Author: Kim Edward S. Santos, Merlina C. Garcia

Abstract: Leadership has the power to create, sustain, and destroy an organization. It is the key to effective management. The study described the perceptions of NEUST Campus Directors, College Deans and instructors towards their leadership capabilities in terms of job knowledge and managements skills, language communication, cultural and professional growth and personal and social qualities, and differences between NEUST Campuses directors’ / deans’ and instructors’ perceptions. The descriptive method of research was used in this study. A total of 103 respondents composing of 15 academic deans/directors and 88 college faculty in the 5 campuses of NEUST were surveyed. Mean, Weighted Mean and Standard deviation were used to analyze the gathered data. Based on the foregoing findings, the following conclusions were drawn: First, academic deans/directors have high regard among themselves to be outstanding in their leadership capabilities. This implies that they were confident enough in their leadership capabilities. Second, instructors perceived their deans/directors to be human relations oriented. They cultivated the values of openness, fairness and approachability. Instructors feel comfortable with the “self-assurance” that their administrators were very much concerned of their welfare, personally and professionally. And last, there was incompatibility between deans’/directors self-perception and instructors’ perception in the formers leadership capabilities. There were differences in the ratings of the two groups. Deans/Directors rated themselves good performers. The difference, though, is spatial rather than dimensional. In other words, the qualities that leaders possessed were perceived by both deans and instructors along a similar scale, although the measures varied. In lieu of the stated conclusions, the researchers came up with the following recommendations: First, minimum requirements on qualifications of an academic dean/director based on policies and standards of the Commission on Higher Education should be met before appointing him to the position; Second, an academic dean/director should attend conferences, seminar-workshops in order that he be kept abreast of the latest trends; continuing education will make her more knowledgeable and competent in the performance of his function. Third, faculty meetings should be strengthened such that they can be means of enhancing professional growth; Fourth, an academic dean/director should come out with a functional supervisory program and should closely follow it up; and last, an academic dean/director should be committed to the cause of quality education.

Keywords: Leadership, Academic Leadership, Leadership Skills, Institutional Leaders, Higher Education.

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.51.32