Leadership-as-Practice：Theory and Application

Thisbookdevelopsanewparadigminthefieldofleadershipstudies,referredtoasthe"leadership-as-practice"(L-A-P)movement.Itsessenceisitsconceptionofleadershipasoccurringasapracticeratherthanresidinginthetraitsorbehavioursofparticularindividuals.Apracticeisacoordinativeeffortamongparticipantswhochoosethroughtheirownrulestoachieveadistinctiveoutcome.Italsotendstoencompassroutinesaswellasproblem-solvingorcopingskills,oftentacit,thataresharedbyacommunity.Accordingly,leadership-as-practiceislessaboutwhatonepersonthinksordoesandmoreaboutwhatpeoplemayaccomplishtogether.Itisthusconcernedwithhowleadershipemergesandunfoldsthroughday-to-dayexperience.Thesocialandmaterialcontingenciesimpactingtheleadershipconstellation-thepeoplewhoareeffectingleadershipatanygiventime-donotresideoutsideofleadershipbutareverymuchembeddedwithinit.Tofindleadership,then,wemustlooktothepracticewithinwhichitisoccurring.Theleadership-as-practiceapproachresonateswithanumberofcloselyrelatedtraditions,suchascollective,shared,distributed,andrelationalleadership,thatconvergeonleadershipprocesses.Theseapproachessharealineofinquirythatacknowledgesleadershipasasocialphenomenon.Thenewfocusopensupaplethoraofresearchopportunitiesencouragingthestudyofsocialprocessesbeyondinfluence,suchasintersubjectiveagency,sharedsense-making,dialogue,andco-constructionofresponsibilities.