Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Department

School of Business

First Advisor

Paul Shelton

Second Advisor

Brad Jensen

Third Advisor

Dirk Barram

Abstract

This study addresses the emerging leadership style of People First Leadership and the growing need for a commonly accepted definition and model of the concept. Traditional management and leadership styles have left a legacy of corporate fraud, low employee engagement, and work–life imbalance. People First Leadership offers a potential remedy, but sources on the subject are limited and isolated. A universal understanding of the leadership style is needed to galvanize research and further inform practice. As such, this study poses the questions: how is People First Leadership presently defined and modeled, and does synergy exist between current theories? An exhaustive search of four databases resulted in 204 sources referencing People First Leadership, 27 of which were determined relevant to the study. The 27 sources were then analyzed using a three-phase qualitative metasynthesis approach. In the first phase, metasynthesis uncovered 418 findings which were subsequently grouped into 127 unique themes. During the second phase, the unique themes were synthesized into seven composite themes, then were interpreted as three defining statements of People First Leadership. During the final phase of metasynthesis, a novel model for People First Leadership was developed. The study concludes by discussing implications for the definition and model, limitations of the research, and next steps for People First Leadership.

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