A will for survival : the leadership experiences of female executives in small nonprofit human service organizations

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Jefferson, Annette Elayne Beatty
Copyright Year	1996
Abstract	This study involves naturalistic inquiry with an interpretive focus and using qualitative methodology to bring to the fore the leadership experiences of eight female executives in small nonprofit human service organizations. These women as founders or rescuers of organizations were challenged to prove organizational effectiveness and tc build organizational legitimacy through delivery of services. Armed with more zeal than experience, these women willingly accepted the demands of executive leadership knowing at the outset they were underfunded, understaffed and under the accountability gun in the increasingly competitive and complex arena of the nonprofit sector. Six general research questions posed during in-depth semi-structured interviews produced findings about leadership strategies, executives' self-perceptions, motivation, the personal impact of their leadership, and their management of resources. Strength of will was introduced as the central concept around which the data revolved. Exercising strength of will empowered the female executives to make a way— as in ii overcoming obstacles and difficulties. Actions demonstrating strength of will were founding or rescuing an organization with scarce resources, sacrificing personal gain, risking financial stability, and operating on faith. The findings also indicated that the female executives instinctively applied feminine principles of leadership in distinctly non-feminist settings. In devising strategies, the women were more likely to rely on and combine previous experiences, new learning, common sense, intuition, emotions and spirituality rather than traditional, rational management practice. For a majority of the female executives, spirituality, a belief in God, was cited as an important factor in their leadership experience. Six of the eight female executives said that their spirituality gave them a strong sense of purpose, direction, and motivation for leadership. Implications for Social Work research, policy and education are given. The study includes two tables: Characteristics of Female Executives and Selected Organizational Characteristics.
File Format	PDF HTM / HTML
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=osu1487942182322169&disposition=inline
Language	English
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article