Building Capacity in Collaborative Leadership to Sustain Innovations at Community Colleges

Community colleges receive extramural grant funding to design, implement, and evaluate educational innovations to support the pressing needs of their students including educational attainment, workforce development, and equitable opportunities for lifelong learning. However, community colleges face persistent challenges to sustain effective innovations due to lack of planning for sustainability, institutional resources, and openness to change. A review of literature and needs assessment study identified five factors that may influence an organization’s ability to sustain innovations: adaptability, leadership, fit, buy-in, and collaboration (Ayers, 2002; Mancini & Marek, 2004; McLaughlin & Mitra, 2001; Scheirer, 2005; Shediac-Rizkallah & Bone, 1998; Yin, 1981). This mixed-methods study of an online community of practice (CoP) for faculty and staff at a community college in the Pacific region examined whether participation facilitated on a social network technology platform would inform practice related to collaboration and leadership. The CoP consisted of an 8-week professional development program including online group meetings and discussions of research on full-range leadership and collaborative topics, peer mentoring activities, and an applied project in the context of their professional practice. Analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data revealed that using new online technologies for a CoP may hinder participation. Participants expressed that scheduling more time for the CoP would better support applying new knowledge and practice of collaborative leadership. A hybrid CoP format would also enhance peer interactions and mentoring to strengthening social network relationships. Participants demonstrated an increase in their practice of authentic and transformational leadership styles through activities that build trust, act with integrity, and encourage others. Evidence of changes in collaboration were not evident, perhaps due to lack of time within the eight-week program duration to evaluate meaningful change in activities in the social network; however, participants communicated an increased awareness of building connections, improving communication, and mentoring peers in their professional practice. The value of this pilot CoP program could be enhanced through future research that integrates cultural knowledge of leadership, more in-depth analysis of social networks, and a hybrid modality