The turnover in leadership in community colleges has and will continue to increase in the next few years as baby boomers pursue their retirement plans. Many administrators and faculty members who joined the workforce of community colleges during their first decade of their inception, have reached the age of retirement and are leaving these higher education institutions at an alarming rate. With this shortage of leadership, more and more private sector managers are transitioning to these positions in community colleges. However, a common challenge is to prepare these private sector managers for the changes they may experience when entering the organizational culture of a community college. The purpose of this study was to explore how private sector managers experience the cultural change between their former private sector organizational culture and the new community college culture, and to examine how private sector managers socialize and adapt into the new culture. This qualitative multiple-case study research explored the experiences of 12 administrators who transitioned from a private sector organizational culture to a community college culture. Findings of the study suggest that information from seasoned administrators prior to entry to the new environment benefited some participants' initiation experiences. Findings suggest that participants, who received support from their supervisor, advice from a mentor, and had a support group or internal network during their socialization stage, were more likely to adapt to the college culture. Positive initiation experiences appeared to ameliorate the negative experiences these managers encountered when decoding the structure and the culture of the community college. Findings also indicate that participants' conviction to overcome obstacles, affected their adaptation outcome.

This research study revealed a void of resources necessary for managers to transition from a private sector organizational culture to a community college culture. Community college officials should understand that the socialization needs of these new administrators are different and they have to develop institutional practices to facilitate their transition.