Running head: LEADERSHIP THEORIES IN REALITY

Leadership Theories in Reality: An Interview with Dorina Aguilar Rasmussen

Nicole Gottleib
Loyola University Chicago

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Over the summer, I had the opportunity to do an internship in the Office of Student Life
at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, and Integrated Marketing Communication at
Northwestern University. While I was directly supervised by Kristen Reid Salomon, an Assistant
Director of Student Life, I also worked closely with Dorina Aguilar Rasmussen, the Director of
Student Life. Both women were an inspiration to work with, having completed the Loyola
Higher Education program and moved along in their careers and their personal lives in the
Chicago area. I was especially inspired by Dorina, as she is the leader of the Office of Student
Life, a woman of color, a working mom, and an overall fantastic person. I aspire to lead a team
of professionals in a Student Life/Leadership/Activities office at an institution in the Chicago
area, maintain great relationships with staff and students, and balance a partner and family at
home. Therefore, I see Dorina as a role model and mentor, and knew she would be the perfect
person to interview to analyze leadership theories. During our conversation, Dorina addressed
multiple leadership theories and models, though not always identifying them by name. I will
address two of the theories I associate with Dorinas leadership style based on her responses, use
tools of deconstruction and reconstruction to address her understanding of leadership, and outline
how her insights help frame my understanding of leadership.
Theories Addressed: Strengths-based and Situational Leadership
Strengths-based Leadership
I had a feeling strengths-based leadership would be a theory that would be addressed in
the interview before we even began, as my summer internship in Medill Student Life was also
my introduction to the Clifton StrengthsFinder (CSF). After I asked Dorina how she defines the
term leadership my first question for her she spoke about identifying strengths in people and
utilizing those strengths to determine the ideal plan to accomplish goals (personal

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communication, October 9, 2015). Dugan (2016) identifies strengths-based leadership as a
deeper exploration into the distal attribute of personality focusing on innate talents (p. 8). As a
leader, Dorina looks to peoples strengths to determine a strategy for enacting departmental
goals, encouraging people to cultivate and refine their skills and talents (Dugan, 2016).
Additionally, Dorina strongly believes that anyone has the potential to be a leader (personal
communication, October 9, 2015). This idea relates to her focus on strengths-based leadership,
as strengths-based approaches stress the uniqueness of people (Dugan, 2016, p. 9).
In our conversation, Dorina made clear references to the two key steps found within
strengths-based leadership: determining individuals talent themes and helping them cultivate
those into strengths, and maximizing her team through creating a cohesive, diverse mix of
strengths (Dugan, 2016). When asked about how she applies the theories of leadership that she
uses in practice, Dorina stated that strengths-based leadership help[s] to promote, empower,
encourage them [her staff] to identify their strengths and then [they] utilize that as a team to get
things accomplished, to make things better, to make enhancements to the experiences students
are having (personal communication, October 9, 2015). Dorina enjoys using strength-based
leadership because it allows for easier and better communication about individual expectations,
values, and goals, and provides for a more inclusive and engaging environment (personal
communication, October 9, 2015).
Situational Leadership
In conversing with Dorina, another theory that kept coming up, though not explicitly
named, was situational leadership. According to Northouse (2016), the situational approach to
leadership focuses on leadership in different situations, with the idea that different situations
demand different kinds of leadership (p. 93) and that a leader must adapt their style depending

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on the situation. Dorinas definition of leadership spoke directly to her use of the situational
approach, as she stated, leadership isfluid. Leadership isnt always established but it comes
and it goes with any given situation (personal communication, October 9, 2015). There are two
key dimensions in situational leadership. One dimension is leadership style, which encompasses
directive and supportive behaviors classified by four categories of varying supportive-directive
behaviors: directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating (Northouse, 2016). Directive
behaviors are leader behaviors that include providing detailed instructions and supervising
closely, whereas supportive behaviors are leader behaviors that allow others to make decisions
and take responsibility over projects. The second dimension is development level of followers,
which includes the degree of competence and commitment necessary to accomplish a given
goal or activity (Northouse, 2016, p. 96).
Dorinas responses about strengths and creating a cohesive team around shared values
indicated her ability to be flexible as a leader and adapt her style to what the individual staff
member needs in that moment. Within Dorinas responses I was able to discern how she utilizes
some of the categories of leadership styles of situational leadership. Dorina addressed how she
takes on more of a coaching style in the ways that she encourages and empowers her team;
especially in the way she approaches communication and transparency with her staff (Northouse,
2016; D. A. Rasmussen, personal communication, October 9, 2015). Additionally, Dorinas
leadership style included aspects of both the supporting and delegating approaches, in the ways
she listens, asks for input, helps facilitate problem-solving, and allows her staff to use their
strengths to do their jobs the way they see fit (Northouse, 2016, p. 96). Although the directing
approach was not clearly identified in our interview, I have seen Dorina take on that approach as
necessary when I was completing my summer internship, especially when supervising task-based

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student workers in the office.
Deconstructing and Reconstructing Theories
Dorinas use of strengths-based leadership is interesting, especially when you consider
the identities she immediately shared and which she mentioned play a huge part in how she
interprets leadership. Dorina identified as a first-generation college student from a lowsocioeconomic status household, a female, and Latina (personal communication, October 9,
2015). When looking at the lack of empirical research and the concerns around the reliability of
the results in using the CSF, especially with people of color, there is certainly an element of
willful blindness, or decision to use this approach while knowing the limitations, in Dorinas
approach to strengths-based leadership (Dugan, 2016). With strengths-based leadership being
extremely popular and supported by many institutions currently, it is easy to ignore how such
theories are complicit with hegemonic systems, or systems of domination by a specific societal
group especially around White privilege and capitalism in our society (Dugan, 2016). Dorina
perpetuates this willful blindness in her use of the strengths-based approach by the way she has
shaped her definition of leadership, and also in her application of leadership within the Medill
Office of Student Life and their continued use of the CSF, without more information about how
that plays out with students and staff of color.
Strengths-based leadership, in the form it is currently being utilized by Dorina,
perpetuates the role that capitalism plays as a dominant ideology (Dunan, 2016, p. 10). By
buying into the hype of the CSF, Dorina perpetuates commodification by allocating funds to the
Gallup Organization to learn about her staffs strengths when she is focusing on maximizing her
team. Even though she may be unaware of the concerns around independent research and the
reliability of the CSF, Dorina is aware of the Gallup Organization as a for-profit company that

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collects payment for every person that completes the CSF and receives results. Dorina willfully
ignores this concept, and in doing so, does not address the fact that her use of strengths-based
leadership continues to allow leadership to be bought and sold in more simplistic and
consumable ways (Dugan, 2016).
However, as Dorina discussed how her personal identity influences her leadership style,
she also mentioned that values, and especially shared values, are extremely important in how she
approaches leadership with her staff. Dorina tied values in with strengths, saying, the values
speak to the strengths and the strengths speak to the values (personal communication, October
9, 2015). This indicates that although the primary theory she utilizes in her leadership style is the
strengths-based approach, Dorina has challenged and disrupted the normativity of that approach
by looking at it as more than just natural talent (Dugan, 2016). Dorina views individual and
shared values as an integral part of developing skills and enhancing the function of her team as a
whole, which is an ideological critique on strengths-based leadership, in the sense that she is
questioning the core belief of that approach (Dugan, 2016).
As Dorina addressed how she adapts and alters her leadership style at times, she failed to
directly address the role power plays in her use of situational leadership in her day-to-day role.
Dorina spoke to the importance of creating a cohesive team, especially through her ability to
empower and encourage her staff (personal communication, October 9, 2015). However, to
empower someone means that you have power to delegate and while that is accurate in the
hierarchy of the office, Dorina did not address how her power could negatively affect the
cohesiveness of her team. Situational leadership requires leaders to evaluate her or his
followers and assess how competent and committed they are to perform a given goal
(Northouse, 2016, p. 93). Dorina hinted at the idea of evaluating her team when she discussed

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how she utilizes strengths-based leadership methods with her staff, but that then implies she has
power that might influence how her staff engages with their strengths in her presence. Part of
this power is embodied in the requirement for all staff members to complete the CSF and utilize
their top five talents as a method of growth and development, even if staff members do not agree
with their top five, or their identities are not well-represented in the model.
With that being said, when discussing parts of leadership with which she struggles,
Dorina referenced the hierarchy of her position. She discussed how much of the time, she finds
the tougher situations and challenges fall on her shoulders because of her role, and although shes
perfectly comfortable taking on those challenges, she sometimes feels that those are better suited
to be community conversations (D. A. Rasmussen, personal communication, October 9, 2015).
She is not the only one seeing what needs to be addressed or improved and therefore, a
community conversation would be a better method to address some of those issues (personal
communication, October 9, 2015). This concept directly relates to the reconstruction tools of
attending to power and cultivating agency (Dugan, 2016). Dorina recognizes that within the
institution, her role is the position that will take on the larger challenges, but she does not think
that one person should have that power when other people, specifically her staff, are also aware
of and could speak to areas for improvement. She addresses the power of her role and looks for
ways to change that, and to cultivate agency within her team.
In addition to attending to power and cultivating agency in her response to the aspects of
leadership she struggles with, Dorina also discussed her identity and how it comes into play
when she is working with peers and especially with upper-level administrators at the institution.
In responding to this question, Dorina disrupted normativity through how she addressed
hegemonic norms at her institution and within other roles similar to her own (Dugan, 2016).

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Dorina stated,
When I do sit at the table of my peers, or upper-level administrators, and the table is full
of older, White men and Im the lone woman and a person of color, I do feel like I have to
speak up and make my presence known. But then its also in the back of my mind that,
kind of that stereotype threat, where youre just, youre still feeling like, well then what I
have to say has to mean something and it has to be very valid and intelligentit has to be
on point. (personal communication, October 9, 2015)
In her role as a leader, Dorinas simple presence at such a table is enough to disrupt normativity
and to call into question what is viewed as accepted. Additionally, this statement represents the
dialectical thinking that occurs when Dorinas identities challenge the table she is sitting at but
also cause her to question what and how she shares information because of her identities (Dugan,
2016). This also is a representation of the double-consciousness or the sense of looking at
ones self through the eyes of others (Du Bois, 1994, p. 2) Dorina experiences as a woman of
color in a space dominated by older, White men (D. A. Rasmussen, personal communication,
October 9, 2015).
Dorina also spoke at length about other women serving as leadership role models for her,
pointing out that gender identity is a very salient piece when it comes to mentors and role models
of good leadership (personal communication, October 9, 2015). Dorinas consistent emphasis on
identities playing a role in how she approaches leadership and how she leads her team is a factor
of leadership not often (or ever) addressed in the theories that came through in our interview.
The fact that she is so aware of her own identities, as well as those of her staff, and knows how
they shape each persons role and priorities on the job allows her to create an individual
leadership style that expands upon the leadership theories she already applies to practice.

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Dorina, both in practice from what I witnessed during my internship as well as in our interview,
applies critical perspectives to her role, how she views leadership, and how she approaches the
people with whom she works.
Dorinas approach to leadership touched upon a variety of theories and models, not only
strengths-based and situational. Throughout our conversation, I heard references to team
leadership, transformational leadership, the social change model, behavioral leadership, and
authentic leadership to name a few. However, with all of the approaches Dorina has adopted
within her personal leadership style, she has utilized critical perspectives in the way she actually
applies theory into her day-to-day work. With the exception of a few hiccups in how she applies
theories such as her reliance on strengths-based leadership without digging deeper into the
approach and how it might be less effective with certain students and staff members, herself
included she has adapted various approaches for her staff and their needs. In doing this, she
has clearly considered her own identities and assumptions as she approaches leadership, a form
of critical self-reflection (Dugan, 2016). Additionally, many of her responses incorporated the
viewpoints and thoughts of her staff through social perspective-taking, whether she has already
involved them in how she approaches leadership in her role or in how she consistently looks for
their input on decisions and strategic planning (Dugan, 2016).
As previously mentioned, Dorinas awareness of her own internal opposing thought
processes indicates her dialectical thinking, as well as her use of metacognition (Dugan, 2016).
Dorinas reflections throughout her responses to my interview questions indicated that she was in
the act of thinking about how she thinks in that moment, as well as in her role as a leader in
Medill. Additionally, Dorina spoke about a specific individual at Northwestern who served as a
role model for her as a female leader at the institution. Dorina was able to recognize some of the

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negative qualities of this individuals leadership skills, while also acknowledging how much this
individual helped others and was a guide in terms of leadership, especially in promoting and
helping other women (personal communication, October 9, 2015). Dorinas ability to apply
critical perspectives, whether or not she would name it as such, is representative of her focus on
continuing to grow and learn as a leader.
Dorinas Insights and My Understanding of Leadership
It is a challenge to pull Dorinas insights just from our brief interview into my
understanding of leadership, as much of my understanding has been shaped and changed by the
exemplification of Dorinas leadership during my summer internship. There are many aspects of
her leadership style that I respect, with the key aspect relating to the way her identities factor into
her role. I have had limited female role models in the workplace in the past, largely due to many
of those women shaping their leadership styles to suit the men above them and also because I
have dealt with female supervisors who were threatened by my workplace style which is also
related to gender roles and expectations. Therefore, witnessing how Dorinas identities influence
and empower her leadership style, and discussing it in more detail during our interview, has been
inspirational. She has taught me that you can be successful as a woman in a male-dominated
institution, that you can build positive relationships with other women you work with and who
work for you, and that balancing parenthood with a successful career is possible.
Dorinas relationship with other women has allowed me to find a role model in a way I
have not previously found. In being authentic to her values, respecting the values of her staff,
and allowing those values to shape how they approach their roles, Dorina has fostered strong
relationships with her staff, and especially with my previous supervisor, Kristen Reid Salomon.
Dorina and Kristen are in a unique position of being friends prior to working together as

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supervisor/supervisee, and they have navigated that change in their relationship very
successfully. Having had competitive relationships with female supervisors in the past, this
example of how different it can be, even when there may be awkwardness because of the
hierarchy of positions, provides me with hope for relationships with future supervisors and/or
supervisees. Additionally, Dorinas emphasis on being herself and bringing her personal
identities to the forefront in her role as a leader has allowed her to develop strong,
communicative, balanced (balanced in the sense of having fun but also getting down to work)
relationships with her staff.
The parenthood piece is currently becoming a new focus for me, as starting a family is a
big portion of thinking about my future and a leading factor in how I will engage in my job
search in the spring. In speaking with Dorina about how this shapes her role as Director of
Student Life not just as a mother herself, but as a leader of a staff that all have family
responsibilities she indicated that her values and the accountability she places on her staff are
shaped by those roles (personal communication, October 9, 2015). She finds that the concept of
parenthood and caretaking for family members creates shared values and a sense of
understanding within her team, which benefits their working relationships. They have built a
small community within their office, and share values around family, which allows them to be
supportive of each other when family takes priority. Dorina spoke highly of the effectiveness
and efficiency of her team and how that makes it easy for her to have very little concern when
family issues come up. They rally around each other and support each other, realizing that it is
impossible to separate family/home life and work life, and hold each other accountable so that
their family can take priority as necessary (D. A. Rasmussen, personal communication, October
9, 2015). I think that by emulating a balance between parenting and work, Dorina has created an

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environment where she and her staff are able to be authentic, transparent, and dependable as a
team. This is not something I have seen in leaders often, and it is something I will be actively
looking for in my job search, and something I hope to emulate as a leader as well.
Developing a team that works together cohesively, that is mutually respective, who are
understanding and caring toward each other, and who support each other in their shared goals is
something I hope to do someday. Dorinas ability to find a balance between a warm, open
relationship with her staff, while also being tough and assertive as a leader, has allowed me to
see that it is possible to develop such a team. Additionally, Dorinas ability to apply critical
perspectives as she approaches her role as a leader, maintaining critical self-reflection and social
perspective-taking as she works with her staff and students, thinking about the way she thinks in
her role, and holding two seemingly contradictory concepts in unison (Dugan, 2016, p. 13), is
admirable. As a graduate of the Loyola Higher Education program, she provides me with a role
model in how to take the concepts I am learning in this program and develop a personal
leadership style that encompasses a deconstructed and reconstructed approach to theory that also
maintains a social justice-focused and critical perspective-taking way of thinking. Dorinas
approach is not perfect, but it exemplifies a style of leadership I aim to achieve in the field and
that I look for in a supervisor, something I will be keeping close in mind in the near future.

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References

Du Bois, W. E. B. (1994). The souls of Black folk. New York, NY: Dover Publications, Inc.
Dugan, J. P. (2016).
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
Publications, Inc.