Date
8-29-2025
Department
Graduate School of Business
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Organization and Management (PhD)
Chair
Peter James
Keywords
leadership, behaviors, hiring, interviewing, morale, engagement
Disciplines
Business
Recommended Citation
Gow, Wes, "Hiring for Leadership Behaviors" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7381.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7381
Abstract
The problem addressed in this research study was low morale and decreased employee engagement within the organization when candidates are assessed for technical acumen at the expense of leadership behaviors. The purpose of this study was to expand the understanding of how hiring managers assess leadership behaviors and the effect that poor leadership behaviors have on organizational morale and employee engagement. A single case study was conducted with 31 hiring managers within the researcher’s present employer, ABC, Inc. (pseudonym name). Data collection included one-on-one interviews, review of existing job interview templates, and follow-on interviews to reflect on recent job interviews. All transcripts were manually coded for categories and themes. In addition, the researcher also utilized Delve, a computer assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) program, to analyze personal memos in order to enhance coding insights. Key conclusions from this study were as follows. First, hiring managers at ABC, Inc. who participated in this study did not prioritize technical acumen over leadership behaviors. Instead, participants expressed consistent appreciation for leadership behaviors and often noted their belief that these provided greater impact on business outcomes than a candidate’s technical acumen. Second, participants held strong opinions on which leadership behaviors were most beneficial to the company and the customers. Third, participants displayed a keen recall of leadership behaviors that they observed (or a lack thereof) from recent job interviews. However, two final conclusions undermined these apparent advantages: a) hiring managers at ABC, Inc. did not consistently identify leadership behaviors in their job interview templates, and b) hiring managers were not at all aligned in how they evaluated a candidate’s performance in the interview, let alone their leadership behaviors.
