Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice

Advisor

Ashley Rusom

Committee Member

Johanna Tunon

Committee Member

Kimberly Durham

Keywords

complexity leadership theory, employee performance, law firms, leadership styles, qualitative case study

Abstract

This applied dissertation explored employees' perceptions of their supervisors’ leadership styles and how those perceptions shape their job performance and satisfaction within a mid-sized personal injury law firm operating across multiple offices in the Southeastern United States. The effectiveness of leadership styles in law firms significantly influences employee performance, productivity, and organizational success, yet the unique contextual factors of legal practice environments have remained substantially underexplored in the leadership literature. Much of the existing research has focused on general organizational settings rather than the knowledge-intensive, hierarchical, and high-pressure dynamics that characterize law firms. This applied dissertation was designed to address that gap.

The researcher conducted a qualitative case study grounded in complexity leadership theory, using semi-structured interviews with 10 employees representing diverse departments, organizational roles, and tenure levels. Interview data were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed through descriptive, emotion, and in vivo coding. Credibility, dependability, and confirmability were supported through member checking, analytic memos, a reflexive journal, and a detailed audit trail.

An analysis of the data revealed that employees experienced leadership as the defining condition of their professional lives rather than as a peripheral organizational feature. Four themes emerged: a dichotomy between authoritarian control and empowering collaboration; communication quality as a performance enabler or barrier; recognition and trust as motivational foundations; and developmental support as a performance catalyst. Participants consistently identified supervisor quality as the primary driver of performance capacity and retention intention, independently articulating that people leave supervisors rather than organizations. The findings offer practical guidance for leadership development, supervisor selection, and retention strategy within legal practice environments.

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