Leadership Networks Research Articles

Analyzing the Growth of a Statewide Network to Increase Recruitment to and Persistence in STEM

Abstract The First2 Network is a collection of people from K–12, higher education, government, and industry who are coming together to ensure that students of West Virginia, a rural Appalachian state, will be prepared to choose science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors and persist in them. This project—funded by the National Science Foundation—combines many features, including semi-annual conferences, structured working groups, summer immersive experiences for students, a student ambassador program, and network improvement communities. The growth of the First2 Network is vital to make sure that these activities and programs are disseminated and sustained statewide. This article uses social network analysis to examine participation of people around the state during the first three years of the project. Findings indicate that the network is growing in number of people and in strength of connections. Network leadership members are playing key roles in the network, and student participants who persist in their STEM majors have stronger ties to the network. Social network indicators suggest that the network has manifested positive changes in the first three years of the project, which will lead to increased communication and collaboration among state agencies related to STEM persistence within the state.

Teaching a Lean masterclass in the metaverse

Purpose This paper reports exploratory findings about teaching in the metaverse using a virtual reality (VR) platform and head-mounted displays. This paper addresses three research questions: Is the metaverse an appropriate platform for teaching Lean? What are the benefits and problems of this approach over traditional classroom methods? What are the future implications for teaching Lean in the VR-enabled metaverse? Design/methodology/approach The research presented in this paper is exploratory. A critical realism approach is adopted using action research through the preparation, delivery and review of the first four masterclasses entitled Leading Intelligent Lean offered by Gemba (formerly The Leadership Network). The data collection methods included a pre-workshop questionnaire, participant observation, focus groups and end-of-course surveys. Findings It was found that Lean can be taught successfully in the metaverse. There are many related benefits, particularly in terms of the high levels of immersion and the “wow” factor. Remaining technological limitations are reduced by continually improving the metaverse platform and the course content and delivery. The authors conclude that the metaverse is a useful addition to teaching Lean – and is especially promising when used in a blended teaching approach. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of teaching Lean in a VR-enabled metaverse and one of the first of teaching and learning in the metaverse regardless of topic. The respective problems and benefits of this approach versus teaching in a traditional classroom setting are discussed.

Working with complexity: Leading school networks in Aotearoa New Zealand and England

Inter-school networks have been promoted in many school systems globally to facilitate: knowledge generation and dissemination; responsiveness to increasingly diverse student and societal needs; and emotional and practical peer support for educational professionals. In understanding contemporary education as a ‘wicked’ problem, this paper explores case studies of inter-school networks in Aotearoa New Zealand (New Zealand) and England through the lens of complexity theory. We focus on how the conditions necessary for complex emergence identified by Davis and Sumara operate and how these conditions, along with their ‘enabling constraints’, facilitate the emergence of new perspectives and practices that enable the achievement of network objectives. This analysis indicates that where particular forms of leadership are in place, challenges – such as fragmentation, competition and the absence of social capital – can be overcome. We argue that network leaders need to balance and bridge three overlapping leadership approaches: operational leadership, entrepreneurial leadership and enabling leadership. We conclude by exploring the implications and insights for school, network and system leaders.

Clinical leadership training in integrated primary care networks: a qualitative evaluation

ObjectiveTo explore how a clinical leadership training programme contributes to successful implementation of integrated dementia care in local primary care networks.Methods and analysisA qualitative design was used in local primary...

Critical Indigenism as Approach for Sustainable Urbanization

Within the next 30 years, cities will grow dramatically. Rural areas will become new urban centers, and open spaces will transform into urban cityscapes. Population growth, demolition of natural landscapes, and urbanization are fuelling the already imminent threat of climate change. Indigenous structures with their own “critical regionalism” touch on a wide range of cultural, economic, and societal aspects. The authors of this paper examine the possible influence of indigenous vernacular structures and the important regional dependencies in African communities. Paradigm would be the use of materials, typologies, building layouts, urban planning, and ecological concepts as well as the question of the importance of a defined urban image. The paper is based on results derived from interdisciplinary and intercultural collaboration within the framework of the Female Academic Leadership Network for Conscious Engineering and Science towards Sustainable Urbanisation FALCONESS.

Member-care leadership in regional innovation networks: caring for single members – a hidden process?

Although MSMEs are expected to benefit the most from participating in collaborative innovation, they often struggle to gain these benefits. This study contributes knowledge about how to reduce the barriers. Three regional innovation networks were studied primarily through semi-structured interviews. They were formal networks, and the tourism sector was the main industry. Data analysis followed the grounded theory. A hidden but essential practice of network orchestration is constructed, i.e. ‘member-care leadership.’ Involving the subpractices of empathizing, engaging, and supervising single members’ to increase value from participating in the network. In particular, member-care leadership enables MSMEs to prioritize and carry out network activities and innovation at and between network gatherings. The care subpractices are interdependent, dynamic, and relational. The practice triggered learning and innovation within the enterprises and increased the enterprises ‘of-gathering activity’, knowledge sharing, and performance at the network level. This suggests that innovation network literature should take a humanistic and relational approach to orchestration. The study also provides an understanding of how network-driven innovation involves multileveled and dynamic processes, with orchestration and activity at the enterprise and network levels and between these levels. A policy implication is that member-care leadership should be acknowledged and allocated human and economic resources.

A Virtual "Think Tank" to Establish Collaborative Leadership Initiative Plans ("CLIPs").

The AACP Leadership Development Special Interest Group (LD SIG) held a one-hour Virtual Networking Session during the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) 2020 Annual Meeting. The purpose of the session was to connect attendees with colleagues from other institutions sharing similar interests related to leadership development through an engaging "Virtual Think Tank" (VTT). The VTT included facilitated collaboration which enabled small groups to develop "Collaborative Leadership Initiative Plans" (CLIPs) based on shared leadership interest areas. A CLIP is an idea for a multi-institutional programmatic or scholarly initiative that is expected to lead to deliverables or outcomes mutually beneficial for all collaborators. Facilitators then assisted the CLIP groups with identifying specific deliverables and potential outcomes of successful implementation, as well as a plan for group follow-up. Seventy-two attendees from 55 unique institutions participated to form seven CLIP groups consisting of an average of ten individuals each. CLIP ideas generated included an initiative to align faculty tenure and promotion criteria to incentivize entrepreneurship and innovation among faculty, incorporation of a leadership project into Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences in the experiential pharmacy curriculum, and creation of a cross-institutional co-curricular program for students. An important legacy of the session was a leadership networking contact list, called the Leadership Networking Database, which will serve as an enduring leadership networking tool. This session offered an innovative solution to a canceled in-person professional meeting and replaced missed networking and collaboration opportunities resulting from cancellation of the in-person meeting.

A model of lived experience leadership for transformative systems change: Activating Lived Experience Leadership (ALEL) project

PurposeThis discursive paper presents a lived experience leadership model as developed as part of the Activating Lived Experience Leadership (ALEL) project to increase the recognition and understanding of lived experience leadership in mental health and social sectors. The model of lived experience leadership was formulated through a collaboration between the South Australian Lived Experience Leadership & Advocacy Network and the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Research and Education Group.Design/methodology/approachAs one of the outcomes of the ALEL research project, this model incorporates findings from a two-year research project in South Australia using participatory action research methodology and cocreation methodology. Focus groups with lived experience leaders, interviews with sector leaders and a national survey of lived experience leaders provided the basis of qualitative data, which was interpreted via an iterative and shared analysis. This work identified intersecting lived experience values, actions, qualities and skills as characteristics of effective lived experience leadership and was visioned and led by lived experience leaders.FindingsThe resulting model frames lived experience leadership as a social movement for recognition, inclusion and justice and is composed of six leadership actions: centres lived experience; stands up and speaks out; champions justice; nurtures connected and collective spaces; mobilises strategically; and leads change. Leadership is also guided by the values of integrity, authenticity, mutuality and intersectionality, and the key positionings of staying peer and sharing power.Originality/valueThis model is based on innovative primary research, which has been developed to encourage understanding across mental health and social sectors on the work of lived experience leaders in seeking change and the value that they offer for systems transformation. It also offers unique insights to guide reflective learning for the lived experience and consumer movement, workers, clinicians, policymakers and communities.

Enacting Leadership Legitimacy under Terms of Limited Formal and Informal Power in a Heterarchical Network of Organizations

Previous research provides important insights into leadership in inter-organizational networks but says little about how organizations can establish themselves as leaders in heterarchical networks where power is decentralized. We draw on a longitudinal single case study of a German banking cooperative and develop a process model explaining how an organization can create and sustain leadership legitimacy under terms of limited formal and informal power in a heterarchical network. The model advances the understanding of leadership legitimacy in organizational networks in different ways and suggests a new understanding of leadership enacted by formal and informal leaders.

Observing Leadership as and in Networks: A Multilevel Investigation of Shared Leadership, Discrete Emotions, and Knowledge Behaviors.

PurposeWith an increasing demand for shared leadership to address complex, dynamic, and diverse knowledge situations, more attention should be paid to the knowledge behaviors of emergent leaders in teams. However, there is thus far a lack of research into the multilevel nature of shared leadership. Using a dual network lens, this study considers two aspects of shared leadership: “shared leadership as networks” (SLAN) and “shared leadership in networks” (SLIN). Based on emotion appraisal theory, this study investigated the impact of SLIN on leaders’ productive and counterproductive knowledge behaviors through discrete emotions (pride and fear of losing power) and the moderating role of SLAN in guiding their emotions and subsequent behaviors.MethodsA social network approach was employed to obtain data among 431 employees from 72 teams in China. We identified 350 emergent leaders via leadership sociograms. Statistical analysis methods, including multilevel regression analysis, Monte Carlo simulation, and simple slope analysis, were utilized to test our hypotheses.ResultsThis study indicates that (1) SLIN is positively associated with pride (B = 0.33, p < 0.001), which in turn increases knowledge sharing (B = 0.37, p < 0.001); (2) SLIN is positively related to fear of losing power (B = 0.21, p < 0.05), which in turn is negatively associated with knowledge sharing (B = −0.23, p < 0.001) and positively associated with knowledge hiding (B = 0.19, p < 0.001); (3) SLAN moderated these aforementioned indirect effects.Conclusion and OriginalityFirst, by defining and differentiating between SLAN and SLIN, this study expands a new perspective on SLIN and facilitates the further development of multilevel shared leadership. Second, this study responds to recent calls for more research on leadership networks and individual-level outcomes of shared leadership. Moreover, it offers a novel theoretical framework to illustrate the impact of SLIN on their knowledge behaviors. Finally, the focus on the moderating role of SLAN identifies a significant contextual factor that prevents the dysfunctional effects of SLIN. These original discoveries enrich the literature on team leadership, emotions, and knowledge management. Further, our novel findings may be of interest to practitioners as they help organizations and teams manage the complex impacts of SLIN on knowledge behaviors in the contexts of an ongoing “affective revolution” and team-based organizational structures.

Strategic Leadership and Multiple Networks: Theory &amp; Evidence

Stakeholder norms originating in developed economies influence firms’ board composition, including board diversity. However, less is known on firms in emerging economies, specifically India—a heterogeneous institutional context where firms’ strategic choices are subject to unique institutional forces and social structures. In his study, we bridge the stakeholder theory with the institutional perspective to examine Indian firms’ strategic choices regarding board caste diversity. Specifically, we contend that Indian firms’ exposure to stakeholder norms from developed economies does increase board caste diversity in India. However, such adaptations can face constraints and opportunities embedded in multiple social structures of India. Our panel regression analyses of three large Indian datasets between 2010 and 2018 suggest that Indian firms’ board caste diversity is indeed driven by their exposures to stakeholder norms from developed economies. Further, such adaptations are strengthened when firms occupy key positions—prominence (centrality) and brokerage—in a network with market-based affiliation (i.e., banks), but are weakened when firms occupy prominence (centrality) and brokerage in a network with a tradition-based affiliation (i.e., family and kinship). As one of the first studies to systematically investigate Indian firms’ board caste diversity, our findings have important implications for corporate governance in emerging economies.

Leadership Potential is in the Eye of the Beholder: The Role of Networking Behavior and Motives

When identifying potential leaders, observers interpret the behavior of others, attribute motives to the observed behavior, and make judgements about their leadership potential. Drawing on previous literature connecting leadership emergence and networking, we focus on observed networking behavior, we posit that individuals’ networking behavior is particularly relevant to others’ assessments of their leadership potential. The existing literature views networking behavior as connected to agentic motives (i.e., people engaging in networking behavior for personal achievement and advancement), and also positions agency as a prerequisite for “good leadership.” This premium placed on agency neglects a contemporary shift in leadership where relational, more communal leaders are increasingly desired and expected. We test this line of reasoning by demonstrating that the communal aspects of networking and leadership drive the connection between networking behavior and the motives ascribed to that behavior. Through four empirical studies (total n = 972) we find that networking behavior is generally attributed both agentic and communal motives (Study 1), but that attributed communal motives, more so than agentic motives, are important predictors of individuals’ leadership potential in the eyes of observers (Study 2a; Study 2b; Study 3).

Network Leadership and Team Creativity: An Exploratory Study of New York City Jazz Bands

Jazz bands exemplify the creative economy of teams engaged in flexible and precarious work. Theory is conflicted concerning how leadership of such audience-facing organizations affects outcomes. For the 346 New York City jazz bands active in 2010, we explored how formal and network leadership related to music creativity and popularity; as well as to band longevity through the year 2021. Formal leadership may direct band members toward joint creative outcomes. Or such leadership may harm the free-flowing energy that fuels creative performance. Network leaders engage in brokering connections across the network of jazz musicians; or building status through connections to central people. The network in this case consisted of ties between people who had overlapping band membership. We found that formal leadership negated band creativity but made no difference to band popularity or longevity. Network leadership, defined as status, facilitated both creativity and popularity, whereas brokerage had no discernible effects. Interestingly, creative bands were less likely to endure. In the creative industries, formalized hierarchy may be less important for a team’s creative output than representation in the external market for talent and aesthetic judgment that well-connected network leaders bring.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on American College of Surgeons–Accredited Education Institutes & American Society of Anesthesiologists–Simulation Education Network: Opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges for simulation programs including American College of Surgeons Accredited Education Institutes and American Society of Anesthesiologists Simulation Education Network. American College of Surgeons Accredited Education Institutes and American Society of Anesthesiologists Simulation Education Network leadership were surveyed to identify opportunities to enhance patient safety through simulation. MethodsBetween January and June 2021, surveys consisting of 3 targeted domains: (I) Changing practice; (II) Contributions and recognition; and (III) Moving ahead were distributed to 100 American College of Surgeons Accredited Education Institutes and 54 American Society of Anesthesiologists Simulation Education Network centers. Responses were combined and percent frequencies reported. ResultsNinety-six respondents, representing 51 (51%) American College of Surgeons Accredited Education Institutes, 17 (31.5%) American Society of Anesthesiologists Simulation Education Network, and 28 dually accredited centers, completed the survey. Change of practice. Although 20.3% of centers stayed fully operational at the COVID-19 onset, 82% of all centers closed: 32% were closed less than 3 months, 28% were closed 3 to 6 months, 8% were closed 7 to 9 months, and 32% remained closed as of June 6, 2021. Most impacted activities were large-group instruction and team training. Sixty-nine percent of programs converted in-person to virtual programs. Contributions. The top reported innovative contributions included policies (80%), curricula (80%), and scholarly work (74%), Moving ahead. The respondents’ top concerns were returning to high-quality training to best address learners’ deficiencies and re-engagement of re-directed training programs. When asked “How the American College of Surgeons/American Society of Anesthesiologists Programs could best assist your simulation center goals?” the top responses were “facilitate collaboration” and “publish best practices from this work.” ConclusionThe Pandemic presented multiple challenges and opportunities for simulation centers. Opportunities included collaboration between American College of Surgeons Accredited Education Institutes and the American Society of Anesthesiologists Simulation Education Network to identify best practices and resources needed to enhance patient safety through simulation.

Managerial Networking and Frugal Innovation: Situational Leadership Perspective.

This study aimed to examine the integrated relationships of business ties, political ties, sustainable leadership, and frugal innovation. The correlation was assessed with the consideration of social network and situational leadership theories. Data was collected from 363 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) employees in Pakistan with a response rate of 72.60%. Accordingly, the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to examine the validity of the proposed hypotheses. Empirical findings confirmed the significant impact of managerial and business ties on frugal innovation, strengthened by sustainable leadership. However, data analysis negated the positive impact of political ties on frugal innovation, which remains non-significant with the introduction of sustainable leadership among Pakistani SMEs. Hence, future studies are recommended to explore other conditional factors and mediating mechanisms in the relationship between managerial ties and frugal innovation. This idea can bring a deeper insight into the vital role of networking. To the best of the author’s knowledge, no prior study is available about the integrated relationships of managerial ties, frugal innovation, and sustainable leadership. This study enriches the literature in innovation management, especially concerning the social network and situational leadership model.

Ethical leadership, organisational citizenship behaviours and social loafing: The mediating effect of perceived organisational politics

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to provide empirical evidence in order to enhance the understanding of how ethical leadership influences employees’ organisational citizenship behaviours and occurrence of social loafing through the mediating role of perceived organisational politics in the higher education sector. Design/methodology/approach: The respondents of the study were academics engaged in the education sector in North Cyprus. Structural equation modelling (SEM), regression analysis and bootstrapping technique were employed to test the model and the hypotheses. Findings/results: The statistical findings confirm that the presence of an ethical leader encouraged and motivated employees to develop a politically transparent environment, which in turn encouraged academics to develop organisational citizenship behaviours and reduce social loafing intentions in their workplace. Practical implications: The results demonstrated that organisations aiming to increase organisational performance through encouraging employee discretionary behaviours are recommended to hire and promote ethical leaders and develop strategies to measure perceived levels of organisational politics. Originality/value: This study fills a gap in the literature by asserting that the complete chain effects of an ethical leadership network enhance employee positivity and reduce negative discretionary behaviours. It also highlights that the effect of ethical leadership on organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs) and social loafing was partially contingent on perceived organisational politics.

Segregation dynamics driven by network leaders

Network segregation—a critical problem in real-life networks—can reveal the emergence of conflicts or signal an impending collapse of the whole system. However, the strong heterogeneity of such networks and the various definitions for key nodes continue to pose challenges that limit our ability to foresee segregation and to determine the main drivers behind it. In this paper, we show that a multi-agent leader–follower consensus system can be utilized to define a new index, named leadership, to identify key leaders in real-life networks. And then, this paper explores the emergence of network segregation that is driven by these leaders based on the removal or the rewiring of the relations between different nodes in agreement with their contribution distance. We finally show that the observed leaders-driven segregation dynamics reveals the dynamics of heterogeneous attributes that critically influence network structure and its segregation. Thus, this paper provides a theoretical method to study complex social interactions and their roles in network segregation, which ultimately leads to a closed-form explanation for the emergence of imbalanced network structure from an evolutionary perspective.

Meso-level leaders as brokers of horizontal and vertical linkages in feminist networked social movements

ABSTRACT With recent research emphasizing different leadership roles that characterize networked social movements, brokerage has received renewed attention as one of the key responsibilities of networked movement leadership. However, in limiting the role of brokering to creating horizontal connections among decentralized actors, previous research is missing an account of grassroots movements that were able to make vertical connections with the power structures and grow to have a significant political impact. By comparing two cases of feminist networked social movements from South Korea, I examine brokerage and conditions that enabled brokerage through the lens of leadership. I argue that brokerage is a crucial dimension of movement leadership and propose the concept of meso-level leadership to elaborate how some grassroots leaders could facilitate grassroots representation in mainstream legislative agenda-setting by forming relationships with actors across a broad organizational and institutional spectrum.

Research on innovation of university leadership network management based on the concept of knowledge management

In the era of knowledge economy and network, colleges and universities are increasingly becoming a collection of real world and virtual time and space. More and more college students obtain information, learning, and educational resources through the Internet. Under the influence of the Internet world, colleges and universities are using the current situation of network management. The traditional management concept is difficult to play a management role, and management is becoming more and more difficult. It is urgent to establish a new management model that adapts to the requirements of the times, to utilize the value of human resources by expanding personnel allocation, to support the high-quality development of teaching work, and to help colleges and universities. achieve sustainable development. Starting from this demand, innovating the existing management model based on the knowledge management concept has become an effective strategy for integrating human resources and knowledge resources in colleges and universities in the new era and improving the level of comprehensive management. The core of knowledge management is the innovation of network management, which aims to provide certain scientific thinking for university management and promote the sustainable development of universities.

Poliittinen johtaminen Suomessa 2000-luvun pääministerien silmin

Political Leadership through Prime Ministers’ eyes This research aims to understand political leadership in the 21st century from the Finnish Prime Ministers’ (PM) subjective perspective. Theoretical framework is founded on earlier research on political leadership and on paradigm shift to new public governance. The research is qualitative, based on theme interviews with eight PMs and carried out with content analysis. The research describes PM as leader of Government and country, as network and program leader, as solver of complex problems, and as heavy burdened leader who struggles with different dilemmas and huge publicity.