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Acknowledgements
This report signifies the end of a long, and rewarding personal and academic journey.
1 would Iike to thank my project participants who took the time to partkipate in the activity referred to as
action research. They spoke fiom the hem and were willing to share their perceptions on distance
leadership in an open and honest manner.
1 would like to thank my colleagues and associates who were patient with me and my time as I removed
myself part-time from work to write. What 1 gave up while writing was my leadership duties. Thank-you
for taking me back.
1 would also like to thank my proofkaciers and those who gave me suggestions to improve the
communication of my research findings.
Special thanks to Dr. LOU Dryden, my sponsor, for allowing me to work with his staff asking some
dificult questions and accepting my research as valid.
1 would like to thank Dr. Tammy Dewar for her encouragement and support through the duration of the
project. Dr. Dewar helped me focus and yet be original, nudged but never pushed, and pmvided me with
the rote model of how to be a distance leader. 1 felt Dr Dewar believed in me and the research 1 had
chosen to take on.
Lastly, thank-you to my tiiends and farnily for their support and encouragement. They allowed me to slip
into my world of research and welcomed me back when 1 had completed. They smiled and listened to my
enthusiastic outbursts on distance leadership and always made me feel successful.
To my husband John, and my daughter Meghan, thank-you for your support and encouragement. During
the residencies, you always made me feel Iike 1 deserved the time away and during the long writing
period you accepted the fact that 1 was there in body, but my mind was somewhere else.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
... ILLUSTRATIONS ...................................................................................................................................... III
CHAPTER ONE ......................................................................................................................................... 1
STUDY BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................... 1
Purpose ............................................................................................................................................... 1
The Organization ...................................................................................................................................... 1
Vision ............................................................................................................................................ 3
............................................................................................................................. Mission Statement 3
Values ............................................................................................................................................... 3
Impact or Significance ............................................................................................................................ 10
Potential Causes of the ProbledOpportunity ......................................................................................... 12
CHAPTER TWO ........................................................................................................................................ 14
L ITERATURE REVIE W ........................................................................................................................... 14
Review of Organizational Documents .................................................................................................... 14
Review of Supporting Literature ..............~.............................................................................................. 16
Leaming Organizations ....................................................................................................................... 16
Distance Leadership .......................................................................................................................... 18
Communication .................................................................................................................................. 20
Leadership and organizational communication ................................................................................. 23
Change ............................................................................................................................................. 24
CHAPTER THREE ....................... .. ........................................................................................................ 27
CONDUCT OF RESEARCH STUDY ......................... .. .......................................................................... 27
Research Methods .................................................................................................................................. -27
Action Research and Qualitative Methodologies ............................................................................... 2 7
Focus Groups and Qualitative Analysis .............................................................................................. 28 . . tnterviewing and Qualitative Analysis ................................................................................................ 29
Study Conduct ......................................................................................................................................... 30
............................................................................................................................... Project Deiiverables 33
i i
Ethics in research .................................................................................................................................... 34
Risks and Benefits ............................................................................................................................... 34
Access to Data ......................................................................................................... ................... 3 5 . Confidentiality ................................................................................................................................... 35
Feedback ............................................................................................................................................. 36
Ethical Considerations ........................................................................................................................ 36
Infonned Consent ......................................................................................................................... 3 6
CHAPTER FOUR ....................................................................................................................................... 37
RESEARCH STUDY RESULTS ...................................... .. ....................................................................... 37
Study Findings ........................................................................................................................................ 37
Introduction to Qualitative Analysis ......................... ,. ................................................................... 37
Distance Leadership: The Leaders' Perspective ............................................................................... 3 8
Distance Leadership; The Constituents' Perspective .......................................................................... 41
................................. Similarities and Differences between Distance Leaders and their Constituents 44
Similarities ...................................................................................................................................... 44
Differences ................................................................................................................................... 46
Other Issues or Perspectives on Distance Leadership ..................................................................... 47
Concluding Summay ............................................................................................................................. 49
CHAPTER F M .................... ... ........................................................................................................... S I
RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS ................................................................................................................... 51
Organization Implernentation ................................................................................................................. 51
Study Recommendations ........................................................................................................................ 52
Future Research ...................................................................................................................................... 55
CHAPTER S I X ........................................................................................................................................... 56
RESEARCH PROJECT - LESSONS LEARNED ....................... .. ........................................................ 56
Personal Project Lessons Leanied ........................................................................................................... 56
................................................................................................................... Major Project Competencies 59
Requ ired Cornpetencies ............................. ,.... .............................................................................. 59
IndividuaVOptional Cornpetencies ..................................................................................................... 61
WORKS CITED ......................................................................................................................................... 63
APPENDlX A - Participant Recnhnent Letter ...................... .... ....................................................... 69
APPENDiX B - Background Information to Focus Group Participants ..................................................... 71
APPENDiX C - Suggested Questions for Focus Groups ........................................................................... 74
................................................................................................. APPENDLX D - Participant Consent Form 76
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 1 . 1 President's Council Structure ............................................................................. 6
Figure 1.2 Applied Health, Technical and Trades Program Division Structure ........................................... 7
Figure 1.3 Academic and Develaprnental Programs Division Structure ...................................................... 8
Figure 1 . 4 Educational Support Services Division Structure ....................................................................... 9
Figure 1.5 tirnits to Gmwth ...................................................................................................................... 12
CHAPTER ONE
STUDY BACKGROUND
Purpose
The purpose of this project is to create a better understanding of the challenges/opportunities presented in
providing leadership at a distance. It is king driven by the opportunity to enhance North Island College
distance leadership practices even fiirther, fiom their current style and approach.
Critical questions that arise fiom this concept of distance leadership challenges are:
M a t changes in leadership practices may be required to effectively enhance leadership when
great distances separate people?
What strategies can be developed and impfemented for improved distance leadership?
The Organization
North Island College opened in May 1975 and in the last twenty-five years has made signifiant changes
to its delivery methods and philosophy. The college was originally administered h m Campbell River.
That year it offered courses in Campbell River and in Courtenay, but low enrolment and cancellation of
classes resulted in the college developing an open learning methodology, where students studied at home
and came in to the college to see tutors and write tests.
In 1976 the Port Alberni region joined the college. Other leaming centres opened in Gold River and Port
Hardy and the number of staff, both full-time and pare-time, began to grow. The college administration
moved to Comox fiom Campbell River in 1977, and that year, the first mobile leaming unit kgan
servicing West coast communities.
In 1978 the college region grew enonnously when the Central Coast school region joined the college and
the Bella Coola Centre was opened. By 1980, some 64 credit courses were available through open
1 earning. The college's reputation in open learning programming was becoming known.
In the early eighties, North Island College saw continued steady increase in enrolments, with pmgrams,
courses, and learning centres added. By 1987-88 the college was experiencing fùll program endment.
In 1990, in response to community demand for more programs and courses, the college made substantive
changes to its administrative structure and systems. The college began a shift to offer more classroom-
based instruction and began negotiations to establish permanent facilities in its communities.
The North Island College region currently covers approximately 80,000 square kilometres and includes
Northem Vancouver Island and the mainland coast h m Desdation Sound to Swindle Island. Its southern
boundary is the fishing village of Bainfield, on the south shore of Barkley Sound, while the northern
boundary is the village of Klemtu, on Swindle Island, which borders the Finlayson Channel.
The college serves a population of approximately 160,000 people. The college manages this huge
geographic region through three major regional campuses: Campbell River Regional Campus, Comox
Valley Regionai Campus, Port Alberni Regional Campus, as well it has Community Learning Centres
distributed throughout the region at: Alert Bay Centre, Bella Coola Centre, Port Hardy, Port Alice Centre,
Port McNeill Centre, Sointula Centre, Cortes Island Centre, Gold River Centre, Tahsis Centre. Ahousat
Centre, Barnfield Centre (presently closed), Tofino Centre, Ucluelet Centre.
Currentty, the on-site leadership for the operation of the ttiree major campuses resides with the Regional
Campus Directors. The Associate Dean of Distri buted Leaming and Community Learning Centres
provide leadership for the operation of the Community Learning Centres. Leadership for the college as a
whole cornes fiom the regional office in the Comox Valley. Program leadership for the three major
campuses and Comrnunity Learning Centres are led h m the regional headquarters in the Comox Valley.
(www.nic. bcca - history)
North Island Cotlege presently holds the following vision, mission and values as the goveming statements
of service to ow leamers, our staff and out community. (North Island College)
Vision
North Island College is a responsive, community focused college which provides comprehensive
education, training and educational leadership within the diverse regions it serves. Teaching and leaming
are central to everything we do. The college is a cornmunity of leamers committed to quality, excellence,
student success and lifelong learning.
Mission Statement
Our mission is:
North Island College's purpose is to ensure leaming through accessible, quality education.
North Island College is dedicated to supporting the economic, social, cultural and environmental
sustainabihty of the college region. It is committed to enhancing the quality of life, citizenship,
community participation and employment opportunities of the residents of its region.
North Island College responds to the leamers in its region first, but may operate provincially, nationally
and intemationally.
Values
Our mission rests on these values:
Access
We are committed to ensuring equitable access to learning opportunities by minimizing barriers for al1
residents of the college region.
Relevance
We are committed to pmviding leaming opportunities that are relevant to the lives and work of the
residents of the college region.
Quaiity
We are comrnitted to continuous impmvement and achieving the highest qudity possible.
Student Success
We are committed to student success. We will provide a challenging and supportive leaming
environment that empowers students to become self-reliant, lifelong leamers capable of integrating what
they learn with how they live and work.
Educational Leridenhip
We are committed to demonstrating educational leadership by creating an organizational culture that
anticipates and responds to community needs, values creative and responsible risk taking and encourages
innovative, strategic thinking.
Responsiveness
We are committed to responding to the changing needs of the residents of the college region by operating
in a creative, flexible, timely and collaborative manner.
barning
Learning is central to everything we do. We are committed to learning and working together as a
community of learners. We mgnize Our collective responsibility for creating a learning and working
environment which supports the ongoing, recurrent, li felong learning needs of its studenîs, staff and
community.
Accountability
We are cornmitted to individual and organizational performance that fosters public trust and community
confidence.
Ethical Practice
We operate ethically and ensure Our practices are open, honest and in the public's best interest.
Positive Environment
We are committed to providing a learning and working environment where individuais are treated with
dignity and respect, governance is shared, and excellence is affirmed.
Ecologicai Sustaina bility
We are committed to sustaining the environmental richness and biological diversity of the college region
as part of the global ecology. Our pmgrams and working environment will reflect that cornmitment.
Cultu rai Sustaina büity
We are committed to respecthg the rich multicultural fabric of our college region that includes First
Nations, rural and urban communities. As such, we provide access to learning opportunities to support
diverse social and cultural values and learning styles.
North Island College has always been a distance learning college, with its geographic challenges. New
technology, changing expectations and mandates, coupled with decreased budgets, and changing
community demands, has heightened the need to provide excellence in distance leadership. In order to
discuss the organizational stnicture of North Island College, and the distance leadership
challenges/opportunities, it is important to define the terms leadership and management as they apply to
the organization.
In this project, North Island College leadership will be defined in the context of king a leaming
organization. Gephart et al (1996) describes a learning organitation as an organization that can change,
adapt and learn quickly, in response to new realities. Examples of how North Island College hm met this
definition many times over its twenty-four year history include:
changing fiom a distance learning institution to a traditional leaming institution;
rushing to aid communities in resource industry shutdown crisis, by providing altemate training and
opportunities;
forming a contract training division in order to be cornpetitive in training and meeting a balanced
budget.
When many educational institutions are stniggling with programming and finances, North Island College
has managed to maintain a balanced budget, while expanding progmming to meet the needs of its
communities.
Leadership, as defined by Senge (1990, p.340) States, "...leaders are designers, stewards, and teachers.
They are responsible for building organizations where people continually expand their capacities to
understand complexity, clariw vision, and improve shared mental models -that is, they are responsible
for leaming." Kouzes and Posner (1 995, p. 30) go one step M e r to describe leadership as a "study in
relationships." The relationship between people in an organization includes qualities related to
behaviours, attitudes, sharing and excellence that cornes h m the heart of the individual, not their
position.
This research project attempted to get to the hearts of North Island College employees to find out if they
believe they are k i n g lead, as stated, when they are at a distance fiom their leaders. It also looked at the
leaders and asked if they could provide this type of leadership to distance campuses, comrnunities and
staff. Are there opportunities to display leadership at a distance at North Island College?
By contrast, management at North Island College as defined by Kouzes and Posner ( 1995, p. 36), "is
about 'handling' things, about maintaining order, about organization and control." Hickman (1990, p. 7)
sees the manager, "...as the person who brings the thoughts of the mind to bear on daily organizational
problems." The manager solves problems of organizational operations.
Leaders at North Island College have varying degrees of management and leadership responsibilities
within ttieir positions. To clarify these two terms, consider Hickrnan's distinction. Hickman (1990, p.2)
sees leadership functions as visionary, empathetic, and flexible and management functions as reasonable,
practical and decisive. He encourages accepting and encouraging the differences between the two terms,
as both are necessary in any organization.
This project is about challenges to distance leadership; therefore challenges to distance management will
not be of major consideration. When the definitions of leadership and management became blurred
during this research project, those involved used the original definitions to assist in clariwing
management and leadership issues.
In order to discuss distance leadership challengedopportunities w ithin North Island Col lege, it is
important to understand its present organizational structure. The Council Structure is shown in figure 1
below.
NORTH ISLAND COLLEGE Organizational Structure
Figure 1. I President's Council Structure
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oqm asoqi 01 A 1 l e 3 g d s pm qoym s SE a3allo~ a41 01 d!qsiapeq ap!~aid 01 s! aloi s ! ~ 'Aa1[e~ xouiof)
a q u! syow oqm '(033) ' J ~ J J O a ~ y n w x 3 j 3 f . q ~ JO ~ u a p ! s q ail, Aq p a l s! aSal103 puelsj WON
8
Reporting to the Dean of Applies Health, Technical and Trades Progtams is the Associate Dean of
Applied Prograrns, Health and Careers, the Associate Dean of Technology and Trades Prograrns and the
Manager of Industrial Mobile training. Reporting to these people are coordinators, department chairs and
administrative assistants who also have leadership roles but the managefial roles are more extensive at
this level.
NORTH ISLAND COLLEGE Academic & Developmental Programs Division
Ogsnizational Structure
Figure 1.3 Academic and Developmental Programs Division Structure
Reporting to the Dean of Academic and Developmental Programs is the Associate Dean of
Developmental Programs, Aboriginal and International Education, and the Associate Dean of Academic
and Fine Arts Programs. Reporting to these people are coordinators, department chairs and administrative
assistants.
NORTH ISLAND COLCEGE Educational Support Services Division
Olarpnhationol Structum
Figure I . 4 Educational Support Services Division Structure
Reporting to the Vice President of Educational Support Services is the Associate Dean of Community
Learning Centres, the Associate Dean of Instructional Resources and Support, the Associate Dean of
Student Services/Regisbat and the Campus Directors for Port Alberni, Campbell River and the Comox
Valley. Reporting to these people are coordinators, department chairs and administrative assistants.
With the recent change in administration in 1997, and the restructuring in 1998, this was an appropnate
tirne to ask North Island College, what educational leadership challengedopportunities these changes
present to leadership, and to look at recommendations to enhance leadership.
There are many types of leadership at North Island College. Positional leadership of vision, values, goals
and our funire are largely in the hands of the president who is supported by his management team.
Positional and functional leadership of new program initiatives is largely in the hands of the deans and
associate deans. Most fiinctional leadership, of specific programs is largely in the hands of coordinators
and department chairs.
Afthough it appears to be a linear leadership pmess, leadership is actually a spiral that moves both up
and down. This spiral leadership environment is what makes North Island College a leaming
organization.
Yolk (1998, p. 454) describes a learning organization as a place where al1 people in the organization are
encouraged to participate and share ideas in order to improve the organization. At North Island College
leadership is a two way process where al1 employees, are encouraged to nurtures ideas and change. For
example, in 1999, when the college undertmk the process of re-writing the mission, vision and end
statements, al1 employees were encouraged to take part in the process. Board members, administrators,
facul ty and support staff led focus groups. The leadership displayed during this process was inspirational.
An example of distance leadership challenges occurred in the winter of 1998199 in a program where
training outcornes were not clearly articulated between the program facil itator, supervisor and the
sponsor. The faciiitator had 'personal beliefs' about what was best for students leaving the program but
these beliefs did not match the sponsor's mandate conceming where students should be directed at the end
of the program. The communication between sponsor, supervisor (leader) and facilitator was unclear
because a common undetstanding or vision had not been clearly articulated. This scenario was not sirnply
a verbal miscornmunication of what had to be done (management) but a philosophical miscommunication
of vision (leadership). It required a number of face-to-face meetings with the facilitator, the leader and
the sponsor to articulate the outcome 'vision' and come to clear undetstanding. How can his type of
scenario be avoided in the future?
By investing time in identifying the challenges to distance leadership, North Island College has the
opportunity to look at what people perceive to be the issues and plan for change if necessary. This project
was open to the possibilities that people will see no major challenges or people may see many major
challenges. If there are no major chal!enges it is an opportunity to celebrate. If change in distance
leadership practices appears to be necessary, North Island College can plan change activities to meet the
needs of the people. The ultimate benefit to North Island College is a heightened awareness of the issues
of distance leadership for those who lead at al1 levels.
Impact or Significance
Organizations often assign leadership responsibiiities to employees, or assume employees will understand
leadership roles without giving consideration to how people perceive and understand leadership.
Leadership is about getting to the hearts of the people (Bender, 1997). For example, at North Island
College, department chairs are instructors who volunteer to take on the coordination of their departrnenîs,
without leadership training, let alone distance leadership training. Employees receiving leadership are
11
often unclear when to ask for leadership and when to ask for management, especially when the leadership
is coming fiom a distance. The effectiveness of leadership, or the reaction to leadership, are key issues in
the health and growth of an organization.
No& Island College is growing to meet the needs of northem Vancouver Island, and leadership will be
an important factor in this growth. All stakeholders need to share the vision towards which the college is
moviiig. This research project asked employees for their perceptions of distance leadership practices and
these perceptions could be the building blocks for stronger and healthier leadership practices. There is
Iittle opportunity for employees at North Island College to discuss leadership practices. Meetings usually
deal with management concems. The short-term value of this research was, in part, in the sharing of
information, on an issue many employees value, but can't control.
There was also value in the long-tenn contribution to the organization in providing the institution with
knowledge that can be used to better prepare leaders to understand how distance affects leadership
pract ice.
With a more centralized administration of Community Learning Centres, the need to pmvide educational
leadership in remote areas is increasing. People are expected to work, manage and lead in areas far
removed fiom their supervisors and the "leadership" of the organization. North Island College will need
to give greater consideration to issues such as helping Community Learning Cenîres see the 'big' picture.
Consideration to small communities and the 'unique' cultural, social, personal histories and sensitivities is
also crucial. So often we manage those at a distance, but do we actually provide leadership?
The information obtained h m this study will enable North Island College to plan for the challenges
outlined and address leadership barriers with new insight. Present leadership styles, and much of the
literature and philosophy appears to be based on organizational leadership that occurs when people can
meet regularly, process information through open discussion and communicate face-to-face. Bennis,
(1 997, p.72) provides the example of PARC, VaIo Alto Research Centre) and how their success was
based on the idea that "meetings were a reflection of Taylor's undetstanding of the dynamics of
extraordinary groups." North Island College distance employees cannot meet regularly to develop
extraordinary groups and in-person leadership.
What will be the impact on North Island College and the Community Leaming Centres if we do not arrive
at an understanding of our distance leadership challenges? It is dificult to predict the füture, but some
potential areas to watch may include:
12
Community Leaming Centres accessing other training or delivery providers, if North Island College
is not k i n g responsive to the needs of the community;
Dissatisfied staff resulting in stress leaves, change in staff, a perceived lack of direction, and
discontent;
Lack of a shared vision and hence Community Learning Centres doing more of 'their own thing' and;
An inability to successtùlly implement changes and aIign behind a common direction.
Potential Causes of the ProblemlOpportunity
Kotter (1996) believes organizations such as North Island College ofien go through organizational,
structural and fùnctional changes without investing the tinte required to assist people to adjust to that
change. Technology, decreasing budgets, an increased community voice, and rapid change has affecteci
how we lead at a distance. Technology has made communication easier and faster, but it has not
addressed the issue of how to bring people h m a distance closer to a shared vision. Decreasing budgets
has stifled the ability of distance wmmuiiity staff to travel for face-to-face meetings and hence the
personal and human aspect of teams and leadership has changed. Communities are in economic crisis
dernanding more services and educational support to help them find new work opportunities. When in
crisis, leadership can reach to the hearts and the souk of people. Rapid change requires a leader who can
see the big picture and reassure others that the future is bright. (Figure 1.5)
Limits to Growth Challenges of Distance Leadership at North Island College
--
Figure 1 -5 Limits to Growth
13
At North Island College, our Community Leming Centres have al1 recently obtained access to a high
technology communication system referred to as Provincial ieaming Network or PLNet. This system has
opened up these Community Leaming Centres to e-mail and distance education via the Intemet, and
basicatly exposed these communities to learning opportunities around the world. North Island College
can certainly manage the system and the learning but it is important to bring the staff and the community
together and share the vision of what this means for education and training.
To meet out educational demands, North Island College must operate eficiently. Distance leadership in
communities such as Gold River, which just experienced the miIl shutdown and the loss of hundreds of
jobs, requires providing training support to the people in this community. This leadership must be
responsive, caring and timely. If our leadership is not in tune with community needs, North Island
College will lose the opportunity to make a diffetence in Community Learning Centre communities
experiencing crisis.
North Island College has made a decision to lead at a distance. In the fall of 1998, the Regional
Director's position was not filled in Port Hardy, and a new Associate Dean of Distributeâ Learning and
Comrnunity Leaming Centres was hired to work out of the Comox Valley. The Associate Deans and
Deans of the college are al1 positioned out of either the Comox Valley or Campbell River campuses. By
pIacing the majority of high leadership positions in these centralized locations, it appears distance
leadership at North Island College is our fiiture, and we must address the issues that scenario presents.
CNAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVlEW
Review of Organizational Documents
On March 25,1998 the vice ptesident of North Island College delivered a proposal for the provision of
education services to remote Community Leaming Centres. The paper States, "Currently and in the
foreseeable future our cornmunities are expetiencing econornic restnicturing which requires whole town
populations to rethink their ernployment possibilities. They are looking to the college to help them retrain
for the new economy." (T. Won, unpublished personal communication, Organization of and Service to
Smaller Centres, 1998) With Iimited resources, North Island College was having dificulty meeting
Community Leaming Centres expectations. In order to meet their expectations, Won suggested North
Island College would have to strengthen the distributed leaming mode of delivery.
In an attempt to address this issue, North Island CoIlege began to examine their models of educational
delivery. In a discussion paper (P- Moms, unpublished petsonal communication, A Report on the Present
and Future of Community Learning Centres in North Island College, 1998) a fundamental premise was
presented. North Island College is one college, but it deals with two populations. One population
includes the three major carnpuses of Campfxll River, Port Alberni and the Comox Valley. The second
population includes al1 the srnaller Community Leaming Centres. The disparity between these two
populations was so great that a new mode1 of management and leadership was needed for the Community
Learning Centres.
The discussion paper recognized the unique issues of Community Leaniing Centres and as a result
concluded that there was no coordinated approach to develop distributed leaming methodologies. It was
15
proposed that a new position be deveioped which would be responsible for al1 distributed leaming
services, including the development and implernentation of policies and procedures related to distributed
learning.
This position would be administrative1 y respnsible for al1 small centres including Port Hardy but would
be situated in the administrative centre of the Comox Valley. Therefore, distance leadership skills were
considered to be crucial.
In August 1998, the president of North Island College prepared and delivered a document to the entire
college comm unity. This document, (L. Dryden, unpublished, personal communication, Vision: Towards
2002 & Beyond, 199%) provided a vision of the organization for the next five-year period. A major aspect
of the vision for the college included moving h m a small institution to a medium sized institution of
3000 or more fbll-time equivalent students. (FTE's).
In order to accompiish this move, the vision required a number of significant steps forward. These
included the following:
The college king the first educatjonal choice for residents of Northern Vancouver Island and the
Central Coast;
The acknowledgement by Aboriginal people as king partnets in education;
In tenns of innovation, North island College would need to be recognized as a provincial, national
and international leader in distributed learning. This would need to be demonstrated in our smaller
Community Learning Centres and;
Our final step would be to become the trainer of first choice by business, industry, govemment and
service agencies.
These steps, individually and/or coltectively, would buiId recognition for North Island College as an
exemplary leaming organization.
The discussion papers and their recommendations on the Community Leaming Centres, along with the
vision document presented by the president, al1 pointed towards a change in how we lead our distance
Community Leaming Centres. The success of this vision and o w distance leadership potential would
depend on three factors. These factors were %e development of a new strategic plan, continued success
with the advocacy strategy and the development of an education plan." (L. Dryden, unpublished personal
communication, Vision: Towards 2002 & Beyond, 1998) These initiatives would require exemplary
leadership fiom al1 areas.
Review of Supporting Literature
This literature review explores the relationship between learning organizations, leadership, change, and
communicatiodtrust, as they relation to distant leadership. Exploration of these topics will build a
foundation of understanding required to address the opportunities of distance leadership in govemment
and education today, especially as it will relate to North Island College and our unique issues.
Learning Oiganizations
Peter Senge has been descriid as the leader who developed the concept of leaming organizations, in a
manner leaders and organizations could understand and conceptualize. Senge (1 990, p. 14) describes a
learning organization as "an organization that is continually expanding its capacity to create its fûture."
Authors such as Goh (1998), Barker and Carnatata (1998), Cam (1997), and others have taken Senge's
definition and used words such as cornmitment, dedication, empowerment, teamwork, and cooperation to
help provide a fiamework for understanding the depth of what a learning organization really is. Rather
than consider a definition of a learning organization, Gephart et al (1996, p.34) consider the
characteristics of a learning organization in terms of the learning culture, the spirit of flexibility and
experimentation, king "people focused", supporting continuous learning, sharing knowledge and critical
thinking. These characteristics represent an attitude and add value to a difficult to define concept.
In order to be called a tnie learning organization, Senge (1990) believes the organization must demand a
new view of leadership where leaders are designers, stewards and teachers. Goh ( t 998, p. 15) describes
th is new leadership as s h d leadership, where leaders faci litate change, prov ide employees w ith
feedback, involve others in decision making and are willing to accept criticism.
Waldersee (1997, p. 262) describes outstanding leaders of learning organizations as having a broad vision
but as also king able to think very small. These leaders have the ability to providc the vision, and the
skill to delve into the hearts of the people. Gephart et al (1996) believes that leadership in learning
organizations does not belong to any one individual but that the people are empowered to lead fiom
whatever position they hold.
If learn ing organizations propose to include al1 employees in the shared leadership of the organization,
then team learning is essential to any tme learning organization. We tend to think of learning as an
17
individual phenomenon but Senge (1990) believes it is time to redefine learning to include the leaming
that occurs in groups or in t m s .
Bradford and Cohen (1 998) believe teams are very different fiom groups. They describe p u p members
as king focused on representing the areas for which they are held accountable and therefore are less
likely to be fiilly engaged in collaborative active problem solving. Teams on the other hand are described
as marking their success by the quality of their decisions. Leadership is more generally shared in tearns.
A true learning organization requires team learning. Bradford and Cohen (1998) strongly support the
idea that teams are the best place for individual and collective learning to occur. Issacson and Barnburg
(1992) add their support to the concepts of teams in learning organizations by describing team leaming as
being built on the disciplines of personal mastery and shared vision. These authors support the idea of
team Iearning k ing both an individual and a collective learning opportunity.
Gephart et al (1 996) describes culture as the glue that holds a learning organization together. An
organization with an open trusting culture, where there is no blame, creates an opportunity for people to
take risks and express their views. Yukl(1998, p. 330-33 1) lists five primary mechanisms to influence
culture. niese are:
Attention;
Reactions to crises;
Role modeling;
Allocation of rewards and;
Criteria for selection and dismissal
The five secondary mechanisms for embedding and reinforcing culture are:
Design of systems and procedures;
Design of organizational structure;
Design of facilities;
Stories, legends, and myths and;
Formal statements.
This linear approach is incongruent with the philosophy of leaming organizations and the personal
relationship required between al1 organizational members. Senge's definition of learning organizations
requires ". . .-an organization that is continually expanding its capacity to create its future." (1 990, p. 14).
When expanding capacity, an organization must consider the entire culture, including al1 of Yukl's
primary and secondary mechanisms, at al1 times.
Senge, in an interview with Albernathy (l999), sees learning organizations and virtual work as a real
problem organizations will have to face in the future. Senge believes no one really understands the
implications of virtual work and distributed teams on the capacity to leam.
Cohen (1998) moves us one step beyond the learning organization to what he refers to as the teaching
organization. He betieves a learning organization where everyone acquires new knowledge and skills is
only step one. Step two is when ". ..leaders see it as their responsibility to teach." (p. 2) Teaching
demonstrates a mastery of ski1ls and techniques and takes an organization and its leadership to the next
level. If this is tme, learning organuations should not have too much trouble becoming teaching
organizations because it has often k e n heard said, by parents and educators, that the best teachers
become adminisirators and hopefully leaders.
Distance Leadership
'Leadership' is a term that has k e n used in a variety of contexts. For this reason, it is necessuy to
provide a reference point to ensure readers share a common understanding of leadership, as used in this
proposal. Authors such as Covey (1 989), Senge (1 990) and Yukl ( 199%) al l support a common theme
related to leadership. They believe true leadership moves those it touches one step beyond the daily
operations of an organization, and neaches the hearîs and souls of the people.
The delivery of distance leadership is widely talked about by today's organizations and leaders. Terms
used to descri be distance leadership today inc lude, virtual leadership, (Al forci, 1 999) remote leadership,
(McDerrnott et al, 1999) and isolation leadership (Kostner, 1994). Common to these terms, is the concept
that technology links people king led at a distance.
Alford (1 999) points out that although technology is the means, distance leadership is still very much a
hurnan event. Distance leadership requires preserving the integrity of the organization, as well as
preserving the cornmitment and ownership of the organization by the people. Distance leadership
requires keeping the organization and the people always "in sight."
As far back in histoty as Lao-Tm, leadership has been described as an art, or a skill that shoutd benefit
the followers (Senge, 1990). Marino (1999) and Gordon (1955) describe leadership as a process of
interaction, where the decisions of the leader influence the behaviours of the group. Although Our
understanding of leadership has evolved, what has remained steady throughout history is the
understanding that people are the key to leadership success.
Kostner (1994), in her book V i a l Leadership, takes us back to the days of King Arthur and Camelot,
and reminds us that distance leadership is really not a concept al1 that new. In her story, Kostner finds
King Arthur, talking to Jim, a Company leadedmanager. King Arthur identifies the three major leadership
enernies he faced during his reign over Camelot. They were geography, isolation and history. Geography
refers to the physical distance between leader and knight, and requires "rrutrusting unity" (p.34). Isolation
kept the team fiom knowing one another and requires "sting relationships" (p.34). History teaches
individuals to be independent workers and thinkers and requires ''trusting shared friture." (p.35) In this
story, the common theme required to provide leadership is trust.
Trust, as a leadership quality, is a murring theme in much of the distance ieadership Iiterature. Bird
(1999), Barrier (1999), and Kostner (1994) sîated that trust was a quality leaders e m e d by sharing the
future, developing unity and relationships and, most importantly, it came fiom the people. A leadership
built on trust is a responsibility, not a privilege we can take for granted, because it is a gift to a leader
fiom the people. O'TooIe (1996) and Senge (1990) believe tmst motivates people. A leader motivates to
provide optimum satisfaction to both the employer and the employee.
In distance leadership, there appear to be two forces working against one another that affect trust.
Wheatley and Kellner-Rogers (l998a, p. 1) describes these two forces as an individual's need to be fke,
and an individual's need to be part of relationships. When we provide leadership to geographically
distant communities, we must achieve these two individual needs in our own creative ways. Alford
(1999, p.35) suggests that when distance and virtual work is experienced, it must be done in such a way as
to preserve wholeness and congruity, as well as comrnitrnent and ownership. Preserving organizational
wholeness and congruity allows people to be C O M ~ C ~ ~ to the team, and preserving personal commitment
and ownership allows people to be individuals.
The relationship with the organization is part of a system and Wheatley and Kellner-Rogers (1 998a)
believes we seek a system to find the relationship. The system bnngs together individualism and
relationships. Developing these relationships is a speciai challenge for distance leaders. Harris (1998)
suggests that as technology advances, the employee-employer relationship must change and that will
require creativity, ingenuity and thinking.
Gregory (1996) suggests that distance leadership is more than just providing information and
administrative functions but what is truly important is the way this information is delivered. Delivery of
information should provide clarity and pwpose on how we plan to co-exist as an organization, given our
geographical challenges. Wheatley and Kellner-Rogers (1 998% p. 5) clearly articulates how technology
changes a relationship and the way information is delivered when she says, "We can tum-off our
cornputers the moment we are confionted with the discomfort of diversity."
Distance leadership is about letting go of power. Alford (1999, p. 37) quotes Stratton, the President and
CE0 of his Company, as saying, "They, (meaning leaders), need to let go of the power of position and
physical presence, by which they have traditionally monitored and influenced others." If individual
employees stmggle with distance leadership, Kellner-Rogers (1998) suggests they will take their
creativity and energy and use it outside of the workplace. Today's leaders want that energy in the
workpface and as part of a work team.
Distance leadership is dependent upon sharing a common vision. Kouzes and Posner (1995) believe al1
leadership requires people to have a shared vision. From this shared vision people will accept change
and be mobilized to lead and manage their own lives. When a vision is clear, distance is no longer a
negative factor. Alford (1999), in his description of a Company that went virtual, suggests that leaders are
challenged to rely on the power of a shared vision. Work involves issues of identity and belonging and
these two qualities can only be dealt with if leadership allows individuais to be part of the vision.
Shared vision will bnng together virtual tearns. Lipnack and Starnps (1999) looked at virtual tearns and
recognized that at some point various members of the team had a role to play in the team process. In
distance leadership, the leadership for the organization can corne h m on top but it can also corne h m
within each community team, where every employee carries a leadership role depending on the task.
Solomon (1998) believes that in order to create this virtual team, al1 members must have clear
expectations, defmed responsibilities and an appreciation of cultural differences.
Wheattey and Kellner-Rogers (1998a, p. 5) believe "The great potentid of a world connected
electronically is king used to create stronger boundaries that keep us isolated fiom each other." They
believe that, in distance leadership, it is easier to seek those we feel comfortable with and communicate
less with those who challenge us. Wheatley and Kellner-Rogers (1998a) refer to this as the paradox of
fieedom and community. At North Island College, 1 believe Wheatley and Kellner-Rogers would ask us
if we, "lack clarity about why we are together?" "What is out link to each other?" E k t i v e leadership
practices rnay well be this link.
Communication
Communication as described by Sewell-Rutter (1999) is, 'Wie lifeblood that courses through the veins of
an organization." Bender (1997) States that, "Communication is the lifeblood of today's society." It is
21
interesting that both authors use the term "lifeblood" to describe the depth of importance communication
has on people and organizations. It impiies communication is essential to Iife.
Orlikoff and Totten (1 999) build on the depth of communication when they say, "open, honest
communication is a cornerstone of building and maintaining trust." Bird (1999) links trust and
communication when he states, ccT~st is built through consistent communication. Without trust, people
may toe the Party line, but their motivation will be limited." Kanter (1999), supports these beliefs in
communication when he suggests it is about;
. . . communicating an aspiration. It's not just a pic- of what could be; it is
an appea1 to our better selves, a cal1 to become something more. It reminds us
that the future does not just descend like a stage set; we constnict the future
from our own history, desires, and decisions.
Bender ( 1997 p. 16 1) summarizes this concept clearly when he states;
G d communication, Iike leadership, must come fkom within. It is m t e d in
knowing our values, clariQing our vision, and expressing our passion. It comes
fiom self-reflection, self-acceptance and self worth. This inner process must
occur before a leader can truly express him or herself to the outer world.
Communication has a sincere role to play in the development o f organizations and the people who work
in those organizations. These authors emphasize the beiief that organizational communication is holistic
in that it focuses on process and behaviour, and these elements build an effective organizationai culture.
Schonfelder ( 1 998) believes such a culture promotes "an organization-wide proactive exchange of
knowledge, ideas and opinions." This basic belief in organizational culture supports the concept that
communication is essential to learning organizations and includes trust, commitrnent and perceived
organizational support. (Barker and Camarata, 1998) Barker and Camarata (1 998) further support the
nurturing of communication when they state, "'organizational and interpersonal interaction should move
away fiom a mainly economic perspective to a more relation-based foundation, which is particularly
relevant to an environment marked by instability and complexity."
Anastasiou (1 998), states the most successful forms of employee communication are face-to-face,
fiequent and informai. Howard (1998) believes organizations should "make face-to-face communication
the backbone" of intemal communication sîrategies. "To date, nobody has come up with anything better
than people talking and listening to each other. It's the cheapest, fastest, most personal and most
interactive medium we've got." Larkin and Larkin ( 1996) believe the best way to communicate is face-
to-face and tiuough fiont line supervisors. This appmach appears to be logical, and when considering the
barriers of distance communication, it appears to be a practicai approach. Larkin and Larkin (1996) also
support the concept of communicating only facts and not communicating values. They state,
"Employees will infer what you value k m your behaviow. Talking about values signals that fiaud is
near." These bdiefs are contrary to the beliefs of earlier authors who base solid communication on
values, vision and passion, and communication as the lifeblood of an organization and society.
When studying organizational communication it is important to consider how communication has
changed in the last decade and how people in organizations have had to adjust. Anastasiou (1998) states,
'More communication does not necessarily mean better communication." Bender ( 1997, p. 1 59)
identifies seven ways in which communication has changed and these changes have allowed more
communication to occur, in our global work places.
1. There is more information now than even before - and there is even more to come,
2. There is more spoken communication than ever before.
3. There is more e-mail, Internet, and Intranet.
4. We are becoming less fonnal.
5. We are doing more for ourselves.
6. We are more visual and multimedia-oriented.
7. We want to hear about more "personal experiences."
Bender's first three points are quantitative measures of communication. They support the idea that there
is more communication and there is more opportunity for communication. Bender's 1st four points
support the beliefs of those who feel communication has become more persona1 and dependent on the
individual. Gordon (1999) states, " As we move to more of a decentralized style of organization,
communication has become even more critical." Gordon's statement supports both the quantitative as
well as the qualitative aspects of communication in today's organization as listed by Bender.
Technology has had a significant impact on communication over the p s t five years. Hersher ( 1999)
emphasized that "Reaping technology's rewards requires strong topdown leadership that works in
tandem with an effective communication plan.. . ."
Kanter (1999) suggests that what really counts in communication with new technology is not whether
people use the technology but rather that "people can quickly absorb the impact of information and
respond to opportunit.." The technology is the tool to what is still the essential elemenî, that of
communication.
Leadership and organizational communication
Chambers (1999), looks at leadership as a constant, not wmething driven by events or occurrences of the
moment. He felt there were six agencies of leadership that gave the ability to influence others and guide
them into tomorrow. Communication was one of these agencies. Chambers felt that tmly effective
leaders and communicators were, "'defineci by the quality and depth of the information they communicate.
not just the possession of a motivational delivery style." This included communicaîing information eatly
and ofien and to as rnany people as possible. Chambers observations of leadership and communication
are supported by Nelton (1995), who felt the one goal communication should have is improving
performance. Nelton sees the new challenges and the communication problems as king:
Increased globalization
Increased diversity of the workforce, and
Far-flung operations
In order to meet these challenges, and improve communication Nelton suggests that leaders:
Appeal to the interest of the receiver
Listen in new ways
Aim for effective discussion
Invite criticism
Usehumour
Report back
Be generous with information
Communication, leadership, technology, and al1 the other tenns used to describe organktional fùnctions
are essential, but there is still a very basic premise behind it alI. "Communication actualiy begins with
listening. Even when we speak, we listen to our own voices." (Chatte jee, 1998) Chatterjee emphasizes
this when she points out that true leaders must first establish communication with themselves before they
can listen and communicate with others. Once the higher Ievels of tistening and communication have
been achieved, "conscious leaders have the ability to Iisten simultaneously to three dimensions of
language - the factual, the intentional, and the transfomational." (p. 1 13)
24
Deep listening facilitates authentic communication. "Leaders learn to communicate w ith a consciousness
that their words are capable of changing the destinies of the people with whom they are communicating."
(Chattejee) Effective communication is about people and relationships and this lads us right back to
communication king the "li feblood of today 's society and today 's organizations.
Change
"Change is what happens when you mix creativity and energy."
Danny Cox and John Hoover (1 992)
"Leaders ignite change by serving as visible role models of the process."
Harari Oren ( 1 999)
"Organizational change is a dance, not a forced march."
Margaret Wheat ley ( 1 997)
Change is about organizational intelligence. Organizational intelligence as defined by Wheatley and
Kellner-Rogers ( I W8b, p.8), is an organization's ability to respond to change creatively, quickly and with
good sense. An organization must be aware of who they are, and what they are able to do.
Organizational intelligence is measurable. It is measured by Iooking at actions and the results of those
actions over time.
Change may not always bnng about the results an organization expects, but as Kellner-Rogers (1998,
p. 1 8) points out, it will bring about unintended consequences. At North Island College, advances in
technoIogy are an example of a change instmment, and this change instrument has triggered new
consequences. One of those consequences is the need to look at the challenges and opportunities
technology has provided for distance leadership.
Change is a process that can be îriggered fiom a number of sources. Cox and Hoover (1992) believe
change is usually triggered by crisis, and if change is unmanaged it will create a crisis. In the case of
North Island College, technological change was welcomed by administration and most employees, and
not triggered by a crisis. Yet leadership of that change could create a crisis, if the opportunities and
challenges are not identified and addressed. For Kanter (1999, p.16) the crisis lies in îhe ability of people
to absorb the huge influx of information technology is capable of providing. She wams us that, "What
counts is not whether everybody uses e-mail but whether people quickly absorb the impact of information
and the response to opportuniS."
The success and failure of change is widely documented in the automobile manufacturing industry. The
Ford Motor Company is an excellent example of a Company that has welcomed change and used change
to remain competitive and successfùl. In an interview by Wetlaufer (1999), with a representative fiom the
Ford Motor Company, the Ford representative described how it used the strategy of employees teaching
each other to successfûlly launch change in their organization.
This example within Ford Motofs links back to the learning organization verses teaching organization
idea presented by Cohen (1998). He believes that the next step in a leaming organization is to become a
teaching organization and Ford has done just that. When faced with change, employees teach each other
to share the vision and cope with the change. This concept of sharing knowledge increases credibility,
morale and builds a sdid change team. In a learning organization such as North Island Colfege, teaching
would appear to be a iogical change instrument.
What is driving change in education? Miller (1997) quotes from the book, The End of Work, by Jeremy
Rifkin (1995). "The new information and communication technologies have both increased the volume
and accelerated the flow of activity at every level of society. The compression of time requires quicker
responses and faster decision making to remain competitive." This fast flow of information is especially
true in education and at North Island College. The Provincial Learning Network or PLNet is now
accessible in al1 North Island College Community Learning Centres and has opened a whole new avenue
for potential leaming. This will require North Island College to ensure the introduction and integration of
that knowledge into comrnunities for the benefit of society and the economy (Linderstein, 1995).
Technology has created the opportunity for this paradigrn shifi. Technology allows North Island College
to be more flexible and responsive to the needs of the students in an economically responsive manner.
Miller (1 997, p.3 19) sees technology as opening up a whole new set of operating principles on education.
He sees five characteristics of technological change. They are:
1. Increased lifelong supporting leamers.
2. Leamer centred learning due to control over time, place and pace of study.
3. Formai and infonnal teams and study groups at a distance.
4. lncreased use of original data and tesources due to individualized work.
5 . Greater emphasis on distance education opportunities must deliver content and still provide
al1 the student services lifelong leamers require.
26
These characteristics can also be described as opportunities created by technology or needs driving
technological change. They represent the need for a major change in thinking in educational institutions.
How can we help people in organizations lead and manage change? Wheatley and Kellner-Rogers
( 1 998a) suggest we find out how best to get employees to contribute to leaming. How do we denonstrate
trust and respect for employees? in many instances, ". . . fear of failure creates a fear of leaming, which
parallels a fear of change and the need to cling to the present." (Oren, 1999. p.35) M e n change is
driven fiom the top down, or by technology, people do not feel included, confident or inspirai. What was
known is now unknown and the fear in our ability to be able to make the change increases.
Dmcker (1095) believes that gradual change cannot work, but suggests using teams to support change and
support people. m e r s such as Cox and Hoover (1 992) believe planning and gradua1 change is crucial in
allowing the time needed to change personal thoughts and beliefs. They refer to this more gradual
process in tenns of "no surprises" and "thinking things through thomughly" (p. 183). The idea o f a total
break with the past can increase the fear of change for many people.
How do some leaders effect change? O'Toole (1996) believes that to effect tme change, a person must
become a leader of leaders. This means that the leader inspires others to lead in changing and
tram f om ing the vision. This involves a leader who can change oneself, and an attitude towards people,
process and philosophy.
Kotter (1 996) supports this claim when he suggests that in an environment of constant change, even
extremely talented individuals will not have the time or expertise to communicate atl the important
decisions. Eff'ective leaders will need a tearn to plan and deliver change. This concept is especially tnie at
North Island College where people carry varying degrees of leadership responsibility. Leadership of
change is not situational, or positional, but involves a cast of players, spread over great distances.
A leader in a world of constant change must be adaptable. Adapting implies being open, accepting and
vigilant. It is wise to remember that after change there will be no pend of calm. (Apps, 1994)
CHAPTER THREE
CONDUCT OF RESEARCH STUDY
Research Methods
Action Research and Qualitative Methodologies
In leadership research, qualitative studies remain relatively rare. They are time
intensive and complex. At the same tirne, they can be the richest of studies, oflen
illuminating in radically new ways phenornena as complex as leadership. They are
responsible for paradigm shifts, insights into the role of context, and longitudinal
perspectives that other methods often faii to capture. Yet despite these advantages,
the contribution of qualitative methods to leadership research remains remarkabl y
Iimited. (Conger, 1W8. p. 107)
Kemmis and McTaggart (1998) describe action research as a spiral of activity involving fout stages. The
stages are plan, act, observe and reflect. These four stages require the tesearcher to continually rethink
hisher thoughts and interpretations, make revisions, and otten change direction before moving ahead. As
Stringer (1996, p. 17) points out, "action research is not a neat, orderly activity that allows participants to
proceed step by step to the end of a pmcess." It is common for researchers to revise, revisit, repeat, and
rethink the process constantly.
The purpose of this action research project is to investigate and bring forward information and knowledge
that will assist North Island College to address some significant issues related to distance leadership.
28
The research involves North Island College employees who are directly affecteci by the
challenges/opportunities of distance leadership. The analysis and evaluation of the research data will
result in recommendations king made to North Island College by participants in the study, on how to
support distance leaders to achieve the highest standards of professional excellence, as they strive to
provide high quality distance leadership. (Dickson, 1999, p. 1-5)
In this research project, qualitative information will be collecteci and analyzed using action research
rnethodology. As Conger (1998, p. 107) points out, qualitative research is cntical to any analysis of
leadership but he also reminds us that:
It is a pmdox given that qualitative research is, in reality, the methodology of
choice for topics as contextually rich as leadership. The paradigm where
qualitative methodology is best suited to the early phases of an investigation has
dominated researchers' thinking. In reality, qualitative research must play an
important role no matter what stage of research of leadership topics.
Two action research methods commonly used are focus groups and one-on-one interviews and the
researcher will use both these methodologies.
Focus Groups and Qualitative Analpis
When using focus groups for qualitative research, the researcher is like a detective looking for trends and
patterns that oçcur across and between the various groups sîudied. Kmeger (1994, p. 156) believes the
analysis of focus group data begins with assembling the raw data and materials and getting an overview
or total picture of the entire process. The mearcher's role in the analysis is made up of a continuum with
raw data on one extreme and interpretative comments on the other. Besides the actual words spoken, the
researcher must also consider words, tone, context, nonverbal clues, intemal consistency, fkequency,
extensiveness, intensity, specificity of responses and big picture ideas. in the analysis of focus groups,
data reduction strategies are essential.
Focudvisioning groups as a qualitative action research methodology allow the researcher, '30 see
reactions, to witness enthusiasm, confusion or indifference and allows for brainstorming among
participants." (Palmerino, 1999, p. H35) This interaction with participants allows the researcher to be
involved in the action of action research.
29
Feltman (1998, p. 4) looks at qualitative research with respect to focus groups and technology changes.
He points out that qualitative focus group researchers are being asked to provide a faster tumaround of
information, and technology is helping them do that. Researchers use technology such as
teleconferencing and videoconferencing to conduct focus groups. Some focus groups can be broadcast
Iive to geographically separateci employees, and technoiogy allows for partnering of organizations.
Reports are glossier and often include sound and images produced on the cornputer. Technology and
focus groups allow for decreased costs and time in qualitative research.
lnterviewing and Qualitative Analysis
The analysis proper involves developing the meanings of the interviews, bringing the
subjects' own understanding into the Iight, as well as providing new perspectives fiom
the researcher on the phenornena- (Kvale, 1996, p. t 90)
Personal interviews are a second qualitative research methodology. Palmerino (1999, p. H35) points out,
"One-on-one interviews uncover the best thinking of each and every respondent without the drawback of
group dynamics." The personal one-on-one approach to people wiil help uncover the best thinking in
each participant. Palmerino (1 999) raises the following points as reasons one-on-one interviews should
be used as a research methodology, over focus groups.
More quatity;
More quantity of information;
More depth;
More representation;
More eficiency;
More statistics and;
More value.
Validation of data should be collected using a tnangulation of methods and is an essential aspect of
qualitative research. Kirby and McKema (1989, p. 36) state that, "in order for our research to be valid,
we must be able to say that what we describe is recognized by the research participants as sa"
Focus/visioning groups, personal interviews, surveys, etc are al1 valid action research methods. Personal
intetviews cannot be the only method used.
In conducting action research, the approach must be natural, emergent, inductive and pattern seeking. In
order for the approach to be successfùl the marcher must be the instrument, personally involved and
impartial.
The analysis of the interviews in this ~ e ~ e a r c h uses a methoci referred to by Kvale (1 996) as "meaning
condensation." The stories and meanings expressed by those interviewed are compressed into briefer
statements that can be rephrased in a fewer words. The larger volumes of transcripts are reduced into
more succinct terms. There are five basic steps in the qualitative interview analysis process. These
include fust, reading the entire transcript. Second, the natural meaning is determined fiom the transcript.
Third, simple themes are applied to the natural meanings that are detemineci. Fourth, the themes are
reIated back to the original question. The fifth and final step, is the development of a descriptive
statement to summarize the interview.
Study Conduct
In order to understand the methodology for this project, it is important to briefly explain who the
participants are. Participants for this project are North Island College employees who were asked to
participate, based on their involvement in distance leadership at North Island College. They are relevant
stakeholders in terms of either providing leadership h m a distance, or receiving leadership fiom a
distance, and were placed in two groups according to this criterion. They were also asked to participate
based on a balance of demographics as listed below.
Demographics included:
Gender - balance of women and men;
Length of service at North Island College - Participants represented employees who had ken
with North Island College for many years, and employees who were fairly new to the
organization. An attempt was made to balance choice of participants with Iength of service at
North Island College and;
Level of position - In group one, al1 participants were either Associate Deans, Deans or
Managers. In group two, participants were either teaching faculty, department chairs or
coordinators.
Group one is composed of six administrators presently demonstrating distance leadership as a significant
part of their present positions, and they were chosen tiom the organizational chart. (Figures 1.1-1.5,
Chapter 1) These participants are centrally located in the Comox Valley/Carnpbell River area (with the
exception of the managers) and they were involved in identiQing distance leadership
c ha1 lenges/opportunit ies h m the leaders perspective.
Group two is composeci of six faculty who work at Community Learning Centres or the Port Albemi
Campus, and who receive distance leadership, or provide minimal distance leadership themselves.
Participants in this group do not report to each other. Group two participants were involved in identi6ing
leadership c hailenges/opporhinities h m the perspective of accepting leadership, or as it might be refend
to, accepting 'followership.'
The action research process involved cycling through five major stages.
Stage one involved group one participating in a brainstorming focus/visioning session. The purpose of
the focus/visioning session was to ensure participants had an opportunity to brainstorm ideas around
distance leadership, h m the leader perspective, in a safe and supportive environment.
A letter was prepared inviting six administrators to participate in the study (Appendix A). Prior to the
session, group one was sent a short document outlining the purpose of the research, as well as the
expectations and potential outcomes (Appendix B). Planning also included designing seven questions to
guide the focus/visioning discussion (Appendix C). The focus group was facilitated by an extemal
facilitator who was not a North Island College employee and who had no connection to North Island
College. This was done to ensure the information was collected in a non-biased manner. An internai
facilitator, such as the researcher, could have been influenced by issues of management verses issues of
leadership. The researcher was present at the focus/visioning session and acted as a recorder as weII as an
observer of body language, posture, etc. The facilitator was also used as a resource to ensure that the
process maintained a distinction between management and leadership issues as outlined in the original
definition of the two.
The focus group session was audio taped for the purpose of qualitative analysis as suggested by
DesRosier and Zellers (1989). All participants signed a participant consent fom (Appendix D).
The focudvisioning session was transcribed from the audiotapes, and this summary was typed up and sent
to participants. Participates were asked to confinn the accuracy of the audiotapes.
Subsequesntly, the researcher reflected on the audiotape data, and looked for major themes that arme in
the discussion. The researcher then developed four major themes fiom the focus group feedback. These
themes were used as a reference point for the one-on-one interviews that followed.
32
The second stage in the process involved group two which also participated in a brainstorming
focus/vision ing session. Due to travel restrictions, and lac k of videoconferencing technology in many of
the Community Learning Centres, group two was not able to meet as a face-to-face focus/visioning group.
Focus group two met through teleconferencing. The purpose of the teleconference was to ensure the
participants had an opportunity to express their opinions around distance leadership issues, h m the
"being led" perspective, in a safe and confidentid manner.
A letter was prepared inviting eight individuals to participant who were either faculty, department chairs
or coordinators (Appendix A). Six of those invited chose to participate. Prior to the session, group two
was sent a short document outlhing the purpose of the tesearch, expectations and potential outcornes
(Appendix B). The sarne seven questions given to group one were used to guide group two through the
focudvisioning discussion. By using the sarne questions, the researcher could compare how the two
groups perceived distance leadership.
in group two, the researcher facilitated the focus/visioning group. The session was audio taped for the
purpose of qualitative analysis as suggested by DesRosier and Zellers (1989). AI1 participants signed a
participant consent form.
The focus/visioning session was transcribed h m the audiotapes and this summary was typed up and sent
to participants. Participants were again asked to confirm the accuracy of the audiotapes.
The researcher reviewed the feedback h m the participants, and during the following two weeks the
researcher reflected on the data, Iooking for major themes.
The researcher then developed four major thernes fiom the fwus group feedback, to be used as a
reference point during the one-on-one interviews that followed.
The third stage in the researçh process involved working with participants in one-on-one interviews. The
purpose of the interviews was to engage the participants in an open discussion regarding the challenges of
distance leadership, and to fùrther elaborate on themes emerging fiom the focus/visioning group.
Pnor to the interview, participants were given the opportunity to read over the themes h m the focus
group summary to ensure they were prepared to talk about the topics proposed. Interview times were set
according to availability of the researcher and the participant. Most participants h m group one were
interviewed in person in locations agreed to by both parties. Some chose to be interviewed by telephone
due to time constraints.
Participants from group two were interviewed by telephone due to travel restrictions.
The sessions were audio taped and then transcribed. The participants were given the opportunity to read
their transcripts to ensure the accwacy of the information.
The fourth stage in the research process involved analyzing the data. The data was sorted, resorted, re-
read and analyzed, in an attempt to pick out the common themes or issues. The researcher looked for
common themes in an attempt to get at the "heart" of the issues. From these themes recommendations for
change were made and submitted as a final report. During stage four, the researcher continued to reflect
as data was read, re-read, sorted and analyzed.
As a result of the research, a comprehensive list of challenges/opportunities in distance leadership at
North Island College emerged. The participants, also made recommendations as to how these challenges
could be addressed.
In order to engage the participants in the final stage of the research, group one met a second time to
discuss the results also suggesting ideas to justiQ change. Group two met by teleconferencing to discuss
the findings and provide implementation ideas to justi@ change. The research findings were also
presented to the management tearn at North Island College.
Participants were asked if they wished to stay together as a discussion group to continue to address the
issues and recommendations related to distance leadership.
Project Deliverables
As a result of this action research project North Island College has solid information with regards to the
chaIlenges/opportunities of distance leadership. Furthemore, it has recommendations on how some of the
concems raised in the project can be addressed. These recomrnendations include, for those in small
communities, the development of distant leadership skills. In addition, it recommends that the concerns
of those in leadership roles be reviewed and addressed.
The outcome of this pmject is a written report for North Island College and for Royal Roads University
which includes research results, analysis of the research and recommendations for the college to address.
Ethics in research
Participants in this research project included two groups of North Island College employees who had
present, relevant, experience with distance leadership. Group one was wmposed of administrators, and
faculty managers. Group two was composed of faculty, department chairs, and coordinators. Participants
were chosen based on their interest in the research, theu availability and their willingness to spend the
time necessary to gather the evidence. Participation was strictly voluntary. This research was supported
by the president of North Island College.
Risks and Benefits
The Tri-Council Working Group (1997) identified four basic principles. This project adhered to those
principles. These were:
respect for persons;
do no harrn to others;
do g d to others and;
faimess.
These four principles exist together and not in isolation. When conducting any research it is important to
take a participant-centred perspective whew participants are part owners of the matenals created during
the project Participants have the right to modi@ or correct content they feel has not been represented
correctly, and they aIso have the right to withdraw h m the project at any time. These rights protect the
participant from harm, to some degree, by limiting breach of privacy and exposure to loss of reputation
(Tri-Council Working Group, 1997).
I conducted this research with the belief that al1 participants in this research would benefit fiom increased
knowledge of the complexity of leading at a distance. 1 believed in particular that leaders would benefit
from an increased understanding of how their leadership affects those they lead.
Potential risk of harm, to a participant or the organization, may arise if the results of the research indicate
poor leadership performance, and if those results are allowed to cause the individuals to suffer
embarrassrnent or shame. At no point in the research were individuals identified by name or position,
thereby limiting the risk of individual performance king identified. Care was taken to ensure that while
distance leadership ptactices were studied, such practices were in no way linked to performance. This
35
was accomplished through a carefûl selection of questions and by participant anonymity. Participants
were allowed to withdraw fiom the study at any time if they felt it is not in their best interest to continue.
To ensure that no breaçh of privacy occurred, at no time were participants identified by name or campus
location in the notes obtained h m the focus/visioning groups or fiom the transcripts of the individual
interviews.
Access to Data
". . . privacy is essential for intimate, personal, and even spiritual relationships, that is, with what is thought
to be 'sacred' in a variety of ways." (Tri-Council Working Group Paper 111-1, 1997) To ensure that
privacy was respecteci, the complete data set was restricted to the individual research participants, the
project supervisor, and the researc her.
Standards were put in place to ensure against breach of confidentiality, and to ensure that the trust
rdationship between the cesearcher and the research participants was maintained. The information
obtained fiom the focudvisioning groups was summarized at the end of the session to ensure the recorder
had captured the essence of the discussion. This information was transcribed and circulated to
participants to enswe that there was common agreement as to the accuracy of the transcribed data. No
narnes or positions were attached to the foçudvisioning group notes.
As stated by the Tri-Council Working Group (111-2. 1997), "a favourable balance exists between the
research participants' interests to privacy and confidentiality and the researcher's quest for knowledge
and beneficial research."
Confiderttiality
Palys (1 997. p. 97-98) suggests anonymity as k i n g the best way to guarantee confidentiality. When
names are not required in the presentation of results, then they should not be used. In fact, names should
not be used or asked for whenever possible. It is also essential to protect individuals' anonymity by
ensuring 'clues' such as location of answers, department, etc. are not allowed to disclose an individuals
right to confidentiality.
1. Participants were not identified by name in any report.
2. Participants made the choice to be involved based on accurate, relevant and timely information
3. Permission was sought for secondary use of data and information.
Participants retained their personal results. All other raw data remained with
the researcher until the final report was accepted
Each participant was assigned an identification number, and the number/name information was
kept separate h m the transcribed data.
Feed back
Participants received feedback on the results of the focus/visioning groups, on the individual interviews,
and on the final recommendations. The focus/visioning group feedback took the fonn of notes complied
by the recorder. The transcribed notes from the focus groups and h m the individual interviews were
sent to each participant for review. A session with both groups was organized at the end of the research to
present the results and recomrnendations to the participants. Each participant received updates on the
status of the research as requested. All participants were personally debriefed at the end of the research if
requested.
Ethical Considerations
I n f o m e d Consent
"Central to the issue of informed consent is the concept that a researcher and a participant in a research
study enter into a mutual agreement, either explicitly or implicitly." (Dickson, 1999) It is essential that
al1 participants have al1 the information to rnake an informed choice, as the research results may affect
their 'woriu'job' if recomrnendations are implemented. All participants clearly understood their role in the
research and there were no repercussions if the participants asked to take part, declined. (Ethical
Electronic Research Guidelines)
CHAPTER FOUR
RESEARCH STUDY RESULTS
Study Findings
Introduction to QualitPtive Analysis
Part of the dynamic is created by the researçher's efforts to simultaneously live with the
data and make sense of the data. The other part of the dynamic is created by the
researcher's constant moving, back and forth, between data and concepts, and between
individual ideas and research explanations in order to fully describe and explain what is
k i n g researched. This keeps the researcher constantly vigilant for new undersîandings at
al1 analytical points.
Sandra Kirby and Kate McKenna 1989, pp 128- 129
"What are the Challenges/Opportunities of Distance Leadership?" Although the research question posed
appeared to be very specific, it was complicated by two parallel questions that arose fiom the focus
groups and the individual research. These two parallel questions were closely related to the concept of
distance leadership and were:
1. What are the di fferences between distance leadership and leadership?
2. What are the differences between leadership and management?
It was up to the facilitators of the focus groups and the interviewer to continually bring the group or
individuals back to the original question. 1 felt these two parallel questions might have affected some of
the participant's responses because they may have felt restrained by the limitations of the research
question as it referred to distance leadership only. But, if the research had allowed the groups or
38
individuals to expand into general leadership and management, the scope of the research would have been
unmanageable. These parallei questions were valid questions, and emphasized the need to have clear
definitions presented to the group early, and for me to be clear in the vision of the tesearch.
Defin itions of management, leadership and distance leadership, relevant to North Island Col lege were
established in advance of the research, in order to h e these terms in a clear and concise manner. Even
with these terms defined, it was important to remember that management, leadership and distance
leadership have di fferent meanings to di fferent people, depending on a person's experience, know ledge,
confidence, culture, attitude, and opinions. These t a n s cannot stand alone but are linked to each other,
and therefore, wben conducting this research on distance leadership, al1 persons invoived were
encouraged to be conscious of how management and leadership affected their thoughts.
The first group of reseatçh participants appeared to enter the research pmcess with a clear and broad
understanding of the terms management, leadership and distance leadership. They perceived themselves
as both leaders and as managers and many had read extensively on these topics.
The second group of research participants appeared to enter the research with a slightly different
perspective on management, leadership and distance leadership. They were not in clearly defined
positions of leadership themselves, and they did not see themselves as leaders, but possibly as managers.
This perspective r a i d questions by the participants as to whether or not they should even be talking
about distance leadership.
The definitions of leadership and management and the relationship to distance, as well as the questions
asked, and the format followed, were the same for both participating groups. This consistency within the
groups allowed me to compare the perspectives of those in distance leadership positions to those k i n g led
by them.
Distance Leadership: The Leaders' Perspective
Distance leaders believed distance leadership had unique issues peculiar to that d e . Further, they
believed leading at a distance was more complex than direct and perhaps even daily face-to-face
ieadership. This group struggled with the definitions of leadership and management provided, but they
accepted the definitions for the purposes of this research. Four major themes or areas of concem emerged
from those providing distance leadership at North Island College.
39
The first theme expressed a feeling of fatigue, of feling overloaded, of needing cesources, of a lack of
morale, balance, time, and nurturing. 1 sensed a feeling of almost desperation h m this group.
Participants were clearly unsure if they were physically or mentally able to continue much longer under
the pressure. One participant said that distance leadership was more tiring because information given out
was oAen misunderstood and this threatened the integrity of the relationship between the leader and
his/her constituents. Another felt frustration over inefficiencies that they fight in the system. This
overload for distance leaders was supported by phrases such as "king spread too thin", "losing balance",
and a "lack of resources".
There was a feeling that distance leadership was not acknowledged by organizations generalty, and
certainly not within this organization. Participants suggested ways to decrease the pressures of distance
leadership such as acknowledging distance leadership as part of job descriptions and workloads and
compensating for the distance factor. They also suggested distance leaders needed to establish a
mentorship program so that communities theniselves fiinctioned in a ieadership role. Mentors could assist
distance leaders in the establishment of new prograins and with the orientation of new staff. In my
opinion, there was a common feeling that distance leaders in particular are working harder that those
responsible for program and this has resulted in a cumulative overload. This theme clearly came fiom
the hearts of the participants.
A second therne for distance Ieaders related in broader tenns to people as individuals, and how distance
leadership had time and complexity issues not necessarily the same as face-to-face leadership. They felt
it was more difficult to bnng people together to participate and to show them they are an important part of
the system. One leader felt distance leadership values came fiom wanting to do what is right and that
involved setting standards and having people understand and demonstrate those standards, although
distance leaders felt they did not have-enough time to spend with their staff developing standards and
relationships. Yet distance leaders believed relationships were key to successful leadership. The
participants used statements such as, "Proximity and the need to nurture relationships are very important."
"A leader needs to develop an authentic relationship." The focus continued to be on king there for
people and developing relationships.
Although relationships were identified as key to distance leadership, distance clearly affected a number of
factors. These factors included the attention to detail required to support the relationship, the nurturing
and caring required, and the ability to become familiar with people and their communities. Overall,
"leadership was harder to establish" at a distance. All leaders agreed that the communication of a "shared
vision", "creating consensus", and developing ' b s t " needed to be developed by leaders in order to
delegate authority, let go, and help others make decisions. Alford (1999) found support for these ideas in
40
his study, when some leaders stated, "they (leaders) need to let go of the position and physical presence,
by which they have traditionally monitored and influenced others," and this ability to let go requires trust
on the part of the leader that hisher vision will be realized. Wheatley and Kellner-Rodgers (1998a) found
there were two forces working against one another that affected trust. These were an individual's need to
be free, and an individual's need to be part of relationships. This appean to imply that trust is a
complicated issue for leaders and requires time to develop. As one leader stated, "Trust is ultimate."
Another described this ultimate experience by saying, "Leadership is based on trust - relationships are
based on trust." Participants saw trust as a two-way process. They stated, "Trust them and they will trust
the leader."
Tied to trust was the observation that the organization had a hierarchical structure. The participants
believed that in order to break a hierarchical stnicture, time and energy must be invested in people, so
others can trust their decision-making. Bird (1999), Bamier (1999) and Kostner (1994) remind us that
trust is a responsibility, not a privilege we can take for granted, because trust is a gift to a leader from the
people. North Island College needs to ask itself the following question. Does North Island College still
have some power and control issues related to a hierarchical structure? If distance leaders are to lead
effectively as trust is built, leaders and those being led must have styles that complement each other. It is
significant that only one participant believed leaders must make decisions based on fact and logic, and not
on personality or emotion. This opinion was in contradiction to other distance leaders and a11 of those
who work in distance communities. They believed leadership comes from the hem. Covey (1989),
Senge ( 1990) and Yukl ( t 998) also support the belief that true leadership moves beyond the daily
operations of an organization and reaches the hearts and souls of the people. Kouzes and Posner (1995)
say that a hallmark o f good leadership is the encouragement of the heart. Distance leadership involves
providing leadership not only to employees, but providing leadership to communities. Leaders impact
lives, and in order to develop a relationship and build trust, there must be time to communicate to
employees as well as to the community.
The third theme discussed by distance leaders involved leadership k i n g demonstrated in terms of
everyday management. Distance leaders believed staff in the Community Leaming Centres appeared to
be asking for clarity in terms of what they were expected to do. Although this is linked to communication,
it is strongly linked with daily operations or management. There appeared to be confusion about how the
Community Leaming Cmtres and leaders should be operating. Distance leaders would Iike staff to be
more selfdirected: clearly this will only happen if they have strong leadership. One participant described
this juggling of roles by saying, "To be reactive is management, but you must be pro-active in
leadership." Another participant described this issue by stating, "Leadership is expecting the very best
and giving people the tools, and then paying attention to them as they use hem." These comments are
41
strongly linked to the belief that leaders are spending too much time managing, and this is due to lack of
resources and a structure that works. Chambers ( 1999) saw leadership as a constant, not something
driven by events or occurrences of the moment, which is management. Distance leaders loudly agreed
that the system was too complex, requiring t w much management time. The farther away people are the
more difficult it is to participate in the &y- tday leadership and management of the organization.
Theme four dealt with distance communities king extremely cross-culturally complex. Participants
believed that distance leaders should be sensitive to the diversity of the communities the college serves
and the conflicting levels of trust that each community has towards the organization. Distance, time, and
complex job descriptions allowed for l e s involvement in distance communities, yet there remained a
need to help lead these communities in terms of education as well as in community development.
Leadership has been impacted by the growth of North Island College and distance leaders felt it was
critical that Community Leming Centre faculty take lead roles in the community and develop
community relationships. The underlying theme was staff in distance communities must talce leadership
roles where they reside, Lipnack and Stamps (1999) suggest distance leadership can come h m on top
but it can also come fiom within each community realm, where every employee cames a leadership role
depending on the task.
The issue of technology in distance leadership was alluded to within al1 four major themes, and therefore
is considered an integral part of distance leadership issues and practices. Technology has both assisted
distance leadership and caused problems. Harris (1998) suggested that as technology advances, the
employee-employer relationship must change and that will require creativity, ingenuity and thinking.
One leader felt, "Communication gets watered down or distorted through technology. Another felt
"technology cm actually be a barrier because it dulls the senses and ernotions." Distance leaders are now
able to communicate through several mediums around the college community but these mediums do not
allow for complete communication to occur. Difficult to read body language and the understanding that
cornes with face-to-face discussion is oîten lost when mediated by technology. Some leaders however,
felt technology such as e-mail, and interactive television (ITV) has helped but this took more time, and
Iack of time severely impacts successfiil distance leadership.
Distance Leadership; The Constituents' Perspective
The second group of researçh participants spoke in tenns of their unique communities and therefore
unique situations. Their distance leadership concems appeared to be driven by the fundamental need for
security. Were they considered a valuable part of the college vision?
42
These researc h participants had greater dificu fty talking about leadership and deciding what leadership
meant to them. They often Iooked at management issues, as compared to leadership issues, based on the
definitions provided at the beginning of the focus groups and the interviews. These research participants
also addressed some common themes and issues. The four major themes or areas of concern follow.
The first theme on major leadership issues and concems was communication. They felt that k i n g away
from the administrative/leadership centre caused employees to feel a sense of isolation, and a feeling of
being Iefi out. Employees and leaders did not have that drop-in, walk-in relationship and they saw that as
a bamier, therefore they had no choice but to trust people to get things done. In the literature, Bird (1999)
supports this link between trust and communication by stating, "Trust is built through consistent
communication." Participants in distance communities were asking for more direction and guidelines,
more inclusion, and wanted their leaders to show a physical presence more often. They felt this would
improve communication. They also agreed that communication was best face-to-face and with distance
there was a greater chance of miscommunication. Larkin and Larkin (1996) state the best way to
communicate is face-to-face and through front tine supervisors. As one participant stated, "You must
reIy on communication and tmst more with distance leadership." 1 believe we need to train people in the
small centres to be leaders and therefore to become less reliant on the larger administrative centres.
The second theme for group two research participants was "inspiration." and was described as follows:
"Distance leaders must reach to the hearts and souls of people, and appeal to their passions and
principles." Distance leadership was seen as requiring a human approach and another participant
supported this idea by stating, "The leader must understand who they are leading and that their message
is coming across." Distance leadership was descri bed as reaching out, bringing ideas together, using
people's energies, and finding common direction. Participants fiom the Community Leaming Centres
wanted to know whose job it was to bring people along and to inspire the vision. In order for distance
leaders to provide inspiration, the question was r a i d as to whether they had a common vision, and were
they al1 working with a strong common "educational philosophy." Many of these participants felt it was
dificult to communicate a common vision and shared educational philosophy because of the isolation.
Staff want a vision of distance education at North Island College and the Community Leaming Centre's
need to be part of developing that vision. Staff in Community Learning Centres can only be leaders if
they are inspired by a cornrnon vision. Other themes or words to support the concept of inspiration
included, "justice, collegial relationships, collaboration, having principles and showing trust."
A third theme was the increased complexity of work. An example of a challenge of distance and
complexity was, "you often don't get regular input in tenns of what is going on. You only find out when
there is a problem." With that issue in mind, some participants thought the complexities could be eased
43
if, "distance staff had more training and orientation and they had principles to lead not policies to block.''
Added to the complexity of work was the feeling that, "the goalposts seemed to be moving," and it was
felt that those in the remote communities were losing their h d o m and creativity. This theme
essentially speaks to the concept of change. Wheatley and Kellner-Rogers (1 W8a) believe change is
about organizational intelligence and the ability to respond to change creatively, quickly and with good
sense.
Distance communities bel ieved there was l ittle recognition by administration (leaders) of the work done
in the Cornmunity Learning Centre's and work was often dumped on them. This resulted in the distance
staff feeling they were king given responsibility without authority. Ln the daily operations there was
more to synthesize than ever before. Procedures were more complex, and everything had too many steps
and took too much time. Many participants felt the institution was failing in providing distance people
with suficient support and information to allow them to deal with the situations they needed to deal with,
and informing them of the needs of the institution. That was where they believed issues came into
conflict. Leaders in Community Learning Centres have to be leaders of al1 things - education,
cornmittees, and the community, but do leaders in the Cornmunity Learning Centres really have the
authonty to do anything they asked? Oren ( 1999) desctibed these issues by stating, ". . .feu of failure
creates a f e u of leaming which parallels a fear of change and the need to cling to the present."
Another significant issue related to the cultue of small communities and the culture of the larger
communities and the need for both groups to be able to move within those cultures. Another issue related
to the informal networks that flourished as sub-cultures and the difficulty of those in small centres.
Distance leaders need to understand these networks and sukultures but distance naturally excludes them.
Distance leadership was a term that is culturally complex. To summarize, "Many of the distance
personnel have extremely fragmented mandates. We have very broad roles but they are very superficial
in many ways."
The final therne was around North Island College's need to make some decisions on whethet it is a
campus-based institution or a distance-based institution or both, and then support that decision with
resources. They felt that Training Solutions, the contract services area of North Island College was an
extra dimension that affeçted both campus-based delivery and distance-based delivery . They bel ieved
Training Solutions had moved forward and become a leader in the institution but how does that affect a
campus-based or a distance-based institution they asked? There appeared to be great diversity within the
college regions and di fferent comrnunities had di fferent agendas, issues, and priorities.
44
Participants felt that distance leadership and a cornmitment to it was not present at the college. They
believed campus-based prograrns were strongly acknow ledged and supported, but distance-based did not
have the same acknowledgement or support. In the opinion of the distance participants there was a lack of
understanding between campus-based and distance-based staff. These two factions do not really
understand what the other did and how much time it takes to accomplish tasks fiom a distance. They felt
that they needed to explore the value in out differences. The college community was a broad community
and participants were not sure there was respect for each other's differences. The question raised was,
"How do you work towards common ground and understanding with so many diverse people? There
was a general feeling that given a choice, distance leaders would act on the tasks closest to them, rather
than on tasks that were in the isolateci communities and small centres.
As in the group providing leadership, the issue of technology came up in the four themes for this group.
Technology had helped in communication they indicated but it had also been seen as a barrier. An
example cited was when the e-mail system was down. The sender did not know the e-mail was down and
the sender betieved people were receiving messages when they really were not receiving messages. E-
mail (technology) works if one gets a response. Kanter (1999) suggested that in terms of technology
what really counted was not if people were using the technology to its fiillest but whether they were
absorbing the information and responding to opportunities. Many community learning centre employees
only work part-time so they only respond to e-mail when they are in. They are not tied to their jobs full-
tirne the way a full-time employee is. The tess people work, the less of a tie they have to their work and
possibly the excitement of responding to opportunities.
Sirnilarities and Differences between Distance Leaders and their Constituents
Sirnilarities
Participants providing leadership and those receiving leadership demonstrated both similarities and
differences regarding the challenges and opportunities of distance leadership. Both groups agreed that
technology was a usefiil tool but it did not address the human aspect of communication. Technology
clearly could not replace talking or working directly with a mal person. Communication delivered using
the tools of technology was seen as k ing more impersonal than traditional methods of communication,
but Miller (1 997) warns us that technology is opening up a whole new set of operating principles in
education. Both groups acknowledged the advantages of using technology but they also acknowledged
technology as a banier to communication and distance leadership. Wheatley and Keller-Rogers (l998a)
describe technology as the paradox of M o m and community.
Both groups were uncornfortable with the definition o f leadership and how it felated to distance
leadership. 1 believe this was because an understanding of leadership is based on a person's own
experiences and attitudes. 1 am not sure there is a definition of leadership any one group could totally
accept. Both groups felt there was clearly a very hierarchical structure of leadership at North Island
CoIlege and this alone would affect how individuals perceive leadership and distance leadership.
Trust was identified as a major aspect of leadership and the issue of developing trust at a distance was
perceived to be extremely challenging. The word trust kept coming up in boih the focus groups and the
individual interviews. Leaders made comments such as "leadership is based on trust - relationships are
based on trust." Those at a distance made comments such as "You must rely on communication and trust
more with distance leadership." These types of parallei comments were reinforced by the literature that
states trust is the key to leadership.
Both groups identified communication as an issue with respect to leadership and especially distance
leadership. Bender (1997) supports this. "Good communication, like leadership, must come fiom
within." It was perceived that distance made communication more dificult. Both groups felt there was
not enough time to develop relationships and develop solid communication links. Barker and Carnarata
(1998) suggested organizations support nurturing communication and move away fiom the economic
perspective to a more relation-based foundation. In organizations with geographic and isolation
challenges the economic factor has become a leadership challenge as well.
Another issue expressed by both groups related to how distance communities and distance leadership was
complicated by cross-cultural complexity issues. Leaders strongly supported leadership training of
distance community staff because they live in these communities. These staf'fcould take on leadership
roles within their communities because they understand cross-cultural issues. Staff in the distance
communities saw the issue more in terms of how the cross-cultural vision of leadership was perceived in
their communities. They felt they must move between the leadership culture of the college and the
leadership culture of their communities and that was cornplex and complicated. An example of cross-
cultural complexity was how aboriginal people perceive leadership and how North Island College staff
perceives leadership. These differences in perception add to the cross-culturally complexity of distance
communities and distance leadership.
Both groups felt North Island College had two cultures or visions. One vision was for a campus-based
college model and the other vision was for a distance-based campus model. Both groups believed North
Island College was not comrnitted to the distance-based model. Leaders spoke to the concept of the two
cultures and in terms of the common vision, the need for clear communication. Staff in distance
46
communities were more forcehl in their articulation of the need to explore and respect the differences
between campus-based and distance-based belivery. They believed there was great diversity within the
college regions and the college needed to discuss its priorities, issues and agenda. There was the shared
belief that North Island College does not have a clear vision of what a combination of campus-based and
distance-based del ivery actually means.
Differences
In terms of differences, the two groups saw themselves very clearly in two distinct roles. Those providing
leadership clearly saw themselves as leaders. Those in the distant communities did not see themselves in
positions of leadership.
One major difference expressed between groups was how distance leaders felt tireâ and desperate in that
they were not sure they could do an adequate job of leadership at a distance. They used tenns such as
"losing balance7' and "being spread too thin." They even expressed the idea that they often felt in
physical danger when driving and rushing to meetings and communities. They had so much on their
minds and were fnistrated by their inability to either meet the needs of the constituents or change the
system. Participants in distance cornmunities had quite a different perspective in that they were looking
for support to continue on and build their distancedelivery programs. Their level of frustration and
fatigue was based on searching for direction and for the college to demonstrate a cornmitment to distance
communities. Staff in distance cornmunities believed strong leadership could have some affect on their
jobs and their security.
Another difference between the two groups involved letting go of leadership and accepting leadership.
For the leaders, there was the sense they wanted to delegate authority and leadership. They were willing
to assist others to develop as leaders and were willing to offer shared leadership. Senge (1990) would
describe these leaders as willing to embrace in becoming a leaniing organization. According to Senge
(1 990) a learning organization is, "an organization that is continually expanding its capacity to create its
future." Interestingly, distance community staff wanted to be more managed and to have someone
available to answer their questions. They were not eager to pick up the leadership role. I believe this was
due to there not k i n g a clear vision of how distance centres were to operate and how important the
centres were to the vision of the college. Leaders felt they were spending too much time managing and
wanted to provide leadership. Distance communities wanted clearer management criteria. The
differences in these two groups conceming letting go of leadership and accepting leadership caused me to
wonder if there might be some possible dependency issues between leaders md &in Community
Leaming Centres.
Dependency was suggested based on a number of comments participants provided. They included
staternents such as, "The iùnction of distance leadership is to make clear the management path."
Another statecl, " It is how the vision statements and stmitegies are manifested in the management details
that detennine whether a job is efficient or not." Distance leaders at North Island College were described
by constituents as k i n g highly competent, self-starters, independent, and problem solvers, who can spin
on a dime, and have the tnist of the community. To me these statements d l implied that leadership had a
ripple effect sent out through the leader and not everyone wanted to take on the responsibilities described
above. By accepting a leadership role, a person accepts responsibility for leadership as well as
management It is easier to remain dependent on a leader than to be perceived as a leader. L also believe
these feetings are based on lack of a clear vision for the distance communities.
Other Issues or Perspectives on Distance Leadership
Throughout this study a number of comments or issues were shared, but did not fit into the themes
described above. 1 believe these comments or issues are serious enough to warrant attention in these
research findings.
Many participants believed there was a residue around leadership at North Island College. This residue
goes back to previous leadership and directly affects how we presently lead at a distance. Past leaders
had different visions h m pmsent leaders at North Island College and as one participant said, "it makes
everyone schizophrenic." Historically leaders have come fiom urban-based colleges, others fiom distance
education organizations and still others fkom industry. This mixture in leadership is what makes up the
history of North Island College and everyone who had experienced this carries a part of it with them.
Unfortunately, 1 believe this lack of cohesion also affeçts Our ability to move forward with a shared vision
of leadership.
Many participants commented on how our own ghosts haunt our perception of leaders. "There are ghosts,
and al1 of us who follow leaders, compare leaders." These ghosts are believed to have created a
fundamental mistmst between instructors and administration. Bass and Avolio (1 993) suggested: "When
trying to promote cultutal change in an organization, leaders should first understand and respect the pas&
retuming to it for inspiration, instruction, and identification of pst objectives, principles and strategies
that still must be maintained." Gardner (1990) pointed out that leaders need to undentand and appreciate
the "intenveaving of continuity and change" for long-term purposes and change. Bass and Avolio (1 993)
also suggest. "Ceremonial events may be needd to moum the loss of the old ways of doing things. A
symbolic act whereby the organization makes a clear break with its past can drarnatically influence its
48
culture." The ghosts of the past are part of our history and participants believed these ghosts affecteci our
ability to move forward as an organization. As one participant stated, "On a macro s a l e of leadership,
what it needs is someone to be able to stand back h m that stuff and get some focus on it, and get some
traction on some of those key issues."
Many participants remembered North Island College's first attempt at distance education/leadership and
how it was not as successful as had been hoped for. The courses/programs had very low retention rates
and a poor reputation within the coltege-wide system. Participants believed this history has clouded Our
perception of distance education/ieadership. Our completion rates with Our more recent campus-based
mode1 have improved significantly and therefore we may have shied away h m distance delivery.
Keeping this in mind, participants felt that North Island College was still a dual model institution. There
was leadership across two very different delivery models but for the most part, the leadership for the
college had become foçused on the campuses. It was perceived that North Island College does not have a
shared vision around what a dual model institution wodd look like and what a dual leadership model
would look like. It was clear that no one could accwately define distance leadership or distributed
leaming in a way everyone could understand. Many believed our college communiîy dws not understand
the t ems and Our college was a h i d to try and build the hybrid model needed. One person stated, "The
college does not have the fundamental operational systems in place to build a successful hybrid model. "
Leaders and staff still ask themselves, "What are Our values in distance educatiod and what are our
values in distance leadership?" 1 believe these questions require professional developrnent, and a
personal investment by al1 staff. A dual mode1 institution requires strong distance leadership and trust in
that leadership.
If North Island College is to develop strong distance leaders it needs to practice changing the vision and
exploring the culture. f articipants felt North Island College does not share a common philosophy around
distance education and leadership and how ow centres should be working. Many of our decisions and
structures seem to be based on historical contexts. Yukl (1998) believes there are a nurnber of
rnechanisms to influence culture and when expanding capacity an organization must consider the entire
culture. Gephart et al (1996) describes culture as the glue that holds a leaniing organization together.
As one participant commented, "Leadership at a distance is perceived differently. There are different
pockets of culture, different views, and these are exacerbateci through isolation. The acadernic faction of
the college is the strongest faction and directs our culture."
Concluding Summary
1 believe the issues of distance leadership at North Island College cannot be fixed without addressing the
concerns of both distant leaders and their constituents. Comments such as: "Distance leadership
transcends time and space." "As long as there is resistance we can't have transformation.'' "Leadership
at a distance is first a question of leadership," al1 suggest that present distance leadership practices need to
be explored. This exploration must include present practices as well as past practices.
Kostner ( 1 994) descri bed the three major distance leadership enemies as geography, isolation and history,
and dl three of these enemies have been identified as distance leadership factors at North Island College.
They are al1 linked to out present style and delivery and how we are products of our past.
I f we consider the leadership enemy described as geography, it is Iinked to the themes that were identified
as feelings of fatigue and k ing overloaded. Geographic distances between North Island College's major
campuses and the Community Learning Centres require people to take more time to travel and this uses
precious energy. These great distances are causing leaders to feel as if they are "king spread too thin."
Distance affected the attention to detail required, and the ability to become familiar with people and their
comrnunities. Geography affects trust. D'Aprix (1999) comments that, 'Vou can't communicate with or
lead sorneone who doesn't trust you any more than you can someone who fears you."
Themes related to the enemy of isolation include, the difliculty in relating to communities isolated from
the main campus, the complexities of working away h m the main campus and the cross-cultural
diversity of communities and programs. Constituents in isolated communities often harbour the belief
that others just do not understand their situations and what it feels like to work in isolation. Therefore,
isolated workers often look for opportunities in captive audiences to expand upon their isolation concems
and fears. D'Aprix (1999) believes "our best hope for repairing our darnaged cultures and creating truly
high performance work organizations is leaders at al1 levels who care about human values and the people
they lead." Isolated people, communities and programs need to believe that leaders and colleagues far
away, still care about them as individuals and understand their unique circumstances.
The enemy of histov includes the residue lefi by our p s t , and the ghosts that haunt Our leadership.
Distance leaders need to spend time understanding and respecting the past because the p s t holds
inspiration, instruction, and identifies how organiuitions came to their present place. History c m be rich
or it can be perceiveci as an embarrassment. For many distance leaders and their constituents it is difficult
to adopt the future and our destiny because we do not understand our past. A study of the p s t can make
scary ghosts into fiiendly reminders of how our present reality is part of a much larger system or picnire.
50
Wheatley and Keller-Rogers (1 998a) suggest that the rielationship with an organization is part of a system
and we seek a system to find the relationship. Leaving out the pst makes the system weak and in a weak
system it is much harder to develop a relationship that everyone can trust.
The research findings also suggest technology has a place in distance leadership but technology needs to
be supported by the organization. People need training in the effective use of technology in order for it to
be used as an effective communication tool. Dy Aprix (1 999) acknowledges that, "Technology is faster
and perrnits us to deliver much more information," but then asks, "are speed and volume the real
communication problems in a society already suffering fiom information overload?" He suggests the
issues are "more a matter or clarity, meaning, leadership credibility and time to reflect on that
information." He also suggests that many people hide behind technology as an avoidance device. They
use technotow to avoid delivering unpleasant messages and to save precious time.
Geography, isolation and history are al1 related to people and it is the people who have clearly stated,
"Distance leadership is inclusive." "Distance leadership must have people who are flexible and willing
to do whatever is necessary." Distance leadership must overcome geography, isolation and history.
CHAPTER FlVE
RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS
Organization lmplementation
Leadership, and in this case distance leadership, brings with it factors that can cause leaders to be
extremely effective and positive, or to be struggling and consequently detrimental to themselves and to
those who depend on them. This study has shown that ail distant leaders are struggling in various ways
under the pressure of distance leadership, and theu constituents are also mggling and feel the need for
discussion around distance leadership issues and management concerns. While it is impossible to
describe al1 the factors that impinge on a distance leader's ability to fiinction successhily or to eliminate
ali these factors, they are worthy of discussion if only to validate those leaders who are attempting to
overcome them.
Comments such as "1 find this discussion fascinating" and "I've never really thought about this" suggest
participants wish to continue these discussions with a broader range of participants and in a non-
threatening environment. This study has opened the doors for discussions on leadership, distance
leadership and management and it appears to be appropriate now to continue these discussions.
Organizations need to take study information provided by participants and use it to implement change. If
an organization sees itself as a learning organization that "is continually expanding its capacity to create
its future" as Senge (1990) suggests, then this study brings an awareness to us of the need to validate the
roles of leaders, distance leaders and managers.
If this study is to open doors for discussion and clarification there must be an opporhinity for fiequent
feedback fiom leaders and fiom their constituents who have corne forward and who are wiiling to engage
in an open and honest pracess of communication and change. Goh (1 998) describes this as shared
leadership. S hared leadership enables leaders to facilitate change, provide employees with fecdback and
involves others in decision-making just as this study has descnbed and supported. I believe that the
greater an organization's understanding of its leadership issues, the greater the opportunity to share
responsibility for the leadership issues. This especialty applies to distance leadership where the decision-
making is conducive to a shared mode1 given the factors of distance and culture. Distance leadership at
its best is described as "letting go of power."
From this study, it is clear that leadership and distance leadership is driven by the human factors that
affect behaviour. Orlikoff and Totten (1999) and Bird (1999) suppon the human factor by insisting
communication and leadership are only built through tnist. Leadership is about relationships, and
organizations needs to continue developing relationships between both groups.
Study Recommendations
Based on the research study results presented, the following recommendations are k i n g suggested to
address the challenges/opportunities of distance leadership at North Island College. I t is recommended
that:
1. North Island College invests some time and energy discussing what leadership means as an
institution and the unique challenges of distance leadership for a multi-campus institution.
One way to facilitate this discussion could be to gather teams of people from different areas or
departments and support their disiance leadership discussions with guided questions. These discussions
could be facilitated through e-mail as this would act as an exarnple and mode1 for some of the issues of
distance leadership. Issues such as the absence of the human factor, communication without body
language and facial expression and issues with technology would be modeled. It is important that al1
participants regard themselves as part of a team because as Bradford and Cohen (1 998) point out, tearns
are different than groups. Groups reptesent the areas for which they are accountable whereas teams mark
their success by the quality of their decisions. Leadership is more generally shared in teams. Drucker
( 1995) also suggests using teams to support change and support people. Distance leadership is a college
issue and not an individual issue therefore I would suggest discussion on distance leadership require
tearns.
53
North Island Col lege articulates and delivers a clear vision for distance-education and
learning and share that vision with al1 staff. Thete must be a cornmitment to follow through
on this vision.
Gregory (1996) believes the way information is provided to others on distance leadership is more
important than just providing the information and administrative functions. He goes M e r to state that
the delivery of information on distance leadership should provide clarity and purpose on how we plan to
CO-exist as an organization given our geographical challenges. If we are to consider not just the
information on distance education and learning but the way information is delivered, this suggests a
collaborative process where representation from various levels and departments have an opportunity for
input. Kouzes and Posner (1995) believe al1 leadership requins people to have a shared vision.
3. North Island CoIlege acknowledges the ghosts that haunt leadership, distance leadership and
management and how these ghosts affect decision-making.
North Island Colkge is considered to be a young college, just twenty-five years old, yet it has a history
that 1 believe is haunting its future. Kostner (1994, p.35) suggests there are three main factors that affect
distance leadership. These are geography, isolation and history. She states that history teaches
individuals to be independent workers and thinkers and requites ''trusting shared future."
North Island College has employees who were hired when the college opened and they have experienced
leadership changes, philosophical changes, technological changes and al1 the changes twenty-five years
brings to an institution. The employees who lived through those times need to help us move towards
"trusting that shared firture." I suggest we can move there by acknowledging the p s t and celebrating its
challenges. We could start by putting up pictures in our administration building of the past presidents
and the past leaders of North Island College. Job titles have changed over the years therefore I will simply
refer to these people as leaders. These leaders gave a significant contribution to the col tege and have had
an affect and influence on the college's fhm. These leaders should be recognized for their
contributions.
We also need to share our stories of successes, failwes, and situations that made us laugh or cry, to
enhance the spirit of North Island College's history. Many of the long-term employees have stories of
adventure and daring that have shaped who we are as a college and we will lose those stories if we do not
collect them soon, before people move on to retirement. These stories are our ghosts and 1 believe we
need to understand why they still haunt u s today. McCauley et al (1998) believe that what people actually
do and how they behave depends on what they think. By exploring our past 1 believe North Island
College employees will gain a better understanding of why we act, plan and 'behave' as we do.
4. North Island College spends time training staff to be leaders and to accept positions of
leadership.
Drath (1 998, p. 407) States, "the change in leadership this time (suggesting in the future) may involve
erasing altogether the distinction between leaders and followers. in the not-tdistance future, leadership
may be understood as a process that plays out in reciprocal actions." The guiding vision of the individual
leader appears to be losiog strength to the vision of shared leadership where many people work together
as a team to guide the direction of the Company or institution. Our staff members in the remote
communities have clearly stated they do not see themselves in leadership positions therefore developing a
vision of shared leadership and helping distance staff to see themselves as leaders could greatly assist in
addressing the issues of distance and leadership.
5. North Island College reinforces its decision to ôe a dual model institution.
Alford (1999) suggests that when distance and virtual work is experienced, it must be done in such a way
as to preserve wholeness and conpi ty , as well as cornmitment and ownership. This allows for people to
be both individuals and connected to a team. I believe that if North Island College makes a cornmitment
to k ing a dual mode1 institution then the opportunity for wholeness and congruity and welt as
cornmitment and ownetship will evolve.
6 . North Island College supports communication training for ai1 staff on an on-going basis.
Sewell-Rutter (1999) describes communication as "the lifeblood that courses through the veins of an
organization." Orlihoff and Totten (1999) Iink communication to trust when they say, "open, honest
communication is a comerstone of building and maintaining trust." These two very powerfùl statements
support that idea that communication is key to the success of individuals and the success of an
organization. We must never loose sight of the importance of the continued and lifelong practice of
communication skills at al1 levels including face-to-face and distance. Wheatley and Kellner-Rogers
( 1998a) warn us about the inherent dangers of distance communication when they state, "The great
potential of a world connected electronically is k i n g used to create stronger boundaries that keep us
isolated fiom each other. They further support this statement when they remind us it is easier to seek
those we feel comfortable with and communicate less with those who challenge us.
55
It is that essential we train staff to communicate effectively using technology to ow distance
communities. Complete and solid distance communication is essential to the health and weIl king of our
distance and multi-campus college.
Future Research
Further studies are recommended to explore how organizations that have dual models of leadership, deal
with the balance of face-to-face leadership and distance leadership. This snidy was focused on exploring
the issues behind one specific question; "What are the challengedopporninities of distance leadership?"
The finding that distance leadership has many challenges such as issues of trust, technology, and
communication merits further investigation. Studies should be conducted to determine how distance
leaders could lead at a distance and address the issues of people accepting or not accepting the distance
leaders. Studies should explore alternative options that will enhance distance leadership such as
mentorship programs, and leadership training for those living in isolated communities.
Further studies on the challenges of distance leadership may indicate that there are certain distance
leadership issues that may never be resolved to everyone's satisfaction. Contrarily, studies may also
indicate that with adequate knowledge and understanding the issues of distance leadership are completely
manageable.
It is also recornmended that fiirther studies be c d e d out to broaden the understanding of management
issues in relationship to leadership issues. Many participants in this study appeared to have a need to
discuss management issues in a theoretical context and in a safe environment. Participants appreciated
the opportunity to discuss leadership issues and to articulate opinions they carried. I would suggest
further studies broaden the scope of the research to include management challenges and that these studies
include a broader array of participants.
Another area for fùture research couid include a discussion on how an organization can provide support to
leaders, distance leaders and their constituents. With our new, more worldly economy, it is apparent that
distance leadership is a growing phenornenon. The earlier an organization can put support systems in
place, the greater the chance of improved and successful leadership.
The issue of leadership affects every person in an organization. 1 would however caution future
researchers to establish at the outset that any discussion must not involve personal attacks nor is it just an
opportunity for cornplaint.
CHAPTER SIX
RESEARCH PROJECT - LESSONS LEARNED
Personal Project Lessons Learned
Research requires passion. I believe that a lack of passion for a research topic will show in the approach
to the research, the level of pariicipation by the participants, and in the researçher's ability to accutately
describe the research and mithfully portray the research findings.
A second attribute 1 believe is essential for any researcher is the ability to develop a feeling of mm. By
engaging in research, 1 discovered that people have deeprooted feelings and opinions conceming issues
that directly affect them, and they shared these opinions with me because a tnisting relationship had been
estabiished. Further, as the researcher I had to be an active listener and willing to remain engaged with
the participant throughout the research. 1 also had to ensure that each participant's input remained
con fidential and anonymous. I believe that the ability to remain engaged with participants and
demonstrate trust can only occur if the researcher is passionate about the research and the participants
trust their researcher.
In this research, 1 observed that participants were cautious when describing their true feelings and
opinions, or speaking their minds, until they felt confident the information they shared was going to be
dealt with in a professional and safe manner. This professional and safe manner included how 1 presented
the written word, how 1 talked to others about the research and how anonymous the participants were
within the research process. 1 believe this links back to trust and was influenced by the relationship
established between the participants and me. It is a critical part of the research process. 1 found that it
was important to spend time with the participants, before 1 began the research. This set the stage for the
discussion. This included building a relationship based on passion for the material, and developing a
sense of t m t that the material 1 gathered would be used in a positive and ethical manner.
Another lesson 1 learned during this research concerned the use of outside facilitators for focus group
facilitation. 1 discovered that facilitators must be credible and talented in focus group facilitation since
focus groups can take a li fe of their own if not careful Iy managed. The foçus group participants in this
research were struggling with definitions of leadership, management, and distance leadership. This
provided the potential for the conversation to wander off into these other areas- The facilitator must be
sensitive to the participants' stniggles but still manage to keep the discussion on the research topic.
In the case o f individual interviews, it was also important to ternain focused on key questions or topics. 1
beiieve the interviews were perceived by the interviewees as providing a safe environment where they
could openly and directly express their views, as the information was shared in a private and personal
environment. 1 believe this feeling of safety was what encouraged divergence of discussion in one-on-one
interviews as compared to group research processes. 1 should caution that an individual interview has the
potential to stray in directions not anticipated by the facilitator or the participant. The facilitator must be
able to recognize when the direction is not congment with the key questions or topic, and when the
discussion is not heading in a direction useful for the research.
Another lesson learned during this research was how critical it was to remain unbiased and neutral
towards what the research participant was saying, so 1 did not hear thoughts or ideas that the participant
was not really saying. If 1 had started with preconceived ideas on the research topic, it was possible to
influence the participants' discussion or read into the interview ideas that may not be tnie to what the
participant actually said.
Another discovery was that interviewees could be influenced by the order of the interviews. 1 found that
by the time I had interviewed a number of participants it was easy and tempting to lead the later interview
participants into areas they may not have thought about discussing. As a researcher, 1 may want to find
out if other participants have the sarne opinion on certain topics and therefore lead participants in
discussion. 1 must always ôe conscious of the potential trap of leading participants d o m a path they were
not heading and how this may affect the research finding.
Research is time intensive. When working with people 1 reaiized it is important to take into consideration
the participants personal agendas and how much time they wished to give to the research. The research
was my passion, not necessarily theirs.
When writing up the research results 1 had to be prepared to rnake decisions 1 did no? necessarily want to
make. 1 tearned that making decisions on what to include in the research and what to exclude in the
58
research was difficult. The difficulty lies in attempting to not show bias towards information based on
personal preference. The temptation is to ïean towards including information 1 wanted to hear, and
excluding information that I thought may be difficuft to present to individuals or the project sponsor.
These decisions required thought and openness to honest, qualitative research.
My final lesson leanid was the realization that not everyone will see your results the same way you do
and to accept these differences of opinion. What 1 perceived to be the essence of the research findings
may not necessarily fit the perceptions of the participants or the organization. 1 must be prepared to
accept the fact that in qlralitative research not everyone sees the results in the same way.
Major Project Competencies
Required Competencies
1 .c. Provide Leadership
Action Plan
Maintain professionalism throughout research.
Adjust research as required to satis@ sponsor, participants and supervisor.
Provide a safe environment for participation.
Provide research results to the organization.
Assist participants to betîer understand their own leadership as requested.
Action Achieved
1 maintained a professional approach and attitude.
1 led one focus group and the individual interviews.
A flexible schedule and research approach was taken to incorporate the needs of the
participants, the sponsor and myself.
The focus groups and individual interviews were held in a safe, secure and warm
environment.
The research results were presented to North Island College, the sponsoring organization-
Once the research was compteted, a s p i a l session for the two focus groups was
arranged to encourage discussion of the results of the research fiom the participant
perspective. This workshop was encouraged to help participants better understand their
leadership issues.
2.a. Apply current systems theones to problem solving
Action Plan
Identified in the research problem.
Use systems thinking to explain research to participants and the organization if necessary.
Use systems thinking to adjust research if required.
Action Achieved
The research problem was identified and a systems diagram was incorporated into
chapter one.
60
Systems' thinking was part of the literature review and used in the interpretation of the
study results.
Systems' thinking was u d to make a smwth transition from focus groups to individual
interviews. Participants' reactions and feelings towards questions were considered at
each stage in the research process.
5.a. Identim, locate and evaluate research fmdings
Action Plan
Provided in the proposal and specifically in the literature review.
Demonstrate in the research anaiysis
Action Achieved
Evidence related to identiming, locating and research findings are evident in the literatwe
review and throughout the entire document.
Evidence of evaluating research findings is demonstrated in chapters four and five in the
interpretation of resul ts.
5.b. Use research methods to solve problems
Action Plan
Demonstrate in the design and adjustment of the research question.
Demonstrate in the data analysis.
Act ion Ac hieved
Demonstrated in the filtering of group and personal information into themes.
The analysis of the results required a problem solving approach.
The presentation of results that portrayed a potentiai problem required problem-solving
skills.
7.b. Communicate with others through writing
Action Plan
Demonstrate through the writing of the final report.
Demonstrate through letters of recruitment, consent forms, etc.
Action Achieved
Demonstrated through the writing of the final research report.
Demonstrated through letters of recruitment.
Through information provided to participants.
Demonstrated through synthesis of focus group themes.
lndividuallOptional Cornpetenciam
1 .a. Describe leadership styles and theories
Action Plan
Demonstrate in the literature review.
Demonstrate in the analysis of results.
Action Achieved
Demonstrated in the literature review and in the analysis of the results.
Demonstrated in the focus group and individual interviews when defining leadership and
management.
1. b. Demonstrate leadership characteristics
Action Plan
Demonstrated through organization of research.
Facilitate teleconference focus group and one-on-one interviews
Present recommendations to management team.
Action Achieved
Demonstrated by k i n g able to organize and complete focus groups and individual
interviews.
Demonstrated by encouraging participants to engage in leadership discussions.
Facilitated group and individual sessions with peers' colleagues and those in positions of
authority . Presented recommendations back to participants as well as to the college management
team.
I .e. Recognize ethical considerations.
Action Plan
Demonstrate in proposa1 under participants
Follow ethical. considerations as outlined in the proposal.
Action Achieved
Ethical considerations were outlined to participants before they participated in any group
or individual work.
Al1 transcripts and audiotapes were kept in a secure place.
The participant. approved al1 transci-ibed audiotapes.
A Il participants signed letters of consent and con fidential ity . Participants were in no way identified in the research fuidings or recommendations.
4.c. Create iearning opportunities in the workplace-
Action Plan
Create leaming opportunities for participants by asking for participation.
Provide opportunity for feedback, input, and follow through of recommendations.
Action Achieved
Participants were given the opportunity to discuss leadership practices in a safe
environment.
Participants were able to provide feedback on the study results.
Participants were asked to participate in a feedback session at the end of the study.
Participants were able to self assess their own ideas and feelings towards distance
leadership.
7.c. Interpret oral communication
Action Plan
Demonstrated through one-on-one interviews.
Demonstrated through focus groups
Action Achieved
Demonstrated through the analysis of the focus group and individual transcripts.
Demonstrated in the one-on-one interviews through listening and forming questions in
order to draw out information.
Demonstrated by keeping participants focused on the issues of distance leadership as
c o m p a d to issues of genetal leadership or management.
WORKS CITED
Albemathy, D. J. (1999, March). Leading-edge learning: two views. Training and Develo~ment, 53(3),
40.
Alford, R. J. (1999, Januq) . Going Virtual. Training & Develo~ment, 34.
Anastasiou, S. (1998, October). Communicating Change. Management, 45( 9), 86.
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APPENDIX A - Participant Recruitment Letter
Hi Everyone:
As you are probably aware, North Island College has been providing distance leadership for over twenty years to its various campuses and small cenees. As a leader in this organization, you play a major role in providing leadership to the North Island College employees who work out in these campuses and small centres.
1 am seeking volunteers fiom within the centralized administration area of Campbell River and the Comox
Valley (and PH) to participate in a study of distance leadership challenges and opportunities. As a
participant of this action research project, you and several people wiil be asked to participate in a
focudvisioning group that will take apptoximately 2 hows and then participate in a one-on-one interview
lasting approximately 45 - 60 minutes. Questions asked in these sessions will be designed to address
distance leadership challenges and opportunities and will not deal in any way with management issues.
The information gathered will form part of the data for a Mastefs level action research project 1 am working on, conducted under the auspices of Royal Roads University. The information gathered in the focudvisioning group will be used to make up the questions for the personal interviews, and wiil be made available for your review. You will have an opportunity to review the tramaipts of the interviews as well. Privacy and confidentiality will be strictly maintained. All sessions will be audio taped
This action research project will address the challenges and opportunities of distance leadership and will resutt in recommendations k i n g made to N o h Island College. Your participation helps to make the project possible and will enhance the quality of the results. Should you decide to participate, we could meet to discuss the project M e r , or talk over the phone, and 1 will supply you with a consent form which will outline the project and your role in detail.
in order for the project to begin, I will need to have al1 research participants identified by September 15, 1999. The potential dates for the administrative focus group are: Thursday Sept 23rd rnorning (9 - 1 I am?) Tuesday Sept 28th aflernoon (1 :30 - 3:30 pm?) Thursday, Sept 30th morning or aflemoon. (9- 1 1 or 1 :30 - 3:30?)
Please contact me at 334-5202 or by e-mail at [email protected]. if you can and will be part of this focus group. What dates could you anend? Your quick response is appreciated. Thank you for your consideration.
Janice
APPENDlX B - Background Information to Focus Group
Participants
1 Identifyiag the ChollengcslOpportuaities of Distance Leadership at North
Island College
1 Janice Nickh
Background Information to Focus Group Participants
The following information is intended to help you understand the %ope o f this major research project, and assist you as a focus group participant. A clear understanding of the following points is essential to your participation and input d u h g our two hour session, on Tuesday, September 28, 1999.
This action research project involves discussing the issues and concerns employees who lead at a distance, at North Island College face. Therefore 1 am hoping for a bmad view o f leadership issues. This does not involve consensus or agreement but a variety of perspectives o f the opportunities/challenges.
The question of opportunities/challenges is not based on a "identified problem" but rather on the opportunity to identifi areas where we can make improvement.
Participants must truly understand the terrns management and leadership as defined within the project. It is essential we d o not blend the two issues in our discussions.
Action Research can change as the process evolves. The information gathered from participants may change the path of research for this project in the fiiture.
P u m s e of this maior research ~ r o i e c t The purpose of this project is to create a better understanding of the challenges/opportunities presented in providing leadership at a distance. It is k i n g driven by the opportunity to enhance North Island College distance leadership practices even further, fiom their current style and approach. Questions to consider include:
What changes in leadership practices may be required to effectively enhance leadership when great distances separate people?
What strategies can be developed and implemented for Improved distance leadership?
Learnine Ornriaizations - leaders hi^ verses Manazement In this project, North Island College leadership will be defined in the context of k i n g a Ieaming organitation.
Gephart et al (1996) describes a leaming organization as an organization that can change, adapt and l m
quickly, in msponse to new realities.
Leadership, for the purposes of this study will be defined as follows:
Senge (1990, p.340) states, "...leaders are designers, stewards, and teachers. They are responsible for building organizations where people continually expand their capacities to understand complexity, clarifi vision, and improve shared mental models 4 a t is, they are responsible for leaming."
Kouzes and Posner (1 995, p. 30) firrther describe leadership as a "study in teiationships." The relationship between people in an organization includes qualities relatecl to behaviours, attitudes, sharing and excellence that cornes h m the har t of the individual, not their position.
Management at North Island ColIege will be defined as follows:
Kouzes and Posner (1 995, p.36), state management is "...about 'handling' things, about maintaining order, about organization and control."
Hickrnan (1990, p. 7) sees the manager, "...as the person who brings the thoughts of the mind to bear on daily organizational problems." The manager çolves problems of organizational operations.
Leaders ut North I s l d College have varying degrees of management and Ieadership responsibilities within their positiom. To clar15 these two terms, consider H i c h 's distinction. Hickmun (1990, p.2) sees leadershipfimctions are visionary, empathetic. andflexible and management fintctions as reasonuble, pructicai and decisive. He encourages uccepting and encouraging the diflerences between the two t e m as both are necessas, in any organization.
Summary This project is about challenges to distance leadership, therefore challenges to distance management will not be of major consideration. These defmitions are meant to assist in recognizing leadership, in contrast to management, if they become blurred during this research project.
This research project will attempt to get to the hearts of North Island College employees to find out if they believe they are king Iead, as stated, when they are at a distance from their leadership. It will also look at the leaders and ask if they can provide this type of leadership to distance campuses, cornmunities and stafK Are there opporhinities to display leadership at a distance, at North Island College?
Gephart M., Marsick, V., Van Buren, M.. Spuo, M. & Senge, P. (1996, December). Learning organizations corne alive. Traininv and ûeveio~ment, 50(12), 34.
Hichan, C. (1990). Minci of a Manaeer Sou1 of a Leader. New York. USA: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Kouzes, .J. M. & Posner, B. 2. (1 995). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Senge, P. M. (1 WO). The F i f i Discidine - The Art & Practice of the Leamhg Oraanization. New York: Doubleday .
APPENDIX C - Suggested Questions for Focus Groups
Suggested Questions for Focus Group.
How would you define distance leadership? How is it different than management? (build a baseline - mutually agreed definition)
What campus do you wotlc at and approximately how many people do you provide leadership to - off your campus?
What do you believe to be the major challenges of distance leadership?
Are the challenges becoming pater or more manageable? (reality/relativity check)
What recommendations, if any, could you make to improve distance leadership?
Suppose you had one minute to tafk to the President on the challenges of distance leadership. What would you say? ( this obliges focus and priori ty..... also gives people a chance to express frustrations or concerns about the 'power structure')
We have discussed a variety of challenges to providing distance leadership. Which of the challenges is the most serious / important to you?
At the end of this process (with 10 minutes remaining), summarize the ground we have covered,
checking whether the summary is adequate, and adding anything that people think should be added.
APPENDIX D - Participant Consent Fonn
Royal Roads University
Participant Consent Fonn
Research Projcct Titk: identifj4ng the Challenges/Opportunities Presented in Leading at a Distance
Investigator: lanice Nicklin, Masters student
Sponsor: North island College
This consent fom is part of the process of informed consent. Tt should give you the basic idea of what the ressarch is about and what your participation will involve, If you would like more detail about something mentioned in this document, or information not included here, you shouid feel fi-ee to ask. PIease take the time to read this carefully and to understand the information. 1. The purpose of this project is to study the challenges or opportunities of distance leadership at North
island College as perceived by pers and subordinates. 2. The research will be carrier out using focus/visualizttion groups, written survey questions andlot one-
on-one interviews. 3. Each focus/visualization group or interview will be approximately 60 to 90 minutes in duration. 4. The focus group/visualization interviews wili be recorded through written notes and by audio tape. Al1
audio tapes wi11 later be transcni. 5. You will have the Rght to turn off the tape recorder at any time during the interview, or to request that
the tape not be transcribed. 6. AI1 interview data and conversations will be kept anonymous. 7. Your participation is entirely anonymous. The researcher and the Project supervisor are the ody
individuals who will know of your participation. You wiil be identified throughout the research notes and transcripts through a pseudonym.
8. You will be given a copy of any transcript created 6om the tape to review and veriQ. Following the approval of the transcript, the interview tape will be erased
9. The data fkom your interviews may be used in other forms such as submissions to professional journals, maintaining the same standards of confidentiality and anonymity.
1 O. There wilI be no monetary compensation to you for participating in this snidy. However, a summary of the study results will be made available to you at the end.
I 1. Your participation in this study is voluntary and you may withdraw at any time. 12. You will not be expected to incur any financial costs as a condition of, or because of, participation in the
research.
Your signature on this fom indicates that you have understood to your satisfaction the information regarding participation in the research project and agree to participate. You are fkee to withdraw from the study andor ask for clarification or new information throughout your participation in this study, at any tirne. If you have fivther questions conceming matters refated to this research please contact: Janice Nicklin at 250 334-5202.
Participait Narne Participant Signature Date
Researcher Name Researcher Signature Date
Witness Name Wimess Signature Date