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Lisa Marie Gick, Ph.D. is a 2023 graduate of the PHD Program in Leadership and Change at Antioch University.

Photo of Lisa Gick, Carol Baron, and Lize Booysen

Lisa Gick at her Dissertation Defense.

From L-R: Carol Baron, Committee Member, Dr. Lize Booysen, Committee Chair, Dr. Donna Chrobot-Mason (not pictured), Committee Member.

Dissertation Committee

  • Lize Booysen, DBL, Committee Chair
  • Carol Baron, Ph.D., Committee Member
  • Donna Chrobot-Mason, Ph.D., Committee Member

Keywords

adaptive leadership, complexity leadership, curious leadership, curiosity, emergence, focus groups, growth mindset, leader, leadership, leader capacity, leadership coaching, leading teams, mixed-methods, organizational behavior, organizational culture, relational leadership, self-leadership

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2023

Abstract

When curious, we admit we do not know. With the contemporary workplace emerging through increased complexity, leaders are compelled to shift mindsets and practices from more traditional methods to those more in service to the uncertainty of the day. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to generate an integrated theoretical framework for curious leadership, a validated scale for its measurement, and practical methods for engaging differently in the context and practice of leading. Drawing from the literature review of relational leadership, adaptive leadership, complexity leadership, growth mindsets, and curious behavior, and from my practice, 12 sub-constructs were identified as possible scale components of curious leader behavior. A mixed-methods approach was taken with three differently composed focus groups who reviewed the 12 sub-constructs and honed them to four based on their intersections in Phase 1 of the study. In Phase 2, a survey was thereby developed identifying 66 items for further subsequent appraisal. A finalized survey was undertaken with 274 respondents. From principal and confirmatory factor analysis, four sub-scales were eventually identified: Encourage Emergence, Enable Openness, Engage Experiments, and Honor Humanness resulting in the development of the Gick Curious Leader Capacity Scale. The scale's application and future implications for research and practice are discussed. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA, https://aura.antioch.edu/, and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu.

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Profile photo of Lisa Gick

Lisa Marie Gick

ORCID Scholar ID #: #0000-0002-0544-4810

After 25 years at Macy’s Inc., most recently as Vice President of Employee Engagement for the enterprise, Dr. Lisa Gick is currently Assistant Professor of Management and Leadership at Mount St. Joseph University, and Director of the University’s Master of Science in Organizational Leadership program. She is a certified Leadership Coach through Georgetown University, with a PCC designation through the International Coaching Federation. Lisa is also owner of [curious]® leadership + change agency, a researched-based, creative agency deepening organizational commitment to work culture and leader impact. Her research is focused on the notion of emergence as it relates to leader capacity, strategy, and organizational development in the modern world.

Lisa presents regularly on leadership and the organizational experience globally and is a collaborative researcher and co-author of a chapter on leader identity development in the book Theorizing Women in Leadership: Insights and Contributions from Multiple Perspectives and a chapter on leading in the liminal space in Adaptive Leadership in a Global Economy: Perspectives for Application and Scholarship.

Lisa holds a Master of Science degree from Miami University in College Student Personnel Services, and both a Master’s degree and PhD from Antioch University in Leadership and Change. Her dissertation research involved a 2-phase, mixed methods study exploring the curious capacity of leaders and instrument validation for its measurement. More information about Lisa and her consulting practice can be found at www.TheCuriousAgency.com.

Dr. Lisa Gick’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-gick-phd-pcc-01a26910/.

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