The institutionalization of distributed leadership: A 'catch-22' in English public services

Human Relations

Volumn 62, Issue 11, 2009, Pages 1735-1761

  Currie, Graeme ^a   Lockett, Andy ^a   Suhomlinova, Olga ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Distributed leadership; Institutional theory; Leadership; Public services; Schools

Indexed keywords

EID: 70350439280     PISSN: 00187267     EISSN: 1741282X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0018726709346378     Document Type: Article

References (104)

1. Abbott, A. The system of professions: An essay on the division of expert labor. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press, 1988.
2. Agle, B.R., Nagarajan, N.J. Sonnenfeld, J.A. & Srinivasan, D. Does CEO charisma matter? An empirical analysis of the relationships among organizational performance, environmental uncertainty and top management teams perceptions of CEO charisma. Academy of Management Journal, 2006, 49, 161-74.
3. Alvesson, M. & Sveningsson, S. The great disappearing act: Difficulties in doing 'leadership'. Leadership Quarterly, 2003, 14, 359-81.
4. April, K.A., MacDonald, R. & Vriesendorp, S. Rethinking leadership. Cape Town: Cape Town University Press, 2000.
5. Barker, R. How can we train leaders if we do not know what leadership is? Human Relations, 1997, 50, 343-62.
6. Bass, B.M. Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York: The Free Press, 1985.
7. Bennett, N., Wise, C., Woods, P. & Harvey, J.A. Distributed leadership. Nottingham: National College for School Leadership, 2003.
8. Biggart, N.W. & Hamilton, G. An institutional theory of leadership. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 1987, 23, 429-41.
9. Brooks, I. Leadership of a cultural change process. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 1997, 17, 31-7.
10. Brown, M.H. & Hosking, D.M. Distributed leadership and skilled performance as successful organization in social movements. Human Relations, 1986, 39, 65-79.
11. Bryman, A. Charisma and leadership in organizations. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE, 1992.
12. Bryman, A. Leadership in organizations. In S. Clegg, C. Hardy & W.R. Nord (Eds), Handbook of organizational studies. London: SAGE, 1996, pp. 276-92.
13. Bryman, A. Leadership in organizations. In S.R. Clegg, C. Hardy & W.R. Nord (Eds), Managing organizations: Current issues. London: SAGE, 1999, pp. 276-92.
14. Bryman, A., Stephens, M. & Campo, C. The importance of context: Qualitative research and the study of leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 1996, 7, 353-70.
15. Buchanan, D.A., Addicott, R., Fitzgerald, L., Ferlie, E. & Baeza, J.I. Nobody in charge: Distributed change agency in healthcare. Human Relations, 2007, 60, 1065-90.
16. Bycio, P., Hackett, R.D. & Allen, J.S. Further assessment of Bass's (1985) conceptualization of transactional and transformational leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1995, 80, 468-78.
17. Cabinet Office. Modernising government. Cm 4310. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1999.
18. Currie, G. & Lockett, A. A critique of transformational leadership: Moral, professional and contingent dimensions of leadership within public services organizations. Human Relations, 2007, 60, 341-70.
19. Currie, G., Boyett, I. & Suhomlinova, O. Transformational leadership in the public sector: A panacea for organisational ills? Public Administration, 2005, 83, 265-96.
20. Currie, G., Lockett, A. & Suhomlinova, O. Leadership and institutional change in the public sector: The case of secondary schools in England. Leadership Quarterly, 2009, 644-79.
21. D'Aunno, T., Sutton, R. & Price, R. Isomorphism and external support in conflicting institutional environments: A study of drug abuse treatment units. Academy of Management Journal, 1991, 34, 636-61.
22. Day, C. & Harris, A. Effective school leadership: Report for National College for School Leadership. Nottingham: National College for School Leadership, 2003.
23. Day, C., Harris, A., Hadfield, M., Tolley, H. & Beresford, J. Leading schools in time of change. Buckingham: Open University Press, 2000.
24. de Hoogh, A.H.B., den Hartog, D.N., Koopman, P.L., Thierry, H., Van den Berg, P.T., Van der Weide, J.G. & Wilderom, C.P.M. Charismatic leadership, environmental dynamism and performance. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2004, 13, 447-77.
25. Denis, J.-L., Lamothe, L. & Langley, A. The dynamics of collective leadership and strategic change in pluralistic organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 2001, 44, 809-37.
26. Denis, J.-L., Langley, A. & Cazale, L. Leadership and strategic change under ambiguity. Organization Studies, 1996, 17, 673-99.
27. Denis, J.-L., Langley, A. & Pineault, M. Becoming a leader in a complex organization. Journal of Management Studies, 2000, 37, 1063-99.
28. Dent, M. Professionalism, educated labour and the state: Hospital medicine and the new managerialism. Sociological Review, 1993, 41, 244-73.
29. Department for Education and Skills. A new specialist system: Transforming secondary education. London: Department for Education and Skills, 2003.
30. Dickson, M.W., Den Hartog, D.N. & Mitchelson, J.K. Research on leadership in a cross-cultural context: Making progress, and raising new questions. Leadership Quarterly, 2003, 14, 729-68.
31. DiMaggio, P. & Powell, W.W. The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 1983, 48, 147-60.
32. Fairhurst, G.T. Discursive leadership: In conversation with leadership psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2007.
33. Fergusson, R. Modernizing managerialism in education. In J. Clarke, S. Gewirtz & E. McLaughlin (Eds), New managerialism new welfare? London: Sage, 2000, pp. 202-221.
34. Ferlie, E., Hartley, J. & Martin, S. Changing public service organizations: Current perspectives and future prospects. British Journal of Management, 2003, 14, S1-S14.
35. Frederickson, G.H. Comparing the reinventing government movement with the new public administration. Public Administration Review, 1996, 56, 293-70.
36. Freeman, R.E., Wicks, A.C. & Parmar, B. Stakeholder theory and the 'corporate objective re-visited'. Organization Science, 2004, 15, 364-9.
37. Friedland, R. & Alford, R.R. Bringing society back in: Symbols, practices, and institutional contradictions. In W.W. Powell & P.J. DiMaggio (Eds), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1991, pp. 232-62.
38. Friedson, E. Professionalism re-born: Theory, prophesy and policy. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1994.
39. Gibb, C.A. Leadership. In G. Lindzey (Ed.), Handbook of social psychology, Vol. 2. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1954, pp. 877-917.
40. Grace, G. Research and the challenges of contemporary school leadership: The contribution of critical scholarship. British Journal of Educational Studies, 2000, 48, 231-47.
41. Greenfield, W.D. Moral leadership in schools. Journal of Educational Administration, 2004, 42, 174-96.
42. Greenwood, R. & Hinings, C.R. Understanding radical organizational change: Bringing together the old and the new institutionalism. Academy of Management Review, 1996, 21, 1022-54.
43. Greenwood, R., Suddaby, R. & Hinings, C.R. Theorizing change: The role of professional associations in the transformation of institutionalized fields. Academy of Management Journal, 2002, 45, 58-80.
44. Grint, K. (Ed.). Leadership: Classical, contemporary and critical approaches. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
45. Grint, K. The arts of leadership. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
46. Gronn, P. Distributed leadership. In K. Leithwood, P. Hallinger, K. Seashore-Louis & G. Furman-Brown (Eds), Second international handbook of educational leadership and administration. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 2002, pp. 653-96.
47. Gunter, H.M. Leaders and leadership in education. London: Paul Chapman, 2001.
48. Harris, A. Distributed leadership: Conceptual confusion and empirical reticence. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 2007, 10, 315-25.
49. Hartley, J. & Allison, M. Role of leadership in modernization and improvement of public services. Public Money and Management, 2000, 20, 35-41.
50. Haveman, H. & Rao, H. Structuring a theory of moral sentiments: Institutional and organizational co-evolution in the early California thrift industry. American Journal of Sociology, 1997, 102, 1606-51.
51. Hebdon, R. & Kirkpatrick, I. Changes in public services organizations. In S. Ackroyd, R. Batt, P. Thompson & P.S. Tolbert (Eds), The Oxford handbook of work and organization. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 530-53.
52. Heifetz, R.A. Leadership without easy answers. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1994.
53. Hennessey, J.T., Jr. Re-inventing government: Does leadership make a difference? Public Administration Review, 1998, 58, 522-32.
54. Hinings, C.R. & Greenwood, R. The dynamics of strategic change. Oxford: Blackwell, 1988.
55. Hoppe, M.H. & Bhagat, R.S. Leadership in the United States of America: Leader as a cultural hero. In J.S. Chhokar, F.C. Brodbeck & R.J. House, Culture and Leadership Across the World: The GLOBE Book of In-depth Studies of 25 Societies. London: Routledge, 2007, pp. 475-543.
56. Hoque, K., Davis, S. & Humphreys, M. Freedom to do what you are told: Senior management team autonomy in an acute NHS trust. Public Administration, 2004, 82, 355-75.
57. House, R.J., Hanges, P.J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P.W. & Gupta, V. (Eds). Culture, leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. London: SAGE, 2004.
58. Howell, J.M. & Avolio, B.J. Transformational leadership, transactional leadership, locus of control and support for innovation: Key predictors of consolidated business unit performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1993, 78, 891-902.
59. James, K.T., Mann, J. & Creasy, J. Leaders as lead learners: A case example of facilitating collaborative leadership learning for school leaders. Management Learning, 2007, 38, 79-94.
60. Jepperson, R.L. Institutions, institutional effects, and institutionalism. In W.W. Powell & P. DiMaggio (Eds), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1991, pp. 143-63.
61. Kakabadse, A., Korac-Kakabadse, N. & Kouzmin, A. Ethics, values and behaviours: Comparison of three case studies examining the paucity of leadership in government. Public Administration, 2003, 81, 477-508.
62. Kelly, J. The Audit Commission: Guiding, steering and regulating local government. Public Administration, 2003, 81, 459-76.
63. Kelly, S. Leadership: A categorical mistake? Human Relations, 2008, 61, 763-82.
64. Kets de Vries, M.J.R. High performance teams: Lessons from Pygmies. Organizational Dynamics, 2009, 27, 66-77.
65. Khurana, R. The curse of the CEO superstar. Harvard Business Review, 2002, 80, 60-7.
66. Kirkpatrick, I. Managers or colleagues? The changing nature of intra-professional relationships in UK public services. Public Management, 1999, 1, 489-509.
67. Lawler, J. Individualization and public sector leadership. Public Administration, 2008, 86, 21-34.
68. Lawrence, T.B. & Suddaby, R. Institutions and institutional work. In S. Clegg, C. Hardy, T. Lawrence & W.R. Nord (Eds), The SAGE handbook of organization studies, 2nd edn. London: SAGE, 2006, pp. 215-54.
69. Leithwood, K., Jantzi, D. & Steinbach, R. Changing leadership for changing times. Buckingham: Open University Press, 1999.
70. Lucas, J.W. Status processes and the institutionalization of women as leaders. American Sociological Review, 2003, 68, 464-80.
71. Mahony, P. & Moos, L. Democracy and school leadership in England and Denmark. British Journal of Educational Studies, 1998, 46, 302-17.
72. Meindl, J.R. Reinventing leadership: A radical, social psychological approach. In J.K. Murnighan (Ed.), Social psychology in organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1993, pp. 89-118.
73. Meindl, J.R. The romance of leadership as a follower-centric theory: A social construction approach. In F. Dansereau & F.J. Yammarino (Eds), Leadership: The multiple-level approaches - Part B: Contemporary and alternative. Stamford, CT: JAI Press, 1998, pp. 285-98.
74. Meindl, J.R., Ehrlich, S.B. & Dukerich, J.M. The romance of leadership. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1985, 30, 78-98.
75. Meyer, J.W. & Rowan, B. Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, 1977, 83, 340-63.
76. Mintzberg, H. The structuring of organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1979.
77. National College for School Leadership. Models of Leadership visual tool. Nottingham: National College for School Leadership, 2008. Available online at: [http://www.ncsl.org.uk/modelsofleadership-index/modelsofleadership-nextsteps-index/modelsofleadership-visualtool.htm].
78. Newman, J. Modernizing governance: New Labour, policy and society. London: SAGE, 2001.
79. Newman, J. The New Public Management, modernization and institutional change: Disruptions, disjunctures and dilemmas. In K. McLaughlin, S.P. Osborne & E. Ferlie (Eds), New Public Management: Current trends and future prospects. London: Routledge, 2002, pp. 77-92.
80. Nonaka, I. & Toyama, R. A firm as a dialectical being: towards a dynamic theory of a firm. Industrial and Corporate Change, 2002, 11, 995-1009.
81. Office for Standards in Training and Education. Using the evaluation schedule. Guidance for inspectors of schools. Reference number 070188. London: Office for Standards in Training and Education, 2007. Available online at: [www.ofsted.gov.uk].
82. Ogbonna, E. & Harris, L.C. Leadership style, organizational culture and performance. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1999, 11, 766-88.
83. Osborne, D. & Gaebler, T. Reinventing government. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley, 1992.
84. Pearce, C.L. & Conger, J.A. Shared leadership: Reframing the hows and whys of leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2003.
85. Pettigrew, A., Ferlie, E. & McKee, L. Shaping strategic change. London: SAGE, 1992.
86. Pillai, R. & Meindl, J.R. Context and charisma: A 'meso' level examination of the relationship of organic structure, collectivism, and crisis to charismatic leadership. Journal of Management, 1998, 24, 643-71.
87. Porter, L.W. & McLaughlin, G.B. Leadership and the organizational context: Like the weather? The Leadership Quarterly, 2006, 17, 559-76.
88. Power. M. The audit society: Rituals of verification. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
89. Riessman, C.K. Narrative analysis. Qualitative Research Methods, 1993, 30, 1-14.
90. Robinson, V.M.J. Forging the links between distributed leadership and educational outcomes. Journal of Educational Administration, 2008, 46, 241-56.
91. Rost, J.C. Leadership for the twenty-first century. New York: Praeger, 1991.
92. Scott, W.R. Institutions and organizations: Ideas and interests, 3rd edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2008.
93. Sergiovanni, T.J. The principalship: A reflective practice perspective. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1992.
94. Sheaff, R., Marshall, M., Rogers, A., Roland, M., Sibbald, B. & Pickard, S. Govern-mentality by network in English Primary Healthcare. Social Policy and Administration, 2004, 38, 89-103.
95. Sims, H.P. & Lorenzi, P. The new leadership paradigm. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE, 1992.
96. Smircich, L. & Morgan, G. Leadership: The management of meaning. Journal of Applied Behavioural Science, 1982, 18, 257-73.
97. Spillane, J.P., Halverson, R. & Diamond, J.B. Investigating school leadership practice: A distributed perspective. Educational Researcher, 2001, 30, 23-28.
98. Stark, D. Recombinant property in East European capitalism. American Journal of Sociology, 1996, 101, 993-1027.
99. Storey, J. Changing theories of leadership and leadership development. In J. Storey (Ed.), Leadership in organisations: Current issues and key trends. London: Routledge, 2004.
100. Teece, D.J. The role of managers, entrepreneurs and the literati in enterprise performance and economic growth. International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, 2007, 1, 43-64.
101. Waldman, D.A. & Yammarino, F.J. CEO charismatic leadership: Levels of management and levels of analysis effect. Academy of Management Review, 1999, 24, 266-85.
102. Vanderslice, V. Separating leadership from leaders: An assessment of the effect of leader and follower roles in organizations. Human Relations, 1988, 41, 677-96.
103. Wilding, P. Professional power and social welfare. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1982.
104. Zucker, L.G. The role of institutionalization in cultural persistence. American Sociological Review, 1977, 42, 726-43.