| SCHOLARS CALL ON CIL TO EXPLORE THE FRONTIER OF LEADERSHIP RESEARCH
What prompts people to lead and follow across organizational, cultural, and sectoral boundaries? What makes for effective integrative leadership? How should the Center for Integrative Leadership define its research agenda?
These were the questions that dominated CIL's Fall 2007 Research Conference held at the Humphrey Institute and Carlson School of Management November 8 and 9. Eminent and emerging leadership scholars from around the United States and the University of Minnesota offered varying preliminary answers in their conference presentations, but converged in the conclusion that the center's agenda is and should continue to be at the frontier of leadership research.
In her keynote address Barbara Kellerman, James MacGregor Burns lecturer in public leadership at Harvard University's School of Government, was especially enthusiastic about the center's focus on studying and developing leadership that can bridge government, nonprofit, and business sectors. She advised the center's organizers to "practice what you preach: consider modeling integrative leadership not only outside the academy, but inside it as well."
Some of the conference's working sessions provided insights into what prompts people to engage in integrative leadership. Presenter Bradley Wright suggested that people who work in organizations with a community or public service orientation may be more willing to engage in cross-boundary work. Presenter Joyce Bono reported on her finding that community-based leadership development programs can help participants be more involved in their communities. Research into grassroots leadership presented by Sonia Ospina offered another perspective: Involvement in solving community problems can foster cross-boundary leadership. Presenter Barbara Crosby suggested that personal characteristics, such as an interest in public affairs or human rights, can cause people to lead across cultural and national boundaries.
Presenter Kirt Wilson emphasized the importance of examining the role of intraorganizational and inter-organizational communication in integrative leadership efforts. Timing dynamics deserves equal attention, argued presenter Stuart Albert. Integrative leaders, he suggested need to know more about the proper timing for decision making.
The conference was wrapped up by James (Jerry) Hunt, professor at the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University, who urged the center to engage in plenty of field experiments and action research. A focus on context, dynamics of leadership practice, real-world policy concerns, and the common good should be the hallmark of the center's research, he suggested.
See the keynote address by Barbara Kellerman in its entirety: "Changing Times: Leadership Studies and the Leadership Industry" |
