit of overall organizational success. Gardner (1990) suggested
the need for leaders to have both intuition and problem solving skills as parts of
their general communication characteristics. Northouse (2003) emphasized a
visionary responsibility in taking an abstract mission and delivering it to followers
2
with well thought out and concrete initiatives. These macro views of leadership are
not disputed in this study. Instead, the purpose of this study is to explore a micro
view of leadership that examines what effective leaders think and do, and how
intentional those thoughts and actions are in moment-to-moment transactions.
Intentionality refers to, in leadership terms, identifying a specific outcome
for a communication interaction, recognizing how one should or does appear to
one’s audience, and adapting one’s behaviors, tone of voice, word choice, etc., to
convey the desired motivation in pursuit of a goal. For example, a department
chairperson gives feedback to a colleague about a poorly written draft. If he/she is
being intentional, then he/she would have thought about what message he/she
wants to convey to his/her colleague. He/she will have a strategy on how to
communicate that message to his/her colleague through tools which are individual
to his/her own skills and beliefs. The tools include his/her body language, tone of
voice, gestures, movements, words, choice and word intonation. Further, she will
adjust his/her delivery, on a moment-to-moment level based on his/her
interpretation of the colleague’s reaction. If the department chairperson is
attempting to be supportive but can see that his/her colleague is hurt by the
message, he/she adjusts his/her message, in an attempt to “be supportive” in a way
the colleague can hear it. He/she might sit forward on his/her chair, listening
intently in order to convey her support. He/she might acknowledge the response of
his/her colleague by nodding each time a point is made. In being intentional at a
3
moment-to-moment level, the department chairperson is constantly choosing
specific actions to show his/her support for his/her colleague.
In contrast, a department chairperson could deliver the feedback without
using an intention specific to the situation. Using the same example above, the
department chairperson could spend little time creating an intention that is specific
to the current circumstances. The delivery of his/her message was not well
prepared and he/she did not execute words, gestures, tone of voice, and body
language specifically targeted toward his/her colleague. His/her point was simply
to convey information as quickly as possible. He/she did not consider alternative
ways of delivering the message, nor about the impact of one style versus another
on how his/her colleague might receive the information. The department
chairperson may or may not have realized that the colleague was hurt by the
message; if he/she did, he/she might have been surprised, but regardless, he/she
did nothing to alter the delivery of his/her message since his/her intention was not
focused on being supportive. The intention for the department chairperson in this
situation was to deliver the message with little regard for the colleague no matter
what the response or reaction was. In this example, the department chairperson
was not consciously using any of his/her tools, nor had he/she set a goal for the
meeting other than to complete the task, and deliver his/her feedback. If the
meeting ended with the colleague expressing hurt or anger, the department
chairperson might have wondered later why that person was so sensitive, but
probably wouldn’t reflect on his/her role in interaction.
4
While conflict may be inevitable in an interaction like this one, how the
conflict is managed is very much a result of the choices made and the degree to
which the two people interacting are behaving intentionally — monitoring how
they are being received, whether they are being understood, and adapting to
contribute to the best outcome possible. In other words, the deliverer has choices
and it matters how the message gets communicated. Are effective leaders
conscious of having those choices and do they exercise them intentionally?
Current leadership frameworks speak indirectly to the importance of
intentionality on a macro level. Leadership effectiveness is characterized by words
such as “developing visions,” “creating strategies,” “aligning people,” and
“motivating and inspiring” (Kotter, 26). In order to execute these concepts for
effective leadership, the question remains as to what extent intentionality is used by
those in leadership positions. Is intentionality used at a macro level to “develop
visions,” “create strategies,” “align people,” and “motivate and inspire” the
followers? Further, is intentionality used at a moment-to-moment micro level in
order to reach the larger concepts or goals? If intentionality proves to be a
significant characteristic held by effective leaders, then there is a method suitable to
serve as a model for teaching intentionality. Acting literature relies on
intentionality as a core concept and offers precise techniques on how to execute
intentionality.

5
Leadership
There is a multitude of research studies on leadership skills. There is debate
as to whether one is born with leadership ability and charisma, or whether it is a
learned, relationship-oriented behavior; debate also exists as to what exactly
defines good leadership. John Kotter (1998) suggested that great leaders engage in
a continual “quest for learning” (31). Additionally, he wrote that great leaders
“excel at seeing things through fresh eyes and at challenging the status quo. They
are energetic and seem able to run through, or around obstacles” (5). There are
those who suggested that leadership is a type of art form or performance. Bennis
(2003) called on the works of Max Dupree (1988) who wrote in his book
Leadership Is an Art: “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The
last is to say ‘thank you’. In between, the leader is a servant” (Bennis, 186).
Leadership has been defined as a process, as a skill set, or as multiple
characteristics. To date, there is not a single definition that is accepted. As
Bridgeforth suggested: “The multiplications of definitions has yielded the
unintended consequence of compounding confusion perpetuating the myth of
leadership as mystical” (Bridgeforth, 5). It is said that leadership is heavily reliant
on the communication and connectedness of the leader and the follower. For the
purpose of this study, leadership will be defined as a process whereby a leader
makes impressions, both verbal and non-verbal, creates influence both with
individuals and with groups, and is reliant on communication between the leader
and the follower as the main source of either positive or negative result.
6
Effective Leadership

There are various perceptions of what makes an effective leader. In an
attempt to discover the level of intentionality, it is important to discuss the broad
themes related to leadership effectiveness. While there is debate over effective
leadership there is a good deal of literature examining the skills and characteristics
learned by effective leaders. Bennis (2001) did not agree that leadership is a born
trait. He stated: “If we assume that leadership is learnable, we can discover how
many good leaders there really are” (Bennis, 83).
Before posing the question of how one learns to become a good leader, it is
initially important to examine what successful leadership is, along with what a
good leader does, to be considered effective. There are common characteristics
found in those considered to be successful and effective leaders. According to
Kotter (1996), successful leadership means establishing direction (i.e., developing a
vision of the future and the strategies to create it — aligning people),
communicating direction in words and deeds to everyone whose cooperation is
needed to create the vision, motivating and inspiring them, and energizing people
to overcome major political, bureaucratic, and resource barriers to change by
satisfying basic, but often unfulfilled, human needs (Kotter, 26). Chapter 2 will
explore in-depth the research regarding leadership communication skills and
leadership characteristics specific to intentional leadership.

7
Intentionality as a Technique
Stanislavski, the father of modern acting system, spent his life creating a
technique where the initial commandment was “no acting please.” Stanislavski
searched for a way actors could create truth and realism on stage using a series of
specific objectives and actions in pursuit of their goal(s) on stage. As the result of
years of work, Stanislavski came up with an approach, based on intentionality,
wherein actors could create a character, breakdown a script and form a truthful,
specific and believable performance on stage. The acting approach created by
Stanislavski relies on the constant use of intention as well as continual awareness,
specifically of what one is doing in order to get what he or she wants. This
approach requires self awareness and regulation in order for the actor to work
towards goal attainment.

Intentionality in Leadership and in Acting
There is substantial literature about leadership and acting separate from one
another. The two schools of thought have not yet been explored next to one
another in this framework. The purpose of this study is to explore what we
currently know about classic leadership communication along with the technique of
the acting approach in an effort to enhance leadership intentionality at a moment-
to-moment level. This study creates an intersection between the two existing
schools of thought — leadership and the acting approach. First, this study observes
whether leaders use intentionality in their moment-to-moment leadership
8
circumstances or not. Second, this study questions the origination of intentionality
as part of the leadership skill set. Finally, it explores how the use of the acting
approach could enhance current leadership intentionality at a micro transactional
level.
Classic leadership theory offers a broad based idea of what leadership
entails. While this is helpful for those who aspire to be leaders, classic leadership
theory does not necessarily apply to all leaders individually all the time. Current
leadership literature also suggests that the importance of leader-follower
relationships has yet to offer minimal recommendation on how to apply
relationship skill at a micro level through moment-to-moment communication
technique. Additionally, an individual who relies on a single leadership style alone
may find him/herself at a loss when the theory, model, or framework does not
apply in a given situation or does not suit his or his/her characteristics and personal
traits.
The application of an acting approach as a teaching tool is new to the field
of leadership. However, its uniqueness is one of the reasons this study is
appropriate. The acting approach does not rely on additional variables once it has
been learned by a leader. The acting approach relies on the authenticity of the
individual using it and therefore can be used by any person. If a leader can learn
and master the acting approach and its tools, then the approach can be applied to
any situation in any setting. The only dependent factor is that the leader must learn
the tools of the approach as initiated by Stanislavski.
9
Many people have written about Konstantine Stanislavski and the acting
system that he created over his lifetime. Stanislavski defined the need for an actor
at all times to have an “objective,” “problem,” and “action” while on stage, and
said that without it, there is no drama. There are schools dedicated to teaching the
craft he created as well as noteworthy artists who have learned his technique and
adopted it over time in order to further modern acting. Before him, actors did not
ask: “Who am I, what am I doing, when or under what conditions of given
circumstances is this taking place, and how?” (Strasberg, 161). Brestoff (1995)
suggested that Stanislavski is the “most important person in the history of acting”
(16). Stanislavski’s acting approach contributed by is considered one of the most
influential contributions to the acting genre and has achieved success as an acting
technique that has been utilized by theatres worldwide. Strasberg (1987) wrote:
“The teachings of Stanislavski not only changed my life, but that of the entire
twentieth-century theatre” (43).

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to discover the level of intentionality used by
the individual leaders by exploring one communication transaction in its moment-
to-moment sequence. In order to examine the level of moment-to-moment
intentionality used by interviewees, levels of intention are broken into three
categories: (1) overall strategic goals/intentions; (2) daily scheduling
10
goals/intentions; and (3) moment-to-moment goals/intentions. Exploring the
impact that the acting approach might have on the effectiveness of a leader may be
useful to those who work in leadership settings in higher education. As a leader in
higher education, one will most likely face great change during his/her career. If
this acting approach, inclusive of a specific set of tools, can assist leaders in
communicating more effectively at a moment-to-moment level, then it may be
useful to the craft of leadership and higher education overall.
The participants of this qualitative study were senior level administrators
working in higher education. I chose this group because higher education does not
currently have a standardized way of mentoring leaders. The practice in higher
education is for leaders to self-select on the basis of somewhat randomized trial and
error. The norm is that they have not studied leadership; therefore, by including
them as subjects I identified some common elements that were not necessarily the
result of formalized leadership training.
Through semi-structured interviews, I explored the extent to which these
leaders use intentionality in their micro communication. I also explored the use of
intentionality in the event that the topic is related to the scope of the situation at
hand. I further explored the use of intentionality based on prior experience as a
leader, prior communication technique, or because of gender or race. If the leader
has learned intentionality, the exploration determined whether purposeful
employment of an acting approach could be constructive in the development of
11
individual leadership skill. The use of the acting approach is offered as a model of
application to those in higher education who wish to develop their leadership skill.

Research Questions

The research questions for this study are:
1. To what extent does the leader use intentionality (what an actor calls
“objective” and “action”) in the leadership setting at any of the three levels:
Strategic Planning Level, Daily Planning Level, or Moment-to-moment
Level?
2. Does the leader shift intention when called for, depending on the reaction or
response of the follower? Does he/she make adjustments to his/her
intention? This is a micro analysis of self monitoring, regulating, and
adapting skill — mostly at the moment-to-moment level.
a. What specifically causes the shift in intention (“objective” or
“action”) when a leader is communicating with a follower? Are they
aware of the “actions” they pursue toward intentionality?
3. How did they develop these skills for any level? Did they learn by
experience or were they taught?

12
Research Paradigm

The primary focus of this study is discovery; therefore, I used the works of
Glaser (1998) and Creswell (1998) to create a sound strategy for the qualitative
study I also followed the recommendations of Kvale (1999) regarding grounded
theory. Using interview data from six to eight leaders in higher education, I
identified the extent to which these individuals use intentionality when discussing a
difficult decision at a moment-to-moment level. The participants held an
assortment of leadership positions at the University including the roles of Deans
and tenured Faculty, as well as those who have served in senior administrative
positions. In my sample, I included a mix of men and women, and people from a
diversity of races. I also explored whether individuals from under-represented
groups use intentionality more often in leadership-based communication or not.
Finally, if intentionality is a learned skill, my inquiry included how the steps of an
acting approach might assist in the development of leadership skills. This micro-
specific leadership inquiry is necessary since current theory offers only larger scale
concepts.
The major task of the researcher in this exploration was to gather
information throughout the course of six to eight in-depth individual interviews.
The purpose is not to produce generalizable results but instead to gain a deeper
understanding from a small population of administrators who serve at senior levels
in higher education.
13
Research Method

This research study consisted of semi-structured interviews with six to eight
leaders of a private research university. The interviews were audio taped with a
digital recording device. Additional field notes were taken. All audio taped
information were destroyed after playback and transcription. Interviews were
downloaded to a non network computer through the use of voice recognition
software. Transcripts demonstrating anonymity were offered to each subject.
Afterwards verbatim transcriptions were coded, schematized, and sorted.

Dissertation Outline

The dissertation consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 briefly explores the
tools of the acting approach and serves as an introduction of the acting tools to the
higher education professional. Chapter 2 then reviews the current research
regarding the acquisition of skills, in particular, what we know about intentional
communication. Chapter 3 outlines the methodology for the study, including the
research questions, the rationale for participant selection, and the data gathering
and analyzing methods. Chapter 4 provides the data analysis and the answers to the
research questions. Finally, Chapter 5 explores the findings and implications for
practice and future research.
14
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Leadership theory suggests leadership is affected by relational
communication. Literature regarding the acting system suggests intentionality as a
way to enhance relational communication and prescribes a technique for the use of
intentions and objectives. In order to understand how leadership micro
communication may be enhanced by using the tools of the acting approach as a
model, the acting tools are described in detail. This dissertation is geared towards
an audience that is specifically rooted in higher education leadership. Therefore,
the assumption is that there is a lack of knowledge regarding acting technique.
Consequently, the acting portion of the literature review addresses the acting
approach and tools applicable to the moment-to-moment communication that
occurs in leader relationships. The remainder of this chapter addresses the research
on leadership theory and offers various points of view on leadership
communication.

Tools

The acting approach includes the following: objective, action,
problem/obstacle through line of action, given circumstances, prior circumstances,
and super objective. There are additional tools that provide a thorough way to
15
access inner emotions to produce external results in performance on stage. In
addition to the tools for acting, there is a simplistic form of written analysis for the
actor to use in order to solidify choices he or she is making during character
building. When tools and analysis are used, the result is that a truthful performance
can be given. An organic performance is possible because the character’s truth is
that of the actor’s real life experience. For the purpose of this study, the description
includes only parts of the system that are applicable to the potential enhancement of
the development of leadership in higher education. These include objective, action,
given circumstance and adaptation with a short explanation of script analysis.

Objective
When given a scene to present, a method actor attempts to find a way to
offer a realistic performance on stage. According to the acting system, one of the
ways that actors find this truth in performance is to dissect the script and determine
what the character’s “objective” is for each “beat” of the scene (Hagen, 174-175).
An objective is a goal that each actor is striving to reach during that beat. A beat is
a section of dialogue between actors where each actor has one objective. Every
actor on stage must always have an objective regardless of time on stage or amount
of dialogue.
According to Stanislavski and Hapgood (1989), the actor must break down
the inner line of the part into logical objectives that are “able to send messages
which are naturally and logically expressed through action” (57). In addition,
16
Stanislavski (1989) stated: “Life on the stage, as well as off it, consists of an
uninterrupted series of objectives and their attainment. Such objectives may be
reasoned, conscious, pointed out by our mind, or they may be emotional,
unconscious, arising from their own free will, intuitively” (Stanislavski &
Hapgood, 57). Uta Hagen (1991) put it simply: “What do I want?” (Hagen, 134).
The use of objective serves as a model for those who act in the theatre and is the
basis for this study of leadership intentionality.

Employing Objective
The objectives for each actor must be in conflict with another actor’s in
order to create tension on stage. The beat is closed when the objective is satisfied,
dissatisfied, or interrupted and a new beat begins. If there are two actors on stage
during a beat and they each have opposing objectives, one will lose his/her
objective (dissatisfied) and one will win (satisfied) his/her objective unless
interrupted by the entrance of a new character or insertion of novel circumstance.
For example, a department chairperson is engaged in a disagreement with a
colleague and does not wish to discuss the matter further with the colleague who is
probing for information. Due to the conflicting ideas of what each person wants,
they have opposing objectives. The department chairperson changes the subject (to
something other than the subject of the disagreement) repeatedly until the colleague
can no longer push the conversation any further. In terms of the acting approach,
this would mean that the scene closes or objectives change when the department
17
chairperson wins his/her objective and the colleague loses his/her objective (Law,
1992).

Defining Objective: What and Why
The wording of an objective is critical because the actor must specify what
he/she is attempting to do on stage during a scene. The more specific the wording
of the objective, the more precision the actor can offer the action. The objective
should describe what the actor is in search of during the scene and must address
another person on stage (Law, 1992). Stanislavski and Hapgood (1994) suggested
that an objective should be in accordance with one’s capacities and that the
objective should be worded by employing a verb rather than a noun. Objectives are
broken into two parts.
(1) The psychological objective includes a statement that explains what the actor
is trying to overcome. The psychological objective serves as the “why”
portion of the full objective and must always be in place. The actor must
know why he/she is choosing to perform a certain action in order to create an
honest performance.
(2) The actionable or conscious objective includes the choice the actor has made,
given the psychological objective. In other words, this objective is
something that the actor can physically do on stage. This means that while
the psychological part of the objective is emotional, the second part of the
objective is action oriented. The actionable objectives must include a verb
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that can be played, which defines a wish or goal. This marks the “what”
portion of the objective.
The full objective is performed simultaneously. The actor knows “what” is
being done through verb choice, and “why” it is being done psychologically to
create the most truthful performance possible. Stanislavski and Hapgood (1994)
suggested that the “what” portion of the objective will help create the right state for
the “why” portion of the objective to come out.
To summarize, the objective should describe what the person is in search of
during the scene and must address another person on stage or in the situation. The
“why” portion or psychological portion of the objective is pointed inward and is
geared only at something the person is overcoming within him/herself.
Additionally, the actionable part of the objective (“what”) cannot be directed
inwards toward the actor alone but instead should be directed outward (externally)
toward those sharing the scene or situation. All actors must have one objective per
beat when utilizing the acting approach, and all objectives are in conflict with one
another. Using an objective in a leadership setting means the constant ability to be
insightful enough to interpret what the other person wants from the situation as well
as managing the objective chosen for oneself.

Using Action
“On stage, you must always be enacting something” (Stanislavski &
Hapgood, 1994, 7). An actor who knows the objective is only partly prepared for
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the beat of the scene. After summarizing what the objective is for a scene both
psychologically and actionably, the actor must then go through the dialogue and
associate a verb with each line of dialogue. This verb choice is called an “action.”
Stanislavski stated: “There are no physical actions divorced from some desire,
some effort in some direction, and some objective, without one’s inner feeling of
justification for them. There is no imagined situation which does not contain some
degree of action or thought” (Stanislavski & Hapgood, 1994, 8). Additionally,
Stanislavski (1994) wrote: “Thus, out of desires, inclinations, and impulses to act, I
am naturally moved to that important thing — inner action.” Life is action, that is
why our lively art, which stems from life, is preponderantly active” (Stanislavski &
Hapgood, 54). Therefore, once an actor has the objective, it is important that
he/she goes a step further and assign a verb to each line of dialogue in the beat of
the scene.
Each verb should support the action designated by the actor for the beat
objective. “The actions of human beings are governed, more than anything else, by
what they want, consciously or subconsciously” (Hagen, 174). Therefore, each
verb chosen to describe the action must support the objective in full. Verbs can be
repeated but should fluctuate according to the script. This verb is called an
“action” and each action must be specifically geared toward the actor obtaining the
objective he/she has chosen (Law, 1993). An actor strives to fulfill the objective,
however he/she cannot play the entire beat by using the same verb repeatedly.
“Varied action is mandatory in acting because it is exactly what we do in real life”
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(Law, 1994). Similar physical element of “objective” actions are continually used
by actors in an effort to attain the overall goal or objective.
Actions must be altered and adjusted throughout the dialogue according to
what the circumstances call for during the beat. Moreover, fluctuating actions
throughout the beat creates a more truthful performance since real life behavior is
not played by humans acting on one verb continually. For example, a department
chairperson might choose the verb “to explain” at the beginning of his/her
conversation with his/her colleague regarding a poorly written draft. His/her
objective is “to support” his/her colleague so his/her first attempt to show support
might be to explain the remedies for a better draft. If the colleague still appears
confused or hurt by the message the department chairperson might then alter
his/her action and try “rewarding” the positive parts of the draft. This verb volley
will continue until the department chairperson has satisfied or lost his/her objective
of “supporting” his/her colleague.
Similar to the need for specificity in the objective is the need for a concrete
verb choice in the action. Each verb should express precision and logic for what
the actor wants to achieve during the beat (Moore, 47). When an actor dissects a
script, close attention is paid to the type of verb chosen for the dialogue. During
rehearsal, actors have the ability to test the actions and play them differently after
analyzing the outcome (Law, 1993). In life, we are not so lucky and cannot, most
of the time, repeat our chosen performance. Consequently, it is fortunate that the
actor has an added ability to scrutinize actions during the rehearsal process.
21
However, what happens on stage, when acted truthfully, never produces the same
result. Thus, it is necessary as an actor to be aware of the themes of all of the
actions worked with during the rehearsal process. Stanislavski (1994) stated: “You
must learn to take in, each time afresh, the words and thoughts of your partner.
You must be aware today of his lines even though you have heard them repeated
many times in rehearsals. This connection must be made each time you act
together, and requires a great deal of concentrated attention” (38-39).

Adaptation
Actors create objectives or goals to get what they want. They employ
actions to move toward each objective. Adaptation, as defined by Stanislavski,
means “both the inner and outer human means that people use in adjusting
themselves to one another in a variety of relationships and also as an aid in
effecting an object” (Stanislavski & Hapgood, 242). Adaptation is the way an actor
chooses to display his or his/her actions which means that each actor will be
different if being truthful. Similar to how we vary our actions, the adaptation of the
action can be modified and changed in addition to being unique to each individual
(Law, 1992). “Adaptation is a vivid expression of inner feelings or thoughts. It
can prepare your partner by putting him/her in the mood to respond to you. It can
transmit certain invisible messages which can only be felt and not put into words”
(Stanislavski & Hapgood, 244).
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Stanislavski also suggested: “Adaptation is unique to each human being.
Each actor has his own special attributes. They are original with him, they spring
from varied sources and they vary in value. Each change of circumstance, setting,
place of action, or time, brings a corresponding adjustment. You adjust yourself
differently in the dead of night, alone, from the way you do in daylight and in
public” (Stanislavski & Hapgood, 244). Adaptation can be conscious or
unconscious and can assist in working toward the attainment of an objective in any
given circumstance. The variable that adaptation is truly reliant on given
circumstance is that it is based on individual characteristics, styles, and traits and
that it is dependent on the given circumstance of the scene or situation. Adaptation
will work toward an objective or action but will always be dependent on what the
given circumstances are during moment. Adaptation in a leadership setting is as
simple as knowing your personal characteristics and as complicated as figuring out
how to use your characteristics to help better your practice of leadership.

Circumstances
In the scenario used above, we have considered that the objective and action
are partly reliant on the circumstances surrounding the actors. Circumstances of
any beat are called “given circumstances.” Just like real life, the given
circumstances can be described by defining the people participating in beat and by
defining the situation with which they are faced. Because there is a beginning and
an end to theatre, it is important for actors to learn about the situation they will be
23
recreating on stage. They have to fully understand the context of what they are
going to be playing. This includes what or whom they are invested in, the physical
setting of the scene, the time including the month, time of day, and year.
For actors, understanding the given circumstances also includes the need to
understand the objectives of other actors on stage. Stanislavski (1961) suggested
this when speaking of actions, objectives, and given circumstances. He stated:
“From my everyday human experience and life, I seek to cull physical objectives
and actions. In order to believe in their validity, I have given them an inner basis
and justify them in the circumstances set by the play. When I find and feel this
justification, then my inner being to a certain extent merges with that or my role”
(Stanislavski & Hapgood, 250). Since people in leadership positions are not
necessarily acting and the given circumstances are not fabricated but instead a part
of reality, leaders can use the analysis of given circumstance to better understand
the situation in which they are currently working or which they are soon to face.
Examining the given circumstance in detail can reveal additional components a
leader should address or pay close attention to.
When an actor has mastered an understanding of the given circumstances of
a beat or full scene, he must then develop the same understanding about what
happened immediately prior to his entrance on stage. What happens prior to the
start of a scene is called “prior circumstances.” Prior circumstances are different
for each character because of the fact that each character could be coming from a
different place. Each actor is responsible for creating a very specific set of prior
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circumstances in order to make an entrance onto the stage with those circumstances
in mind. In reality, humans are in a constant state of moving from one
circumstance to another knowing that the prior circumstance of any given situation
may have an affect on the next circumstance and so on. Therefore, Stanislavski
prescribed the creation of prior circumstances for actors to use when attempting to
build a truthful character and performance.

Problem or Obstacle
Another significant part of constructing a truthful character for performance
when using the method is creating a problem (also known as obstacle) on stage. In
the department chairperson scenario, both the colleague and chairperson had
objectives and actions associated with the beat(s) of dialogue. Additionally, each
person had a full understanding (at least from their perspective) of the given
circumstances of the situation as well as the individual prior circumstances. Once
these frameworks were set, it was imperative for each person to identify the
problem they were encountering. If the chairperson and colleague both paid
attention to the situation they encountered separately, they would have had a better
chance of resolution by being able to attempt to adjust their actions in an effort to
dissipate the obstacle. When a problem is formed on stage by the utilization of
objective and action, more truthful circumstances are created, in turn offering a
more realistic, honest, and truthful performance full of layer, tension, and depth.
When a problem or obstacle is faced in real life, adjustments are made to current
25
behaviors and actions in order to reach goals and objectives. It is the awareness of
the problem or obstacle that is critical to being able to make adjustments in goal-
seeking behavior.

Script Analysis
I used the scenario offered previously regarding the chairperson and her
student and added dialogue to dissect and analyze the script into three intentional
categories.
Setting — chairperson’s office. The university office is festive with a lot of color
and personal artifacts from the chairperson’s family life. There are many books
lining a bookshelf in orderly fashion opposing a wall of open windows which shed
midday sunlight throughout the open space. There are two comfortable chairs on
either side of a desk covered with folders, a stack of papers, and unopened mail.
Two women sit across from one another. Both hold a copy of a paper in their
hands. The student writes furiously while the chairperson talks.
Mrs. Drew: I think this is a great start. (pause) You have a lot
to say and I think I understand the concept you are
looking for.

Alex: Yeah? Is there enough information?
Mrs. Drew: Well … yes. Yes, Definitely. (sits forward).
You’ve done a very good job so far.

Alex: Really? Because I have no idea what I’m doing.

Mrs. Drew: No no (chuckles) …. You’re on the right track.
Chapter II needs cutting, specifically in this section
(points to pages).
26

Alex: (looks and makes rapid notation) Um … so is this
whole thing going to be okay?

Mrs. Drew: Yes. Most people don’t know exactly what they’re
doing when they are beginning. So don’t worry.
That’s normal. See, here you can expand (points
again) and here, you can summarize (flips page and
circles paragraph)

Alex: Oh. This was too much. Sorry.

Mrs. Drew: No. (smiles) That’s what we are here for. (pause)
So … now, let’s talk about next steps. This is the
big area we need to work on (hands her copy of
chapter).

Alex: Here? Ok.

Mrs. Drew: We need to zero in on what you are trying to say.
And clean it up some by finding a strategy to
convey this idea.

Alex: Ok. (writing as she speaks) Like a framework for
tying the two together. Is that right?

Mrs. Drew: Exactly.
Alex: Ok, I can do that, I think. So it’s more like too
much information then. Tone it down some?
(softly) Ya?

Mrs. Drew: Yes. Exactly. It’s all there. You’re a good writer.
Just pick out what’s most important. Keep asking
yourself why…and is this necessary.

The script analysis representing both characters for later reference is discussed
below.

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Script analysis for Mrs. Drew
Super-Objective: The super-objective is what Mrs. Drew strives for on a
long term basis. For example, the super-objective for Mrs. Drew, who serves as
chairperson of the English Department at the University, may be “I wish to fulfill
the requirements of my position at the university in order to help feed my overall
satisfaction in life.”
Objective: The objective of a scene is what is wanted out of a particular
scene. The objective for Mrs. Drew may be “to persuade Alex to adjust her paper
in order to meet the demands and qualifications of the university.”
Moment-to-moment Intentions/Actions: Actions are specific choices made
during conversation at a moment-to-moment level of communication which include
adjustments both verbal and non-verbal in response to dialogue given, and
preparation for what is to be said next. Actions that Mrs. Drew may use during the
scene with Alex are “to convince,” “to persuade,” “to redirect,” “to affirm,” and “to
validate.” Mrs. Drew also shows her support by offering a copy of the chapter to
Alex while giving her feedback. She sits forward while giving Alex affirmation of
the work done so far and chuckles in an effort to soothe her nerves.

Script analysis for Alex
Super-Objective: The super-objective is what Alex strives for on a long
term basis. As a student in this situation, Alex may “wish to get through school so
that she can embark on her career as an English Professor.”
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Objective: The objective for Alex is what she wants out of this particular
series of moments with Mrs. Drew. The objective for this short scene may be “to
get the best information in order to get her paper done.”
Moment-to-moment Intentions/Actions: Actions are specific choices made
during conversation at a moment-to-moment level of communication which include
adjustments both verbal and non-verbal in response to dialogue given and
preparation for what is to be said next. Since Alex is trying to figure something out
in this scene, the actions may be “to confirm,” “to repeat,” “to “question,” and to
“seek guidance.” Additional actions are found in her tone of voice (soft) and rapid
note taking.

Overview
There are additional parts of the acting system created by Stanislavski that
are necessary for someone who works in the theatre and creates a character. When
working within a context that has been created by a writer, the actor is forced to use
imagination to create a reality outside of his/her own. For the purposes of this
study, the parts of the acting approach that are used have been described above —
objective, action, adaptation, problem, and given circumstance. The reader does
not need to comprehend the remainder of the acting tools since this study applies
real-life application of only the parts of the system described above. The purpose
of this study is to apply the acting system to what we currently know about classic
leadership. In an effort to offer a means to enhance leadership development, this
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study creates a connection between leadership and the acting system. Therefore,
these parts of the system that are able to be applied to a realistic environment in
place of a created world written by a playwright are included while additional
components of the acting system are not discussed.

Leadership

Bennis (2001) suggested that leadership is a relationship that can be a one-
to-one or one-to-many, most importantly, it is a relationship between the leader and
the follower. While leadership is an important component to the overall
organizational structure in a narrower context, one of the most influential parts of
the higher education community is the presence of strong leadership. We are
constantly learning how leadership defines and affects higher education
organizations in today’s larger scale climate. Bolman and Deal (2003) suggested
that leadership plays a significant role in organizational effectiveness and
individual fulfillment. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of a leader to help bring
the organization to a shared sense of direction, which is no easy task (Bolman &
Deal, 2003).
With increasing technological advances, rising student populations and
fiscal demands placed on leaders, the need for effectiveness in our nation’s higher
educational system is paramount. Collegiate leaders are continually looking for
innovative ways to address these issues. Bennis (2003) suggested that leaders need
30
to be “social architects” with the ability to recognize and mold organizations
according to need. Leaders are constantly reminded that innovation and research
will provide tools to address these continual challenges.

What is Said about Leadership

Imagine a room called “leadership.” In this room, there are painted walls,
windows, a colorful floor, a stark white ceiling, and full furnishings. While
standing in the middle of the room, the view of the room from each angle is
different. One view might include a window, a cushioned chair, a tall lamp, and a
quilted throw blanket. Another view of the same room from a different angle might
include an unlit corner, wooden desk, small bookcase full of books and figurines.
Depending on where you are standing, the room appears different, has different
visual stimuli, offers different personality, and exudes different style or utility.
Similar to this room description is the view of leadership theory. Each theory of
leadership developed is like the description of a specific part of the room. Key
leadership theory contributors are discussed below.

Great Man Theory
One of the earliest leadership theories, the Great Man Theory, proposes:
“Personal characteristics of great leaders determined the course of history”
(Denmark, 1993, 344). The Great Man Theory relies on a connection between a
massive event and the great leader that provided some kind of ground breaking
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guidance for those being lead. Sorenson (2001) asserted that early leadership
research was primarily focused on the study of individual leadership style as
opposed to leadership overall. She referred to Edwin P. Hollander who identified
intelligence, height, and self confidence as major traits that would set leaders apart
from non-leaders (http://www.academy.umd.edu/publications/index_ papers.html).
Consequently, research during this time period failed to produce a set of traits that
leaders must possess to be effective (Mann, 1959; Smith & Krueger, 1933; Stodgill,
1948). Great Man Theory is an effort to give explanation to the past by connecting
it directly to the outcomes produced by great men in leadership roles.
The Great Man Theory relied on the belief that leaders are born and not
made and that leadership ability relied on traits and not style or behavior. In
contrast, according to McKinsey (2003), in 1948, Ralph Stogdill concluded in a
study of leadership performance, that there was no significant outcome regarding
traits but instead found that successful leadership was more dependent on behavior.
"A person does not become a leader by virtue of the possession of some
combination of traits" (Stogdill, 1948, 64). Further, leadership research initiated an
exploration of behavior as an explanation and characterization of leadership.
Consequently, many theorists today, such as Bennis (2001), believe leaders are
made and not born and that leadership “is certainly not a gene, and it is most
definitely not something mystical and ethereal that cannot be understood by
ordinary people” (Bennis, 82).

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Behavioral Leadership
Leadership exploration subsequently focused on what leaders do, as
opposed to who they are (Drury, 2006). Behavior leadership models began
increasing during the 1950’s and 1960’s. Drury (2003) suggested that an
influential leadership study outcome came from the Ohio State Leadership studies
in 1963. This study looked at two behaviors in depth. According to Mendez
(2006): “These behaviors have been categorized along two common dimensions —
initiating structures (concern for organizational tasks) and consideration (concern
for individuals and interpersonal relations)”
(http://www.sedl.org/change/leadership/history.html#sit). It was out of these
leadership studies that Stogdill created the Leader Behavior Description
Questionnaire (LBDQ) short form that continues to be used (Drury, 2003). Halpin
(1966) declared that one of the key outcomes resulting from the LBDQ data was
that "effective leadership behavior tends most often to be associated with high
performance on both dimensions" (97).

Situational Leadership
During the 1970’s and 1980’s, leadership studies began focusing on the
changing context in which leaders operate, culminating in the concept of situational
leadership. Researchers did this by studying the style and behavior of leaders. The
research included comparisons of the leader’s relationship-orientation versus task-
orientation (Drury, 2006). In addition to the new study of leadership in groups was
33
the research contribution made by both Lippitt and Drucker who focused on group
theories and objectives. Drucker (2004) began his lifelong research and study of
leaders acting upon needs instead of wants. He suggested that leaders must act
upon what is needed by an organization instead of merely what is wanted. This
example from Drucker suggested that leadership style was dependent on the
context of the situation or circumstance. Mendez (2006) suggested that the study
of situational leadership did revealed the intricacy of leadership; however, he felt
that it proved to be inadequate since those theories could not foresee which
leadership skills would be most effective in a given circumstance.

Relational Leadership
Another theorist who served as a catalyst to those interested in leadership
research is James MacGregor Burns (1978) who defined leadership as a
relationship where the leader stimulates the follower to act upon something in an
effort to move toward a common goal representing the “value,” “aspiration,” and
“expectation” of both the leader and the follower. Furthermore, Burns found the
genius in a good leader stemmed from the ability to be perceptive enough to
understand the needs of the followers. This refocused leadership attention on the
motivations and needs of those served by leaders. Additionally, Burns (1978)
introduced leadership as a reciprocal process working toward goal attainment,
either individual or collective. In addition to introducing leadership as a
responsibility to be observant and perceptive, Burns, according to Sorenson,
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brought together two different dimensions of leadership. First, Burns viewed
leadership as a relationship. Second, Burns tied in the need for the leader to
understand the motives of both the leader and the follower in order to create change
(Sorenson, 2003).
Finally, Bennis viewed leadership as a relationship based on trust. Bennis
(2001) suggested that even before the word “empowerment” was written into
contemporary vocabulary, leaders knew that the only way to achieve extraordinary
things was when the followers felt they were “strong, capable, connected, and
efficacious” (Bennis, 85). Additionally, Bennis did not deter anyone from
attempting to become a leader and achieving greatness through the leadership
process. Bennis stated that ordinary people may get the call to step forward into a
leadership role and that ordinary people are fully capable of developing leadership
skills although tradition has not assumed that it is possible. Moreover, Bennis and
Nanus (1984) suggested: “The truth is that the major capacities and competencies
of leadership can be learned, and we are all educable, at least if the basic desire to
learn is there and we do not suffer from serious learning disorders” (Bennis &
Nanus, 207). They also suggested that what someone can bring to their own
leadership ability can become more effective over time and with experience.
The Center for Creative Leadership in Colorado Springs interviewed 31
people in a study exploring the approach used by a variety of leaders. The number
one response when asked what skill they attribute as being most important in their
leadership role was “interpersonal openness and relationship building” (Marin, 5).
35
An assortment of additional responses included “commitment,” “demonstrated
knowledge,” and “organizational skills.” However, none of these were ranked as
high by respondents as the need to build and foster positive relationships while
serving in leadership roles. This overall high-ranking response indicates that
relationship building is an important component of effective leadership.
A 2004 study executed by Brown, Richmond, and Rollin (2004), asked 265
leader participants to choose the five most and least important leadership attributes
based on four variables. The variables included “personality type as measure by
the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), job classification/level in organization,
years of leadership experience, and gender” (Brown, Richmond & Rollin, 3).
Findings revealed the five top overall ranking leadership attributes to be “vision,
strategic thinking, relationship building, execution, and people development”
(Brown, Richmond, & Rollin, 4). The sample included both men and women in an
attempt to seek out likenesses and differences in leadership attributes related to
gender groups. Differences in gender showed women rating “strategic thinking”
and “relationship building” higher while men rated “achievement drive” higher.
Differences in the Myers Briggs Type Indicator showed that those who identified
with the Thinking category (T) more frequently selected “execution and
achievement” rankings as opposed to the Feelers (F) who ranked “self awareness”
and “adaptability” higher. Out of 20 attributes mentioned, all respondents,
regardless of gender, agreed that “relationship building” was one of the top five
critical components of leadership.
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Awareness in Relationships
Bennis (2001) stated that self awareness is central to being a successful
leader” and that “self knowledge is an essential part of becoming a leader (87- 88).
It is important that a leader be reflective and aware of the behaviors he/she exhibits
and observant of those displayed in his/her presence. On awareness of the real self,
Boyatzis and McKee (2005) suggested that we must be deeply self-aware to be able
to move from where we are now to where we want to be, and that self awareness
helps us get a sense of how others see us and how that image does or does not
apply to how we see ourselves. Self awareness was a crucial component in
Boyatzis’ intentional change theory.
There are four steps to the intentional change model that assist some other
steps in the personal transformation of becoming a resonant leader. Boyatzis
defined resonance as “the ability to deftly manage one’s own emotions and those of
others to achieve results, with emotional intelligence a key ingredient” (Boyatzis &
McKee, 2005, 50). The application of this model requires self awareness and the
ability to be vulnerable and open to self adjustment. Simultaneously, this
longitudinal research offers significance in the importance of a leader knowing
him/herself and being aware of how others regard him/her as well. Specifically, the
study reveals practical steps for leaders to follow in order to motivate, create buy-
in, and effectively lead a group of followers. The study offers a four-step model
focused on the leader which requires commitment to self reflection and adjustment
in an effort to create intended change upon the follower group. Furthermore, the
37
leader who is self aware and alert to his/her followers’ emotions will be able to
adapt to change and adjust in a less chaotic fashion than a leader who does not
encompass these characteristics.
With regards to leadership, Northouse (2004) suggested in a description of
the style approach: “In some situations, leaders need to be more task oriented,
whereas in others, they need to be more relationship oriented” (Northouse, 73).
Whether or not the leader is delegating through task orientation or relation-
orientation, awareness and observation are key elements for the leader to fully
understand in order to decipher which mechanism might work best in a given
situation. Northouse (2004) borrowed from Burns (1978) who suggested that
leaders should nurture followers by helping them create awareness about their own
values, morals, and needs, and then assist these followers in assimilating the needs
with those of the followers. Similar to Burns’ view that understanding a follower
is important, Sample (2002) suggested: “Artful listening is important for
maintaining the contrarian leader’s intellectual independence. It enables him/her
to see things through the eyes of his/her followers while at the same time seeing
things from his/her own perspective — a process which I like to call ‘seeing
double’” (Sample, 22). It is essential that a leader be self aware and observant of
the followers whom he/she serves.

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Gender and Race in Communication Skill
While examining leader relationships, it is important to consider the
differences in relational communication with regard to race and gender. Although
race and gender do not wholly identify a leadership style, there is evidence to
suggest that race and gender play a role in communication and offer opportunity
when it comes to leadership practice and experience. With the large majority of
leadership positions held by men, there is a power imbalance in the field in our
current setting, though the number of women and people from underrepresented
groups continues to rise. Although there has been significant progress over time,
Maume (1999) reported that White women, Black women, and Black men, are
disproportionately barred from decision-making roles. This affects compensation
for hopefuls to be kept out of leadership positions, keeping their compensation less
than what those in leadership roles take home. While the central point of this
study is to examine the use of intention at the micro level of communication, it is
important to explore whether there are leaders who use intentionality based on
prior experience as a result of gender or race. For women and people from
underrepresented groups, intentionality may be a more commonly practiced
element of their own personal leadership style.
Regarding the current power imbalance, Reskin and Roos (1990) concluded
that women move into jobs either because men vacate the positions or because the
industry has no where else to turn. Cockburn (1991) and Tornaskovic (1993)
added that when women do obtain roles in leadership positions, they are placed in
39
“female-type” jobs so that men can continue competing with those at the top of the
marketplace. Maume suggested that women are perceived as different, making
leadership opportunities fewer for them, gender-wise. If opportunities are fewer
for women, this study can provide insight to the level of intentionality used by
women leaders and can explore if intentionality has been honed over time in any
way because of gender and experience.
For underrepresented groups, there are similar challenges to obtaining
positions in leadership. Collins (1983, 1993) and Jones (1986) suggested that
Black women and Black men are placed in racialized jobs in order to offer them
positions of leadership and gain constituencies in the communities in which they
serve. Placing underrepresented groups in racialized positions allows the top
leaders to remain in control of the dominant culture while appearing to offer a
diverse work environment. As with women, opportunity for leadership positioning
is less for underrepresented groups, making the exploration of their use of
intentionality even more important to this study.
Regarding gender difference in communication style, there are additional
views that men and women communicate and interpret situations differently from
one another. In a study of gender communication, Koch (2004) used a sample of
110 participants (67 women and 43 men) to explore the effect gender has on
communication cues, specifically, nonverbal, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic
cues. Koch asked participants to watch videos of leader interactions and masked
the gender identity of the leader so that each participant would have to assume the
40
gender of the videotaped leader. Koch found that the assumption of the gender of
the leader had a systematic impact on trait ratings of the leader, with women rating
higher on agenic traits, meaning women found a higher capacity in the function of
the taped leaders. Results showed dynamics regarding gender to be two-fold: (1)
viewing gender as a function of different assumptions about the gender of the
target person or leader; and (2) viewing gender as a function of the respondent
watching the video (Koch, 171).
According to Watzlawick (1967), there are relationships that are equal
resulting in similar behaviors by each partner as well as complementary
relationships that are unequal in power where one plays a submissive role and the
other one a dominant role (Watzlawick, 1967, 59). While these relationships can
be same sex or opposite sex, this suggests opportunity for the “equal partners” to
work in competition with one another and communicate more easily with one
another. On the other hand, the “complementary partners” become fixed in
position with little room for upward mobility for the submissive partner along with
a possible barrier, to equal communicative transactions.
Linguist Deborah Tannen (1992) stated that men and women have
dissimilar styles of communication. Even if there are no misinterpretations and the
outcome is positive, Tannen suggested that a man will walk away from a
conversation with a different perception than a woman. Both perceptions are
equally valid, just different from one another. Tannen suggested that we recognize
41
the differences in gender when it comes to communication and leadership so that
we may take them into account and learn from each other’s styles.
In looking at opportunity, regarding power imbalance and communication,
this study considers that there are both gender and racial differences in access to
leadership positions and ultimate leadership communication style. This study
additionally explores the extent to which each of these has been a factor in
leadership experience, both positively and negatively.

Skills and Traits

Charisma
Charisma has commonly been referred to as an attribute that helps define an
effective or successful leader because it is charisma that allows the leader to move
the critical mass by the power of influence. Max Weber offered the following
regarding charisma: “The term ‘charisma’ will be applied to a certain quality of an
individual by virtue of which he/she is set apart from other individuals and treated
as endowed with supernatural, superhuman or at least specifically exceptional
powers or qualities” (Weber, 358-359). Similarly, Spencer (1973) suggested that
charismatic leaders attract “a following on the basis of the personal attribute, as
opposed to a divine gift” and that charisma “is thus secularized as the extraordinary
but not supernatural, talents of the magnetic political personality” (Spencer, 342).
If being charismatic assists in having power and influence over an organization,
42
then one can assert that this charisma can help shape the productivity and
movement in a positive means.
The definition of charisma is also somewhat vague and can be different
when applied to one leader versus another. It might be beneficial to have a leader
who possesses natural charisma that may enhance his/her leadership capabilities.
However, it cannot be said that all great leaders of the past have been considered
great solely because of their charismatic traits. Spencer (1973) stated: “Charisma
itself is an affectual relationship between leaders and followers developing as the
historical product of the interaction between person and situation” (Spencer, 352).
Garner furthers this thought by stating: “To the extent that the word charisma has
any use at all in serious contemporary discussions of leadership, it should probably
be confined to leader-constituent relationships in which the leader has an
exceptional gift for inspirational, non-rational communication, and the followers’
response is characterized by awe, reverence, devotion, or emotional dependence”
(Gardner, 36).
In their book, Leaders, Bennis and Nanus (1985) suggested: “Charisma is
the result of effective leadership, not the other way around, and those who are good
at it are granted a certain amount of respect … which increases the bond of
attraction between them” (Bennis & Nanus, 208). Consequently, charisma, as a
situational and relational occurrence between the leader and the follower, is a
characteristic that can enhance the performance of an already successful or
effective leader or stems from good leadership already in process. Charisma can
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then be considered a by-product of effective leadership instead of a cause of
effective leading. Moreover, charisma can be derived from relationships or can
enhance the relationships between leaders and followers.

Intuition/Adaptability/Improvisation
Bolman and Deal (2003) suggested that an effective leader will have the
ability to face uncertainty by using knowledge and intuition to make sense of the
situation and find an effective means of resolution. Consequently, an effective
leader should have enough knowledge to solve problem and should have the
intuition and adaptability to create the best resolution possible, whether planned or
improvised. Gardner (1990) suggested that in order to “analyze complex problems,
leaders must have the capacity for rational problem solving; however, they must
also have a penetrating intuitive grasp of the needs and moods of followers”
(Gardner, 29). This implies the need for leaders to have a heightened sense of
awareness, intuition, and adaptability with regard to the continual frame of mind of
the followers.
Additionally, Bennis (2001) offered improvisation as a key ingredient for
making a successful leader. Borrowing from Schon (1987), Bennis suggested:
“Improvisation involves the flexible treatment of preplanned material. It is not
about “making something out of nothing.” Instead, it is about making something
out of previous experience, practice, and knowledge during those moments when
people uncover and test intuitive understandings while their ongoing action can still
44
make a difference” (Schon, 26-27). The ability to harness intuition, improvisation,
and adaptability, are all qualities that an effective leader holds. While there is no
concrete evidence that intuition, improvisation, or adjustment, are critical pieces of
the leadership attributes, it is suggested that such characteristics play a role in
making an effective leader.

Verbal/Non-Verbal Skill
Gardner (1990) further offered that leaders “are adept at meeting those
expectations not only with rational verbal pronouncements but also with symbolic
acts, ritual observances, and the like (Grander, 31). This shows that an effective
leader is able to observe and understand the needs of the followers displayed in
multiple forms and suggests that he/she is continually aware of appropriate
response behavior both verbal non-verbal. Therefore, from this perspective,
effective leaders use previous experience and prior knowledge, coupled with
perception, intuition, and moment-to-moment awareness of both themselves and
others, and of both parties’ behavior in verbal and non-verbal forms.
Burgoon and Newton (1991) presented a “Social Meaning Model” that
addressed the importance of non-verbal communication among community groups.
This model predicted recognizable meanings for non-verbal behavior within a
given social or language community” (Floyd & Erbert, 2003, 582). This model
suggested that there were non-verbal behaviors that triggered similar interpretations
in communities that share connection based on society or language. In their 1991
45
study, Burgoon and Newton asked participants to watch videotaped interactions
and report interpretations of the behavioral meanings. The conclusion suggested a
positive correlation between the observers’ interpretations and the intended
outcome of the behavior performed on the videotape. In the higher education
community the model translates to institutional administrative groups interpreting
non-verbal behavior similarly because of the institutional community relation. This
ability to communicate in both verbal and non-verbal form is another quality
possessed by an effective leader. Again, while there is no overwhelming evidence
stating that verbal and non-verbal skills are mandatory components to leadership
practice, it is suggested by Gardner as an attribute that enhances the overall
leadership ability.

Creating Objective/Intention
This strength to articulate and execute action correlates with the Northouse
explanation of conceptual leadership skill that states: “A leader with conceptual
skill works easily with abstractions and hypothetical notions … he.she is good at
putting the company’s goals into words and can understand and express the
economic principles that affect the company” (Northouse, 38). An effective
leader, for example, must be able to take the mission or newly created goal of the
organization and create objectives where the staff will feel that the new challenges
and change processes are doable and understandable.
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The concept of goal-setting furthers Burns’ (2003) notion that the success of
leaders come from the ability to bringing life to an idea or concept. It is not the
job of the organization to understand the concept or notion of what the future goals
of the organization are. Instead, it is the job of the leader to be able to adapt by
expressing these new goals and offer a system or set of tools on how the
organization will make strides towards reaching success. Successful leaders today,
in organizations full of change-ready applications and processes, must transform
the organization in a peaceful way while simultaneously serving as a catalyst.
Bennis (2003) noted that adaptive capacity is “absolutely essential for leaders” and
that “adaptive capacity is what allows leaders to respond quickly and intelligently
to relentless change” (xxii).
The ability to adapt, along with being intuitive, knowledgeable about the
organizational objectives, and fostering charismatic relationships are all pieces of
what can create successful leadership. Furthermore, a sense of purpose or vision is
an important attribute that many successful leaders hold. Leadership is similar to
the mission of a university in that a university leader should help define what is
important for the university, who the university constituencies are, why the
university is doing what it is doing, and why the university is dedicated to certain
chosen people, places and things. Bennis (2003) suggested: “Leading is
influencing, guiding in direction, course, action, and opinion” (20). A leader takes
action on the intentions stated in the mission of the university and guides the
organization along the path to the desired goal. Successful leaders should be
47
thinking forward, visionary, and share the sense of purpose with the organization
for which they serve. Without a strong leader, an organization might have little
concept of what the overall goals or visions are for the group. Without a visionary
leader, an organization might become stagnant with little forward movement or
progress.

Executing Action
In addition to the aforementioned behavioral characteristics, a successful
leader should be able to take new ideas fostered by an organization and transform
those ideas into concrete initiatives. Bennis (2001) suggested: “Leadership is less
and less a state of being and more and more a process of doing a set of actions …
most important, leaders get others to act; one of their most important jobs is to get
members to act, test, argue, persist, innovate, and learn. They must model the
behaviors they expect of others” (246). This requires a leader who is continually
aware of the followers’ and organization’s needs and is able to transfer those needs
into specific actions. Subsequently, those actions should be played out in a way
that is well modeled for the followers and for the organization as a whole. A
leader who is able to model those behaviors through actions that he/she expects of
others should continually be aware and conscious of what those behaviors and
actions are.
As noted above, there are multiple factors that contribute to the
successfulness and effectiveness of a leader. Those factors include, but are not
48
limited to, the charisma relationship between leader and follower, the ability to use
intuition and improvisation during times of change and during stagnation, the
ability to execute action and shed light on concepts or ideas, and finally the ability
to create a vision for the critical mass to follow. All of these concepts can enhance
leadership effectiveness according to leadership experts and researchers.
Additionally, all these concepts have some connection as to how the leader
participates in the relationship between him/herself and the follower(s). Therefore,
in order to understand leadership in the fullest way possible, we should also
examine not only how leaders relate with their followers but more importantly, how
the consciousness of the relationship process incites leadership effectiveness.

Intentionality through Consciousness
Damasio (1999), a neuroscientist, reported consciousness was a “first-
person phenomenon which occurs as part of the private, first-person process we call
mind,” and that “consciousness and mind are closely tied to external behaviors that
can be observed by third persons” (12). This would imply that what happens in our
consciousness is directly connected with the behavior that we outwardly exhibit for
others to witness. Damasio (1999) referred to consciousness as “the unified mental
pattern that brings together the object and the self” (9). Damasio referred to
“objects” as “entities such as “a place, a melody, a toothache, or a state of bliss”
(Damasio, 9). For example, a leader is conscious of the fact that he/she is in a
board meeting giving a presentation regarding budgetary and financial concerns.
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Consciousness brings together the object and the self of the leader so that there is
coherency about his/her position and situation. When the leader enters the board
meeting, the object of consciousness might be the overall agenda of the meeting.
However, when the leader steps up to the podium before speaking, the object of
consciousness may change to being specific to the presentation itself.
Though consciousness is an internal “first-person” process (as stated by
Damasio), there is an exterior examination involved as well. This means that
followers can witness the behavior exhibited by a conscious leader and vice versa.
“Consciousness applies to all other cognitive phenomena. Based on what we know
about private human minds and about what we know and can observe in human
behavior, it is possible to establish a three-way link: (1) certain external
manifestations, e.g., wakefulness, background emotions, attention, specific
behaviors; (2) the corresponding internal manifestations of the human being having
those behaviors as reported by that human being; and (3) the internal
manifestations that we, as observers, can verify ourselves when we are in
circumstances equivalent to those of the observed individual” (Damasio, 82).
Damasio suggested that there is a link between the actions we exhibit, the
internal emotion we feel, and the feeling we are able to recognize in others due to
our own experience. This means that our emotion is connected in some way to our
outward action. The link also suggests that as emotional beings we observe the
action of others and link that with our own prior experience when interpreting the
action. Our interpretation of the action of another would then encompass a natural
50
interpretation of that person’s emotion, as we perceive it, relating to their outward
action. In this case, the external actions of a leader are highly connected with the
internal manifestations both by the leader as well as the follower who will have
his/her own internal manifestation based on the action expressed by the leader
coupled with his/her own experience.
Additionally, since we have the ability to interpret a person’s emotional
state given their external behavior, it furthers the importance of leadership
awareness during the relational process. Consciousness plays a significant role in
how leaders behave and is connected to the awareness and relationships they create
with followers. Consciousness can help us define our objectives and actions as
leaders. In fact, consciousness is the first step towards using intentionality. If we
are conscious of our desires, then we can articulate them more specifically, either in
a premeditated or spontaneous manner.

Conclusion

The goal of this research is to reveal the detailed practice of those in current
leadership positions. Overall, noteworthy leadership experts concur that leadership
is both somewhat ambiguous in definition and tremendously important. The
ambiguity of leadership comes from the multiple definitions and overwhelming
number of opinions existing regarding what ingredients create the most effective
leader. Bennis (2003) compared leadership to beauty and suggested that they are
51
similar since they are both hard to define yet easy to point out. He also called for
the “leader who understands the challenges of the 21
st
Century” and claims, “here
and now, we need such leaders” (Bennis, 184). Leadership experts agree that
communication through the substantial leader/follower relationship is paramount to
the success of leadership overall. However, in the continual quest to define and
refine leadership, there is no single method, procedure, or technique that can be
learned by anyone at any level as a developmental leadership training program.
Leadership is defined differently by those who consider it a born trait, a
process-based relational skill, or reliant on charisma or situation. Since the overall
process of leadership is also seen as somewhat vague, it is apparent that we do not
collectively agree on how to teach people how to lead. One of the problems with
past and current literature regarding leadership is that there is still little evidence for
which definition is absolute and which skill sets create the most effective leader.
From what we know about leadership, effective communication between leaders
and followers is important. Burns (1978) described leadership as a process rather
than a person and suggested: “The leader’s fundamental act is to induce people to
be aware or conscious of what they feel, to feel their true needs so strongly, to
define their values so meaningfully, so that they can be moved to purposeful
action” (Burns, 43-44).
Among other leadership characteristics, experts articulate the need for
leaders to be visionary, goal oriented, and able to relate with their followers.
Current leadership theory considers an assortment of characteristics and traits. It
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also offers meaningful models for situational, transactional, and other leadership
paradigms. These offerings are welcomed as important contributions to what we
know about leadership today. What we know about leadership has presented
remarkable advancements toward a prescription to advance leadership ability. The
focus of this study is to create an intersection of leadership practice with the acting
system centered on the use of intention in moment-to-moment communication.
This intersection is unique because it offers a technique that can enhance the
development of leadership ability regardless of the experience, charisma, style, or
natural ability of the prospective leader.
What is absent in current leadership theory is that which is rooted in the
specific. For example, relationships are an integral part of effective leadership, yet
there are few techniques embedded in specificity offered for leaders to learn how to
relate best to followers. Over-generalized ideas and notions do not translate easily
into application. Though these sweeping themes speak well to a multitude of
circumstances when employed, they can become more confusing than enlightening.
The acting approach is fundamentally fixed in the specific. It is possible that the
piece missing from current leadership theory can be addressed by the exploration of
the acting tools. The tools that are provided by the acting realm might be just what
leadership theory needs to help articulate the “how” portion in the equation of
defining and employing intentional leadership. The direct application of acting
tools in education for leaders may perhaps provide a constructive and effective way
for a leader to develop skills.
53
In order to identify the connection between leadership and the system, this
study explores whether or not leaders are intentional about the possible use of
acting tools such as objective, action and given circumstance. The literature
considers communication and leader-follower relationships as important factors in
what makes a successful leadership experience. Skills and traits offered as being
those critical to effective leadership are charisma, action, improvisation, intention,
conscious objective, and intuition To support these frameworks, this study probes
how a leader intentionally uses communication skill to enhance his/her leadership
experience through moment-to-moment transaction. The subsequent question is
the possible effectiveness to leadership quality when the acting tools are learned
and employed intentionally by a leader. Given what we know about leadership,
combined with the knowledge of the acting approach, this study explores what we
do not know and allows us to connect the two frameworks. This unique connection
provides a new perspective for thinking about the actions of leaders. This study
investigates the application of acting tools to leadership practice and seeks to
discover any possible enhancements to leadership development.
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CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

This study followed a qualitative approach that was suitable given that the
topic and themes were emergent. Creswell stated: “A qualitative approach is one
in which the inquirer often makes knowledge claims based primarily on
constructivist perspectives or advocacy/participatory perspectives …. It also uses
strategies of inquiry such as narratives, grounded theory studies … or studies”
(Cresswell, 18). This qualitative study used the grounded theory approach where
data emerged, creating an outcome of relevant themes. The overall attempt was to
look for descriptive material regarding the practice of leadership. The purpose was
to find as much depth in each interview as possible in order to reveal detailed
accounts of how leaders actually practice leading.
Creswell suggested that a qualitative study is more flexible and allows
“creativity, literary-style writing, and is undoubtedly a strong personal stimulus to
pursue topics that are of personal interest — issues that relate to marginalized
people and interest in creating a better society for them and everyone” (Cresswell,
23). Given the unique nature of the intersection of these two schools of thought,
leadership and the Stanislavski approach, it was important to have the flexibility to
allow for emerging data through the use of grounded theory and subsequent
emerging themes. Therefore, a qualitative approach to this study was appropriate.
This study specifically addressed the following research questions:
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1. To what extent does the leader use intentionality (what an actor calls
“objective” and “action”) in the leadership setting at any of the three levels —
Strategic Planning Level, Daily Planning Level, and Moment-to-Moment
Level?
2. Does the leader shift intention when called for depending on the reaction or
response of the follower? Does he/she make adjustments to his/her intention?
This is a micro analysis of self monitoring, regulating, and adapting skill,
mostly at the moment-to-moment level.
a. What specifically causes the shift in intention (“objective” or “action”)
when a leader is communicating with a follower? Are they aware of the
“actions” they pursue toward intentionality?
3. How did they develop these skills for any level? Did they learn by experience
or were they taught?

Justification for Question 1

The interviewees were chosen based on their level of experience and
number of years in service to the university in large leadership roles. Since they all
have a significant tenure in leadership positions, the question of intentionality is
somewhat mute in that it has been made obvious through their leadership practice
that intentionality has been used, at least on a broad scale. The attempt of this
question therefore, which could be considered a leading question, was to provide an
56
opportunity for them to expand on what they consider intentionality to be and how
they use intentionality in the context of their own leadership practice.
Significant qualitative research focusing on leadership theory, style, and
behavior in large-scale view was discussed in Chapter 2. There was, however, little
research on how the acting approach could enhance what we already know about
leadership and leader intentionality. This qualitative study was essential, therefore,
in order to gain a deeper understanding of how the acting tools may further the
development of intentional leadership skill. More specifically, the purpose of this
study was to conduct a qualitative investigation of senior level administrators and
their individual leadership experiences.

Site
This study involved senior level administrators at USC and was housed on
campus at the convenience of each interviewee. Personal offices, boardrooms, and
conference rooms were used.

Sample
The researcher identified between six and eight leaders at a private
university. Leaders were invited by the researcher and the committee was based on
experience, seniority, administrative role, and responsibility within the university
setting.

57
Interview Process
Through the interview process, the researcher explored whether or not
leadership was intentional, how intentionality was learned by the leader, and also
examined the extent to which each participant was aware of the relationships and
intentional skills revealed with regard to their leadership role. The study dissected
a situation chosen by the participant and explored whether or not intentionality was
utilized at any of the three levels — strategic, daily, and moment-to-moment. The
interview furthermore explored whether or not the acting approach could be used as
a method of teaching intentionality in the leadership setting.
In searching for in-depth intentional examples of the participant experience,
the researcher probed participants to find out if intentionality varied in his/her
current leadership practice. Each leader who was interviewed was asked to give a
broad overview of his/her responsibilities, goals, and directives related to the
institution for which he/she served. Specific questions were then posed (see
Appendix B) in an effort to gain a definite idea of the existing habits and
intentionality of each participant specific to their leadership role. Questions asked
addressed various levels of intentionality used in leader/follower relationships.

Participants

This study included both men and women who serve at the senior level of
administration at USC. The men and women interviewed held significant
58
experience in leadership positions and had served no fewer than 10 years as leaders
in higher education. The participants represented a variety of leadership positions
at the University including Deanships, Senior Administration, tenured Faculty, as
well as those who served in Senior Administrative positions in the recent past.

Recruitment

Recruitment of these senior level administrators was initiated by invitation
directly from the researcher. After collaborating with a network of higher
education administrators and faculty, eight to twelve leaders at the institution were
invited to take part in an interview. Participants were selected for invitation based
on the following criterion: years of service in higher education (10+ years), type of
leadership role (senior level position), and growth in leadership positioning
throughout their career history. A formal letter was sent to each potential
interviewee describing the study and inviting them to participate.

Research Method

Semi-structured interviews and observation were chosen for the mode of
data collection. The interviews consisted of questions related to current and
previous leadership practice in order to gain as much insight about each leader as
possible. The researcher held one interview per participant for an hour-long
session, exploring the leadership process of each individual. The use of multiple
59
open-ended interview questions was employed and followed the definition offered
by Patton (2002) that states: “Interviews yield direct quotations from people about
their experiences, opinions, feelings, and knowledge” (4). Patton also suggested
that the “purpose of interviewing is to allow us to enter into the other person’s
perspective” (340). In order to capture and explore how each participant defined
the practice of leadership, the researcher asked open-ended questions to educe the
leadership experience and perspective of the participant.

Data Collection and Analysis

The researcher collected data in the following forms: field notes,
audiotapes, and process and methodological notes. Data reduction consisted of
field note write-ups and transcription to a non-network computer with the use of a
voice recognition software system. The data was sorted and coded for each
participant by developing categories or emerging themes, by sorting findings and
conclusions, and by drawing parallels where suitable to literature presented.
Responses were coded into the three levels of intentional behavior and
communication, and were sorted into the strategic planning, daily planning, or
moment-to-moment levels for analysis. The organizational outline of data was
presented in an individual fashion with the revelation of each participant, separately
and with anonymity. After exposing the outcome of each participant’s interview,
60
the presentation of the data was done by combining emergent themes from all four
participants. The final piece included overall data interpretations and conclusions.

Interview Process

The purpose of the semi-structured interview was to gain a true and deep
understanding of how each leader communicated with his/her constituents and
organizational members. Therefore, part of the interview was structured during the
initial questions and part was unstructured based on the participant’s initial
responses. In addition to the interview, the participants were observed for
momentarily prior to the interview. Due to the confidentiality concerns, the
researcher did not ask to attend a staff meeting or to observe other private sessions
but instead observed informal moments between meetings, before or after the
interview process. All parts of the interview and observation process were done in
order to gain deeper knowledge about these leaders and their leadership styles and
awareness.
Open-ended interview protocol was used in order to utilize an outlined list
of specific questions and offer opportunity for elaboration as well. The use of the
standardized protocol allowed flexibility to probe in unanticipated areas as well as
exploring predetermined rigorous questions (Patton, 2002). The use of Patton’s
question options was employed, specifically, the experience and behavior
questions, distinguishing questions, time frame questions, and knowledge
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questions. The questions posed centered mainly on experience and behavior as
they applied to the participant’s current leadership practice. Structured questions
were created by the researcher in an effort to offer uniformity to all interviews
while leaving room for open-ended answers and unstructured conversation should
it emerge. An example of behavior questions as posed by Patton (2002) is: “If I
followed you through a typical day, what would I see you doing? What experiences
would I observe you having?” (350). The researcher asked standardized probing
questions and allowed unanticipated questions to emerge in order to gain insight
regarding leadership practice. The analysis of this data is presented, along with
emergent themes, in detail in Chapter 4.
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CHAPTER 4
DATA ANALYSIS

This study consisted of eight interviews of university administrators at the
senior level. Interviewees included three women and five men. A total of eight
interviews were conducted over the span of four weeks. Each interview was held
in a university office and lasted approximately 45 minutes to 1 ½ hous in length.
The group consisted of administrators ranging in age between 45 to 65 years old.
Out of the five men, three were Caucasian, one Black, and one Latino. The three
women interviewed were all Caucasians. All interviewees had a significant level of
experience in the leadership setting, serving in higher education at the senior level
of administration. Each interviewee had transitioned through various roles in
leadership and had served at least one university by leading a large division full of
complexity and increasing responsibility. All interviewees had worked as senior
administrators in higher education for the majority of their adult career. Interviews
were all conducted private in a setting. Each interviewee was asked open-ended
questions, allowing for movement in theme and context, and each was given a
pseudonym for reporting purposes. These interviewees were Anthony, Jared,
Taylor, Andreas, Sean, Tara, Lauren, and Abigail.
The purpose of this study was to explore whether or not leaders, at a senior
level of administration, used intentionality during their leadership experience.
During the interview portion of this study, eight interviewees were probed
63
regarding the use of intentionality in the leadership administrative setting. In order
to explore the use of intentionality at all levels, all interviewees were asked to recall
experiences and pinpoint moments of communication in specific detail, in order to
continue the discovery of how leaders use intentionality, experience recall was
conducted in each interview.
The interviews included exploration of intentional communication through
exposure of experiences. Personal approaches to each interviewee’s view of what
made them effective leaders were also explored. The exploration also addressed
the level of awareness for each leader and his/her use of intentional
communication. Each interviewee was able to articulate the use of intention on a
macro level with ease and each was additionally able to recount, with guidance, a
situation where intentionality had been utilized to address a situation in more
specific detail. Emergent themes were revealed during the interviews to suggest
that intentional leadership was important from the perspective of senior level
leaders. Responses to interview questions were coded into three levels of
intentionality. The three levels discussed in the interview findings are summarized
below.

Level I — Strategic Planning Level
Level I intentional behavior is similar to the “super-objective” used in the
theatre. Interview responses fell into this category when intentional behavior was
linked to larger goals. Interviewees often addressed the need to work towards the
64
“bigger picture” and “mission” of the university or community at large. Behaviors
geared toward large division goals, missions, broad based strategies or strategic
plans, were all coded in the Level I intentional communication category.

Level II — Daily Planning Level
Level II intentional behavior is similar to the “scene objective” and refers to
interview responses which address daily intentions. Daily intentions include
shorter term goals and objectives that are geared toward the daily movement in the
leadership setting. Specific examples were meeting preparation and organizational
items such as making phone calls, sending e-mails, preparing for a meeting or
speech, follow up (from a meeting or presentation), and other routine items
completed on a daily basis to get the job done.

Level III — Moment-to-Moment Level/Actions
Level III intentional behavior is similar to the moment-to-moment actions
of a scene. Interview responses that fell into this category addressed intentions on a
specific moment-to-moment level. Moment-to-moment intentional behavior
included adjustments and intentions made during conversations, at meetings, on the
phone, etc., and consisted of verbal and non-verbal responses including non-verbal
behaviors, physical movements, tone inflection, word choice, and other specific
identifiers offered during storytelling or experience recall. Level III intentions
were offered by the description of actions and were acted upon in order to reach a
momentary goal.
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Structure of the Interviews

The structure of each interview was similar in nature to the others. Each
interviewee offered a different viewpoint of intentionality though overall results
were similar, and each came up with a similar outcome in reporting a belief that
intentionality is important to the leadership experience. Interviewees also reported
the combination of time, experience, and personal preference in their reasoning as
to why intentional leadership is important. Through a series of questions and
developing dialogues, it was apparent that each leader took pride in his/her work
and that the subject of intentionality was familiar to all of them. The structure of
each interview consisted of the following steps:
1. Interviewer asked if the interviewee believes he/she is intentional in his/her
communication. This question allowed for open-ended comment, dialogue,
and discussion.
2. Interviewer asked for examples of actions, requesting the interviewee to
share three things he/she did each morning when arriving to work. Follow
up questions included: “Why do you do those things each morning?”
3. Interviewer asked interviewees to recall an experience (see Appendix B) in
detail to gather in-depth accounting of intentional communication.
4. Interviewer explained the acting approach with the interviewee.
5. Interviewer asked the interviewees to share thoughts, comments, discussion,
or ask questions
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Interview results were coded and categorized based on the three levels of
intentional behavior, namely: Level I - Strategic Planning; Level II - Daily
Planning; and Level III - Moment-to-Moment.

Interview Phase 1: Level I and Level II

The interview results in this study offered overwhelming response to the
initial question of intentionality. At the beginning of each interview the questions
asked were: How to you define intentionality?; and Do you believe you are
intentional in your communication as a leader?” The initial descriptions of
intentionality offered by the interviewees were coded by level of intentionality.
The interviewees offered their perspectives on intentionality and reasons for why
intentional communication is important to them in their practice. Interviewees also
immediately began to define ‘when’ they use intentionality and ‘how’ they use
intentional behavior. Initial responses suggested that intentionality was first
thought of on a visionary level and addressed large goals, mission statements, and
strategic plans for the university. Initial responses about the definition of
intentionality fell into the Level I and Level II categories of intentional leadership
behavior. Answers were reported with confidence and comfort.

Level I — Strategic Planning
Tara: “I’m thinking of intentionality as purpose, and having
objective. It’s similar to having a goal. You know what you need
for the outcome. Something desired, and you strive to get toward
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that, step by step. Small increments at a time sometimes, and large
chunks of success (or failure) along the way. So intentionality is
rooted in that, knowing what you are trying for, working toward
…”

Anthony: “It always goes back to what you want for the division.
Keep asking yourself that question … keep that in the back of your
mind at all times and you’ll continue on the right track.”

Sean: “It’s almost as if there is always a bigger picture. And you
are always checking to make sure that what you are doing will go
toward that picture, even though that picture is sometimes
changing (chuckles), or constantly changing.”

Level II — Daily Planning
Abigail: “To be intentional is to have a specific notion of what
you want out of a situation. I would say that when I’m
communicating with someone, I have an intention in mind. I know
where I’d like that conversation to go. So yes, in my mind, I’m
intentional in communication.”

Jared: “If you are asking if I think about what I want before I do
something, then yes. Sure, there are times when you are faced
with situations where there is little time to think, little time to
conjure up the best solution. But even then, those are moments
where your intention then becomes to find the best solution
possible within the constraints you have been faced with. Yes, I’m
intentional in that sense … and I think most people are whether
they realize it or not.”

Lauren: “I think we are all intentional every day. We have wants
and desires. We need things. So we do what we can to get those
things and in that, we are intentional. It’s no different at work, as a
leader. Except maybe the stakes are different, not necessarily
higher.”

Andreas: “Having an objective before I walk into a meeting or
discussion with someone can give me clarity. It can be a way to
sort out the mess. But it can also be much more complex than that.
I would say if I am talking about intentionality as a communication
style, then yes, it is useful and common in my work, at least with
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me. In communicating effectively, you kind of have to know what
you want or are trying to persuade in that conversation, in that
circumstance. If you’re talking about intentionality on a broader
scale, it becomes messier. Because you are talking about bigger
issues spread over more than a five-minute conversation. Which
makes having an objective toward progress that is much more
important but at the same time that is much more difficult.”

The results of the interviews showed a clear level of intentionality used by
each interviewee although the way intentionality is used may have been different.
Though different in style, all interviewees were able to articulate their own method
of using intentions or objectives to reach goals. A powerful response suggesting
the significant use of Level I and Level II intentional behavior emerged in all
interviews. Initial descriptions suggested that Level I and Level II intentional
behavior are integral to the leadership experience. Taylor talked about the ability to
learn over time how to go about his day and make progress. He referred to “a goal”
as a way to help navigate through the day and stay in line with the overall basic
picture of “what needs to get accomplished.” When talking about communication,
it is clear that these interviewees believe intentional behavior was walking into a
situation (without a lot of prior thought) with a want or desire of how the situation
or conversation will end. It was also clear that the interviewees saw a difference
between daily intentionality and larger scale intentionality. Taylor stated that
intentional behavior is a “communication method” and “important in conversations
big or small with uses for larger and smaller goals or projects.”

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Interview Phase 2: Level II

During the second phase of the interviews, interviewees were asked a series
of questions regarding “what” they did followed by a thorough examination into
“why” they chose to ‘do’ what they did. The purpose of these questions was to
evoke responses detailing the use of Level II intentional behavior (daily intention).
The circumstances were simple. The question asked was: “What do you do in the
morning when you arrive to work? Please specify three things.” Each interviewee
responded with ease by suggesting specific activities or actions completed each
morning. For example, Anthony reported that he “checks his email, gets his to-do
list from his assistant, and checks on any ‘new developments’ that have arisen over
night.” Other answers were similar in nature and pointed out “checking e-mail,”
“getting ready for a meeting, conversation, or speech,” “making phone calls,” and
“taking care of agenda items” as key actions during their daily office arrival. These
morning rituals served as the “what” portion or “actions” for each interviewee.
The use of daily Level II intentional behavior was identified in both routine
and critical work. Interviewees were able to articulate morning routines when they
arrived at the office by describing actions completed to reach objectives. Each
response fell into the Level II category of intentional behavior. Level II intentional
behavior was easily articulated similar to Level I intentional behavior. Each
response also connected Level II with the Level I’s bigger picture or strategic
mission. Once they identified the actions they produced each morning, the next
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question asked was: “Why do you do these things each morning?” The general
response was to prepare for the day, week, or month ahead. Because all these
interviewees had tremendous responsibility, the objectives of each morning’s
actions were large in scope. Daily intentional behavior and communication
ultimately geared toward a larger broad-based intention to run an organization in a
“smooth,” “efficient,” and “effective” manner.
In line with both Level I and Level II, Anthony stated:
There is an overall vision to accomplish through systematic
organization. You can’t put things off and you must deal with
things as you are dealt issues, concerns, anything that needs to be
addressed or requires attention. You can’t let it sit. So, I do these
things in the morning as a way of helping the structure of my day
which feeds toward the overall accomplishments I want to see for
that day, week, semester, year, and so forth. It all feeds toward the
overall mission of the division, and university at large. And,
knowing the issues each morning, or the things I can check off the
list of issues, makes it that much easier. Create structure where
you can, because there are always places where you cannot.

Similar to Anthony’s response, Sean stated that in his experience, working
through agenda items provided key ingredients for maintaining the direction of
overall objectives. He spoke to Level I and Level II issues, suggesting: “Knowing
where you are at the start of each morning is critical, because it is not always where
you left off the night before … and being able to go through that laundry list of
what to do re-emphasizes what you want, or what you are looking to get. It helps
give you focus, direction.” Each interviewee reported that intentional behavior,
specifically Level I and Level II, was part of what was necessary to run an
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organization in an effective manner. Intentional behavior, as viewed by
interviewees, was suggested as a key ingredient for leadership effectiveness overall.
The question of “how the day is begun” was posed in order to explore Level
II intentional behavior use as a tool, as well as to identify the level of awareness
with which intentional behavior was used. The revelation of intentional structure in
all of their responses suggested that all interviewees were not only familiar with the
use of objective or intention strategies, but were aware of goal-directed, purposeful,
and/or objective-oriented behavior. All interviewees identified the reasons they
worked toward their objectives with clarity and specificity, which also suggested
that the objectives were sometimes predetermined or preplanned for both efficiency
and effectiveness.
Daily goals changed more often than long term goals according to responses
from interviewees. Sean stated: “You never know what will be waiting for you
when you arrive each morning, but you know that at any moment it can change and
you need to be prepared for that. And then, make the changes necessary to meet
that goal and others that may be affected by it, etc.” Level II intentional behavior
was described as “office upkeep,” or “things more practical, such as scheduling and
meeting deadlines etc.,” and “organizational in structure” when discussed and
compared to Level I intentional behavior. Level II intentional behaviors were also
compared to “preparation” of work or “being prepared.” For example, Sean stated:
I usually spend some time preparing for a meeting. I might be
reading something, talking to someone, or preparing something to
‘present’ for that meeting. But it’s preparation time nevertheless
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and it should be accounted for in the daily schedule … because you
need that time.

Level II intentional behavior was also identified as an important step in
being able to reach Level I goals. Abigail stated: “Although the daily things may
sometimes appear less important than they appear to be, always helping you get
closer to the bigger picture result.”

Interview Phase 3: Level III

The third phase of the interviews began with the overall discussion of one
specific experience. Interviewees explained circumstance, setting, overall goals,
mood, and other descriptors to help create the setting for the experience being
dissected. The conversation then focused solely on the experience in order to gain
information about how the leader used Level III intentional behavior in a moment-
to-moment setting. Each interviewee was guided through the experience of doing a
moment-to-moment recounting of the events, and each attempted to articulate
Level III intentional behavior. Discussed below are excerpts of four individual
experiences.

1. Anthony
Given circumstances:
Anthony described a situation from a previous position where he had to
administer an intervention with a staff member who was addicted to drugs. The
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situation was critical to both the staff member as well as to the institution that was
losing valuable work effort as the staff member had been on a three day drug binge.
Once Anthony was notified of the situation, he had to think quickly “on behalf of
the university as well as a caring mentor.” After being briefed on the particulars,
Anthony created a concrete intention for the situation, which is “to intervene
immediately and get the staff member the help he needed.” Anthony remembered
being as aware of the intention at the time he created it as he was in the interview
recalling the experience. His intention was to get the staff member to a rehab
facility.
The immediate intention in this situation was not easy for Anthony to
complete; however, he knew it was the “right thing to do.” Anthony discussed the
intervention in detail which ended positively for the staff member who ended up
receiving treatment. The intervention was a short experience as the staff member
ended up in a rehabilitation center shortly after Anthony found him and addressed
the situation. Anthony talked about the adversity he knew he may have faced when
walking into this situation not knowing if the staff member would recognize him or
understand his demand for the staff member to seek help immediately. When
probed how Anthony prepared to face this obstacle he stated that he was ready for
it and hoped that he could find a way to reason with him because there was no other
alternative in this situation. His intention for the situation was clear.

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Level III — moment-to-moment intentional behavior
Upon arriving at the site to pick up the employee, Anthony received
resistance from him. Anthony immediately adjusted his tactic by “talking softer
and lighter” but kept the same overall intention which was to intervene and get help
for the staff member. Anthony also reported using words that were “soothing
instead of accusatory” during the plea to the staff member. The change in vocal
tone and word choice represented Level III intentional behavior. For example,
Anthony recalled changing his tone of voice during the conversation as a minor
adjustment. He made word choice adjustments three times during the short
exchange until he reached full acceptance from the staff member. The slight
changes in vocal tone along with new word choices were eventually effective
enough to convince the staff member to agree to admit himself to a treatment
center.
Anthony was aware of the guarded nature displayed by the staff member at
the beginning of the conversation. He therefore changed his vocal tone and word
choice in response to his perception that the staff member was “upset.” The Level
III intentional behavior to adjust in order to “get through” to the staff member
ended up being successful after three attempts. Although it seemed hard to evoke
Level III intentional behavior examples, Anthony was able to provide a glimpse
into his use of these intentional behaviors on a moment-to-moment level.
In addition to his Level III moment-to-moment recall, Anthony cited that
the “bigger picture objective” of the intervention experience was to “run the
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organization effectively.” As a result of the drug addiction, the staff member lost
his job due to the accrual of missed days and unattended job assignments. While
Anthony was “sorry” to lose an employee whom he deeply respected, he reported
that keeping him in the position would not have been helpful to either himself or
the organization. He stated: “The intention in that situation has to be in line with
what is good for the university. This wasn’t good for the university. And clearly
not good for the staff member either. So, I had to let him go. He needed to focus
on his own rehabilitation; that was his intention.” He noted that by addressing the
specific situation called for in the intervention, the larger goals and mission of the
organization were being carried out simultaneously. Anthony was able to describe
the intention he carried into the situation with the staff member along with specific
intentions that followed, once the initial intention had been satisfied. Anthony
suggested that each intention along the way would nourish the larger mission and
that in a significant situation such as this, compassion and humanity was critical for
fulfilling the intention itself.
Recap
Level I — Strategic Intentional Behavior — “to carry out the goals and mission of
the university.”
Anthony made the decision to go ask the staff member to receive “help” or
“treatment” and stated that it was beneficial to the organization as well. The
choices that Anthony made in his Level II and Level III intentional behavior
directly or indirectly supported his Level I intentional behavior.
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Level II — Daily Intentional Behavior — “to go to the staff member and ask him to
receive help or treatment.”
Anthony went to the site in order to get the staff member to accept
admitting himself for treatment. These Level II intentional behavior included
conversation planning, organizational planning (how to get to the site, who will
attend, etc.) as well as policy planning (what university policies needed to be
addressed and adhered to in this specific situation). Anthony stated that he
remembered planning out how he might address the conversation once arriving at
the site where the staff member was waiting for him. Anthony also recalled
planning and being prepared for the adversity he may have faced when confronting
the staff member. These intentions geared toward Level I intention to carry out the
goals and mission of the university.
Level III — Moment-to-Moment Intentional Behavior — ”word tone” and “word
choice.”
Specific moment-to-moment intentional behaviors described by Anthony
during the plea to get the staff member some help were the change in word choice
and the change in vocal tone. The staff member was not pleased with the first
“plea” to receive help when Anthony arrived. Anthony therefore changed his tone
and word choice. He did this three times. These two choices were examples of
specific actions chosen to support the moment-to-moment intention and were
enacted in order to change the “response” from the staff member.

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2. Sean
Given circumstances
Sean described a situation similar to Anthony’s regarding the complete
reorganization of a division at his work with a university “some years ago.” The
reorganization consisted of an enormous budget cut and faculty terminations in
some areas while concurrently increasing faculty in others. Going into this
situation, Sean had a very well thought out and articulated vision for the
reorganization. He was able to predetermine the “objective” as he called it, as well
as plan out supporting actions accordingly. Sean’s approach in this situation was to
“move ahead with an objective, utilize the appropriate strategies once established,
and allow for an open process so that those involved would be allowed to be a part
of the ‘conversation’, so to speak.” Sean suggested that there were many
circumstances (in his career) where he could look back and see multiple objectives
working simultaneously. In reporting how he used objectives, Sean said: “I use
them to push myself and others forward for progress. If I give someone under me
the chance to create his/her own objective, as long as it is in line with my objective,
then there is a better chance of success because you have added the will of another
person to the desired want or need. Now, multiply that by an entire university of
people with the will and the objective, and you’ve got a pretty good opportunity for
success.”

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Level III moment-to-moment intentional behavior
Sean briefly discussed his moment-to-moment intentional behavior with a
panel of people working toward a restructuring assignment in one of his previous
posts. He talked about his intent to listen to each panel member while they offered
their feedback. In order to do this he looked at each panel member directly while
they spoke. The way he discussed his demeanor during this panel meeting seemed
similar to the pleasant demeanor he presented during my interview with him. He
remained relaxed, with his feet on the desk, leaning back in the chair, and giving
the impression of a pleasant, open-minded leader. During the panel interview, his
goal had been to get ideas, feedback, and an overall feel for the faculty and
administration members in the room. In his conversational approach to the
situation, he was able to gather information by being flexible and congenial during
the somewhat critical conversation.
Sean pointed out a moment during the beginning of the panel meeting when
his colleague presented an opinion as a point of discussion. Since the topic of
restructuring was somewhat critical, Sean felt that the comment was presented with
some level of uncertainty by his colleague. In an effort to calm the colleague, Sean
confirmed it as a valuable opinion, and followed up by asking for other valuable
opinions from panel members in the room. He did this in order to express interest
and create a dialogue. Additionally, he wanted to use the colleague as an example
of how all comments were not only welcomed but encouraged. So, in validating
the nervous colleague, Sean was also able to provide a positive environment for the
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rest of the panel members. Sean observed see how the others would respond to that
moment and subsequently tried to engage the group in continuous open dialogue.
This proves that Sean was paying close attention to the information presented by
his colleague as well as with the way the information was delivered. Sean wanted
ultimately to come up with a solid plan to restructure the program and put forth an
effort in the moment-to-moment sequences leading up to the result.
Recap
Level I — Strategic Intentional Behavior — “to support university mission
including new plans, developments, and strategies that pertain to forward thinking
progress.”
The Level I intention Sean used was to support the university goal and
mission, especially in a time of great change, which he referred to in his experience
recall. The choices that Sean made in Level II and Level III intentional behavior
directly or indirectly supported the Level I intentional behavior.
Level II — Daily Intentional Behavior — “to create plan and strategy for
upcoming change.”
Sean planned a panel meeting where information regarding change was to
delivered and then discussed by members of the university community. The Level
II intentional behavior Sean engaged relating to this experience were his efforts to
prepare for this panel meeting. Key words describing Level II intentional behavior
were “predetermined objective to create a plan with panel members” and his “plan
to give them ownership.”
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Level III — Moment-to-Moment Intentional Behavior — “look them in the eye,
listen, acknowledge, smile, validate, affirm, and reaffirm.”
Moment-to-moment intentions described by Sean during the panel meeting
were to “look them in the eye, listen, acknowledge, smile, validate, affirm, and
reaffirm.” Sean made an initial statement and asked for comments. A panel
member then gave his/her commentary. Sean listened intently, looked him/her in
the eye during the response. These are examples of specific intentions at the
moment-to-moment level. Sean also responded to the commentary by showing his
support. Moment-to-moment intentions used with dialogue (not offered in
verbatim) were “to acknowledge, smile, validate, affirm, and reaffirm.” Sean
wanted to create a level of comfort for all of the panel members based on the first
comments he heard and therefore used his moment-to-moment intentions with his
feedback in order to create the environment necessary to plan for change.

3. Tara
Given circumstances
From Tara’s perspective of intentionality there are intentions that are
“practical” as well as “emotional.” For example, by saying: “To let someone go
might be one objective but you have to do it the right way, the compassionate
way,” suggested that Tara viewed the emotional or psychological objective and the
actionable objective as two equally important considerations. Tara additionally
offered her perspective in compassion by stating:
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No matter what the intention is, compassion is important in any
leadership setting. When you are terminating someone, it isn’t the
time or place to be offering them hope in a sense, it is more
important to deliver the information to them, let them absorb it, and
move forward. The intention is to deliver the news, but in anything,
especially something like that, it should always be done with
compassion.”

Level III moment-to-moment intentional behavior
Tara reported a story about a somewhat tough termination situation with a
staff member. She had to let someone go from a university position and felt it
needed to be done quickly and compassionately. When the staff member arrived to
her office, Tara greeted the staff member and asked him/her to sit down. From the
moment the staff member entered her office, Tara watched him/her to try to gauge
the level of awareness of the forthcoming situation. From observing the demeanor
of the staff member, Tara perceived that he/she knew what was coming. Therefore,
in order to keep the staff member from struggling with anticipation, Tara reported
almost immediately that he/she was being let go and why. Tara stated that she sat
down to deliver the information, looked the employee in the eye, and listed the
reasons for termination with a strong level of compassion. Tara was not attempting
to be harsh in her delivery, but quite the opposite. Since she perceived the staff
member to be aware that “something was about to happen.” However, she felt it
was appropriate to inform him/her as quickly and considerately as possible.

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Recap
Level I — Strategic Intentional Behavior
Tara did not talk directly about any Level I intentional behavior. She did
mention “to be a manager,” though this is more indicative of Level II intentional
behavior. However, it would also gear towards the larger goal of managing a
university division.
Level II — Daily Intentional behavior — “to let the staff member go.”
Level III — Moment-to-Moment Intentional Behavior — “gauge the entrance,”
“address through gesture,” deliver the information,” and then “pause.”
Tara reported a variety of intentions that fell into the level III category. She
spoke about the need to observe the staff member when he/she enters at the
beginning of the meeting. The goal here was to gauge the mood and the level of
tension, and respond appropriately. In response to a somewhat “quick” entrance,
Tara reported asking the staff member to sit down with a gesture. This also
represented Level III intentional behavior. Immediately after sitting, Tara informed
the staff member of the news that he/she was being “let go” and sat quietly for a
moment, gauging the reaction of the staff member. Tara reported that the reason
for the pause was to give the staff member a moment to absorb the news, as well as
to give Tara a moment to gauge, once again, the level of tension. Though a short
sequence, there were a series of Level III intentional behavior used in this situation.

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4. Jared
Given circumstances
Jared recounted an experience where a colleague came to his office for a
meeting. The assumption was that this colleague had “dropped the ball” on
numerous occasions and Jared was armed with the intention of assessing his
colleague’s job performance and requesting change in specific areas. Jared had
reservations to complaints and informal conversations with other employees in the
division and had a clear picture of what he assumed the situation to be regarding
the colleague he was about to meet with. The colleague arrived and delivered news
to Jared that revealed an entirely different set of circumstances and shed new light
into the reasoning behind some of the work related issues. Immediately, Jared had
to refocus and alter his intention accordingly.
Level III moment-to-moment intentional behavior
“It was one of those moments where everything changes quickly,” Jared
said in reference to hearing the circumstances brought forth by his colleague. Jared
recalled sitting in his chair (in his office) and listening to the employee shed new
light on a situation which Jared previously thought he knew in its entirety. In just a
moment, Jared responded to the eager colleague by acknowledging the information
shared. Then, Jared asked him to stay and continue the conversation while
changing the tone of the conversation to that of a shared and mutual discussion.
The assessment and job performance appraisal objective had been changed after the
moment of newly-delivered information and Jared responded by opening up the
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dialogue in order to gain additional insight, and supported his colleague instead of
reprimand him/her.
Jared recalled the experience as a great learning moment during his
leadership career and stated that the use of intention was extremely important. He
stated: “You have to be sure you are creating the right one for the right situation
and if you see that it is not suitable for the circumstance or setting, you’ve got to
change it … immediately.” Jared confirmed that although it may “depend on the
situation or context, intentiona lbehavior is of course always used to some degree.”
Recap
Level I — Strategic Intentional Behavior — “to keep the school running ‘smoothly’
and ‘efficiently’.”
Level II — Daily Intentional Behavior — “to offer staff member an accurate
evaluation of performance.”
Level III — Moment-to-Moment Intentional Behavior
Jared used a few verbal and non-verbal moment-to-moment intentions
during the short span of the evaluation meeting. For example, upon receiving the
unexpected news from his colleague, Jared reported “sitting forward in his chair.”
Jared also reported waiting a moment to redirect his thoughts as the conversation
was going on, to “take a different direction” according to the new information.
Jared then began a new dialogue with questions that had not been predetermined or
thought of in his meeting preparation. The purpose of this, according to Jared, was
to “affirm” and “reaffirm” the news just received. These are small but concrete
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examples of moment-to-moment intentional behavior representing adjustments
made both verbally and non-verbally in order to communicate effectively.

Interviewees offered examples of intention with the ability to express Level
I and Level II intentional behaviors with ease. They held awareness of Level III
moment-to-moment intentional behavior; however, they offered fewer examples
compared to Level I and II intentional behavior. A connection was made to all
levels although fewer specific Level III intentional behaviors were offered. Each
account tied Level III intentional behaviors with the larger picture; therefore, while
fewer moment-to-moment examples were given, the ones that were recalled were
connected to the larger picture intentions.
Each interviewee stated an awareness of goal-oriented intentional behaviors
at Level I and Level II. The Level I and Level II use of intentionality appeared to
be easier for interviewees to articulate compared to discussion of Level III moment-
to-moment intentional behavior. Working towards division goals, strategic plans,
and missions were things that were brought up in each conversation by all
interviewees as an important theme in leadership practice. While the articulation of
intentional behavior at the Level III was discussed by the interviewees, it was
harder to discuss without probing from the interviewer. Leaders could articulate a
time or an experience in a specific, moment-to-moment sequence, and were able to
recall how intentionality played a part in those instances. In recalling the
experience however, there was less description of the specific moment-to-moment
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behavior. Level III intentional behavior, therefore, was deemed an important part
of reaching the larger goals of Level I and Level II intentional behaviors. Moment-
to-moment Level III intentional behaviors, however, were not as easily described
compared to the recollection of larger scope intentions and objectives.

Interview Phase 4: The Acting Approach

During the fourth phase of the interview, the interviewer gave an
elementary example of the acting approach using herself as an example. The
scripted format of the example was as follows:
When I wake up in the morning (on work days) I do the following
things: yoga, shower, eat breakfast, feed the dogs, and drive to
work. These are the actions I complete each morning and feed my
moment-to moment intention “to prepare for work.” I complete
these actions in order to reach my Level II daily intentional
behavior. These actions are similar to the Level III intentional
behaviors that we have discussed. The way I complete my actions
is relative to mood, time, amount of sleep, and other external and
internal factors. Sometimes, there is too much noise to participate
in morning yoga. Sometimes, I find the dogs eating a garden light
outside and therefore I lose breakfast prep time. Sometimes, the
shower water is cold and my shower becomes shorter. Or there is
little traffic and I arrive early to work. Nevertheless, these actions
are done as a way to meet my intention “to prepare for work.”

When I get to work I am able to do my job.

I “do my job” in order to live the kind of life I would like to have.
The life I would like to have can be described in my overall
intention (similar to Level I intentional behavior) and consists of
long term personal and professional goals.”

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The purpose of offering a short synopsis of the acting approach applied to a
real life situation was to see if there are any responses from the interviewees at any
level with regard to the way they approach their own leadership experience. The
example offered was mundane in order to convey the point of the approach as
opposed to the circumstance or situation. Leaders responded positively with the
agreement that it “made sense” as a compass for life. Abigail suggested: “It seems
obvious. And if people are learning how to replicate life on stage, then breaking it
down like this would certainly make sense to me.” Andreas similarly suggested the
approach was a formula which “you can use as you wish ... when you wish.” With
the agreement that the approach was a “sensible” tool, Taylor went directly to the
discussion of actions. Lauren commented that this is “wholly identifiable” and
suggested that while it may come from the theatre, there are “probably other people
who apply something similar to their lives and/or work.”
The description of the approach seemed to solidify what had already been
discussed regarding the importance of knowing what one wants and trying to find
the appropriate mechanism to move towards that goal, regardless of whether it was
a short or long term goals. Additionally, once the approach was defined by the
interviewer, some of the respondents seemed to engage in the conversation with
greater ease and were able to reiterate their points of view during Phase four. Phase
four initiated the discussion of actions and then led to the discussion of additional
elements leaders found important when discussing intentional leadership.

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Discussion of Level III and Actions
In the theatre, actions are commonly referred to as the food for objectives.
In order to reach a desired objective or intention, one must produce actions that
support that objective. An intention on its own is not pursuable. One must follow
an intention with an actionable course. The notion of using actions to help reach
intentions was offered in the next phase of the interviews. Each interviewee stated
his/her own way of providing actionable courses for the intentions he/she pursued.
Each interviewee used verbs in support of intentions when describing professional
work experiences, although he/she may not have known that these were called
“actions” until after the acting approach was revealed.
Offering example of actions on a larger scale appeared easy for the
interviewees. When talking about Level I and Level II intentional behavior, they
could describe actions taken in order to meet those goals. On a micro level, it was
more difficult to pinpoint an exact phrase of the experience. After the acting
approach was revealed, Taylor described actions in this way: “When I think about
it, I am often asking the question, ‘what needs to be done here, in this time, place,
and situation’. And those answers that we came up with, individually or
collectively, were yes, most things can physically be done. So yes, that makes
sense. You have to do something in order to get something.” In Taylor’s story, he
remembered a specific moment where he lowered his voice and smiled, before
delivering “bad news.” Taylor’s intentions were to be “sincere” and to show
“concern and compassion with the news delivery” and he remembers deciding to
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speak softly. “The smile was to comfort. And the change in my voice was to show
respect.” These seemingly small choices showed examples of Level III moment-to-
moment intentional behavior through both verbal and non-verbal actions.
Once the acting approach was revealed the interviewer and interviewees
reviewed some of the moment-to-moment sequences to verify the Level III
intentional behavior of the interviewees. Anthony re-reported that he changed his
tone during the intervention with one of his staff members. In response to the
“refusal for help,” Anthony “calmed his tone” and talked to the staff member as a
friend, instead of as a boss. This “calming tone” represented a specific action “to
soothe” and was taken at a specific moment in order to pursue the objective of that
sequence. Sean reiterated his observance of the comments from an “uncertain
colleague.” This specific moment, as he remembered, propelled him to initiate
encouraging validation, followed by encouragement to the remaining panel
members. This also represented two very specific actions — “to validate” and “to
encourage” — taken in response to the action of the hesitant panel member. Sean
wanted to let the panel member know that his/her contribution to the conversation
was not only valid, but was important, and in doing so, he wanted to let the other
panel members know that it was good to share and “important to share” their
thoughts and concerns.
Tara confirmed the need to show compassion more than once in her story of
having to terminate a staff member. The moment she realized the staff member
suspected “something was about to happen,” Tara delivered the information to the
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staff member with an action “to inform” him/her. Tara however, as noted in her
experience was just as concerned with how the information was being delivered,
instead of only contemplating what needed to be said. Tara then had a specific
action “to inform” along with a specific adaptation of how that action was to be
played “to inform compassionately with humility,” which supported her statements
regarding paying attention to ‘what’ was said as well as ‘how’ it was said.
Similarly, Jared changed his objective upon learning new information regarding a
colleague he was about to reprimand. Once new information came to light, he
changed his objective by way of changing his actions. He “engaged” the colleague
immediately in a conversation that led down to a much different path than the one
he had predetermined to be suitable for this circumstance. Even the moment where
Jared sat forward and asked the colleague to continue sharing the story represented
a specific action used in order to steer the conversation in a new direction.
From interview responses, it appeared as though each interviewee could
elaborate on an experience where intentions were made and actions used in order to
strive to meet a desired goal. Once the acting approach was explained, the
interviewee was able to reiterate and articulate the Level III moment-to-moment
intentional behavior with a higher level of confidence and with a new vocabulary
for articulating their approach. Interviewees were able to elaborate on what they
did in order to reach their goals. However, this took more time, either due to the
memory recall of being a specific moment, or due to the fact that they were
searching for the closest description as to what they did at that moment.
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Interview Phase 5: Additional Findings Supporting
Intentional Behavior

Awareness
To know what you want or desire is a good start in leading an organization.
From the interviews, interviewees reported that intention was more effective when
coupled with action or strategy to support intention. They additionally reported
that being present in each moment and knowing their individual selves, along with
knowing key players, was almost as critical as the need for having an intention.
This suggested that intention was better attained when supported by the use of
actions (or strategies) and by having a sense of self-awareness and awareness of
those with whom the interviewee was communicating with. From the perspective
of these eight interviews, being aware of the circumstances, the intentions, and the
actions created a more positive outcome.
Lauren focused much of her interview on the ability and need to be self-
aware when serving as a leader in any setting, especially in education. In response
to being intentional, Lauren said that it would be hard not to be intentional in such a
“seemingly chaotic environment” and that, if one was aware of how to create goals
and create intentions for the good of the university, then one certainly should
function with some deal of self-awareness.” This broad-based awareness was
indicative of a Level I Strategic Planning category of intentional behavior.
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Lauren indicated that she could not imagine a leader in a senior level
position who did not use “awareness” as a common leadership skill. Lauren
emphasized the need to be aware of the self so that decisions could be made with
all possible scenarios in mind. She also suggested, in addition to self-awareness,
was the “need for an awareness of those surrounding you in every area of the
university and/or the community.” Lauren suggested that “awareness” was the
most critical component in being able to make the most appropriate decisions.
Further detail regarding awareness placed Lauren’s view of the importance of
awareness in the Level II and Level III categories of intentional behavior.
Tara reported a similar view that “to be responsible as a leader is to be
aware of your own goals as well as the goals of those around you.” Similarly, Sean
reported that intentionality and strategy relied on awareness to a certain degree and
added that “if you are not aware of how you are going about handling something,
there is less chance for success.” Anthony stated: “We have to know about the
situation and the people we are working with to create the right or best plan
possible. And in order to do that, we have to be aware of ourselves and of others.”
Anthony considered awareness to be a critical part of being able to actually “do the
job” and perform effectively as a leader. This suggested that senior level leaders
can enhance their leadership experience by monitoring their awareness of the self
as well as the behavior of constituents. Jared previously described the experience
where he came to a new realization during a meeting with his colleague and
realized that he had been ill-informed. In response, he adjusted his intention and
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moved forward accordingly. In addition to Jared reporting his realization of the
need to be aware of his colleague’s situation prior to that meeting, he also said that
he felt that “to be aware is to be ready for anything, which means you are ready to
adjust.”
All discussions regarding the importance of awareness of the self and of
others, were categorized in all three levels of intentional behavior. While some
comments were specific to moments of communication, other general remarks
regarding awareness were also given. The overall suggestion from interviewees
was that an awareness of the self can be helpful to reaching goals at any level.
Additional awareness of those “you are working with” was considered helpful in
“navigating through both difficult and daily conversations” and was considered
important to the practice of leadership.

Adjustment/Adaptability/Improvisation
Jared quoted John Lennon by saying: “Life is what happens while you are
making plans,” when asked about the need for adjustment. Jared was emphatic
about the continual need for improvisation, adjustment, and the need to be able to
adapt to the needs of a particular situation. In the depiction of his own previous
leadership experience, he had noted a key learning moment when he had “realized”
that the need to adapt was continuous. Jared was not sure exactly why this
particular situation hadcaused the revelation; however, he remembered the moment
as one he now used in his own personal definition of leadership. Making an
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adjustment, this specificity in nature can serve as a useful tool in Level III moment-
to-moment intentional behavior. Jared further reported that since that experience,
he has kept the John Lennon quote in the back of his mind, which served as a
reminder that adjustment or adaptation would be necessary at some point.
Taylor worked in a senior medical administration position and reported one
of the most important ingredients in his leadership experience was the ability to
improvise and adjust. Taylor’s remarks represented both Level II and Level III
intentional behavior. He stated:
You cannot get stuck in the fact that something is not going the
way you planned. You cannot spend too much time reflecting upon
why the change is necessary. Sometimes you have to just step in,
make the necessary adjustment or change in order to reach the
desired goal. Then, later, you can reflect, put it into your rolodex of
leadership experience and hope it serves a useful purpose down the
road.

Referring to Level I and Level II intentional behavior, Anthony stated: “It
always comes back to the objective. What is the objective? And if adjustment is
necessary, which is usually the case, then that’s what must be done.” Suggesting a
viewpoint that is geared more towards Level II or Level III intentional behavior,
Sean offered his view on the necessity for continual adaptation and adjustment, and
stated that changing the plan mid way through a project can be due to a variety of
pressures. He said: “Adapting is necessary most of the time, sometimes due to
external pressures and sometimes due to internal ones. Nevertheless, it is not only
important but crucial to successful leadership.”
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Andreas advocated a Level III moment-to-moment intentional behavioral
style incorporating adaptation and adjustment. Andreas said: “Adapting to ever-
changing situations is not a novel concept, but more likely the very foundation of
any job description of a senior level leader.” He emphasized the need for “always”
trying to imagine oneself in the situation of the person with whom one was
communicating. Furthermore, with regard to adjustment, Andreas said: “If you
know what you’re doing, you will know that you must at least attempt to ascertain
what the other person is thinking, feeling, etc. And furthermore, be ready for
anything, as it is likely, that your intention will be interrupted with something,
somewhere along the way.”

Verbal/Non-Verbal Skill
The open-ended nature of each interview allowed for additional insight
from each interviewee. Most of them talked about additional parts of leadership
that are considered important to their experience, and their beliefs in what they
thought a leader should be. Responses given regarding verbal and non-verbal cues
geared toward the Level III moment-to-moment intentional behavior category.
Jared talked about verbal communication as an obvious skill needed to be a leader.
He commented that sometimes the non-verbal signals could provide additional
information about a situation, which was why it was important to be aware of
everything. He stated: “Pay attention to body language, what’s being said non-
verbally. And then adjust as necessary.” Jared’s statement suggested that an
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awareness of non-verbal behavior could help in Level III moment-to-moment
intentional behavior because an adjustment could be made.
Taylor said he relied heavily on non-verbal assessment as part of his
medical university administration. He said: “A lot can be inferred from observing
the person you are talking to in almost any situation. I rely heavily on someone’s
demeanor as soon as contact is made. It helps me regulate my actions toward that
person.” Taylor addressed the need to be as observant as possible in his fast-paced
medical administration setting. He said:
It is part of what you do as a doctor. Part of the overall
assessment. It’s not just about what’s on the chart. There’s a lot
more information you can gather with a patient by spending a few
moments talking with him/her and observing the physical being.
It’s the same way in the administrative setting. You can gain a lot
of insight about someone if you just pay attention to what they are
doing, how they are behaving, etc.

These responses suggested close attention was paid to non-verbal cues
during conversations and that responses and reactions could be dependent on those
cues. These remarks also suggested Level III moment-to-moment intentional
behavior.
Andreas offered his perspective of awareness and non-verbal observation,
commenting that they were mutually inclusive, since if one was truly aware, the
necessary observations would come naturally. Andreas also remarked: “Sizing up
any situation can be easier when you are aware of the person or people you are
working with and watch their behavior in response to yours, and vice versa.” Tara
chuckled in her response when I asked her how she observed non-verbal cues and
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communication. “I just do it. It’s part of the dialogue/conversation. Just because
it’s silent doesn’t mean it’s not happening.” All interviewees agreed that
observation of verbal and non-verbal behaviors were important in moment-to-
moment intentional behavior. They collectively suggested that the more one paid
attention to the cues given by another, the more power one would have to be able to
adjust and change intentions as necessary on a moment-to-moment basis.

Haphazard Learning
I asked each interviewee to identify how they learned intentionality at any
level. I also asked them to illustrate any other memories of learned leadership
practice that might have applied to the discussion of intention, action, awareness
and adaptation. Their answers were varied in perspective but similar in outcome.
The interviewees’ comments showed a collective theme of experience, reflection
and constant learning over time, and all mentioned working for a mentor early in
their career, someone who had served as a positive modeling source.
Lauren: “I don’t know exactly how I learned to do what I do. I
think it is a combination of things. I have been fortunate, worked
for good people, who happened to also be good leaders. So I could
observe what I wanted to emulate. And see how I could do things
effectively, were I ever lucky enough to step foot in a position like
theirs. I also have been in this field for a long time. So, I have had
the chance to change as I grow, learn more along the way. So it has
to be a combination of the two for me. Experience and the ability
to watch someone else as you are learning.”

Abigail: “Well, a lot of trying new approaches. And that takes
time. Two years ago, my answer may have been different and two
years before that, and so forth. The longer you do it, the more you
learn. As long as you keep an open mind about the learning part.
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You have to remember that it’s a continual thing, so you do keep
learning along the way … and let the experience enrich you so that
you can become better as you go. I hope in two years from now, I
would still be learning.”

Jared: “I have had great mentors. People I respect. And have
watched them do great things with great organizations. And
learned heavily from them. I don’t know if everyone is that lucky,
but if you have someone that you can watch – who has integrity and
experience – you can see the transformations happening in the
organization, you can witness the changes that occur, you can
watch the hard parts of the job, and then all of that is much more
impactful on you as a young leader than something you might read
or hear about, because you saw it. And you let it influence or guide
you.”

Sean: “I think I probably learned this from a variety of people and
a huge variety of experience. I definitely think this is something
that can be learned. And you can be creative about how you learn
it. I believe it is influenced by the kind of person you are, the kind
of personality traits you carry, the abilities you have, your strengths
and weaknesses … so I think you can learn it. And I think getting a
position where you will be forced to learn through experience is a
good place to start. However, I also believe that there are people to
learn from, and possibly a technique such as the one you offer
here.”

Taylor: “I would have to say that most of what I think I do now
relies on what I did in a previous situation, and whether or not that
was a successful situation, I most likely learned something from it.
Maybe from another person or something, I chose to do and would
choose to do differently if confronted with again. It’s a myriad of
things most likely that involves both prior experiences, or
experiences of others too, along with communication with those
that I work for.”

Similar to the reports above, Anthony, Tara and Andreas all suggested that their
experiences in working with a variety of different people, groups, situations and
circumstances, had shaped their own practice, and affected how they currently
served as leaders. From interview discussions, it appears there were three major
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factors — experience, continuous learning, and modeling — to which the
interviewees attributed their skill development with regard to intention and overall
leadership practice.
The two most discussed characteristics for growth as a leader were past
experiences, the overall time in a position which had offered a lengthy learning
experience, as well as the ability to watch and learn from a mentor, a boss, or a
supervisor who was in a leadership position. This suggested that leaders learn as
they experience the leadership functions required by the job description. It also
suggested that leaders are malleable as humans and learn from others in positions
of leadership. Those who talked about learning from former bosses seemed to hold
them in high regard, indicating a kind of respect for them as teachers. It was
discussed as a “learning experience.” Although this was not evidential information,
it provided insight into the way these interviewees viewed their own paths to the
leadership roles, which they are today. It showed that they had a sense of humility
and gratitude for the way they had been taught, and acknowledged how they had
developed their own personal leadership styles.

What Leaders Say about Themselves and Each Other

Leadership Effectiveness: How Do You Measure It?
Although there was no actual way for each interviewee to offer proof of the
effectiveness of intentionality, these interviewees suggested that the length of time
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they had spent in leadership positions offered some sense of the how intentionality
affected the overall leadership experience. Anthony suggested that while he could
not pinpoint a written list of experiences proving intentionality to be one of the
factors for a successful “mission” in daily communication, he stated:
There are many times I can recall a conversation being a key
ingredient in the success of a circumstance or situation. Meaning,
that there is a conversation between a few people, or just two, and
the result of that conversation ends up supporting the particular
objectives of a critical situation or problem being faced. I have to
think that there is something about the way the communication
‘happened’ in that situation and I have to believe that over time, one
learns how to cultivate his/her own personal style of
communication in hopes to improve all conversations … making
that part of the job easier. And isn’t intention a part of that? A huge
part of that?

Tara described her proof of effectiveness over a period of growth in her
own leadership experience, as follows:
I’d have to say that part of the reason (I hope) I have transitioned
(upward) in positions of leadership has something to do with the
fact that I am a good communicator (I hope again), or effective
communicator. And many of the challenges in positions of senior
leadership stem from an enormous responsibility to communicate
with a large number of people, in an effective manner. Effective
meaning, somehow reaching agreements, getting desired results,
making amends, or whatever the particular situation may call for, in
that moment/situation. So I believe that part of the growth of my
own personal career has been due to the fact that communication
with these groups, individuals, etc., is one of the parts of the job
that I enjoy the most, and consider most important. But again, as
far as how to actually gauge the success or effectiveness, well I
suppose you’d have to look at the record for each person you are
interviewing, see where they started, how far they’ve gone, and
what it is people say about their style … another study I suppose.

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Taylor talked briefly about his climb up the medical ladder in regard to his
growth as a communicator, saying:
When I began, as I wonder is the case for many, I had ideals and an
idea of what I wanted. I knew communication was important but I
guess it was difficult for me to articulate the best particular method
for me, if that makes sense. I was able to visualize what I wanted to
be, in other words, but I didn’t have a construct for how to go about
getting there. And I think throughout the years, one of the things
that has happened, partially with my awareness and partially on its
own natural course, has been the learning experience that has given
me that personal construct I use in my communicative behavior.
Whether it is to listen or respond according to what has just been
posed to me, I have my own way of communicating with people,
which does inherently house a level of intentionality to some degree
at all times. I just don’t know how to offer a perfect picture of how
that was learned exactly except to say that time and experiences
were a huge part of it.

Does Everyone Lead with Intentionality?
Each interviewee was asked: “Do you think all leaders use intentionality?”
The emergent theme was that most leaders had a method of using intention or
objective to lead an organization as opposed to leading without personal structure,
which would cause or chaos. One interviewee answered: “Well hopefully, if they
are good leaders they do.” This particular interviewee was able to articulate his
own personal goals related to his profession and tie them into the larger mission of
the university overall, but he simply could not imagine a well established leader
who would be able to function in a “high stakes” leadership position without using
some kind of “goal-directed” behavior. He emphasized the importance of the
continual use of intention and said quite plainly that a person with experience in
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leadership “should be using intentions everyday in his/her career using whatever
method in which he/she is most comfortable.”
Taylor suggested that leaders often get better with experience, increasing
their use and awareness of the pursuit of objectives, commenting that although
intention might be used early on in leadership practice the awareness of ones’ use
of intention might not exist until after extended experience in leadership practice.
Abigail stated that all leaders have a personal method of creating goals and of
striving to reach those goals, saying. “
I imagine most leaders use their own preferred method … what
works best for them. And if they have to change their method after
some experience, then they probably do create a new method using
what they’ve previously learned from. But at some level, I expect
most leaders have a system of figuring out what they want on a
pretty consistent basis.

You would think that everyone does it to some extent, right? But
then, how do you test to know they actually do? By watching the
outcomes they produce, I suppose, or having enough conversations
with them to know if they are on target so to speak, or wandering
… but I still believe most people actually do this. Would be tough
not to.

Lauren suggested that from her perspective, all leadership was influenced
by the leaders’ experiences, their mentors, and their length of time in actual
leadership positions, stating.
While I’m not fully convinced all leaders at the highest level are
great communicators, I believe they have the opportunity to be-more
than others. Simply because of the work that they do. That being
said, I think that many leaders in higher levels are valuable just
because of the fact that they can communicate so very effectively.
And I believe that is a result of a few things … their comfort level in
their position which probably has a lot to do with how long they’ve
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been in positions of leadership overall. And then you wonder who
they learned from. Who did they work under? Who affected them
when they were learning? That has to have something to do with it, I
would imagine. I would guess that many leaders do use intentional
communication and are aware of it. And I would imagine that their
expertise in the area of communication is partially reliant on their
past experience, growth as leaders, as well as their experience
working for other leaders, watching them lead … picking out what
works and discarding what doesn’t along the way.

Sean reported the following regarding the use of intentionality across the
leadership spectrum:
I’m not sure if everyone thinks they do this. But I think most leaders
have some way of evaluating their style of communication and their
own way of talking to people. While they might not consider it goal
oriented or intention-oriented, I do believe we all do this regardless
of what we call it. At lower levels of leadership lies the opportunity
to learn how to do this. And the best method of learning this is
through actual experience.”

Jared talked about his experience with other leaders, saying:

I am actually under the impression that most people, leaders
included, work with very basic instincts when communicating. A-K-
A, what do I need from this discussion, what point am I trying to
make, etc. Those aren’t necessarily concepts that are limited to the
profession of leadership, but are instead elements of communication
used by most humans, in my opinion. I do however believe that
people who are in positions of leadership are probably required to
utilize their communication skills often, and are therefore possibly
more comfortable talking about their communication styles, or
experiences.

Andreas stated:

I was unclear about what exactly communication meant when I
started my work in leadership. It seemed like everyone who was a
top leader could do it, and do it well. But I didn’t really know how
to do it until I did it … for a long time. I knew how to manage a
program. I knew how to balance a budget. I didn’t know how to
decipher the best communication styles, as there were no real rules
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for that. I learned from a guy I worked for. Immensely talented and
a great leader. And in my time working for him I was able to
witness his style, and either emulate or create my own, based on my
personal attributes. What is interesting about this is the fact that I
don’t think I recognized that particular part of the learning
experience at the time. I was just focusing on getting the job done.
Now, some 20 years later, I am able to recollect and see it from a
different angle.

It was clear that leaders at this level assumed that colleagues and friends
who served in senior leadership positions used intentionality to some degree.
Whether it was used as a broad-based way to keep their goal aligned with
university settings or for moment-to-moment communication the interview
discussions offered confirmation that leaders at the senior level needed to use
intentional behavior to some degree.

The Importance of Relationships
I was afforded the opportunity to converse with eight senior level leaders in
the university. Each interviewee discussed what he/she considered important to the
practice of leadership. Emphasis was placed on knowing one’s desired goal, and
on creating intentions, and strategies as to how to reach those goals. Subsequent
supporting skills were discussed, including the need for awareness and adjustment.
In addition, all leaders spoke emphatically about the need to consider relationships
important in the leadership setting. All eight interviewees concurred that good
relationships were the foundation of success overall.
When talking about the importance of relationships, Sean suggested:
“Whenever I want to make something work, one of my goals is to find the most
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talented people to help do the job. I distribute the responsibility and do not micro
manage. It’s about the relationship. I give them a lot of cheerleading. This gives
others authority and increases the probability of someone coming up with a good
idea.” Jared stated similarly: “At the end of the day, it’s about people and
relationships” and confirmed that he follows this “mantra,” as a way to keep his
own leadership practice as effective as possible. Tara described the skills that she
believed to support a solid relationship saying: “It’s important to me to have
empathy and be a good listener.” She added that these skills were two of the main
ingredients that she used and helped her achieve her best practice as a leader and
that she was continuously evolving, modifying and adding to how she approached
each relationship.
Abigail described a view of leadership and compared the relationship
between a leader and their followers to the relationship between a conductor and
the musicians, saying:
Leadership has to be about relationships. It’s like an orchestra. It
takes many instruments to create the sound of a full symphony.
There are times and places for solo work, but the conductor must
collaborate and work with all of the musicians, individually and
collectively, in order to create harmony, timing, volume, and
resonance. An orchestra is not just a group of people who have
talents and skills, who sit down in their seats and play a perfect
symphony. They practice together and are led together by the one
who stands in front of them all, looks at them all, gauges their
abilities and pulls from them (or attempts to) the best performance
possible by way of constant training, reassurance and guidance. All
of that takes relationships. You can’t do it alone so why not try to do
it by way of creating meaningful relationships. One at a time.

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Anthony’s opinion on relationships suggested that: “The more time you spend on
them, the easier your job practicing leadership could be. Have vision and purpose.
And figure out how to get that vision across to the people you serve. If you can
create the relationship, you have just made the job that much easier.”
Since the interviewees were able to report the use of intentionality as a part
of their regular daily routine, crisis management, and communication style, it had
probably been a part of their behavior that has been utilized for some time. In
addition to their common use of intention, the interviewees could not pinpoint the
inception of this use. However, they could readily discuss how time and
experience had been a substantial part of their learning about leadership and how to
lead. One of the larger questions that stemmed from this study was how to best
measure the effectiveness of the use of intentional behavior. While it was apparent
that intentional behavior was used for a variety of reasons, it was still unclear
exactly how the measurement of the effectiveness of that intention was defined.
There was speculation from these interviewees that years of experience in
leadership positions had afforded them the opportunity to hone their
communication styles, which had naturally produced intentional behavior.
However, there was no objective method of determining how exactly this could be
measured.

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Conclusion

Approaching each interview I was eager to search for insight through asking
a series of questions and doing an exercise in experience recall. I did not anticipate
the depth of the interviews. I was not expecting such persuasive and luxurious
results in the forms of story, opinion, and perspective. I was thrilled that as the
outcome of each interview, I was able to learn from the experience of someone who
was considered a successful leader in a senior level of administration. I was
grateful for their time, honesty, and elaboration of their own experiences and
perspectives.
When I began this study, all I knew was that my interest in the acting
approach was immense and that my curiosity about leadership was strong. As a
thespian who has worked in higher education, I had always wanted to see if there
was any connection between how actors performed in the theatre and how leaders,
as well as ordinary people, performed in real life. To my amazement, I heard the
powerful testimony of eight leaders who offered their own personal twist on an
acting technique created over one hundred years ago. Although the terms may have
been different and adjustments were made to accommodate personal preference and
priority, each leader confirmed use of intention, or objective as well as affirming
the use of actions when pursuing particular the intention or objective. While
peeling away the layers and levels of leadership practice, I was able to match these
leaders’ statements almost directly to one component or another of the acting
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approach. Each leader identified multiple parts of the approach used in the theatre
to recreate life-like representation on stage. I was fascinated by the overwhelming
similarity and emphatic nature of the responses.
The most important discovery in this exploration of leadership practice was
the remarkable responses when discussing the use of intentional behavior,
specifically at Level I and Level II. Level III intentional behavior was discussed
and examples were presented during the interviews. Responses however were not
given with the same kind of ease as when Level I and Level II intentional behaviors
were discussed. In an attempt to explain how and when they used intention, each
leader provided concrete examples which resulted in the two-part intentionality
theme. First, they confirmed that intentional behavior was important for effective
communication with those being led. Second, intentional behavior was important
because it probably affected the larger picture, which was something addressed as a
critical component of senior level leadership practice. Leaders in this study
reported that intentional behavior was important to both the short term and long
term potential success of an organization. At the very least, intentional behavior
was seen as a vital component of communication and leadership practice.
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CHAPTER 5
FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR
FUTURE PRACTICE AND RESEARCH

The question of intentional leadership practice became of interest to me
AFTER THE World Trade Center attacks on 9-11-2001 during my re-examination
of the human condition. As I began a personal search into how people
communicated with one another, I became fascinated with the notion that
everything we did as humans was influenced by some sort of intention. Since I
worked in higher education and had witnessed the tireless efforts of senior
administrative staff and faculty I had been further interested in how an acting
approach may have related to leadership practice. In this pursuit of study, I was
afforded the opportunity to gather information from great institutional leaders in an
effort to discover how they described their own methods of intentional leadership
practice.

Findings and Limitations

This study included research into the experience of well established and
valued leaders in the university community. Interview explorations revealed
intentional leadership at multiple levels. From the testimony of the leaders
interviewed, there was a clear use of intention at the Level I and Level II
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categories. Findings also suggested that Level III intentionality was used even
though it was articulated less clearly and less often. Leaders were aware of their
overall intentional behaviors and suggested that intentions played a role in larger
objectives. Findings also suggested that intentions could be well prepared in
advance or spontaneously created. Interviewees also reported being able to recall
when objectives had been used, and for what specifically they were used.
Questions regarding the use of intention were answered in the examples recounted
during the interviews.
Results showed that Level I and II were easily articulated and were
considered an important leadership component by the eight leaders interviewed in
this study. All interviewees continuously referred back to “the larger picture, goal,
or strategy” when discussing leadership and their own experience. While Level III
moment-to-moment communication was talked about as an important tool for
leadership practice, it proved more difficult to recount in the form of storytelling or
example.
Level III examples were more difficult to evoke from each participant.
Interviews offered glimpses of moment-to-moment intentional communication in
the form of both verbal and non-verbal behaviors. Level III intentions were spoken
of as being important to use. However, fewer examples were offered compared to
the many examples that were provided for the Level I and Level II categories. In
retrospect, I believe it was harder to evoke examples of Level III intentionality for
two reasons: (1) the researcher did not probe in enough detail during the
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experience recall; and (2) the interviewees may have been less conscious of the
moment-to-moment communication techniques and/or how to articulate them
thoroughly.

Use of Intention
The first finding reported that all leaders used intentionality in moment-to-
moment communication. The reason for the use of moment-to-moment
intentionality was described in two separate parts: (1) using moment-to-moment
intentionality helped build relationships which were reported as “critical,”
“important,” and “highly valued” by the interviewees; and (2) moment-to-moment
intentionality helped support the larger organizational objectives, which were also
reported by interviewees as being “important,” “necessary,” and “crucial” in
defining leadership success. Therefore, the most meaningful finding was the
pursuit of action through the use of moment-to-moment intentionality.

Use of Action
Additional findings reported by interviewees supporting Level III moment-
to-moment communication included the use of action or strategy to help reach the
intention or objective being sought. All interviewees discussed action. Some
interviewees called it “strategy;” however, they agreed that something has to be
done in order to achieve the desired outcome. All interviewees agreed with the
notion of enacting something at all times, and also could offer ways to support their
experience.
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Awareness of the Self/Other
Interviewees reported an awareness of both the self and intention, along
with an awareness of others and their perceived intention. Interviewees rated
awareness as a critical component of leadership effectiveness. Respondents
discussed awareness as a key element in exercising the use of intention and action,
and said that the more aware you are, the better the outcome usually is. Findings
also concluded that adjustment and/or adaptation to situation or circumstance was
highly needed and often necessary. “To be prepared … for anything, is mandatory”
(Abigail, 2008). Smaller themes included the discussion of verbal and non-verbal
communication, personal egotism versus a balanced level of confidence, and
descriptions of how each leader had gained skill and expertise. Respondents
offered their opinions on the key reasons for success in leadership, focusing on the
areas of experience, mentorship, and learning. All leaders confirmed the overall
importance of paying close attention to relationships, and of centering awareness
on building relationships through meaningful and artful communication, which
supported the notion of intentional moment-to-moment communication.

Relationships/Skills/Effectiveness
All leaders discussed the importance of relationship at one point or another
in their interviews. An emergent theme regarding relationships showed that
relationships could help build a solid division, and that one should not avoid them.
It was apparent that a part of leadership responsibility was to create, build,
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strengthen, and continue relationships with the people in one’s community.
Intentionality, action, and awareness of communication were reported by all leaders
in all interviews, and were considered to be important elements of leadership
practice and useful skills in the profession. Additional dialogue explored how
leadership skills were acquired and how to measure leadership effectiveness. Skills
were reported as being acquired over time, with experience and with the help of
“good” mentoring and “leadership” during early leadership positions.

Haphazard Learning
Respondents reported leadership was learned over time, through mentoring
or modeling, and with experience and growth during career work. They reported
feeling “lucky” to work for good people, and were “grateful” to have been afforded
the opportunity for growth in the leadership arena over time and through a series of
progressive positions in their career. This represented a haphazard learning
experience and suggested that there was no preferred learning method for becoming
a “qualified” leader. Interview results also suggested that a combination of time
and experience, along with the ability to work for a model leader, helped the overall
leadership growth of these individuals. This was a random formula for learning
leadership and was also partly reliant on the ability to work for someone considered
to be a “good leader.”

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Who Uses Intentionality?
There was no evidence that all leaders use intentionality. However, the
opinions and experiences of the leaders interviewed suggested that there was a level
of intentionality used to some degree by many leaders. There was no conclusive
evidence to suggest that everyone knew the terminology or used intention during
micro communication. Instead, it was suggested that there was a level of “goal
seeking” behavior in the experience of interviewees who had worked with other
leaders in senior positions. One of the questions that resulted from this exploration
is the level of leadership in comparison to the use of intention. From the results of
the interviews, it appeared that most of the communication at the senior level was
considered to be intentional, while many of the interviewees described their
“young” leadership experiences as “less focused” and “less able” to verbalize any
kind of intentionality in their communication style.
In hindsight, there are areas where I would recommend additional
exploration during each of the eight interviews. The purpose of this study was to
explore whether or not leaders used intentional communication on a moment-to-
moment level. The interview results showed that leaders viewed intentionality as
an important part of moment-to-moment communication, as well as an important
smaller part of a larger picture of overall leadership practice, and that while Level I
and Level II intentionality was easily described, Level III examples were not as
easily divulged. Each leader gave his/her definitions of intention and how he/she
regarded it in context of individual leadership practice. In retrospect, there are
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further questions that I would be interested in pursuing in order to learn more about
the intentional communication discussed in each interview
Since there was such a clear description of intentional behavior in the
interview results, the question arises: How could one really know if leaders at
every level practice intentional communication? And if they do, are they as aware,
or does time and experience enhance awareness? Furthermore, how did they learn
this communication style? Was it over time, from another leader, or perhaps from
experience? The small group of eight interview participants suggested that most
leaders in senior positions should use intentional behavior; however, they
confirmed that there was no specific way to gauge or test the behavior. The
opinion of the leaders who were interviewed was that over time, with role model
guidance and with experience, the use of intentionality came naturally as a result of
forward progression in positions of leadership. However, that was an opinion and a
limitation of this study because of the small sample size and due to the inability to
reach a larger group of leaders for interview.
Regarding alterations I would make to this study if afforded the
opportunity, I would be interested in exploring how leaders viewed experiences
with colleagues who did not appear to be intentional in their communication, as
well as examining self reports of non-intentional communication they themselves
used. This study focused on how intentionality was defined, when and how it was
used, and to what degree it was considered important. Since those questions have
been answered, it would be equally beneficial to learn about experiences where
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non-intentional behavior was used as a way to examine the opposite side of the
spectrum. Intentional communication was described in this study as
“communication with a desired outcome or goal in mind,” where one pays attention
to what is happening, listening and responding accordingly. Additionally,
interviewees suggested that in their perception, most good leaders used
intentionality to some degree, since goals and results-oriented behavior seemed
“necessary” in most positions of leadership.
If possible, I would ask each leader to elaborate on an experience when
he/she had been in a situation where he/she had to communicate with a person who
appeared non-intentional in a moment-to-moment sequence. I would ask how that
conversation was different compared to a conversation with a person who appeared
to have some level of goal or objective in mind. I would also explore how the
leader responded as to whether he/she had to adjust more often in his/her response,
or if it was “harder” to communicate in that transaction. An exploration into the
experiences of those who used intention when communicating with non-intentional
communicators could enhance the findings of this initial study.
In addition to learning more about non-intentional communicators, I would,
in retrospect, like to learn more about how the leaders who were interviewed were
able to self report. If given the opportunity and additional time, it would be
interesting to videotape the interviewees during their work experience in order to
witness first-hand their communication styles and their use of intentionality. If
confidentiality and context of situation were of no concern, I would recommend a
117
video of each leader to be taken over a period of several days. During that
timeframe, the degree to which the leader used intentionality would most likely be
revealed as well as additional communicative styles and traits.
Videotaping each leader in order to support their self reports would also
provide insight into the third-party person communicating with the leader and could
ultimately help shape the character of those being studied. Much could be learned
by watching a leader respond to his/her colleague. Non-verbal cues could be seen,
tone of voice or inflection changes could be heard, and rhythms of speech and of
word choices could be seen, all of which could provide discovery for the self
reports offered by interviewees. By watching communication interactions between
two people, one can gain insight into personalities, styles, and efforts. Therefore,
to be able to witness a video of the practice of intentional communication by the
leaders interviewed would be of great benefit to this study.
If I were able to videotape each leader at will and explore their leadership
style over a period of several days, it would benefit this study by adding a depth to
the reporting that cannot be attained using just a “remembered experience” or
“storytelling” manner. It could additionally add a layer of confidence to the study
if the videotape were shared with each leader, stimulating additional discussion and
reaction post-viewing. It is not often that we watch ourselves on camera, and to be
able to witness what had been experienced during the past several days could range
from uneventful to outstanding. Nevertheless, giving the leaders the option to view
118
the video and reflect further about their intentional communication could provide
potential support for this study.
I would also appreciate being able to ask the leaders chosen for the
interviews (because they were considered effective) to offer some names of leaders
they might be considered as less effective in their leadership/ communication style.
If that were possible, it would be useful to interview this other group of leaders
considered ineffective (without divulging their status), in order to see the responses
given from both effective and non-effective leaders. The leaders in this study were
chosen because they were considered to be effective in their practice. To have the
opportunity to compare their results with those of leaders considered non-effective
or non-intentional could provide further discovery and insight into the practice of
good intentional leadership.

Implications for Future Practice and Research

Since the results of this study showed a strong response by the leaders who
were questioned to the question of intentional communication, I would recommend
two areas of future research to gain additional insight regarding intentional
communication by leaders. First, I would suggest an exploration into the career
path of senior leadership accomplished by doing an in-depth qualitative study on a
small group of high level leaders. The purpose would be to learn in greater detail
the experiences leading up to a high level of senior leadership. The overall
119
objective would be to gain insight about how leadership was learned from in-depth
interviews including observation and video recording (if possible). Because it was
learned that this particular group of leaders suggested that they used intentional
communication and had developed their leadership style based on learning from
other leaders along the way, it would be insightful to continue to explore the
individual paths to leadership for this small group.
In addition to learning about how leaders developed their skills, a future
longitudinal study could be useful in order to determine an overall comparative
skill set for a larger group of leaders. It would be helpful to be able to observe a
group of leaders over time who served in senior positions, as well as a group of
leaders who worked in young leadership positions. Observing the two groups
simultaneously would create an opportunity to see their differences and likenesses
more clearly. This information could be valuable in developing a method for
teaching leadership skills. Coupled with the results of an in-depth study of career
paths to senior leadership, this information could be useful to those in more young
positions of leadership hoping to grow into senior levels of leadership
responsibility.

Learning More about Young Leaders
The responses from the eight interviewees brought up other questions
regarding leaders in middle management positions. Do leaders at the “young”
hierarchical level hold the same degree of awareness regarding intentional
120
leadership? Do they utilize the tools of objective or intention at all? I would
recommend that future studies include an assessment of intermediate level leaders
in the university system and that interviews be conducted to see if these leaders
responded with the same conviction as the more seasoned leaders who were at the
senior level of administration. If mid-level leaders reported using intentionality, it
would be beneficial to determine whether or not they were aware of it at the time
and if in fact they had predetermined the objectives with which they went into
situations where there was a possible need for adjustment.
An exploration of young leadership skill could gather data to enhance what
has been learned in this study regarding moment-to-moment intentional
communication. It would also be beneficial to examine whether or not young
leaders reported the same degree of use of intention, along with supporting skills
such as actions (strategy), awareness, and/or adaptation, as important leadership
skill components. There was an overwhelming response regarding the importance
of intentional communication from senior level leaders who had been young
leaders at one point in time. Therefore, investigating young leaders could help in
determining whether there was a gap in leadership knowledge or not, and if so, in
finding a preparation method to help close that gap.

Preparing Young Leaders
In contemplating how information regarding the use of intentionality may
be helpful to future leaders, I re-examined the question of how these skills were
121
developed by each interviewed leader. All leaders either contributed their skill
development to experience, constant learning, or observing and/or working for
someone they considered a positive role model. Experience came with time spent
in one or more position positions that offered opportunities for growth and skill
development in different areas. Since some of the leaders attributed part of their
learning to modeling, I wonder if young leaders may be offered an opportunity to
learn these skills as well. For example, if a learning method for young leaders was
developed using the acting approach, along with the findings of this study, and was
offered as a curriculum, it could potentially be helpful to those who were not
fortunate enough to work for the type of “role model” leaders described in Chapter
4. Most young leaders will gain experience in their positions and could learn
continually should they make the choice to do so. Most young leaders may not
have an opportunity to work closely with a mentor, or role model that they
respected and admired professionally. However, if this acting method does in fact
prove to be a useful method of learning how to lead, curriculum might be created to
support the efforts of young leaders. The interview reports in this study suggested
that leadership skills can be learned. This finding supports the idea of a potential
training program or, at the very least, additional research about how to effectively
train young leaders. An outline for a prospective curriculum, based on the acting
technique, has been included in Appendix C.
Of course, there is no guarantee that the use of an acting approach would
assist in the development of young leaders. However, there is no “single”
122
prescribed method for teaching leadership, and as this study has reported, the
learning of leadership often has been somewhat random. There is evidence to
suggest that senior level leaders found the use of intentionality, action, awareness,
and adjustment to be important attributes for a high level leader. These are
attributes that are taught in the theatre as a foundation for working on stage as an
actor. These same attributes are considered important by many who want to learn
the craft of acting and do not want to rely on talent alone in the undertaking of
learning their craft. Therefore, I feel that those learning to lead could benefit from
learning this acting method as part of their education as well. In addition to
learning through experience and learning from those who serve as role models, I
recommend that a rubric be created from the existing acting approach curriculum,
aligned with what leaders consider to be important skill sets. This model could be
offered to young leaders, as well as more senior leaders who could use it to create
their own method for applying it to their own leadership practice and experience.

Conclusion

From the inception of this project, I was immensely fascinated and
personally attached to the skills that I had learned in a theatrical setting. This had
made me aware of my own use of intention and action, and made me curious
regarding the degree of its use by those whom I held in high regard as senior
leaders. I was grateful to be granted an in-depth view of their opinions of
123
leadership and to digest the experiences they had shared regarding their own
personal use of intentionality. I was further astounded to learn that each of the
eight leaders I interviewed had no trouble conveying their use of intentionality
although some used different terminologies. These eight leaders offered their
experiences as ways of helping future leaders, in addition to teaching their
subordinates, just as they had learned from their own mentors. I am pleased that
they expressed positive opinions about the use of a technique similar to the acting
technique as a method to teach such leadership skills.
While there was no concrete evidence to suggest that the acting approach
could make someone a great leader, there was also no evidence to suggest that it
could not. It is my hope that someone will continue this research and learn more
about how leaders lead on a micro level in order to gain additional information that
may result in the future creature of a teachable curriculum. Interviewees reported
that they were intentional, that they were aware of their intentionality, and that they
felt it was an important skill set to have as a leader. Interviewees also reported that
they were not as aware of these things when they had been younger leaders.
Furthermore, interviewees reported that they had learned how to lead from
experience, time, and from those they worked for in their younger leadership roles.
I would therefore like to recommend further research in the disparity between
young leadership skills versus senior leadership skills, in addition to more research
about the career path to senior leadership. This additional research, along with
further exploration of the acting approach as it may apply to leadership technique,
124
could benefit the field of leadership overall. That is the ultimate objective of this
project.
125
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131

APPENDICES
132
Appendix A
Stanislavski: History of the System

Konstantine Stanislavski was the creator of a specific form of acting rooted
in physical action and objective. He was responsible for changing the way this art
form was viewed. He dedicated his life to uncovering not only what lies behind
truthful emotion, but how best to re-engage that emotion for the purposes of
performance. According to Manderino (2001), Stanislavski’s goal was to
“approximate in his acting what he believed genius actors had in common,
particularly, the ability to create strong emotions that possessed fully-loaded
physicality and an inner core of truth, logic, and imagination.” Although many
have created new branches of the acting system that Stanislavski originated, his
contributions to thespians have been unparalleled in the view of many. The
following includes a fundamental description of Stanislavski’s acting system for
professionals in the higher education setting and a subsequent analysis of what
those who continue to adapt and explore his ideas have written about Stanislavski
and the acting system.

Stanislavski
Stanislavski lived from 1863 to 1938 (Benedetti, 3). Stanislavski was a
stage name for Konstantine. Benedetti (1990) noted that the Russian’s birth name
was Constantine Sergeyvich Alekseiev, though he was rarely referred to after his
133
youth as anything other than Stanislavski. As a young actor, Stanislavski attempted
to keep his interest in acting quiet, as his family was supportive of the arts but did
not want to see him become an actor.
According to Benedetti, Stanislavski grew up in a mansion where his
family, the Alekseiev’s, was known as one of the wealthiest families in Russia.
Stanislavski served as the chairman of the board for the family textile business,
which owed its success to the manufacturing of gold and silver thread (Benedetti,
1990). Aside from being a successful businessman, Stanislavski spent a great deal
of time in the theatre. His dream was to become an opera singer but he knew his
voice was simply not good enough (Brestoff, 1995). Once his family knew of his
artistic endeavors, Stanislavski began his quest to transform the theatre from the
confines of the traditional approach. Although admittedly not a great actor,
Stanislavski was interested in what drove truthful human emotion. His interest in
the theatre was spawned by his own confusion regarding how acting actually
happened.
It took years for Stanislavski to create his own initial question of research,
which would become, “How does one combine the need to pretend, with the need
to express something true?” (Brestoff, 1995). Stanislavski searched for a way that
actors could access emotion based in reality so that they could utilize real feelings
and emotions while playing a character on stage. Consequently, once he was able
to dissect the ways in which he believed humans accessed emotion, he then
struggled to find a way to produce a truthful action and emotion on stage while in
134
character. This was the challenge he would passionately pursue for the duration of
his lifetime.

The Moscow Art Theatre
Serving as artistic director, Stanislavski, along with co-director, 40-year-old
Nemirovich Danchenko, opened the Moscow Art Theatre (MAT) in Moscow,
Russia, in September 1898 (Stanislavski & Hapgood). Although they were
business partners who lacked the ability to be close friends, this partnership was
without equal for being a source of great innovative ideas in the acting medium.
Viewed as the most significant and influential theatre in the twenty-first century,
the MAT provided a place where actors were able to experiment under the direction
of Stanislavski who provided a harsh tongue but a new technique (Brestoff, 1995).
It was at the newly built MAT where Stanislavski’s system was born over a
long period of time. Stanislavski was the creator of an acting system that was
influential beyond his own time. However, Stanislavski did not create the system
from his own thought alone. Instead, it was born under his research and by
observing the things that actors did on stage and in role preparation, which did or
did not prove effective when the role was actually performed. After years of live
observation and experimenting with numerous actors, Stanislavski arrived at a
series of procedures that provided a logical toolset for one who desired to become
an actor, today known as “the system” (Strasberg, 43).

135
Discovering the Acting Approach
Stanislavski introduced an unprecedented procedural theatrical acting
approach that was very different from the more traditional acting style known as
“representational” acting. Representational acting was the conventional style used
in the theatre at that time. It was considered an effective standard by many in the
theatrical medium. However, representational acting was not considered theatre
based in realism or truth. According to Krasner (2000), during the period of
naturalism, Stanislavski helped uncover a new technique with which actors could
give performances based in honesty and truthfulness while working in imaginary
circumstances. In contrast to representational acting, Stanislavski created an
approach where the actor reacted on impulse to other actors and events on stage
within the play’s circumstances. This meant that the actor was performing
intentional, organic behavior instead of pretending (Krasner, 2000).
Stanislavski spent the greater part of his life using experimental techniques
in the theatre, until he found an approach that worked best for actors in search of a
truthful performance on stage. This approach included experiments where actors
used internal mechanisms to create external actions on stage. His goal was to
create a setting of verisimilitude on stage, meaning that ultimate truth would occur
in each scene of a play in a moment-to-moment sequence continually until the play
was over. Subsequently, the actions produced as a result of true emotion would
also be authentic, which would in turn make them believable to the audience, thus
creating truth or verisimilitude on stage.
136
The System versus Method
Stanislavski kept journals of the rehearsal process at the MAT (Moscow Art
Theatre) and also wrote “tool books” for actors that are used all over the world
nowadays. Over time and many years, Stanislavski experimented with many
exercises, which ultimately resulted in a system that continues to be transformed,
adopted and adapted. This acting approach included a series of techniques known
today as the Stanislavski system. When people such as Stella Adler, Lee Strasberg,
Harold Clurman, and Uta Hagen, later brought this particular concept of a realistic
acting system to America, they subsequently adapted and tailored the technique.
This branch, off-rooted in the teachings of Stanislavski, is called “the Method” or
“Method.” Hagen (2001) wrote: “As we know, Stanislavski’s discoveries were
based on his understanding of how the great realistic actors applied the psychology
of human struggles and drives, using their response to emotional, physical, and
mental stimuli in their consequent actions. However, sticking slavishly to his
doctrines was considered an injustice to Stanislavski himself (Hagen, 46). While
the foundations of the Method were initiated by the teachings of Stanislavski, the
Method and the system created by Stanislavski system are not one and the same.
While searching for a way to introduce his personal theatrical view to the
American medium, Clurman initiated a study in which Adler, Strasberg, and Hagen
participated. The study consisted of using Stanislavski’s application (as interpreted
by those above) while using a common vocabulary and purpose (Brestoff, 1995).
Evangeline Morphos wrote in a preface of Strasberg’s “A Dream of Passion” that:
137
“The aim of the Group Theatre was to form a company of actors who produced
plays, as well as to develop a systematic approach to actor training based on the
work of Stanislavski” (Strasberg, xviii). Stanislavski’s system was altered over
time through adaptation and translation, which resulted in the Method. Both
schools of thought are highly regarded by many in the theatrical realm, though they
are sometimes misinterpreted as being equal and alike. The basic concepts founded
by Stanislavski in his approach are the focus of the acting system used in this study.
The Stanislavski approach consisted of a group of ideas, tools, and principles that,
when used together, created the capacity for an actor to offer a realistic and truthful
performance on stage.
138
Appendix B
Interview Questions

1. Think of a specific circumstance where you were in a leadership
position; a specific event in your role as a leader. For example, hiring,
terminating, or implementing new policy or procedure. Remember a
specific piece of that event. One transaction only please.

2. Describe the event or given circumstance.
Who is involved?
Where is it?
What is happening?
What is the mood (stress, urgent, typical daily routine etc.)?

3. Describe the prior circumstance.
Where are you coming from?
What is your mood?
Where are you going?
Are you rushing, at ease, early, on time?
Have you prepared for what is next?
What is going through your mind?

4. Describe exactly what you did moment-to-moment; as specifically as
possible.
139
5. Were you aware of an objective, goal, or intention? Can you describe
it?

6. What do you remember doing? Can you name any of the actions?

7. How do you remember doing what you did?
Were you aware of it then or are you just becoming aware of it now?
How would you describe the way you produced your actions?

8. Did you encounter the need to change what you did? If so, what
happened to make you change your action?

9. If so, were you aware of any adjustments you made?

10. Can you think of additional settings (at work) where the same practice
of intentionality applies? (Use of objective, action, awareness of given
circumstance, and prior circumstance).

11. Is this common in your work?

12. Are you routinely aware of the objectives you have, the actions you
produce, and the adjustments you make?

13. What is the basis of the changes in your actions?
What is this dependent on?

140
Appendix C

Example Program Curriculum for Young Leaders

Preparation Program Curriculum
I recommend a young leader’s preparation program that would consist of a rigorous
training seminar that would be offered over the span of three to four days.

Program Outline:
Each participant should be given a guide. They are to keep this with them during
the entire seminar. It is meant to serve as a dictionary of all the terms and
definitions of what they will be learning and is easy for them to understand. Once
the terminology is addressed on the first day, the young leaders will begin to apply
real life situations and will practice the acting/leadership approach using the
technique and terms called for in the curriculum guide. Most young leaders should
find the terms, definitions, and curriculum relatively self-explanatory. These are
not overly complicated concepts. The complicated part will be a case study
scenario where the realistic circumstances are involved. The steps to addressing
the circumstance should be easily understood.

Curriculum Example:
Given Circumstances: Answer the following: Where are you?; What are you
doing?; What time is it?; Who is with you?; How do you feel?; How long have you
been where you are now?; What are the stakes?
141
Prior Circumstances: Where are you coming from? What were you just doing?
Who were you with? Does that affect how you feel now?

Intention or Objective: What is it that you WANT out of the situation? Be as
specific as possible.

Actions: What do you do to get what you want? VERBS only please.

Awareness of the SELF: How do you feel? What are you overcoming? Can you
state your mood? Can you state your intention for what is happening right now?

Awareness of OTHER: Can you observe anything about the persons you are with
that can help you determine how they are feeling? Can you see if they are
overcoming anything? Can you describe their mood from your perspective? Can
you describe your perspective of what their intention might be?

Adjustment/Adaptation: State what you are doing right now. Are you ready for the
moment when what you are doing will no longer work and you will have to make a
choice to do something else? Can you think of any alternatives to what you are
doing now? Do you have a plan B? Do you have any creative ideas for discussion,
or brainstorming?

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Moment-to-moment level of communication includes looking specifically at what leaders are thinking and doing during each fragment of a short transaction. Do leaders use intentionality on a strategic broad based level, a daily level, or a moment-to-moment level? If they do, how aware are they of this behavior? Leadership literature represents a large variety of hypotheses regarding what constitutes a good leader and how to become a good leader. There is abundant information on the perceived ingredients necessary to create the best leader possible. This study focuses on communication, in particular, the question as to what effect it has on the practice of leadership. The purpose of this study is to discover the level of intentionality used by individual leaders through exploration of one communication transaction in its moment-to-moment sequence. In order to examine the level of moment-to-moment intentionality used by interviewees, levels of intention are broken into three categories.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Campbell, Denise Renee (author)

Core Title The awareness and practice of intentional leadership

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 01/23/2009

Defense Date 01/20/2009

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Acting,Education,intentionality,leadership,OAI-PMH Harvest,Stanislavski

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Sundt, Melora A. (committee chair), Harrington, Katharine (committee member), Hunt, Felicia (committee member), Scales, Robert (committee member)

Creator Email deniseca@usc.edu,sadavid_42@yahoo.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m1953

Unique identifier UC1271145

Identifier etd-Campbell-2629 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-149558 (legacy record id),usctheses-m1953 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Campbell-2629.pdf

Dmrecord 149558

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Campbell, Denise Renee

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu