The Perspective and Practice of Leadership by Managers Within the Virginia Department of Corrections: An Instrumental Case Study

This dissertation explores the extent to which the perspective and practice of leadership by managers in the Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) reflect the Leadership Perspectives Model (LPM), and the extent to which their perspective varies by level of management. The LPM is a model of leadership that consolidates leadership study into five distinct leadership perspectives that managers use in their understanding and practice of leadership. This study builds upon research in which the a LPM was tested and validated within a sample managers from municipal government agencies (M. R. Fairholm, 2004a, 2004b). The findings of this study reveal that the perspective and practice of leadership by managers at DOC only partially reflect the LPM. In addition, there is only minimal evidence that leadership perspective varies substantially based on level of management. The model was modified based on findings in this study and the modified model shows promise for increasing the overall strength and utility of the model