Abstract
Multi-actor governance, in which a broad mix of actors collaborates to deal with complex societal problems, requires a leadership approach that can take into account the dynamic interdependencies between the involved actors. A relational approach to leadership, focusing on processes and practices, is more adequate for that purpose than approaches focusing on individuals and positions. Complexity leadership theory offers such a relational approach to leadership within organizations. In this article, we use complexity leadership theory to capture the emergent leadership processes between organizations. We focus on the characteristics of the informal relations between representatives of different organizations that enable dealing with the often-conflicting goals and values in multi-actor governance. The case of a landfill mining initiative for sustainable materials governance is used as an illustration to clarify the main concepts and arguments.
Highlights
Complexity and Multi-Actor GovernanceBecause of the increasing complexity of contemporary society and the erosion of existing institutions, the attention of policy makers has turned to participatory modes of governance (Rhodes 1996; Osborne 2006)
While the huge volume of research on leadership in management and organization studies is still focused on individual characteristics of hierarchical leaders in single organizations (Bass 1999; Harding et al 2011), research on leadership in multi-actor governance (MAG) is less developed
We demonstrate the relevance of Complexity leadership theory (CLT), developed in business contexts, to understand leadership in MAG
Summary
Marc Craps 1,4, *, Inge Vermeesch 1,2 , Art Dewulf 2,4 , Koen Sips 3,4 , Katrien Termeer 2 and. Network for Action Research on Multi-actor Collaboration, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
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