Six Community College Presidents: Organizational Pressures,Change Processes and Approaches to Leadership

A total of six Maryland community college presidents were guided through conversations to identify the organizational challenges and uncertainties that have forced organizational changes in their respective colleges. Another thrust of the research was to discover what organizational change processes these presidents have implemented to overcome the challenges and to describe what leadership approaches they have used to lead change. Seven challenges, two general change process categories consisting of 12 different steps, and three leadership approaches emerged using a qualitative ethnomethodological research technique. The presidents' definitions of leadership and its essence, along with their leadership development experiences, are also presented.