Abstract
Research problem. The study involved pastors, associate pastors and parish secretaries from ninety-seven parishes in Los Angeles Archdiocese. The research examined leadership development needs of pastors in the Catholic archdiocese of Los Angeles. It also inquired whether there are differences in pastors' leadership behaviors among attributes and variables, such as the age of pastor, years of experience as pastor, level of education, parish size and location. Methodology. From a total of 432 pastors, associate pastors and parish secretaries, 291 returned the completed questionnaires (67%). The Survey utilized the Ohio State Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire. The participants were asked to indicate their perceptions of how frequently they or their pastors engage in the behaviors described on scale 1-5--never, seldom, occasionally, often and always. Findings. As perceived by both pastors and church staff, the Pastors scored between 3.64 and 3.26 mean score of the Ohio Leadership Description Questionnaire rating scale. The scores indicate that the three leadership behaviors which pastors were perceived to exhibit most frequently were task-oriented, persuasiveness and controlling. On the rating scale, the leadership behaviors that were observed the least were in the areas of tolerant of uncertainty, cool under pressure, accurate in predicting, integrativeness, and goal-Orientation. The more experienced pastors were perceived being more in control than the younger pastors. And the more educated the pastor is the more convincing and inspirational public speaker he is perceived to be. The pastors in the urban parishes were perceived being patient and understanding in uncertain situations than pastors in the suburban parishes. Recommendations. (1) It was recommended that the seminaries be concerned with providing specific training in certain of the leadership skills, especially in setting goals, managing pressure, predicting future trends, being tolerant of uncertainty and developing cohesiveness. (2) The continuing education programs for the clergy can benefit by offering in-service leadership training especially in the lower-rated leadership behavior factors. Further studies in various fields of leadership and management are highly recommended for the clergy. (3) A restructuring of the parish setting that will allow the parish to maintain a high level of shared ministry and mutual relationship among different groups.