The quantity of emerging literature on the subject of leadership testifies to the urgency that is felt in these times for understanding it. The phenomenon of leadership is a subtle one and each author is at pains to justify their particular slant on its nature. This thesis shifts away from trying to find essential qualities of leadership that are generically applicable and instead considers leadership as it is experienced. It therefore examines leadership as a personal phenomenon regardless of the position held. The phenomenon is recognised through the experience of those who are present to its influence. This includes the practitioner, in any role or job, for whom the experience of leadership is necessarily personal and its expression evolving rather than static. I have chosen the method of conversation to identify the presence of such a phenomenon. This provides an expansive format which, because it is a lived experience, provides access to people’s experience of leadership, both their own and that of others’. I have used reflexive and imaginative writing processes to express and develop theory and praxis. Through these means, I have examined leadership as an engagement and used myself as a presence in order to develop insight. The thesis draws on the philosophical tradition of Goethe, Husserl, Bohm and Varela to understand the nature of experience and change; qualitative researchers like Van Manen, Crotty and Reason to develop reflective tools of inquiring; and leadership thinkers such as Senge, Jaworski, Scharmer and Mintzberg to find more vital ways of considering the very human experience of leadership in these times of rapid change. The thesis showcases an evaluation of leadership in a medium-sized industrial organisation in Western Australia. The task of the study was to assess the change in leadership in the whole organisation as a result of management attending a leadership program. For this purpose, phenomenological research methods were used to provide an in-depth and experientially based methodology. Narrative analysis offered the ground for capturing the presence of leadership through expressing the whole spectrum of voices in the organisation. Further, first-person methods brought relational sensitivity and researcher engagement, immersion and leadership. The evaluation resulted in a confronting report that enabled new ways of hearing between management and non-management and the organisation was enabled to take its next steps forward consensually. The study is followed by three exploratory chapters that deal with: How does the ‘new’ get dreamed up? What are the big issues of leadership that challenge the establishment? What does change actually imply and why is this so important to leadership? I protest the flippancy with which organisational consultants and leaders confuse structural change with the change that people really desire. The crystallisation of my exploration into the phenomenon of leadership transpires through a synchronous event. This was a personal experience of leadership. I apply a classical philosophical phenomenological analysis to my story as a narrative. This results in a new theoretical framework which I have called confluential leadership: the interaction of the constellations of synchronicity, clarity of intention and co-creativeness. The appreciation of these influences within one����s role is a meaning-making or enhancing process. This can result in greater engagement with one’s role or perhaps the realisation that one is in the wrong job! The centrality of my own engagement, a feature of the research conducted through this thesis, has resulted in the development of a passion for the subject of leadership and an enthusiasm for the possibilities of advancing and applying many of the ideas introduced. I have found that in order to find leadership, one has to bring leadership and the quality of that intention determines what one finds. Similarly, when leadership is experienced in a workplace, others are influenced to present the best of their own leadership. There is always the possibility for each person to enhance their own experience of leadership to become more integrated, wholesome and passionate about their work. The potentiality of this excites me. Confluential is my own word and is a combination of the words consciousness and influence. It is the conscious influence of the three constellations of synchronicity, clarity of intention and co-creativeness. Each of these has been very specifically defined; their meanings are carefully discussed in the body of the thesis. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/201150 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Jankelson, Claire, University of Western Sydney, College of Arts, Education and Social Sciences, School of Social Ecology and Lifelong Learning |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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