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LIBERTY UNIVERSITY JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY

ROLE OF CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE ON EFFECTIVE SERVANT LEADERSHIP IN SEMINARY SCHOOLS IN THE

U.S.

A Prospectus Presented in Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Education

by

Arnita Norman

Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA

2021

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Table of Contents LIBERTY UNIVERSITY ...............................................................................................................1 JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY .........................................................................1 CHAPTER ONE: RESEARCH CONCERN...................................................................................3

Introduction..................................................................................................................................3 Background to the Problem .........................................................................................................4 Statement of the Problem.............................................................................................................7 Purpose Statement .......................................................................................................................8 Research Questions......................................................................................................................8 Assumptions and Delimitations ...................................................................................................9

Research Assumptions.............................................................................................................9 Delimitations of the Research Design .....................................................................................9

Definition of Terms ...................................................................................................................10 Significance of the Study...........................................................................................................11 Summary of the Design .............................................................................................................12

REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................................13

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CHAPTER ONE: RESEARCH CONCERN

Introduction

With the world becoming more diversified, cultural intelligence is also becoming much

necessary for all leaders. Experts have defined cultural intelligence as the ability to function

effectively across various cultural contexts (Van Dyne, Ang, & Livermore, 2010). Seminary

schools host students who are on their journey to spiritual growth and training so that they can

serve God in different parts of the word. For servant leaders in those seminary schools need to

possess the skills and capability to deal with those students in evangelical seminary schools as

they prepare to serve in different parts of the world. A study by Shekari and Nikooparvar (2013)

shows that intercultural competency and cultural intelligence coupled to servant leadership, can

drastically alter the landscape of a cross-cultural workplace, potentially resulting in a culture of

inclusion, synergy, and high performance. That is because, on the one hand, servant-leaders must

be value-driven, character-driven, and process-oriented people. According to Jordan (2019),

servant leaders who provides learning opportunities for the development of followers, act as

collaborators and visionaries who share decision-making power, status, and privilege across all

organizational echelon. As a result, cultural intelligence is a critical concept when it comes to

servant leaders especially in seminary schools. The need to build a strong relationship, value

diversity and display authenticity in theological servant leadership. This study focuses on

exploring some of the roles that CQ play in effecting servant leadership in seminary schools,

concentrating on the schools in U.S.

Intercultural leaders need both cultural intelligence and intercultural competence to

effectively navigate cultural differences. Bennett (2014) defines intercultural competence as a set

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of cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills and qualities that enable successful and appropriate

engagement across cultural divides. The most notable contemporary publications on intercultural

leadership recognize that culture has an impact on leadership styles and perceptions. Cultural

intelligence and an intercultural attitude that fosters cultural competency are required for

intercultural leadership. Consider leaders who have an intercultural perspective, intercultural

talents, and intercultural sensitivity. These qualities are also necessary for navigating cultural

differences in cross-cultural work environments. Cultural competency, according to Bennett

(2014), necessitates leaders adopting a learn-to-learn philosophy among their followers, implying

that followers recognize the importance of learning and desire to embrace strategies to learn how

to learn, particularly in order to become culturally intelligent and competent.

Background to the Problem

There is a growing concern in regard to the concept of CQ and its role in effective servant

leadership especially in the U.S Seminary and theological schools. For example, Robert

Greenleaf (2008, p. 9) asks, “Servant and leader. Can these two roles be fused in one real person,

in all levels of status or calling?”. This tension is very real for pastors who struggle to balance

serving their people on one hand with providing strong, task-oriented leadership on the other

hand. The fundamental underlying values in servant leadership are humanistic in character.

Organizational culture is a well-known method that can be used to promote such values in

organizations. Culture is the most influential variable in any entity; whether it is a firm, a church,

a family, a university, or a group, culture has a profound and pervasive influence. The shared set

of beliefs, expectations, values, norms, and work routines that influence how individuals, groups,

and teams engage with one another and collaborate to achieve organizational goals is known as

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organizational culture (Andersen, 2009). Seminary's ultimate purpose is to help students

comprehend and rely on Jesus Christ's teachings and Atonement, qualify for temple blessings,

and prepare themselves, their families, and others for eternal life with their Father in Heaven.

Surprisingly, Robert Greenleaf, the father of servant leadership and an early proponent, has long

stressed the importance of culture in servant leadership.

Theologically, servant leadership in Seminary Schools in the U.S. can draw inspiration

from the historical record in the Bible where leaders are called 'servants'. They can do it with the

knowledge that faith in Jesus Christ assures them that they are called by God himself to be

servants for the benefit of others (Thompson, 2015). Matthew 20:26-27 says “Not so with you.

Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to

be first must be your slave.” Chaplains are exceptionally gifted clergy who specialize in pastoral

care, caregiving, and spiritual assistance for others. Leadership is a trendy phrase these days,

especially when it comes to what kind of individual is suited to lead. Chaplaincy in leadership

allows the Holy Spirit to work through the chaplain's skills and abilities to directly minister to

others in difficult situations. Much has been said about servant ministry, and this is both correct

and good. It is, however, frequently misapplied in ways that imply passivity and adapting

behavior rather than the kind of action required to achieve and maintain communal health and

discipline. Given the needs of today's cross-cultural believers, leadership development and

authority exercise are unavoidable. The Church will fail in its mission if its leadership is

incapable of leading and wielding authority.

In sociological contexts, Christian leaders have to find a balance between serving and

leading. If competent Christian leaders constantly seek to put Christ’s mission ahead of their own

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glory and to put the good of the seminary school students before their own desires, then their

followers will be more likely to accept their influence.

Theoretically, the core concepts of servant leadership include an innate value and desire

to serve, and willingness to act on the desire to serve by the leader, and trust from those led.

Foresight of the leader is derived from their ethics and is a foundational component, as well as

the ability to act constructively on that knowledge, when given a chance to act (Thompson,

2015). Understanding cultural intelligence from these perspectives will help to understand how

great servant leaders in Seminary Schools in the U.S should act and based on what milieu.

Greenleaf has emphasized the need of considering servant leadership as a cultural and

institutional phenomenon (Greenleaf, 2002). Leadership plays a critical part in the development

of successful businesses (Andersen, 2009). As a result, Livermore (2012) claims that today's

leaders are up against a hard challenge since leadership is a multicultural challenge. This is

especially important because it is erroneous to think that leadership behavior is universal across

cultures. Whether at the helm of a firm or in the classroom, leaders who appreciate cultural

diversity are better able to adapt and empower others. When leaders and followers critically

assess not only the questions posed, but also why those questions are asked, they progress to an

authentic process. Individuals that act in ways that reflect cultural nuances, sensitivities, and

values develop a meaning for their subordinates and the leaders themselves through their

leadership styles. Where, on the other hand, leadership styles are at odds with subordinates'

cultural expectations, such leaders are likely to be viewed as ineffectual, resulting in business

unit and company failures.

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Statement of the Problem

Cultural intelligence is an important element for church leaders who administer in multicultural

environments. Van Dyne, Ang, and Livermore (2010) define cultural intelligence as the ability to

function effectively across various cultural contexts. Unless and until church leadership becomes

intentional in developing cross-cultural relationships and partnerships, fostering diverse

leadership, and elevating such leadership to platform positions, very little will change in the life

of the church. For the dynamic global organization practices that we live in, greater interactions

(communication and collaboration) with other cultures are required. While our world is

decreasing, globalization presents challenges to leaders, particularly in terms of recognizing

other values, religions, and ethics. In multinational firms, leaders frequently face the difficulty of

cultural socialization of team members. While the world and the reach of enterprises are

shrinking, leaders in multi-cultural organizations must adapt to the shift and evolve. Cultural

intelligence is the ability of an individual to adapt to complicated challenges in

diverse organizations or cross-cultural environments.

Anyone, regardless of age, can be placed in a leadership role, but not everyone succeeds

in becoming a good leader. Anyone who is just starting out in leadership must effectively grow

into the role and work to become the type of leader that people desire to follow (Lee, 2013).

People have attracted to the same few leadership qualities throughout cultures and decades,

demonstrating that these attributes are universally recognized and coveted. When it comes to

ministry, one wants to be as efficient as possible. According to Lincoln (2010), any students

enter seminary with little leadership experience, seminaries need to give students opportunities to

start and lead something, anything. The time required is provided in the classroom, where

cultural diversity must be embraced. Drawing on the theory of multiple loci of intelligence by

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Sternberg and Detterman (1986), the concept of cultural intelligence alongside the key

dimensions of CQ will be described in detail to understand the study area.

Among the three capabilities, cultural intelligence motivation (CQ Drive) is the most

important component capability when compared to CQ knowledge and CQ strategy). To begin

with, people must be motivated in order to deal with and be more productive in a cross-cultural

context. Because if a person's drive wanes before they participate in a variety of cultural settings,

the goals they set for themselves may fall short. Lack of desire, unwillingness to communicate

with people from other cultural backgrounds, as well as a lack of learning and adapting to new

cultural variations, all have a detrimental impact on the process of dealing with cross-cultural

issues at the start.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to explore the lived

experiences of seminary school chaplains in the U.S as servant leaders and what they believe the

role of cultural intelligence is and how it relates to effective leadership based on their experience.

At this stage in the research, cultural intelligence will be generally defined as the capability or

skill to relate and work effectively and prosper in culturally diverse situations. The theory

guiding this study will be the multiple-loci of intelligence theory developed by Sternberg (1986)

proposing four cultural intelligence dimensions.

Research Questions

The following research questions will guide this research:

RQ1. How do seminary school chaplains perceive the role of servant leadership?

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RQ2. What are the leadership styles that seminary school chaplains apply in their

leadership role?

RQ3. How do seminary chaplains perceive the concept of cultural intelligence training

in their institutions?

RQ4. What are the dimensions of cultural intelligence?

RQ 5. What difficulties do seminary school chaplains in the U.S face as leaders in two

realms, that is acting as a servant leaders and a school leader at the same time and how do

they solve such problems if they exist?

Assumptions and Delimitations

Research Assumptions

The researcher will assume that Sternberg and Detterman’s theory of multiple loci of

intelligence accurately identify and define the real dimensions of CQ. This means the three

dimensions of CQ will be identified and explained in view of the theory.

It will also be assumed that the seminary school chaplains understand the concept of

cultural intelligence and its role in their servanthood. Besides, the researcher will assume that the

participants will answer the data collection questions in an honest and candid manner.

Delimitations of the Research Design

To narrow down this study and make it more manageable and relevant to what the

researcher will be trying to prove, there are boundaries that will be set to base on the decision of

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what to include and what to exclude in the study. As a result, in this study, only evangelical

seminary schools in the United States will be included in data collection. In addition, only the

seminary school chaplains will be approached other than conducting anybody else in the chosen

institutions.

This boundary was set in order to ensure the relevance of the study is well kept. In this

case, school chaplains have multifaceted roles as teaches and servant leaders. They support

everybody in the school community including students, parents and fellow staff. Schools are one

of the most complex environments in the society. As such, students in seminary schools need the

safe and supportive influence of their chaplains.

Definition of Terms

1. Culture: In simple terms, this refers to a picture of daily behavioral patterns within an

organization (Whitfield, 2014). Knowing an organization's culture is the greatest

approach to get to know it.

2. Cultural intelligence: The ability to function effectively across various cultural

contexts (Van Dyne, Ang, & Livermore, 2010).

3. Chaplain: A paid school staff who provides students with pastoral care.

4. Evangelical seminary school: A school that is dedicated to help the church create

servant leaders for transformation ministry.

5. Servant: One who humbly takes care of the needs of others (Greenleaf, 2008).

6. Leadership: The ability of an individual(s) to influence and guide others in an

organization (Spears, 2010). In this research, leadership refers to the capability of

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school Chaplains in seminary schools in the U.S to influence and guide students in

their spiritual journey.

7. Intercultural Leadership: A process that may successfully traverse across multiple

cultures while using cultural differences; it can be internal or external to a company

or organization (Whitfield, 2014).

8. Servant leadership: A type of leadership where individuals serve and interact with

each other to achieve authority rather than power (Spears, 2010).

Significance of the Study

Over the last few decades, a growing number of professionals have been forced to

reconsider basic leadership paradigms and how to succeed in this global period of economic

expansion and social transformation, among other developments. Globalization has a significant

impact on today's executives' understanding of the many cultures in which they aim to invest or

venture. In order to maximize organizational performance and goal achievement, being a

culturally competent leader is not only a desirable but also an essential talent in practically any

organization.

This study is useful for all seminary schools in the U.S in terms of how their servant

leaders can effectively serve their students who come from different cultural backgrounds to

assimilate and be able to serve in uniformity and in different cultural contexts. In addition,

seminary schools will make necessary changes as this study will recommend regarding effective

servant leadership in a multicultural setting. This study will also be meaningful to seminary

school chaplains in the U.S, as it focuses on them and how they have experienced leadership in a

cross-cultural setting. Their understanding of cultural intelligence will help make possible

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recommendations on how seminary school chaplains should act as servant leaders in the ever

diversifying world.

Summary of the Design

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to explore the lived

experiences of seminary school chaplains in the U.S as servant leaders and what they believe the

role of cultural intelligence is and how it relates to effective leadership based on their experience.

To achieve this objective and answer the research questions, the researcher will explore what

theological school chaplains experience and focus on their experience of a phenomena. Since it

will be a phenomenology it has a strong foundation in philosophy, and therefore the writing of

key thinkers such as Sternberg and Detterman on the theory of multiple loci of intelligence will

be explored. This means an in inductive approach will be used in the study design. An inductive

approach is used when the study begins with a qualitative phase, then the literature is

substantially less, and the researcher may incorporate it more into the end of the study (Creswell

& Creswell, 2017).

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Development Journal.

Bennett, J. M. (2014). Intercultural competence: Vital perspectives for diversity and

inclusion. Diversity at work: The practice of inclusion, 155-176.

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed

methods approaches. Sage publications.

Eken, İ., Özturgut, O., & Craven, A. E. (2014). Leadership Styles and Cultural

Intelligence. Journal of Leadership, Accountability & Ethics, 11(3).

Greenleaf, R. K. (2002). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and

greatness. Paulist Press.

Greenleaf, R. K. (2008). The servant as leader (rev. ed.) Westfield, IN: Greenleaf center for

Servant Leadership.

Jordan, H. (2019). Leadership factors that influence church growth for western North Carolina

churches of God.

Lee, B. (2013). Transforming congregations through community: Faith formation from the

seminary to the church. Westminster John Knox Press.

Lincoln, T. D. (2010). How Master of Divinity Education changes students: A research‐based

model. Teaching Theology & Religion, 13(3), 208-222.

Livermore, D. A. (2012). Serving with eyes wide open: Doing short-term missions with cultural

intelligence. Baker Books.

Shekari, H., & Nikooparvar, M. Z. (2012). Promoting leadership effectiveness in organizations:

A case study on the involved factors of servant leadership. International Journal of

Business Administration, 3(1), 54-65.

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Spears, L. C. (2010). Character and servant leadership: Ten characteristics of effective, caring

leaders. The journal of virtues & leadership, 1(1), 25-30.

Sternberg, R. J. (1986). A triarchic theory of human intelligence. In Human assessment:

Cognition and motivation (pp. 43-44). Springer, Dordrecht.

Sternberg, R. J., & Detterman, D. K. (1986). What is intelligence? Norwood. New York: Ablex.

Thompson, B. (2015). Servant, leader, or both? A Fresh look at Mark 10: 35-45. Journal of

Applied Christian Leadership, 9(2), 54-65.

Van Dyne, L., Ang, S., & Livermore, D. (2010). Cultural intelligence: A pathway for leading in

a rapidly globalizing world. Leading across differences, 4(2), 131-138.

Whitfield, D. (2014). Servant-leadership with cultural dimensions in cross-cultural settings.

In Servant leadership: Research and practice (pp. 48-70). IGI Global.