Nature of Eco-Leadership: Insights from Community Leaders

Abstract

The nature of leadership is changing - challenges are becoming more complex, there is a greater reliance on interdependent work, and leadership is increasingly being viewed as a collective process. The emerging eco-leadership discourse and related theory are shifting the focus from individual leaders to shared leadership. Unfortunately, the vast majority of research on shared leadership has been conceptual, creating an urgent need for empirical evidence in support of the conceptual models. This talk addresses the emergence of eco-leadership and explores a specific study of community groups in Virginia’s New River Valley. Relationships between community groups’ leadership style and other factors are explored using an intricate mixed method design that ultimately led to a deep, rich understanding of these relationships. Additionally, the talk will address results from the five research objectives: (1) Characterize the community groups’ leadership culture; (2) Assess each group’s cohesiveness; (3) Assess the groups’ community project involvement; (4) Determine if relationships exist between the variables; and (5) Highlight the role of mixed methods in the emergence of findings. This talk will empower participants to carry forward the concept of eco-leadership in research and practice.