Objective : To explore the transformational leadership behaviors of faculty who oversaw innovative curricular reform at one college of pharmacy. The pharmacy curriculum at this college is highly integrated and competency-driven, focused on producing ‘practice-ready graduates’. What made this curricular reform unique is that pharmacy faculty led this organizational change, not administrators.
Methods: This was qualitative case study research conducted at one college of pharmacy that reformed the first three years of their curriculum. The initial implementation of the updated curriculum was in 2017. The participants were faculty who oversaw the creation and implementation of the innovative curriculum over the span of multiple years. Data collected included one-on-one interviews, investigator self-reflections, and curricular artifacts. Thematic analysis was conducted using a systematic approach to coding and theme generation consistent with qualitative inquiry.
Results: Eight faculty participated in interviews with the researcher. Analysis from interviews, reflections, and artifacts showcased six key transformational leadership-associated behaviors of faculty who lead curricular reform. These behaviors included: 1) Keeping the goal(s) in focus for themselves and others; 2) Encouraging “the why”; 3) Encouraging others to be all in; 4) Putting trust in others; 5) Recognizing the importance of communication; 6) Taking on the burden of organizational tasks to promote productivity for others. Each behavior aligns with at least one of the four domains of transformational leadership.
Conclusions: Faculty who led this successful curricular reform displayed elements of transformational leadership through six key behaviors. While participants did not have formal authority over other faculty, they were responsible for leading other faculty through the creation, implementation, and maintenance phases of an integrated, competency-driven pharmacy curriculum.
