Figure 2.1. Selena Alverio, Carlos Mendez in Eye Music; The cast of IRT’s Twelfth Night in NYC; and Carolyn Yu in Lute Song Del-Sign theatrical productions that celebrate Deaf community.

Purpose and Focus of the Review of Deaf Leadership

The literature of leadership studies was born in the field of organizational development (Bennis & Nanus, 1997). The notable management theologians who first tried to determine if the phenomenon of leadership could be defined placed their questions on a landscape defined by the shape of their own cultural backgrounds. Every culture evidences leaders who reflect the values and embody the styles that best suit their community. However, since the Deaf community is a minority, it was unsurprising that when I searched the leadership literature to find evidence of leadership in my community, I came up empty-handed. Moreover, when I analyzed the traits and styles of hearing presidents and company owners, I found their approach to the task of being a leader was unlike the approach of leaders I had witnessed in my experiences living and working in the Deaf community (Northouse, 2001). [more]