Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
1-2023
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1149-5016
Document Type
Dissertation
Department
Organizational Leadership
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Jennifer Butcher
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Deardra Hayes-Whigham
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Dianne Reed
Abstract
Although much research has addressed the relationships between leaders and followers, none has focused on these relationships between Black women—specifically, in the context of Black women’s social service organizations and sororities—and the impact the leader’s chosen style of leadership has on the followers’ use of voice. Self silencing is a prominent response to the power dynamic in many leader–follower relationships. The purpose of this study was to describe the interactions between leaders and followers in Black women’s social service organizations and sororities and identify the influence leadership style has on follower engagement. This study extends the application of silencing the self theory to leader–follower dynamics in Black women’s organizations and sororities. This qualitative study employed a narrative design and semistructured interviews to ascertain the experiences of and gain insight from 15 members of Black women’s organizations and sororities on their interactions with leaders in their organization and the impact on their use of voice and their commitment to the organization. The multiple themes identified suggest that the leader–follower relationship—specifically the leader’s actions and leadership style—and the culture and interpersonal dynamics of the organization are critical to followers’ decision to moderate their voice and their commitment to the organization.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Willis, Mitzi S., "Perceptions of Organizational Politics and Interpersonal Relationships in Black Women's Organizations and Sororities" (2023). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 545.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/545
Included in
Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, International and Intercultural Communication Commons, Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons, Organizational Communication Commons, Organization Development Commons, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons