A case study exploration of the symbolic leadership of Jean Byers Sampson : civil rights activist and educator

A literature review of leadership revealed that symbols are strategies for understanding and acting. Humans possess knowledge symbolically. Symbols are the starting point for all intellectual and expression. Symbolic leadership, therefore, refers to the idea that symbols can be identified from within the language and actions of leaders. Tierney (1989) identified six symbolic categories from the language of a leader: metaphorical, physical, communicative, structural, personification and ideational. Tierney theorized that symbols were given their meaning from the context in which they resided. Utilizing Tierney's theory, this exploratory study examined archived, documents, artifacts and interview data for the role symbols and symbolic context played in the life of a leader. A within-case analysis of the life of Jean Byers Sampson, civil rights activist and educator was undertaken to explore the questions: what were the symbolic forms and contextual surroundings of her leadership? The findings indicate: an important part of the meaning of Jean Byers Sampson's symbols of leadership was derived for the larger context in which the symbols were used; Jean Byers Sampson's leadership and values were likely to recur when similar contextual conditions arose; Jean Byers Sampson's use of symbols and values were meant to induce action or agreement in others and, therefore Tierney's theory can be supported. What emerges significantly from this study, is that by examining the context for symbolic leadership, one can understand how the collection of symbols Jean Byers Sampson, either inherited or invented, connected her leadership to the institutions she served.