Leadership and power in higher education

Lumby, Jacky

doi:10.1080/03075079.2018.1458221

Cited by 46 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Within higher education, little attention has been paid to how leaders in formal positions typically enact power since the dominant discourse is that such leaders have little power: in a collegial system, they are constrained by their representative function, and in a managerialist system, real power, it is suggested, rests with external stakeholders such as the state (see Lumby, 2018 on the denial of power). However, from the point of view of internal stakeholders (such as staff or students), it is obvious that leaders in formal positions of power make decisions which have substantial consequences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is effective for maintaining control and can be seen as reflecting another aspect of stealth power. It has some similarities with one of Lumby’s (2018: 6) ‘subtle forms of power’ i.e. ‘shaping discussion and decisions’, although agenda control is more theoretically rooted and specific.…”

Section: Centralisation Of Gendered Power and Leadership Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They form part of his/her in-group, bound to the power holder not only by line management considerations but also by ties of personal loyalty and the anticipation of future rewards. This practice has some similarities with Lumby’s (2018: 7) focus on ‘acquiring the support of others’. Implicit in the idea of in-group loyalty is a reciprocal relationship (Alvesson, 2017) rooted in the anticipation of mutual benefit.…”

Section: Centralisation Of Gendered Power and Leadership Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has some similarities with work on toxic leadership and implicitly challenges the ‘excessively positive constructions of heroic leadership’ which ‘is often reluctant to address issues of power and privilege’ (Collinson, 2019: 266). There are also some similarities with Lumby’s (2018) focus on ‘subtle forms of power’; her themes focusing on denial of power; creating a favourable impression; shaping discussions and decisions; acquiring support and weakening opposition. It is located in a critical leadership studies tradition with its focus on asymmetrical and situated power (Collinson, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Leadership practices by senior position holders in Higher Educational Research Institutes: Stealth power in action?

et al. 2019

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Using Webb's (2008) concept of stealth power and a critical realist perspective, this article identifies leadership practices that obscure the centralisation of power, drawing on data from interviews with 25 academic decision-makers in formal leadership positions in HERIs in Ireland, Italy and Turkey. Its key contribution is the innovative operationalisation of stealth power and the inductive identification of four practices which obscure that centralised power i.e. rhetorical collegiality, agenda control, in-group loyalty and (at a deeper level) the invisibility of gendered power. The purpose of the article is emancipatory: by creating an awareness of these leadership practices, it challenges their persistence. (101 words)

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Centralisation Of Gendered Power and Leadership Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Centralisation Of Gendered Power and Leadership Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Leadership practices by senior position holders in Higher Educational Research Institutes: Stealth power in action?

et al. 2019

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“…Adopting a variety of critical perspectives and methodologies, researchers have begun to address the inter-relationships between leadership and different forms of power and control (e.g. Alvesson and Spicer, 2012; Bolden et al., 2011; Collinson, 2011, 2012, 2019; Firth and Carroll, 2017; Ford and Harding, 2011; Gagnon and Collinson, 2014, 2017; Gordon, 2011; Lipman-Blumen, 2005; Lumby, 2019; Salovaara and Bathurst, 2018; Schedlitzki and Edwards, 2014; Sinclair, 2007, 2011; Spector, 2016; Sturm and Antonakis, 2015; Tourish, 2013; Tourish and Vatcha, 2005; Wilson, 2016). These contributions acknowledge that, for good or ill, leaders exercise considerable power and influence in and around organizations and societies.…”

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confidence: 99%

Introduction to the Special Issue

Collinson

2020

Leadership

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This Special Issue examines the importance of power for understanding leadership dynamics. The articles comprising this collection suggest that power is fundamental to leadership theory and practice. They illustrate, for example, how power is enacted in the decisions, statements and claims that leaders make, in their practices and the many ways they influence followers, and through the organizational structures, resources, information and technologies they have at their disposal. The papers also indicate that leadership power dynamics are highly context-specific. A primary purpose of this SI is to showcase how, why and with what consequences power dynamics can reflect and reinforce leadership practices: in short, the articles illustrate how leadership and power are frequently inextricably-linked. 1 Historically, power dynamics have tended to be neglected in leadership research. In one of the most celebrated books in the discipline, Burns (1978) differentiated between 'leaders' (who successfully engage and satisfy followers' motives) and 'power holders' (who

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Accessing Academic Citizenship: Excellence or Micropolitical Practices?

O’Connor

2020

Gendered Academic Citizenship

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 Procedural subversion and selective gender blindness  Gendered devaluation and stereotypes  Relational practices involving sponsorship by individual power holders  Inbreeding favoring 'insiders' or local fit This chapter highlights variation in the construction of excellence and the way in which informal power is used in such micropolitical practices, with consequences for access to various kinds of academic citizenship. Theoretical frameworkThe theoretical perspective is that of Feminist Institutionalism (FI) (Mackay et al. 2010, Mackay 2011. Building on the work of Acker (1990Acker ( , 2006 on gendered organisations and Connell (1987, 2002) on gender regimes, feminist institutionalism is concerned with "the gendered character of institutions and the gendering effects of institutions" and helps us "answer some of the big questions and real-world puzzles about gendered power inequalities in public and political life" (Mackay 2011: 181). FI sees gender operating at a structural and cultural level and at a formal and informal level. Each institution has a particular 'gender regime' (Connell 2002: 53) that operates through a "'hidden' day-to-day interplay of formal and informal norms with gendered implications" (Verge et al. 2018: 88). FI includes a focus on the ways in which such informal relationships and the unwritten rules governing them perpetuate gendered patterns. Little attention has been paid by FI to HERIs. Mackay et al. (2010: 580) see gender as a 'constitutive element of social relations based upon perceived (socially constructed and culturally variable) differences between women and men, and as a primary way of signifying (and naturalising) relations of power and hierarchy'. Thus, it suggests that a devaluation of women is implicit in the very construction of gender.Gendered structures, culture, procedures and practices legitimate that devaluation.The concept of micropolitics was originally used by Ball (1987: 280) to highlight informal power in schools, and particularly to reveal the 'darker side' of organisational life'.He saw conflict and domination reflected in the use of informal power, focusing on the control strategies pursued by heads and the politics of advancement. The concept of micropolitics (sic) was applied by Morley (1999: 4) to higher education focusing on 'everyday practices…. Micropolitics is about influence, networks, coalitions, political and

show abstract

Leadership and power in higher education

Cited by 46 publications

References 24 publications

Leadership practices by senior position holders in Higher Educational Research Institutes: Stealth power in action?

Leadership practices by senior position holders in Higher Educational Research Institutes: Stealth power in action?

Introduction to the Special Issue

Accessing Academic Citizenship: Excellence or Micropolitical Practices?

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