Student Case

As leaders retire and move into follower roles, it is a matter of personal planning to assist in finding successful choices for improving quality of life (QOL). The purpose of this study is to determine the style of leadership employed by retired executives in their working career and how successfully they transition into follower by participating in a community choir. This quantitative study focuses on the success of business, industry, and civic leaders as they have transitioned into retirement and have chosen to participate in a community choir as a means of enriching their lives. The QOL theory of personal utility that further focuses on flow and engagement and purpose in meaning in of life is used to evaluate those activities that add purpose and meaning to one's life (Sirgy 2011). The overarching research question for this study is, "how does the leadership style of the retired executive influence the quality of life of the executive as he or she participates as a follower by singing in a community choir?" By discovering what leadership style these retired leaders employed in their work careers, the researcher explores how successfully these leaders perceive their transition to be as they engage in singing in community choir in South Florida. Utilizing the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire, this study establishes laissez faire, transformational, and transactional leaders and compares how they perceive the increase in quality of life as they choose to be a follower in a community choir. Retiring executives enter retirement adjusting their every day life, which includes how they find engagement and enrichment in the activities they choose to join. The population group included in this study is all part of a community choir in South Florida and they have each retired from a leadership role in their working life. The sample size is expected to include 75-100 retired executives, male and female, currently singing in the same community choir. The results of this study are not determined at this time. This study is not completed at this time.