Leadership practices supporting retention in head start nonprofit

Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2017 Leadership Practices Supporting Retention in Head Start Nonprofit Organizations Nannette Brown Phillips Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.edu/dissertations Part of the Business Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact ScholarWorks@waldenu. Walden University College of Management and Technology This is to certify that the doctoral study by Nannette Phillips has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made.

Review Committee Dr. Mohamad Hammoud, Committee Chairperson, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Dr. Denise Gandy, Committee Member, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Dr. Yvonne Doll, University Reviewer, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Chief Academic Officer Eric Riedel, Ph.

Walden University 2017 Abstract Leadership Practices Supporting Retention in Head Start Nonprofit Organizations by Nannette Phillips MS, Troy University, 2005 BA, Tuskegee University, 1993 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University March 2017 Abstract Head Start, the largest early childhood organization in the United States, was federally mandated to employ bachelor degreed operational employees, with no additional funds. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore effective strategies that successful leaders of Head Start Nonprofit Organizations use to retain operational employees. The population of this study included 5 Head Start CEOs/Program Directors in 5 Head Start nonprofit organizations in Alabama who successfully retained operational employees in their organization. Kouzes and Posner’s transformational leadership theory provided a conceptual framework for this study.

Data were collected via telephone interviews and employee records from the human resources department. Reviewed human resource documents included the highest level of credentials for the leader, the policy for degree requirement for operational employees, and the number of operational employees, and the participants’ highest level of education. The data were analyzed using inductive analysis which consisted of a line-by-line approach to review data identifying words, phrases, ideas, and actions consistent among participants and organizations to identify patterns and themes. Results indicated that Head Start leaders used incentives, continuous training, educational support, and job benefits to retain their operational employees.

The implications for social change include the potential for young children to receive optimal teaching and caregiving from retained qualified operational employees. Leadership Practices Supporting Retention in Head Start Nonprofit Organizations by Nannette Phillips MS, Troy University, 2005 BA, Tuskegee University, 1993 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University March 2017 Dedication This study is in heartfelt dedication to my father, Izell Brown, who was the epitome of strength and determination. He instilled those characteristics in me through his demonstrative commitment to family, and his persistent battle for fighting cancer. He was a supportive, loving father to me and my brother Rodney and a supportive, loving husband of 50 ½ years to my mother Shirley.

I will always love you Daddy, and thank you for being the wind beneath my wings. Acknowledgments I would like to thank God for the covering, shielded favor, knowledge, wisdom, discernment, resources, and guidance during this journey. In addition, I would like to thank my phenomenal Mentor/Chair, Dr. Hammoud, my committee Dr.

Tim Truitt, Dr. Walter McCollum, Dr. Neil Mathur, Dr. Denise Gandy (Hackett), and Dr.

Yvonne Doll for your leadership, guidance, and recommendations during my educational journey. Freda Turner, thank you for the motivation and positive energy. I will be forever grateful for you all. To my mother, Shirley and brother Rodney, thank you for your encouragement, home-cooked meals when I was too busy to slow down, help when my health was not at its best, and push with the regular question, “when are you going to be finish your doctorate?” I will keep making you all proud.

I thank God for you, and love you. To my mentor, Mr. Edwards, you saw things in me that I did not see in myself. Thank you for the vision, faith, and sharing your leadership and management knowledge and skills with me.

In addition, thank you for my first planner with “Dr. Nannette Phillips” engraved on it before I was a Dr. I appreciate you for sharing a part of you with me. You will forever be in my prayers, thoughts and heart.

To friends and supporters, thank you for your support, prayers and understanding. You were my solace during this journey. Finally, to my goddaughter Makrystea and my godsons Jaquarious and Jaquavious, God blessed me with the opportunity to be a mother figure and role model for you. As you emerge and develop into your own, dream and believe you can be, and do anything you set your mind to, and work hard to achieve.

I love you all. Table of Contents List of Tables .v Section 1: Foundation of the Study.1 Background of the Problem .3 Nature of the Study .7 Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations. 9 Significance of the Study .10 Contribution to Business Practice. 11 Implications for Social Change.

11 A Review of the Professional and Academic Literature. 13 Head Start and Early Education. 15 i Operational Employee Education. 17 Operational Employee Commitment and Self-Efficacy.

21 Human Resources Issues.38 Section 2: The Project .40 Role of the Researcher .42 Research Method and Design. 46 Population and Sampling .51 Data Collection Instruments .52 Data Collection Technique .54 Data Organization Technique .57 Reliability and Validity. 61 Transition and Summary .62 Section 3: Application to Professional Practice and Implications for Change .63 Presentation of the Findings. 65 Theme 2: Encouragement of Continuous Training.

67 Theme 3: Educational Support. 69 Theme 4: Job Benefit. 73 Applications to Professional Practice .75 Implications for Social Change .77 Recommendations for Action .78 Recommendations for Further Research .83 Appendix A: Consent Form .114 Appendix B: Interview Questions .116 iii Appendix C: Interview Protocol .117 iv List of Tables Table 1. Frequency of Themes.

65 v 1 Section 1: Foundation of the Study Nonprofit organizations must implement better tactics and techniques to ensure organizational effectiveness and to increase staff sustainability (Liket & Maas, 2013). Leaders can create a qualified and reliable workforce (Hess & Bacigalupo, 2013). As the credibility of leadership increases, organizational success and cooperative staff relationships tend to increase (Neumann & Neumann, 2013). For organizations to be successful at optimizing employee commitment to the job, they must implement innovative approaches (Bal, Kooij, & De Jong, 2013).

Leaders must provide the right work environment to retain their employees and to improve employee satisfaction. Kouzes and Posner (2012) suggested that a leader’s most important task is to model the behavior he or she wishes to develop among the staff. By demonstrating effective behavior, leaders will create an atmosphere that encourages and increases staff productivity. Nonprofit organizations must work to retain employees using factors other than financial incentives in a job market in which better paying options exist.

Quality leadership can create a setting that draws workers to organizations and encourages them to stay (Becchetti, Castriota, & Tortia, 2013). Kouzes and Posner (2012) identified five leadership practices that can be applied in diverse work settings to transform organizations into highly effective teams: (a) model the way, (b) inspire a shared vision, (c) challenge the process, (d) enable others to act, and (e) encourage the heart. These leadership practices lead to employee commitment to the organization by helping 2 employees feel that they are valued and that their work is important (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). Background of the Problem The purpose of this study was to explore the problems that leaders of nonprofit organizations face in retaining operational employees when federal mandates increase position qualifications, but the funds for subsequent pay increases are not commensurate with qualifications.

The skills and knowledge acquired by staff tend to filter into the workplace (Smeby & Heggen, 2014). Staff motivation tactics can create win-win situations for both the staff and the organization (Muogbo, 2013). Jyothsna, Jyoshna, and Rajanikanth (2013); Kerslake (2002); and Smeby and Heggen (2014) suggested various methods for providing incentives to increase employee output. Kerslake (2002) suggested five tactics that could help leaders to create an environment that enhances productivity.

The five tactics for the office are (a) use a principal management tool, (b) suit the circumstances of the employees, (c) be flexible about the work to be done, (d) recognize growth, and (e) avoid pursuing false economies in decision making. Jyothsna et al. (2013) explained that before leaders can motivate staff, organizations must create a work environment that encourages motivation, where there is regular recognition of staff, and where goal setting and expectations are clear. Problem Statement No federal funds are available to provide Head Start employees with additional pay commensurate with their education (Head Start Information, 2014).

Fifty percent of Head Start operational employees were required to hold a bachelor’s degree by 2013, 3 with no additional compensation for their credentials (Head Start Act, 2013). The general business problem is that Head Start leaders need to retain qualified operational employees who have at minimum a bachelor’s degree, despite the disparity in pay between Head Start and other early childhood teaching positions (Head Start Act, 2013). The specific business problem is that some leaders of Head Start Nonprofit Organizations in Alabama lack effective strategies to retain operational employees. Purpose Statement The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore effective strategies that successful leaders of Head Start Nonprofit Organizations use to retain operational employees.

The target population for data collection included five Alabama Head Start Nonprofit Organization leaders who have demonstrated success in retaining operational employees in their organization. The potential outcomes of the study are threefold: the results may be useful to leaders who endeavor to contribute positive social change in service-oriented organizations, operational employees may remain working in the organization that they prefer and enjoy a better life, and young children may receive optimal teaching and caregiving performance from these operational employees earning better preparation for school. Nature of the Study Because of the exploratory nature of the research question, the qualitative method was the best fit for this study. Qualitative researchers investigate emerging areas of concern in which there is insufficient information to design a quantitative study; qualitative scholars also explore existing areas of research in more depth and with more 4 detail (Hunt, 2011).

Because the federal mandate related to Head Start operational employee qualifications is new to programs, the focus of this study was on exploring retention strategies for Head Start operational employees. The quantitative method was not suitable for this study because numerical data were not a part of the data collection, nor was there a testing of a theory (Hoare & Hoe, 2013). A mixed-methods approach was not suitable for this study because the collection and analysis of data did not occur by mixing both quantitative and qualitative research (Halcomb & Hickman, 2015). After reviewing many qualitative designs, I determined them to be inadequate for the purpose of this study.

Grounded theory, ethnography, narrative, and phenomenology underwent careful consideration. Grounded theory was not an appropriate qualitative design because I wanted to identify strategies to recruit operational employees rather than creating a theory (Lewis, 2015). Ethnography focuses on people, while the present study was focused on practices (Samnani & Singh, 2013). Similarly, narrative researchers focus on telling the story of an individual; however, this study’s focus was on individuals.

Phenomenology was a potentially viable option. Phenomenology focuses on human experience and emphasizes understanding the experiences of the people involved (Khan, 2014). Because the experiences of the leaders at the research sites are important in identifying successful practices, phenomenology could have been the qualitative design.