Symbolism and Presidential Perceptions of Leadership

Abstract

This paper seeks to shed light on the discussion of leadership in higher education by focusing on its symbolic dimensions. The author considers leadership from the perspective of post-secondary organizations as socially constructed and subjective entities, then examines six symbolic categories used by presidents: metaphorical, physical, communicative, structural, personification, and ideational. The author concludes with a discussion of the implications for administrators of understanding the symbolism of their leadership.