Abstract

This mixed-methods study explores how university presidents leverage adaptive leadership principles and learning organization frameworks to generate institutional growth and sustainability in higher education. Through analysis of presidential narratives, the research examines the intersection of Heifetz et al.’s (2009) adaptive leadership theory and Senge’s (2006) five disciplines of learning organizations, revealing patterns in leadership communication that drive change. The study analyzed narratives from eight university presidents who demonstrated success through their institutions’ minimum 30% endowment growth over five years. Using thematic analysis and frequency counts, the research identified 198 references to learning organization disciplines, 90 adaptive leadership phases, and 100 adaptive leadership behaviors in presidential communications. Findings reveal that effective university presidents heavily emphasize shared vision (33% of learning organization references) and systems thinking (24%) while focusing less on mental models (12%). Within adaptive leadership, presidents prioritize mobilizing the system (52% of phase references) and direct intervention (51% of behavior references), with significantly less attention to seeing themselves as systems (7%) or interpretation (16%). The research concludes that successful presidential narratives unite institutions around compelling shared visions, position universities within larger interconnected systems, and focus on mobilizing collective action through strategic interventions. Effective academic leaders harmonize aspirational goals with concrete implementation strategies. This research helps bridge theoretical leadership frameworks with practical application in organizational transformation by identifying narrative patterns that create growth and sustainability.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

University presidents—United States; Educational leadership—United States; Universities and colleges—Administration—United States

Date of Award

2025

School Affiliation

Graduate School of Education and Psychology

Department/Program

Education

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctorate

Faculty Advisor

June Schmieder-Ramirez

Download

Share

COinS