Leadership as Practice: Challenging the Competency Paradigm

Carroll, Brigid; Levy, Lester; Richmond, David

doi:10.1177/1742715008095186

Cited by 360 publications

(391 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Debates in the field of leadership are beginning to take this view. There has been an increasing assertion of an ontological orientation towards relational dynamics rather than essentialist qualities of individuals (Uhl-Bien, 2006), and an increasing attention to relational practices and identities of leaders and followers within a specific context (DeRue and Ashford, 2010) emerging as leadership as practice (Carroll et al, 2008;Raelin, 2011). The importance for us of this discussion is to position entrepreneurial leadership as a socially constructed relational practice.…”

Section: What Is Entrepreneurial Leadership Learning?mentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of entrepreneurial leadership learning: an exploration that draws on human, social and institutional capitals

Kempster¹,

Smith²,

Barnes³

2018

Research Handbook on Entrepreneurship and Leadership

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INTRODUCTIONThis chapter explores entrepreneurial leadership learning: what it is, and how it is different to leadership learning within employed contexts. We use communities of practice (CoP) theory as a lens for understanding how owner-managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) learn entrepreneurial leadership. Drawing upon an empirical case study of an SME leadership development programme and an autoethnographic account of one of the owner-managers (Barnes et al., 2015), we explore how entrepreneurial leadership learning becomes evident in the entrepreneurial context and how it can be developed within a CoP. Developing this further we use the notions of human, social and institutional capitals to illustrate how such learning becomes manifest: the connect between individual skills, knowledge and attitudes within social relationships supported through an organised structure with guiding informal rules of collective engagement.The organisation of the chapter is as follows. First, we provide an overview of debates and research evidence to delineate the nature of entrepreneurial leadership learning. Recent discussions in the field of leadership have begun to assert an ontological orientation towards relational dynamics rather than essentialist qualities of individuals; that is an emphasis on relational practices and identities formed within specific contexts of both leaders and followers (DeRue and Ashford, 2010). The chapter next explores formative leadership learning and the differences in the employed and the SME and entrepreneurial contexts. We continue looking at the SME context using the lens of CoP theory to examine how a leadership programme helps owner-managers of SMEs develop their entrepreneurial leadership capabilities. We highlight a particular case through an autoethnographic account of an owner-manager which examines the lived experience of entrepreneurial leadership learning. The account is used to show how Leitch et al.'s (2013) three capitals -human, social and institutional -provide an in-depth rich sense of verisimilitude of the experience of all three dimensions. We conclude the chapter by exploring opportunities for the development of research into entrepreneurial leadership learning.

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Section: What Is Entrepreneurial Leadership Learning?mentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of entrepreneurial leadership learning: an exploration that draws on human, social and institutional capitals

Kempster¹,

Smith²,

Barnes³

2018

Research Handbook on Entrepreneurship and Leadership

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Leadership research is thus seen as a vehicle of finding the best leaders and leadership practices needed for the achievement of desired outcomes (Wood, 2005;Carroll et al, 2008).…”

Section: Higher Education Leadership As Hybridised Culture and Hybridmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leadership cultures and discursive hybridisation

Crevani

Ekman

Lindgren

et al. 2015

International Journal of Public Leadership

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of leadership culture and analyse how leadership cultures are produced in higher education reforms, in a hybridised discursive context of traditional academic values and emerging managerialism and leaderism. Design/methodology/approach – Building on a perspective on leadership as a cultural phenomenon emerging in processes in which societal, sectorial and professional discursive resources are invoked, this study adds to earlier studies on how notions of leadership are involved in the transformation of higher education organisations. To this end, the method combines a traditional qualitative study of change initiatives over a long period of time with participative observation. Focusing on two vignettes, the analysis centres on how several discursive resources are drawn upon in daily interaction. Findings – The emergence of hybrid leadership cultures in which several discursive resources are drawn upon in daily interaction is illustrated. This paper emphasises how hybrid cultures develop through confirmation, re-formulation and rejection of discursive influences. Research limitations/implications – An extended empirical material would enable further understanding of what cultural constructions of leadership that become confirmed, re-formulated or rejected. International comparisons would also enrich the analysis. Practical implications – This paper may influence leadership, leadership development and change initiatives in higher education organisation. Social implications – Higher education organisations are crucial for societal development and this paper contributes to better understanding how they are changing. Originality/value – The perspective proposed builds on recent developments in leadership studies and expands the means for focusing on social processes rather than individuals.

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“…Arguably, the notion of competency represents only a fraction of the complexity. On this premise, the acceptance of competencies as a basis for evaluating complex performance seems particularly problematic and misplaced [28].…”

Section: The Problems Of Relevance Balance and Complexitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Illusion of Competency Versus the Desirability of Expertise: Seeking a Common Standard for Support Professions in Sport

et al. 2014

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In this paper we examine and challenge the competency-based models which currently dominate accreditation and development systems in sport support disciplines, largely the sciences and coaching. Through consideration of exemplar shortcomings, the limitations of competency-based systems are presented as failing to cater for the complexity of decision making and the need for proactive experimentation essential to effective practice. To provide a better fit with the challenges of the various disciplines in their work with performers, an alternative approach is presented which focuses on the promotion, evaluation and elaboration of expertise. Such an approach resonates with important characteristics of professions, whilst also providing for the essential 'shades of grey' inherent in work with human participants. Key differences between the approaches are considered through exemplars of evaluation processes. The expertise-focused method, although inherently more complex, is seen as offering a less ambiguous and more positive route, both through more accurate representation of essential professional competence and through facilitation of future growth in proficiency and evolution of expertise in practice. Examples from the literature are also presented, offering further support for the practicalities of this approach. Key PointsThe paper examines limitations in the commonly applied competency method of evaluation for support professions and promotes an alternative, expertise-focused approach.The expertise approach goes beyond the use of competency-based systems, and even the definitions of competence provided in this paper, to evaluate and facilitate capacities for more elaborative and adaptive thinking, judgment and growth.Bodies responsible for professional development and evaluation need to lead a long overdue, widespread shift from competency-driven to expert practice across the spectrum of science and coaching in sport, reflecting the situation already common in medicine.

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Leadership as Practice: Challenging the Competency Paradigm

Cited by 360 publications

References 52 publications

A review of entrepreneurial leadership learning: an exploration that draws on human, social and institutional capitals

A review of entrepreneurial leadership learning: an exploration that draws on human, social and institutional capitals

Leadership cultures and discursive hybridisation

The Illusion of Competency Versus the Desirability of Expertise: Seeking a Common Standard for Support Professions in Sport

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