Leadership in the health sector continues to be recognized as a key factor in improving healthcare and is considered part of professional competence in health professions. In dietetics, the Integrated Competencies of Dietetic Education and Practice, a document which informs dietetic education and professional development in Canada, was recently revised to include leadership as part of a new competency domain. But with limited research on dietetic leadership, it is challenging to develop and assess leadership skills in dietetic trainees and dietitians. My thesis addresses this gap by exploring how leadership is currently developed and used in practice through a three-phase qualitative design. The theoretical framework and conceptual model was pulled from complexity theory, leadership theory as well as feminist theory. The LEADS in a Caring Environment framework was used as the specific leadership framework. It is recognized as a comprehensive model for leadership in healthcare designed to embody the key skills, behaviours, abilities, and knowledge required to lead in all sectors and types of organizations. A multi-phase qualitative study was conducted, which included documentary analysis, one-on-one interviews with dietitians, and focus group interviews with dietetic educators. The methodology aligned with complexity science where interactions within and between the individual, micro-, meso-, and macro- levels were considered throughout the study. Furthermore, issues related to gender and other forms of diversity as crosscutting influences were considered. To inform this research, an expert committee comprised of dietitians from different practice areas was involved. Phase I included a documentary analysis of program documents and one focus group with dietetic educators to elaborate on their programs. In Phase II, using a multi-case study methodology, dietitians’ leadership skills development and use in practice were identified. Finally, Phase III focused on determining actions and implications of my research findings from Phases I and II through three focus groups with dietetic educators. The findings showed that dietitians tend to describe leadership in relation to having a formal management role. My study found that leadership skills have not been explicitly taught through dietetic education, but some are developed through transferrable skills that can be useful in leadership. The findings also demonstrated that dietitians use leadership skills in a variety of ways and contexts throughout their careers. All four cohorts provided personal examples of their leadership skills in practice that aligned with each of the LEADS domains and most of the capabilities. This might suggest that although dietitians were not formally taught leadership skills through their dietetic education, there is evidence that they possess and use leadership in their different practice areas throughout the career trajectory. This research furthers the scholarship on leadership development in dietetics and considers the complexities of leadership in a highly gendered system.

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Leadership programs serve as a mechanism to develop the leadership capacity of individuals, groups, and organizations. Although considerable time and resources have been devoted to understanding the outcomes of leadership development, little time and effort has been dedicated to understanding the developmental approaches that influence the emergence of these outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore and untangle the relationships between common leadership development approaches, networking ability, and social capital outcomes. A sample of graduates from 15 agricultural-based leadership development programs, and a two-phase, convergent parallel mixed methods (QUAN + QUAL) design, were used to assess the relationships between the aforementioned constructs. Specifically, this research explored the influence of common leadership development approaches – conceptual understanding, feedback, personal growth, and skill building – on networking ability and the following dimensions of social capital: (a) groups and networks, (b) trust and solidarity, and (c) cooperation and political action. Quantitative data were collected using a cross-sectional, web-based survey (n = 231), and qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews (n =11). Equal priority was given to the quantitative and qualitative data, which was collected concurrently, analyzed independently, and mixed at the conclusions and metainference stage. The findings indicate that participation in an agricultural leadership program influences the social capital capacity of graduates by providing opportunities that facilitate the emergence of new, appropriable social networks. Through a variety of learning activities and shared experiences, participants diversify their social network and develop strong network connections. These connections, and the embedded social capital (i.e., relational) resources, are being accessed frequently for advice, information, and support. As reported by program graduates, personal growth and skill building were identified as the most influential approaches for developing leadership capacity. These approaches, which are characterized by collaborative, group learning, also had the strongest relationships with networking ability. Networking ability should be specifically targeted and included in leadership development curricula because it can influence cooperation and political action, which have been described as the highest levels of social capital. Informal learning also plays an important role in the development of trust, strong bonds, and solidarity among program participants. / Ph. D.

Yes / This essay draws on insights taken from Lacanian psychoanalysis to rethink and resituate notions of the self and subjectivity within the theory and practice of experiential leadership development. Adopting an auto-ethnographic approach, it describes the author’s own experience as a participant in a programme of equine assisted learning or ‘horse whispering’ and considers the consequences of human-animal interactions as a tool for self-development and improvement. Through an analysis of this human/animal interaction, the essay presents and applies three Lacanian concepts of subjectivity, desire and fantasy and considers their form and function in determining the often fractured relationship between self and other that characterises leader-follower relations.

Collaborative learning as it pertained to leadership development was an obscured method of learning. There was little research addressing the attributes contributing to collaborative learning for leadership development in leadership development programs. By completing this manuscript, scholarly learners may have additional information on knowledge-based practicing organizations. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how collaborative learning influenced leadership development within leadership development programs within high performing organizations. Data collection included semistructured interview questions and a review of training documentation with a combination of dramaturgical coding and purposive sampling from 20 participants that attended leadership development programs within a high performing organization. The 7-step data analysis process, methodology triangulation, and member checking consisted of structure and credibility of the findings. There were primary and secondary themes that aligned with Hanson's leadership development interface model. The 2 primary themes were categorized as collaborative learning and shared knowledge, while the secondary themes included role models, communication: listening and feedback, problem-solving, knowledgeable: subject matter expert, transparency, and training and teaching. The findings of this study suggest that collaborative learning influenced leadership development programs by practicing group work and by sharing different ideas. These findings have potential implications for positive social change, as the information may add to the body of knowledge for future scholars and valuable information for stakeholders to build a knowledge-based practicing organization.

For any organisation it is necessary for their managers to be well developed and highly skilled. Managers who lack the necessary skills often have to be provided with the opportunity to develop further. The objectives of this research were to conceptualise the terms leadership development and development assessment centre; to explore the content and methodology related to a leadership development assessment centre; and to evaluate the results of a leadership development programme for employees on leadership skills/competencies. The study was implemented since little research in the South African context could be traced concerning the evaluation of DACs in a leadership context. Therefore the purpose of this study was to evaluate a developmental assessment centre. The participants were managers selected from a steel manufacturing organisation from the Gauteng plant. The entire population comprising 72 (N=72) participants, of whom 36 (N=36) were managers and 36 (N=36) subordinates, peers or management, were utilised in the study. The measuring instrument administered before and after the implementation of the development assessment centre was the Leadership behaviour inventory (LBI-2) ,pre- and post-leadership measures can be utilized to determine the effectiveness of various organisational interventions. Levene‟s test was utilised to establish whether the variance of the scores for the pre- and post-test was the same and Paired-samples t-test was used to analyse the data. The results indicate that statically significant increases were recorded across all the leadership competencies between the pre-test and the post-test measurements. The largest increase manifested between the Articulating vision competency, and the Systems competency between the pre- and post-test. The smallest increase was noticeable between the pre- and post-test rating for the Co-ordination competency. It can therefore be concluded that the DAC was successful in developing the leadership competencies of the middle-level managers. / MCom (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

For any organisation it is necessary for their managers to be well developed and highly skilled. Managers who lack the necessary skills often have to be provided with the opportunity to develop further. The objectives of this research were to conceptualise the terms leadership development and development assessment centre; to explore the content and methodology related to a leadership development assessment centre; and to evaluate the results of a leadership development programme for employees on leadership skills/competencies. The study was implemented since little research in the South African context could be traced concerning the evaluation of DACs in a leadership context. Therefore the purpose of this study was to evaluate a developmental assessment centre. The participants were managers selected from a steel manufacturing organisation from the Gauteng plant. The entire population comprising 72 (N=72) participants, of whom 36 (N=36) were managers and 36 (N=36) subordinates, peers or management, were utilised in the study. The measuring instrument administered before and after the implementation of the development assessment centre was the Leadership behaviour inventory (LBI-2) ,pre- and post-leadership measures can be utilized to determine the effectiveness of various organisational interventions. Levene‟s test was utilised to establish whether the variance of the scores for the pre- and post-test was the same and Paired-samples t-test was used to analyse the data. The results indicate that statically significant increases were recorded across all the leadership competencies between the pre-test and the post-test measurements. The largest increase manifested between the Articulating vision competency, and the Systems competency between the pre- and post-test. The smallest increase was noticeable between the pre- and post-test rating for the Co-ordination competency. It can therefore be concluded that the DAC was successful in developing the leadership competencies of the middle-level managers. / MCom (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

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