Strengths-Based Leadership Skills of Doctoral Degree Candidates

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which University Xdoctoral candidates reflect on their five signature strengths when making decisions aboutsituations related to the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC)Professional Standards for Educational Leadership. Second, the study looked at thepotential impact of time as it relates to leaders’ reflection on their five signature strengthswhen making decisions related to the ISLLC Standards. A third purpose was todetermine if demographic variables (age, current profession, and gender) impact leaders’reflection on their five signature strengths when making decisions. This quantitativestudy included doctoral candidates from an Educational Leadership program atUniversity X. Twenty-three one sample t tests indicated doctoral candidates’ reflect ontheir signature strengths sometimes or often. The results from twenty-three hypothesistests, each using a one-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA), indicated that time does notimpact the frequency of doctoral candidates’ reflections. To address the demographicvariables of age and current profession, twenty-three ANOVAs were conducted. Theresults indicated that age and current profession do not impact the frequency of doctoralcandidates’ reflections. Twenty-three two sample t tests indicated that gender does notimpact doctoral candidates’ reflections. The research supports that doctoral candidatesreflect on their five signature strengths when making leadership decisions. Additionally,the research supports that time and demographics do not impact candidate reflections.