Factors That Influence Faculty Participation in Formal and Informal Leadership Opportunities: A Case Study of a Comprehensive Midwestern Two-Year College

As far back as 2001, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) noted an urgent need to find qualified leaders to replace those retiring and to identify future leaders with skills and competencies to manage the rising demands on U.S. two-year colleges. Yet well over a decade later, the challenge remains. One potential solution to the leadership void is for two-year college leaders to substantially increase faculty participation in formal and informal leadership opportunities. Faculty leadership has great potential to help create innovative and effective cultures within the colleges in an effort to meet today's education and employment challenges. However, it appears that limited research has thoroughly examined factors contributing to faculty participation in leadership opportunities.;This study aims to better understand the motivating and limiting factors related to faculty participation in formal and informal leadership opportunities via a case study of a comprehensive Midwestern two-year college. Semi-structured interviews of 15 faculty revealed three high-level themes that describe motivating and limiting factors relative to faculty participation in leadership opportunities. The three themes that emerged from a systems analysis and interpretation of data are conceptualizations of leadership; personal interest and view of potential; and organizational and positional factors.;The interaction of the influencing factors as faculty progress through their careers gives rise to the Faculty Leadership Life Cycle (FLLC) model. The FLLC model provides insights as to how faculty progress through cumulative and successive career phases and indicates which factors have the most influence at each phase relative to faculty participation in leadership opportunities. As one potential solution to the chronic leadership void in two-year colleges, faculty progression through the FLLC will unearth clues to organizational interventions that maximize faculty engagement in formal and informal leadership opportunities. In this way, faculty are a viable solution in pursuit of future leaders to lessen the leadership void in community and technical colleges. As this segment of higher education in the U.S. continues to grow in significance, effective and inspiring leadership is critical to organizational success. Two-year colleges would be prudent to consider and invest in the leadership potential and contributions of faculty.