Leading During Change: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

This study purpose was to describe the lived experience of individuals’ experiences with the phenomena of leading during change. An epistemological constructivist view using a phenomenological approach was used to answer the research question of “How do mid-level leaders in higher education describe their experiences during organizational change?” Qualitative methods were used in data collection which included open-ended semi-structured interviews. The interviews were conducted with 17 participants to gain insight into their lived experience over an 11 month period. The interview aided me the researcher in the understanding, and exploration of the underlying structures and context of the phenomenon of leading during change. Participant interviews were transcribed, and data were coded and parsed using qualitative coding approaches. Data analysis was conducted using phenological framework. Four themes emerged following this transcendental analytical process, to provide the reader an understanding of the experiences of mid-level leaders during change. I used the four themes as well as individual vignettes to provide the reader an understanding of the experiences of leaders and their followers, leading organizational change. Analysis of the participants’ surfaced four themes included, perceptions of responsibility and authority, shared leadership during organizational change, the duality of the mid-level leader role, and ambiguity of leadership during organizational change. As part of the data analysis and data collection I use various technics to ensure trustworthiness, credibility and reliability. These included prolonged engagement, member checks, debriefing, and collection of data from multiple sources. The findings suggest that mid-level leaders deal with leadership self-identity and leadership self-efficacy while trying to lead their organization and followers through change. Future research could include review of what factors influence a leader to examine their leadership identities. Additional research could also examine if a different follower typologies provides additional insights into how a leader, leading organizational change modifies leader-follower relationships.