ABSTRACT
In viewing leadership within student affairs through an ecological lens we begin our journey by exploring how leaders have come to fashion their own identity as leaders through their definitions and values surrounding their view of leadership. The leaders’ beliefs about leadership, how they define leadership, and how they view themselves engaging in leadership provide an initial step in understanding how the senior student affairs officer (SSAO) practices leadership. It is from this perspective that SSAOs determine what their priorities are and how they will expend their leadership energy, as well as how and to what extent they will engage various components of the environment in their practice of leadership. The chapter discusses the leaders’ characteristics and their perceptions of leadership and the ecological patterns that emerge from the collective characteristics and experiences to reveal their common and different beliefs and views of leadership.
