Leadership development for managers in turbulent times

Purpose In a turbulent economic climate, characterized by pressures to improve productivity and reduce costs, leadership and performance management have a more central role in helping to ensure competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to explore current demands on leaders; and endeavours to explore linkages between management education and agile leadership. Design/methodology/approach Taking a grounded theory approach, this paper uses the concepts of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) to investigate the impact on desired attributes of leaders and the extent to which this is underpinned by current management education programmes. It draws on the VUCA model of agile management to examine current practices and experiences and considers future trends. Empirical research includes case studies and analysis of management syllabuses. Findings Syllabuses do not reflect the attributes that organizations expect leaders to possess and are content driven rather than process focused. VUCA is not yet mainstream in academic thinking. Practical implications There is a disparity between the output of business schools and the expectations of organizations. This may affect productivity. It is suggested that the use of live consultancies may provide a more beneficial management development experience. Originality/value This research opens an international debate that seeks to assess the relevance of current management education to the needs of organizations for agile, high-performing leaders.

[1]  R. Thomas.  British business schools , 1980 .

[2]  K. Charmaz,et al.  Constructing Grounded Theory , 2014 .

[3]  D. Dickson,et al.  A survey of communication skills training in UK Schools of Medicine: present practices and prospective proposals , 1998, Medical education.

[4]  Paul Jeffcutt,et al.  The Foundations of Management Knowledge , 2007 .

[5]  Peter Anthony,et al.  PROFESSIONALIZING MANAGEMENT AND MANAGING PROFESSIONALIZATION: BRITISH MANAGEMENT IN THE 1980s , 1992 .

[6]  D. Tranfield,et al.  The Nature, Social Organization and Promotion of Management Research: Towards Policy , 1998 .

[7]  Les Worrall.  Management research and management practice: is the relevance gap closing? , 2008 .

[8]  G. Bain,et al.  The Making of Managers , 1991 .

[9]  D. Schoen,et al.  The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action , 1985 .

[10]  K. Cameron.  Responsible Leadership as Virtuous Leadership , 2011, Responsible Leadership.

[11]  Henry Mintzberg,et al.  Managers Not MBAs: A Hard Look at the Soft Practice of Managing and Management Development , 2004 .

[12]  Ken Starkey,et al.  Bridging the Relevance Gap: Aligning Stakeholders in the Future of Management Research , 2001 .

[13]  Anselm L. Strauss,et al.  Basics of qualitative research : techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory , 1998 .

[14]  Teresa Brannick,et al.  To Know and to Do: Academics' and Practitioners' Approaches to Management Research , 2006 .

[15]  Caroline A. Rowland,et al.  Teaching managers: learning, research and workplace practice , 2010 .

[16]  David S. Karpin,et al.  Enterprising nation : renewing Australia's managers to meet the challenges of the Asia-Pacific century : report of the Industry Task Force on Leadership and Management Skills , 1995 .

[17]  T. Veblen.  The Higher Learning in America: A Memorandum on the Conduct of Universities by Business Men , 1965 .

[18]  Pratima Bansal,et al.  The Conventions of Management Research and their Relevance to Management Practice , 2002 .

[19]  Roger McCormick,et al.  The Making of British Managers , 1987 .

[20]  John W. Creswell,et al.  Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches , 2010 .

[21]  N. Bennett,et al.  What a Difference a Word Makes: Understanding Threats to Performance in a VUCA World , 2014 .

[22]  Peter B. Vaill,et al.  Managing as a Performing Art: New Ideas for a World of Chaotic Change , 1989 .

[23]  Stanley C. Ross,et al.  A conceptual model for understanding the process of self-leadership development and action-steps to promote personal leadership development , 2014 .

[24]  John Henry Newman,et al.  The Idea of a University , 2017 .