An analysis of the perceived leadership orientation of senior student affairs officers and the work satisfaction of their professional staff subordinates in the North Carolina Community College System

The satisfaction of employees at work is critical to the success of any organization. Research is lacking, however, on the work satisfaction of higher education professional staff, particularly those in student services divisions. This research project sought to answer the question, "Does the perceived leadership orientation of senior student affairs officers impact the work satisfaction of their professional staff subordinates?"; Electronic surveys were used to collect data from professional student services staff members in the North Carolina Community College System. Participants were asked to complete: (1) the Leadership Orientations Instrument to measure their perception of the leadership traits exhibited by their supervisor; (2) the Mohrman-Cooke-Mohrman Job Satisfaction Scale to self-report their satisfaction with various facets of their job; and (3) several basic demographic questions. The Leadership Orientations Instrument allowed each leader to be categorized based on their perceived primary leadership frame (structural, human resource, political, symbolic), as well as their differential use of leadership frames (none, single, paired, multiple). The job satisfaction survey allowed for computation of overall, intrinsic, and extrinsic satisfaction.; One-way ANOVAs were used to test the null hypotheses of no difference between leadership and job satisfaction. Primary leadership frame and differential use of leadership frames were the independent variables, and overall and extrinsic satisfaction composed the dependent variables for analyses. In addition, two-way ANOVAs were also performed to determine if the demographic variables of age and gender interacted with primary leadership frame to impact extrinsic satisfaction.; The statistical analyses revealed that primary leadership frame and differential use of leadership frames demonstrated statistically significant relationships with both overall and extrinsic satisfaction. Symbolic leadership and the use of multiple leadership frames were linked with the highest levels of job satisfaction. The demographic variables did not produce a statistically significant interaction with primary leadership frame to impact satisfaction. Leaders who understand the effect of their leadership style on their subordinates may be better able to adapt their behavior in different settings to meet the needs of different constituents. These findings have implications for institutional leadership development and structured leadership programs at the college and university level.