This innovation in practice paper describes an approach to adult leadership learning that combines video conference technology and leadership coaching to advance meaningful work-based civic and organizational leadership development. This paper is organized into three sections. First, we operationalize Leadership-As-Practice (LAP), Leadership-As-Practice Development (LAPD), and Collaborative Leadership Learning Groups (CLLGs). These constructs are essential to understanding our innovative adult learning practice. Second, we describe an innovation in adult leadership learning that combines individualized leadership coaching, group-based CLLGs, with video conferencing technology, Zoom, to overcome barriers to adult learning and create conditions that situate leadership learning and development in real-world, civic and organizational leadership challenges and contexts. Lastly, we discuss future possibilities and limitations for emergence-based adult leadership learning and studying work-based leadership learning with “naturally occurring data.”
AlvehusJ.CrevaniL. (2022). Micro-ethnography: Towards an approach for attending to the multimodality of leadership. Journal of Change Management, 22(3), 231–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697017.2022.2081245
2.
BennisW. (2007). The challenges of leadership in the modern world: Introduction to the special issue. American Psychologist, 62(1), 2–47. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003066X.62.1.2
3.
BusheG. R.MarshakR. J. (2015). Dialogic organization development: The theory and practice of transformational change. Berret-Koehler Publications.
ChiaR.MacKayB. (2007). Post-processual challenges for the emerging strategy-as-practice perspective: Discovering strategy in the logic of practice. Human Relations, 60(1), 217–242. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726707075291
6.
ChrislipD.ArensdorfJ.SteffensmeierT.TolarM. (2016). Leadership in the civic arena. Leadership and the Humanities, 4(2), 126–142. https://doi.org/10.4337/lath.2016.02.04
7.
CrevaniL.EndrissantN. (2016). Mapping the leadership-as-practice terrain. In RaelinJ. A. (Ed.), Leadership-as-Practice: Theory and application (pp. 21–49). Routledge.
8.
CrevaniL.LindgrenM.PackendorffJ. (2010). Leadership, not leaders: On the study of leadership as practice and interactions. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 26(1), 77–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scaman.2009.11.003
DayD. V. (2024). Developing leaders and leadership: Principles, practices, and processes. Palgrave Macmillan.
11.
DenyerD.JamesK. T. (2016). Doing leadership-as-practice development. In RaelinJ. A. (Ed.), Leadership-as-Practice: Theory and application (pp. 262–283). Routledge.
12.
DrathW.McCauleyC. D.PalusC. J.VelsorE. R.O’ConnorP.McGuireJ. (2008). Direction, alignment, and commitment: Toward a more integrated ontology of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 19(6), 635–653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2008.09.007
13.
GreenC.Fabris-McBrideJ. (2022). Teaching leadership. Kansas Leadership Center Press.
14.
HerstedL.NessO.FrimannS. (2020). Action research in a relational perspective: Dialogue, reflexivity, and ethics. Routledge.
15.
HowellS. L.JohnsonM. C.HansenJ. C. (2023). The innovative use of technological tools (the ABCs and Ps) to help adult learners decrease transactional distance and increase learning presence. Adult Learning, 34(3), 181–187. https://doi.org/10.1177/10451595221149768
16.
KempsterS. (2006). Leadership learning through lived experience: A process of apprentice. Journal of Management and Organization, 12(1), 4–12. https://doi.org/10.5172/jmo.2006.12.1.4
17.
KempsterS.GregoryS. H. (2017). Should I stay or should I go? Exploring leadership-as practice in the middle management role. Leadership, 13(4), 496–515. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715015611205
18.
KempsterS.ParryK. (2014). Exploring observational learning in leadership development for managers. Journal of Management Development. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-01-2012-0016
19.
KempsterS.ParryK.JacksonB. (2016). Methodologies to discover and challenge leadership-as-practice. In RaelinJ. A. (Ed.), Leadership-as-Practice: Theory and application (pp. 242–261). Routledge.
20.
KliewerB. W. (2023). Collective sensemaking: Training the leadership-as-practice Development Trainer for adult leadership learning. Adult Learning, 35(4), 228–238. https://doi.org/10.1177/10451595231205551
21.
McSherryR.PearceP. (2016). What are the effective ways to translate clinical leadership into health care quality improvement?Journal of Healthcare Leadership, 8(11), 11–17. https://doi.org/10.2147/JHL.S46170
22.
ParkesS. D. (2005). Leadership can be taught: A bold approach to a complex world. Harvard Business Review.
23.
RaelinJ. A. (2008). Work-based learning: Bridging knowledge and action in the workplace. John Wiley & Sons.
RaelinJ. A. (2018). What are you afraid of: Collective leadership and its learning implications. Management Learning, 49(1), 59–66. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507617729974
RaelinJ. A.RobisonJ. L. (2022). Update of leadership-as-practice “practice theory”: Featuring Joe Raelin interviewed by Jenny Robinson. Leadership, 18(5), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/17427150221100594
30.
RobinsonJ.RenshawP. (2023). Aligning the ontologies of leadership and coaching using leadership-as-practice. Philosophy of Coaching An International Journal, 8(1), 4–40. https://doi.org/10.22316/poc/08.1.02
31.
RoumellE. A. (2019). Priming Adult Learners for learning transfer: Beyond content and delivery. Adult Learning, 30(1), 15–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/1045159518791281
32.
SamuelA.DurningS. (2021). Enhancing Leadership Training Through an Experiential Approach: An Online Model for the 21st Century. Adult Learning, 33(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/10451595211012473
33.
SanninoA.DanielsH.GutiérrezK. D. (2009). Activity theory between historical engagement and future-making practice. In SanninoA. L.DanielsH.GutiérrezK. D. (Eds.), Learning and expanding with activity theory (pp. 1–15). Cambridge University Press.
Uhl-BienM. (2006). Relational leadership theory: Exploring the social processes of leadership and organizing. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 654–676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2006.10.007
36.
Uhl-BienM. (2011). Relational leadership and gender: From hierarchy to relationality. In Painter-MorlandM.WerhaneP. (Eds.), Leadership, gender, and organization (pp. 65–74). Springer Netherlands.
37.
Uhl-BienM.ArenaM. (2018). Leadership for organizational adaptability: A theoretical synthesis and integrative framework. The Leadership Quarterly, 29(1), 89–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2017.12.009
38.
WillocksK. E. (2023). Making leadership-as-practice development visible: Learning from activity theory. Management Learning, 54(5), 705–726. https://doi.org/10.1177/13505076221105870
