Leadership Competencies and Their Development for Community College Administrators

Challenges facing today's community colleges include filling the leadership gap caused by baby boomers retiring and the lack of qualified administrators ready to step into vacated administrative positions. The research questions for the study addressed (a) what leadership competencies are needed for community college administrators, as well as an identified a theoretical framework (Mintzberg's managerial roles); and (b) identified ways most appropriate to develop such leadership competencies. An exploratory study, using multidimensional scaling, asked current community college administrators to identify the competencies that will be needed for future community college administrators. The results of study found that all 25 competencies were significant, with the interpersonal skills of leadership, communication, strategic planning, conflict resolution, budget management, and personnel being the most important to possess; and the best way to learn all of the leadership competencies is (1) seminar; (2) mentor; (3) hands-on-experience; (4) community college leadership program; (5) classroom; and (6) and other. The recommendation is to research administrators in other regions to see if the results correlate, as well as have the administrators do rank order on the competency belief scale to see if a more significant result exists. The development and readiness of well-prepared leaders is crucial for community college systems. As a result, this study provides positive social change by identifying leadership competencies, development techniques, and a theoretical framework that supports the development of administrators, leadership development programs, and succession planning---all things needed now so that America's higher education system can thrive as administrators retire.