ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6375-4160

Year

2023

Season

Summer

Paper Type

Doctoral Dissertation

College

College of Education and Human Services

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD)

Department

Leadership, School Counseling & Sport Management

NACO controlled Corporate Body

University of North Florida. Department of Leadership, School Counseling & Sports Management

First Advisor

Dr. Christopher A Janson, Committee Chair

Second Advisor

Dr. Amanda Pascale, Committee Member

Third Advisor

Dr. Sophie Filibert, Committee Member

Fourth Advisor

Dr. LaDonna Morris, External Committee Member

Abstract

The purpose of this Q methodology study was to explore Saudi Arabian professionals’ perspectives regarding the soft skills they considered most important for leaders to possess in telecommuting environments during crises.

Q methodology was developed to study human subjectivity and uses both quantitative and qualitative procedures to do so. As is the convention for a Q methodology study, a single question guided the research: What are the perspectives collectively held among Saudi Arabian professionals regarding the soft skills they consider most important for leaders to possess in telecommuting environments during crises?

The researcher developed a 44-item Q sample of opinion statements, each reflecting an important soft skill. The researcher recruited 44 participants using purposeful and snowball sampling techniques. These 44 participants sorted the 44-item Q sample into a forced distribution in ways that reflected their perspectives. The researcher subjected the 44 Q sorts to a series of statistical procedures: first correlations were identified among the sorts and then those correlations were factor analyzed, rotated, and extracted. These procedures produced 6 distinct perspectives which were named Communicating Stability by Modeling Reliability, Honesty, and Credibility; Listening, Disclosing, Engaging, and Inviting Bidirectional Communication; Ethical Exemplars through Fairness, Goodness, and High Moral Values; Capable Solutions-Oriented Leadership; Future Orientation, Confidence, and Big Picture Leadership; and Leadership Skills that Convey Stability, Clarity, and Strength. Findings from this study hold implications that include how businesses and other organizations in Saudi Arabia might incorporate efforts to facilitate leader development of soft skills to better prepare organizations to respond to any future disruptive crises.

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