Improving Organizational Performance and Change in Rural-Serving Community Colleges

Objective/Research Question: The purpose of this study was to examine how innovative rural-serving community college presidents lead their institutions through change and innovation in response to the evolving nature of work. Specifically, the study sought to identify the strategies used to enhance organizational performance and the systemic changes needed to support innovations that promote student success. Methods: A qualitative case study method was employed that included interviews with 17 rural-serving community college presidents representing 15 different states. The Burke-Litwin causal model of organizational performance and change provided the theoretical framework used for analysis. Results: The study identified strategies critical to successful change efforts, including monitoring external context, tracking trends, and the identification of frameworks, resources and support organizations to leverage implementation of ideas into practice. The findings include a profile of the participants and their colleges, participant definitions of effective innovation, transformational and transactional factors the participants leveraged for change, and adaptive leadership strategies employed in the change initiatives. Conclusions/Contributions: This research found that most innovative leaders were engaging in first-order change versus second-order change. Elements of the Burke-Litwin model of organizational performance were evident in the 17 community colleges included in the study, and the participating leaders used a range of levers to advance innovation. The leaders supported change on their campus by attending to campus culture, building relationships with local employers, having knowledge of labor market trends, attending to strategic priorities, and tapping into collective leadership on campus. Clear and constant communication built campus sensemaking around innovation initiatives.