When an individual goes from employee to leader, they are forced to go through a role-formation process. The first-time leader faces new challenges from both employees and organizations that he or she must deal with. The first-time leader may either need to create a new relationship with the employees or already have a relationship which changes during role formation. The aim is to highlight, through interviews with seven first-time leaders in Sweden, the factors that are relevant to role formation and the challenges the leader faces.The empirical material is analyzed through Pierre Bourdieu's sociological theory and Hersey och Blanchard's leadership theory. The concepts of Symbolic Perspective and Role Exit are also central to the study. The results show that experiences, culture and values are factors that can influence individuals in the formation of a new role. It also shows that the leadership style is both shaped by role formation but also helps to create the role. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the first-time leader needs selfawareness to identify development opportunities and meet the requirements and expectations that exist.

Educational collaborative networks (ECNs), as instruments for achieving educational goals through the integration of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), have become frequent elements of public education worldwide. Despite their contribution of additional resources to the education enterprise, the roles of philanthropic foundations in ECNs are particularly controversial. Research suggests that leaders of ECNs such as policy makers, administrators, and school principals design and coordinate governance structures to guide participants’ behaviour. However, the importance of governance design and coordination in ECNs for governing philanthropic roles is yet to be systematically analysed. This article centres on the relationship between the design and coordination of governance boards and role-related participation of philanthropic foundations. A mixed methods design is implemented based on secondary analysis of a German large-scale standardised survey and an in-depth case study conducted in a south German municipality. Results confirm that leaders of ECNs impact philanthropic engagement via the design and coordination of governance boards. Participation in ECNs can take on diverse roles of representing particular interests, pursuing innovation, or providing services and are explained by underlying governance-related mechanisms. Identified associations within governance boards and role-related participation of philanthropic foundations in ECNs offer valuable insights for leadership in education.

When an individual goes from employee to leader, they are forced to go through a role-formation process. The first-time leader faces new challenges from both employees and organizations that he or she mustdeal with. The first-time leader may either need to create a new relationship with the employees or already have a relationship which changes during role formation. The aim is to highlight, through interviews with seven first-time leaders in Sweden, the factors that are relevant to role formation and the challenges the leader faces.The empirical material is analyzed through Pierre Bourdieu's sociological theory and Hersey ochBlanchard's leadership theory. The concepts of Symbolic Perspective and Role Exit are also central to the study. The results show that experiences, culture and values are factors that can influence individuals in the formation of a new role. It also shows that the leadership style is both shaped by role formation but also helps to create the role. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the first-time leader needs self-awareness to identify development opportunities and meet the requirements and expectations that exist.