This thesis outlines a personal attempt to explore leadership in a holistic manner that recognises the contribution of both individuals and the collective whilst remaining sensitive to contextual factors. It endeavours to do this through presentation, analysis and discussion of two empirical studies of leadership, informed by distributed and practice perspectives, which regard leadership as a shared and contextually situated social process. The thesis begins with an overview of leadership theory and research, proposing that the time is right for a reframing of the field of leadership studies in order to redress the balance accorded to individual and collective accounts of leadership; review how we recognise, reward and develop leadership; and revisit our methodologies and approaches to leadership enquiry. The first empirical study investigates perceptions and experiences of leadership in the UK higher education sector, proposing that whilst leadership may be considered as widely dispersed, the notion of ‘distributed leadership’ also carries a powerful rhetorical function that may mask an uneven distribution of power, resources and rewards. The second empirical study explores the notion of ‘leadership-as-practice’ in three large, complex organisations outside the HE sector, and reveals the significant impact of discourse and sensemaking in shaping perceptions, experiences and the accomplishment of leadership for middle-senior level operational managers. The discussion chapter draws together the various themes explored in the thesis, in particular demonstrating the significance of issues of discourse, identity and purpose in making sense of the elusive nature of leadership practice. It is argued that a holistic representation of leadership remains difficult to achieve because of the manner in which grand Discourses and micro-level discourses of leadership interact to attribute the social process of leadership to the actions of individual leaders. The thesis concludes with a series of recommendations that highlight the value of a somewhat eclectic approach to leadership theory, research, practice and development that facilitates the emergence and recognition of contextually-appropriate ‘hybrid configurations’ of leadership.

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The purpose of this study was to ascertain the existence of student leadership development programs and to explore the similarities and differences in the way students in higher education are recruited and retained into the culture and attitudes of leadership, and how they are afforded meaningful leadership opportunities to practice the skills they have learned, in two separate higher educational institutions. These two institutions were East Tennessee State University, Johnson City campus, Tennessee, and the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, Jamaica, West Indies. I was also concerned with the existing perceptions of leadership and leadership training delivery and how this impacted the attitudes that students experienced in accessing leadership development provisions. The methods and procedures used in gathering data for this study were qualitative and included such ethnographic techniques as interviewing, surveying and a brief content analysis utilizing the communicative documents of both institutions. The population consisted of students, staff and faculty of both universities. The findings demonstrated that student leadership development programs did exist at both institutions, but that the philosophies upon which leadership development was based were culturally different. Also, although the methods of recruitment, retention and leadership practice bore aspects of similarities, in many cases the leadership styles, which facilitated these, were quite different. Of particular importance is the fact, that, in comparison with ETSU, which has a rich national heritage of American leadership development research, the University of the West Indies does not have such a nationally research-rich educational leadership background. This bears great implications for the future of leadership development and the necessity for in-depth research.

The world is in a pandemic situation. Shifting to remote working has become a priority for many companies and remote work has become new normal. In doing so, industrial organizations are experiencing new challenges. Moving to the online way of working, new working conditions and different practical challenges they bring have created empirical context highly relevant for studying leadership which is currently a hot topic among scholars. Almost all studies, in the context of remote working, emphasize the importance of leadership.  Nevertheless, it is argued that the most recent literature and work on leadership have remained the leader-centered approach highly employed within traditional leadership literature. The leader-centered approach focuses on individual leaders and their traits, abilities, and actions, and thus contributes to placing the abstract phenomenon of leadership into distinct individuals, thereby supporting the taken-for-granted assumption that leadership is a single-person, heroic, task. Instead, scholars call for more studies that investigate leadership as ongoing social production of direction through constructions of space of action by actors in certain practice/practices. This emergent movement in leadership research is known as leadership as practice.  Accordingly, the aim of this thesis is to investigate leadership within the remote working environment, from leadership as practice perspective and through the construction of actors’ space of action. This includes an analysis of current leadership practices in relation to the construction of space of action as well as the analysis of practices that might potentially contribute to improving the current ones in doing so.  An interview study has been carried out at the three companies in Serbia, Germany, and the UK with a qualitative approach. The thesis builds on a theoretical framework and empirical data that have been collected through an extensive literature review and semi-structured interviews using an open-ended interview guide.  The result suggests that the current leadership practices are narrowing down the space of action. Also, the analysis of empirical data revealed that certain leadership practices have the potential to contribute to the construction of space of action within a remote working environment. The thesis’s insights might help companies to improve their own practices.

Leadership in general is still perceived as individualistic, masculine and hierarchical. Despite fighting against discrimination and for social justice, third sector organizations are themselves often places of entrenched privilege and limited diversity. Leaders with lived experiences draw on their first-hand experience of social issues and/or injustices and attempt to tackle those problems through their work. They represent a diversity of backgrounds, experiences and capabilities that challenge the homogeneity of third sector leadership. Following critical leadership studies this thesis draws from the standpoints of lived experience leaders to offer new, intersectional perspectives on leadership and to expand and diversify understandings of what it is to lead in third sector organizations. The focus of this thesis’s exploration is the experiences and perceptions of 10 individuals who hold or have held leadership positions within third sector organizations in the UK and Germany. Through the analysis of semi-structured interviews, a phenomenology of lived experience leadership is explored. Drawing from feminist standpoint theory, attention is paid to what lived experience leaders think about leadership generally and lived experience leadership in particular, as well as their perspectives on the systemic leadership structures they exist within and challenge. It is found that lived experience leaders acknowledge ‘traditional,’ ‘mainstream’ concepts of leadership and see their own leadership styles and approaches as distinct from these leadership norms. Their approaches and understandings challenge typical leadership constructions and, strongly influenced by their own lived experiences, promote political self-organization, activism and a socio-economic empowerment of people with lived experiences in order to unravel current social power structures and promote social change. With these key findings, the paper suggests further research to test and expand on the conclusions drawn. Ensuring that leadership positions are accessible to all should be a priority for future development of third sector organizations and beyond. Further research should therefore explore how lived experience leadership can help to gain insights about how to remove barriers to leadership positions efficiently.

Frågeställning: Vilka ledarförmågor tillämpar ledare för att möta några av de utmaningar som de ställs inför i praktiken? Syfte:  Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka och beskriva vilka ledarförmågor som används av ledare i praktiken för att möta och hantera de utmaningar som uppstår inom organisationer. Genom att analysera och jämföra olika teoretiska perspektiv på ledarskap med ledarnas egna uppfattningar och erfarenheter, avser studien att bidra till en mer realistisk och användbar förståelse av vilka ledarförmågor som är efterfrågade och effektiva i dagens arbetsliv. Metod: Studien bygger på en kvalitativ dagboksstudie, där deltagarna antecknade dagliga reflektioner kring ledarskapets utmaningar. Utifrån dagboksanteckningarna hölls semistrukturerade intervjuer för att kunna identifiera och analysera vilka förmågor som deltagarna använder för att hantera dessa utmaningar.   Slutsats: Ledarförmågorna som har identifierats är; kommunikativ, närvarande, beslutsfattande och strukturerande. Ledarna har använt kommunikativa färdigheter för att hantera missförstånd och bygga starka teamrelationer   genom öppen och anpassningsbar kommunikation. De har visat vikten av fysisk och mental närvaro för att bygga förtroende och snabbt lösa problem. Vidare har deras beslutsfattande förmåga hjälpt dem navigera genom osäkerhet och fatta strategiska beslut under press. Slutligen har de strukturerat arbetsprocesser och delegerat ansvar effektivt för att hantera komplexa projekt och arbetsbelastningar. Genom att syntetisera dessa förmågor framträder en bild av en ideal ledare som är dynamisk och anpassningsbar, som skapar en miljö av öppen kommunikation, tillit och strukturerad effektivitet. Dessa ledarförmågor är universella och kan anpassas för att möta specifika behov i olika organisatoriska miljöer, vilket resulterar i långsiktig framgång. / Research question: Which leadership skills do leaders apply to address some of the challenges they face in practice? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine and describe which leadership skills are used by leaders in practice to meet and manage the challenges that arise within organizations. By analyzing and comparing various theoretical perspectives on leadership with the leaders' own perceptions and experiences, the study aims to contribute to a more realistic and useful  understanding of which leadership skills are in demand and effective in today's working life.  Method:  The study is based on a qualitative diary study, where the participants noted   down daily reflections on the challenges of leadership. Based on the diary notes, semi-structured interviews were held in order to identify and analyze which skills the participants use to deal with these challenges. Conclusion: The leadership skills that have been identified are communicative, present, ability to make decisions and structured. The leaders have used communication skills to manage misunderstandings and build strong team relationships through open and adaptive communication. They have shown the importance of physical and mental presence in building trust and quickly solving problems. Furthermore, their decision-making skills have helped them navigate through uncertainty and make strategic decisions under pressure. Finally, they have structured work processes and delegated responsibilities effectively to manage complex projects and workloads. By synthesizing these skills, an impression of an ideal leader emerges that is dynamic and adaptable, and creates an environment of open communication, trust, and structured effectiveness. These leadership skills are universal and can be adapted to meet specific needs in different organizational settings, resulting in long-term success.

This research investigates the key characteristics of design leaders in the context of New Product Development (NPD) at the Fuzzy Front End (FFE) or early stage of this process. It particularly focuses on how design leaders communicate design to non-designers. It is often observed that designers struggle to communicate design to non-designers. Previous research has identified design leaders as competent design communicators. However, the definition and key characteristics of design leaders remain unclear. By reviewing the literature on leadership studies, design leadership and project leadership, it is evident that no single universal definition of leadership exists. The most common definition is that leaders apply their knowledge and skills to conduct activities and use their traits to influence other people’s actions. Leadership requires different characteristics for different tasks. To understand the characteristics of design leaders, triangulated research was employed at a real-life NPD project involving young designers and non-designers at early stages of NPD as part of the first study. All participants (N=32) were directly observed, interviewed in semi-structured interviews and administered with assistive questionnaires to compare design and non-design participants’ leadership and communication styles. The second study was in-depth, focusing on UK design leaders (N=11) through semi-structured interviews and based on deficiencies in leadership and communicating design, identified from the first study and the literature review. Comparative studies indicate that designers and design leaders vary their attitudes towards non-designers, motivation and communication style. This study highlights the key characteristics of design leaders: an epiphany by experiencing the entire NPD process, interest in the benefits of NPD stakeholders, a good understanding of design competency, reflectively flexible working attitude and strong, active listening. Thus, a conceptual model was formulated and evaluated, able to guide designers who wish to become design leaders and help to enhance design communication and relationships with non-designers.

[pt] Esta pesquisa discutiu a produção de liderança, nas práticas relacionais de uma organização do movimento estudantil brasileiro, na qual foi realizada uma etnometodologia situada em múltiplas localidades onde a organização atua. Desde o retorno do movimento de pós-graduação à cena pública brasileira, em 2019, nas manifestações que ficaram conhecidas como tsunami da educação, contra os cortes orçamentários das universidades federais, o sistema nacional de pós-graduação brasileiro enfrenta o contingenciamento constante de recursos e cortes orçamentários de programas e projetos, que incidem direta e imediatamente sobre a realidade de seus atores. Nesse contexto, organizações representativas de pós-graduação protagonizam um papel importante na produção de práticas de organização, que oferecem às ações de seus participantes um tipo de direcionalidade favorável ao atendimento de suas demandas: liderança. No entanto, pensar a liderança para além das organizações clássicas comuns aos setores privados da sociedade civil empresarial, de modo a conceber suas práticas em estruturas organizacionais informais e descentralizadas, onde a figura de líderes heroicos e individuais desvanece, ainda é um desafio para o campo de pesquisa do fenômeno. Também é desafiador pensar as práticas de liderança fora do pressuposto de alcance de objetivos instrumentais definidos para o bom funcionamento das organizações. Esses desafios, entretanto, não apontam para inexistência da liderança, mas para existência de práticas não empresariais/gerenciais de organização relacionadas ao fenômeno ainda pouco compreendidas em organizações de resistência e luta social. A análise etnometodológica destaca duas práticas de liderança produzidas nas interações entre os participantes da organização estudada. / [en] This research discussed the leadership production in the relational practices of a Brazilian student movement organization in which an ethnomethodology located in multiple locations where the organization operates was carried out. Since the return of the postgraduate movement to the Brazilian public scene in 2019 during the manifestations known as tsunami da educação, against the federal universities budget cuts, Brazilian national postgraduate system face the constant contingency of resources and budget cuts for programs and projects which direct and immediately affect the reality of their actors. In this scenario, postgraduate representative organizations play an important role in producing organizing practices that offer to the actions of their participants a type of directionality favorable to the resolution of their demands: leadership. However, it is still a challenge for the field to think about leadership beyond the classic organizations usually found in private sectors of business-civil society, so as to conceive their practices in informal and decentralized organizational structures, where the figure of heroic and individual leaders fades. It is also challenging to think about leadership practices outside the assumption of achieving instrumental goals defined for the proper functioning of organizations. These challenges, nonetheless, do not indicate the non-existence of leadership, but the existence of non business/managerial organizing practices related to the phenomenon that are still poorly understood in resistance and social struggle organizations. The ethnomethodological analysis highlights two leadership practices produced in the interactions between the participants of the studied organization.