Intercultural leadership: A mixed methods study of leader cultural intelligence and leadership practices in diversity-oriented churches

The purpose of this two-phase, sequential mixed methods study was to examine and explain factors relating to leadership in diversity-oriented churches in the United States by obtaining quantitative results from a sample of 65 senior pastors and 92 top-management team members, then follow-up with a multiple case study to explain the results in more depth. The instruments used for quantitative data collection were the 20-item four-factor Cultural Intelligence Scale, the adapted 8-item Openness to Diversity Scale, and the Leadership Practices Inventory. The study's sixteen findings establish significant relationships between leader cultural intelligence, top-management team openness to diversity, and leadership practices, and elucidate how those relationships contribute to a positive organizational diversity climate. In addition, openness to diversity and church polity were discovered to influence TMT perceptions of the senior pastor's leadership practices. Therefore, the findings support the conclusion that investigating intercultural leadership in a domestic organization could reveal new theoretical insights while having implications for leadership practice and organizational effectiveness