| The purpose of this research study was to explore whether or not a significant correlation exists between learner autonomy and leader reserved behavior. Through this correlational study, I examined the relationship between learner autonomy and leader reserved behavior to determine if higher levels of learner autonomy may be associated with lower levels of reserved behavior in leaders and, therefore, lower risk of leader derailment. I reviewed the autonomous learning and leader derailment literature and posed the question: Is there a correlation between learner autonomy and leader reserved behavior? Additionally, from the extant literature, I synthesized a composite illustration, the Sass model, to more fully explicate the development of behavioral intentions toward autonomous learning. I presented the variables of interest, learner autonomy and reserved behavior, along with the instruments used to measure them: the Learner Autonomy Profile-Short Form (LAP-SF) and the Hogan Development Survey (HDS). While, to date, no other researchers have explicitly investigated a correlation between learner autonomy and leader reserved behavior, prior research in the two fields has provided a plausible theoretical basis for the hypothesis that there is a significant, negative correlation between total LAP-SF scores and HDS Reserved scale scores. This self-reporting, cross-sectional, survey-based correlational study utilized a complete sample of managers employed by four firms that comprise a major U.S. healthcare organization's southern California region. I analyzed the collected data using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (Pearson r). The data supported my hypothesis, revealing a statistically significant, moderate, negative correlation between the two variables of interest. An analysis of the data also revealed additional significant associations between learner autonomy and several potentially derailing leader behaviors. This study made important, original contributions to the quantitative-based literature and bodies of knowledge of two fields---autonomous learning and leader derailment---by discovering new, previously unknown, significant correlations. I make recommendations for future research to ascertain causality. |
