Hi, I’m Erika Kinlaw. I was accepted into the University of Maine Graduate School in the spring of 2018. I have been studying part-time since this time in the Maine Studies program. My research interests are with Maine veteran leaders. Veterans play a significant role in our state as leaders. Throughout my master’s project I studied how veterans and Maine leaders are leading in our great state of Maine. This website was built to share my master’s oral history project with others. The project consists of interviews of Maine veterans on their leadership knowledge, practices and experiences they have accomplished while leading in the state of Maine.
I hope you find these Maine veterans leaders’ knowledge and experiences a valuable resource of information on how you can lead more effectively in your organizations in Maine.
Abstract
The state of Maine has numerous veterans who play a crucial role as leaders. The impact of veterans as leaders in our state has not been widely researched or established. There are thousands of diverse veterans throughout the state and their experiences and knowledge are a valuable resource for our communities. During this oral history project six Maine veterans were interviewed. Each participant has signed consent forms and has agreed that their interviews would be released to the public under the Creative Commons license as part of this oral history project.
This oral history project consisted of interviewing six Maine veterans to learn first-hand about their leadership styles, knowledge, experiences, and their perspectives as leaders in their organizations throughout Maine. Each participant was interviewed with a set of predetermined questions on leadership. The interview questions included how the individual participant leads, and their experiences of what they did for their state and country while they were in a leadership position. The interviews also asked questions on how their leadership skills and abilities have impacted the community members from Maine.
All interviews were conducted with Maine veterans and state leaders that had 20 years or more of leadership experience and/or 20 years or more of military service in the United States Armed Forces. The volunteer participants were interviewed via web conferencing online through Zoom with a set of predetermined interview questions about their leadership skills, tactics, knowledge, and experiences. All interviewees contributed their interview to “Maine Veteran Leaders: A Series of Conversations about Maine Leadership Practices” Oral History Project online @ www.mainepeople.org website.
The results yielded the individual leadership experiences they have accomplished and positions held including the personnel they have mentored and led. The outcome of the results discovered a set of best practices that these Maine veterans are accomplishing within their leadership positions throughout the state of Maine. In conclusion, it was determined that veterans have numerous attributes as diverse military leaders in our communities. In particular, these interviews contain valuable knowledge and experiences from these veterans who have contributed to the project. This oral history project highlights these Maine veteran leaders’ perspectives as valuable resources for future leaders in the state of Maine.
The future goals of mine will be pursued in an online doctorate program with a concentration in leadership studies. My research studies will continue with a focus on Maine veteran leadership. The research will specialize in veterans’ knowledge and skills in leadership and will have highlighted attention as I continue researching in my field of study.
Furthermore, my research studies will continue with Maine veteran leadership and focus on enhancing practices to effectively lead in your organizations.
Maine People by mainepeople.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.