To have to halve to have: “Being” in the middle in changing time's space

Lapp, Cheryl A.; Carr, Adrian

doi:10.1108/09534810610686085

Cited by 17 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 58 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…and subordinates for whom they had some functional and often moral responsibility'' (p.511). Similarly, Lapp and Carr (2006) identify middle leaders as being synchronistically both master and slave as they enact the complex roles of being a subordinate, an equal and a superior. Relationships, and relational expectations, are thus central to the complexity of middle leadership.…”

Section: Current Thinking About Middle Leadershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Middle leadership in higher education

Branson¹,

Franken²,

Penney³

2015

Educational Management Administration & Leadership

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The paper is informed by a research study exploring middle leadership as experienced by Chairpersons of Departments within one faculty in a university in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is argued that middle leadership in higher education needs to be understood as a highly complex relational endeavour, characterised by compromises that are negotiated amidst leadership structures, hierarchies and relations. The focus on leadership as first and foremost relational provides a frame for critically examining the nature and complexities inherent in the lived reality of middle leadership. Relational leadership is conceptualised as encompassing four inter-related dimensions. These are derived from data and respectively centre on structure and power; trust and credibility; learning; and discursive relations. We suggest that each dimension provides a productive lens through which the complexities and challenges of middle leadership can be explored. Throughout the emphasis is that for middle leaders, the relations that they have to navigate and negotiate are multi-faceted and multidirectional, involving relations up, down and across organisational structures and networks. Middle leaders are shown to be acutely aware that their decisions and the decisions of other staff variously impact upon the context and relations that they are working amidst.

show abstract

Section: Current Thinking About Middle Leadershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Middle leadership in higher education

Branson¹,

Franken²,

Penney³

2015

Educational Management Administration & Leadership

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There is evidence from the literature that academic middle leaders see themselves as representing core academic values rather than representing core organisational values (Gleeson and Shain, 2003; Lapp and Carr, 2006). Maintaining this identity is significant for academic middle managers (Briggs, 2004) and they see themselves as being at the forefront of change in key areas such as learning and teaching and in the advancement of core pedagogical and academic, as well as organisational, goals (Hancock and Hellawell, 2003).…”

Section: Middle Leadership (And Management)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They described their place in their respective organisations in terms of being “caught in between”, or “sandwiched between” senior management to whom they were accountable, lecturers whom they described as colleagues or peers, and subordinates for whom they had some functional and often moral responsibility. In this way, these middle leaders could be seen as enacting Lapp and Carr's (2006) scenario of being synchronistically, both masters and slaves enacting the complex roles of “living” as a subordinate, an equal and as a superior. As suggested by the literature, each leader worked with senior management to create a sense of shared organisational identity (Brunetto and Farr‐Wharton, 2004) that allowed the reconciliation of top‐level perspectives with lower level implementation issues (Gunter, 1995).…”

Section: Academic Leaders In the Middlementioning

confidence: 99%

Educational middle change leadership in New Zealand: the meat in the sandwich

Marshall

2012

International Journal of Educational Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report findings from a larger study into the role of middle leaders of change in New Zealand higher education.Design/methodology/approachIn total, ten middle leaders from the New Zealand higher education sector took part in a recent research project which examined successful change leadership in higher education. As part of that larger study, each middle leader answered questions about their views on being in the “middle” in their change leadership roles and their views on middle leadership in general.FindingsThe ten middle leaders all described their place in their respective organisations in terms of being “caught in between”, or “sandwiched between” senior management to whom they were accountable, lecturers whom they described as colleagues or peers, and subordinates for whom they had some functional and often moral responsibility. The paper discusses the perceptions of being in the “middle” and how change leaders reconcile their position as a subordinate, an equal and a superior. Insight is gained into how educational leaders reconcile their position in the “middle” as they hold management responsibility for both academic and general staff who are hierarchically, beneath them; lead teams of colleagues in collegial decision making; and answer to higher authority in the form of senior organisational leadership.Research limitations/implicationsThe participant contributions of personal observations and unfolding real life stories which meld personal common sense with local meaning have formed a unique local ontology therefore allowing for a deeper understanding of the contributing factors toward being in the “middle”. Some of these perspectives have been used by the author's own organisation in the development of leadership training for future organisational change, particularly those aspects concerning communication and participation that are tailored to meet the unique needs of management and staff.Practical implicationsFor middle change leaders the focussed examination of the working relationship between middle change leaders and staff groups might prove to be a rich area of further study. These relationships take a variety of forms, including where a staff member has risen through the ranks (off the shop floor as it were) to take on the mantle of leadership, or simply where there is a shared understanding based on subject or professional backgrounds which binds the two together. Further investigation into these relationships may provide perspectives that enable leaders to develop a greater understanding of how change occurs.Originality/valueThe paper shows how the participants locate themselves as being “very much” in the middle in terms of line management of both resources and academic matters and often as being caught between competing imperatives, institutional dynamics and institutional structures.

show abstract

“…The research that arose in this context of a professional learning relationship between the first two authors (the new CoDs) and the third is best conceptualised as action research in that it was shared and cooperative, it focused on practice and action in practice, and it generated reflection on action (Koshy, Koshy, & Waterman, 2010). However, not unlike McMaster's (2014) narrative, it is a personal account of the salient lived experiences of the first two authorsand in that sense, it can be seen as a phenomenographic study (Åkerlind, 2012).…”

Section: The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Middle leaders’ learning in a university context

Franken

Penney

Branson

2015

Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article focuses on the phenomenon of middle leadership in a university context and directs attention to the significance of learning as a central facet of leadership development. Drawing on the reflections of two of the authors as new middle leaders (chairpersons of departments), this article critically examines how middle leaders learn aspects of their role. Two tenets underpin our analysis: learning is fundamentally a social processwe learn with and from others; and learning is relationalwhat and how we learn is determined to some extent by others and affects others. Our experiences point to learning constraints and affordances arising from events, practices and artefacts. Constraints were largely associated with transmission learning experiences, while affordances were found in collaborative knowledge-sharing contexts that arose as information grounds in response to an information need. We argue that both those we lead, and the organisation itself, would likewise benefit from a knowledge-sharing perspective on learning.

show abstract

To have to halve to have: “Being” in the middle in changing time's space

Cited by 17 publications

References 58 publications

Middle leadership in higher education

Middle leadership in higher education

Educational middle change leadership in New Zealand: the meat in the sandwich

Middle leaders’ learning in a university context

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About