Leader development approaches that engender leadership effectiveness among natural scientists in Uganda: a comparative study.
Year: 2021
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Most natural scientists are promoted into leadership positions based on technical competence, yet \ntechnical capabilities become less vital as leadership responsibility increases. While scientists need to \nadopt leader development approaches that engender leadership effectiveness, this area is not well \nunderstood. Previous studies have pointed to a dearth of literature on effective leader development \napproaches, bemoaning the struggles organisations and leaders face in identifying appropriate \nmethodologies and the attendant costs associated with the typical haphazardness. This mixed-methods, \nsequential explanatory, comparative study aimed to examine the experiences of leadership development \namong natural scientists in supervisory positions and the relationship between development approaches \nand perceived leadership effectiveness. The study applied a constructionist lens and used the theory of \nexpert leadership as the central frame, with social identity and planned behaviour as secondary theories \nto explain some of the antecedents of effective expert leadership. The study integrated quantitative \nanalysis of a cross-sectional survey of 221 Ugandan leaders with the thematic analysis of data from two \nfocus groups and semi-structured qualitative interviews among 21 scientists and 11 non-scientists. The \nstudy provides new insights into the leader development phenomenon, specifically in how leadership \nconceptualisation, attitudes, beliefs, social-identity, self-efficacy, subjective norms and organisational \nculture, systems and policies impact the appetite for leader development. The study demonstrated a \ndose-response relationship where leaders highly exposed to mentorship, feedback, e-learning or formal \nleadership training were significantly more likely to have higher leadership effectiveness. The study \nfound that coaching, mentorship, feedback, formal leadership training, acting in a leadership role, and \nexperiential learning appear to be more impactful in nurturing leadership skills among natural scientists. \nDespite the limitations of a small sample, the study identified specific applications of these leader \ndevelopment approaches that make them engender leadership effectiveness. The study concludes by \nrecommending the ABC model of leader development. The model could be useful in guiding leaders, \neducators and policy elites responsible for engineers, physicians and agriculturalists to design more \neffective leader development programmes.
Author: Lukwago, Julius.
Language: English
Subfield: Strategy and Management
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7039164983