Institutions of higher education have a multitude of circumstances that have led to instability and organizational closure. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between political skill and decision-making ability for interdisciplinary resource allocation among higher education administrators and the impact on constituents. The sample size included four private non-profit colleges and universities in the Midwest with less than 2,000 students in enrollment. A convergent parallel mixed-methods approach was used to explore this topic. The final sample size consisted of 127 online survey participants (faculty, staff, mid-level administrators, and executive leaders) and 42 participants in 12 focus group interviews. The quantitative data was gathered through an online survey with a validated Political Skill Inventory and Leadership Orientations Questionnaire. The qualitative data was collected through open ended survey questions and focus group interviews to assess the positive and negative impact of decisions made regarding resource allocation. The study found with statistical significance that there is a positive association between each of the political skill subcomponents, and both inverse and positive relationships between these subcomponents and the leadership orientations. Themes related to positive and negative impact were also discovered. The proposed recommendations through these research findings could be used by leaders in institutions of higher education to learn how to share decisions while maintaining positive relationships, and decreasing fear, stress, and anxiety for employees. Continued research into the recommended solutions and the remaining data from this study also appear to be worthy endeavors. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]