Impossible or just irrelevant? Unravelling the ‘authentic leadership’ paradox through the lens of emotional labour

The clamour for leaders to be authentic in enacting their roles is now widely heard in both the academic literature and popular media. Yet, the authentic leadership (AL) construct remains deeply problematic and arguably impossible to enact. Using the performance of emotional labour (EL) as a lens to view relational transparency, a core component of AL, our research surfaces the paradoxes inherent in this construct and their implications for practicing leaders. Our data reveal something of the mystery surrounding how practicing leaders are able to feel authentic even as they manage their emotions as a routine tool of accomplishing their leadership role. This apparent disconnect between the experiencing of authenticity and the actions/interactions in which this experience is embedded raises profound questions concerning authenticity as a phenomenon, how it is discursively constructed, its relationship to inauthenticity – especially in the practice of leadership – and even its relevance. Drawing on these concerns, we suggest an agenda for future research in relation to authenticity in leadership and highlight the value of EL as a challenging ‘test context’ for honing our understanding of what ‘authenticity’ might mean

The social construction of leadership studies: Representations of rigour and relevance in textbooks

Considerations of rigour and relevance rarely acknowledge students, learning or the textbooks many of the academic community use to frame education. Here we explore the construction of meaning around rigour and relevance in four leadership studies textbooks – the two most globally popular leadership textbooks and two recent additions to the field – to explore how these ideas are represented. We read the four texts narratively for structure, purpose, style and application. We further embed the analysis by considering the cultural positioning of the textbook-as-genre within leadership studies as a field more generally. This exploration of the textbook raises critical questions about rigour, relevance and the relationship constructed between them. From this, we argue for a re-commitment to the genuine ‘text-book’ written to engage students in understanding leadership as a continuing conversation between practices, theories and contexts, rather than as a repository of rigorous and/or relevant content that lays claim to represent an objective science of leadership studies

Novel Developmental Analyses Identify Longitudinal Patterns of Early Gut Microbiota that Affect Infant Growth

It is acknowledged that some obesity trajectories are set early in life, and that rapid weight gain in infancy is a risk factor for later development of obesity. Identifying modifiable factors associated with early rapid weight gain is a prerequisite for curtailing the growing worldwide obesity epidemic. Recently, much attention has been given to findings indicating that gut microbiota may play a role in obesity development. We aim at identifying how the development of early gut microbiota is associated with expected infant growth. We developed a novel procedure that allows for the identification of longitudinal gut microbiota patterns (corresponding to the gut ecosystem developing), which are associated with an outcome of interest, while appropriately controlling for the false discovery rate. Our method identified developmental pathways of Staphylococcus species and Escherichia coli that were associated with expected growth, and traditional methods indicated that the detection of Bacteroides species at day 30 was associated with growth. Our method should have wide future applicability for studying gut microbiota, and is particularly important for translational considerations, as it is critical to understand the timing of microbiome transitions prior to attempting to manipulate gut microbiota in early life

Process to practice: The evolving role of the academic middle manager in English further education colleges

The English further education sector has undergone significant change since the Further and Higher Education Act (1992) encouraged a culture of entrepreneurship, competition and the use of what was seen as best practice from the commercial sector. This led to a cultural shift and the introduction of many new initiatives – a situation that still exists now. The implementation of these initiatives was often delegated to middle managers – a group of people who occupied the gap between the senior leaders and the lecturers in the classroom. Current austerity measures, restructuring and the shift towards the creation of larger organizations have resulted in reorganizations that could present opportunities for middle managers to participate in the strategic processes and leadership of the organization, further developing their role (Greatbatch and Tate, 2018). The purpose of this article is to investigate the leadership and management aspects of the middle-manager’s role within the context of further education in England. Although many managers in the sector are reluctant to identify as leaders (Briggs, 2006), our research shows that their role has evolved so that they are undertaking a range of activities that could be classified as leadership. We suggest that using ‘practice’ rather than ‘process’ as a descriptor of the role would reframe, identify and bring forward the leadership aspects of what they do. Encouraging a focus on a holistic, practice-based approach, rather than a succession of process-driven tasks, could help managers to perform their role more effectively. Findings taken from interviews with 32 participants and a questionnaire with 302 responses are used to illustrate our argument. © 2019 British Educational Leadership, Management & Administration Society (BELMAS)

Catching them at it? An ethnography of rule violation

Based on an ethnographic study within the road maintenance sector, this paper explores the occurrence of rule violations in industrial settings subject to a high level of regulation, and is specifically concerned with operatives' risk perceptions in relation to health and safety rules and with management strategies for their successful mitigation. The study contrasts two different, but related, types of risk. Firstly, it considers those aspects of health and safety where the limits of 'best practice' working are insufficient to eliminate or control major sources of risk, and secondly, it looks at risks the known outcomes of which are underestimated as a result of being delayed or indeterminate. The paper considers the sources of rule violation, such as operatives' sense of self-efficacy; the need for heedfulness as well as compliance; and the dangers of risk displacement and the creation of a 'second order' focus

Feeling valued at work? A qualitative study of corporate training consultants

Examines what makes employees feel valued by their employer, through a survey of training consultants operating at Brathay, an educational charitable trust, associate training consultants working with Brathay to support both its youth and corporate work, and training consultants operating in a commercial organization. Clusters responses under the headings of fairness, environment and inclusion. Suggests differences that may exist between the different types of employees sampled, and their needs/expectations in terms of feeling valued by their employer