Leadership-as-Disciplinary Stewardship: A Social Movement for Kinesiology’s Future Success in the 21st Century University

Abstract

Some scholars in kinesiology have advocated for the adoption of the leadership-as-disciplinary stewardship (LDS) construct as a way for the discipline to survive and thrive in the challenging 21st Century university climate. Despite budding interest in LDS, there is a lack of empirical research on the construct and the limited conceptual literature lacks the specificity, practicality, and transformative quality necessary for realistic and fruitful application. This participatory research, informed by the social movement theory of collective action frames, investigated the meaning, need, development, and motivation of LDS in kinesiology by engaging 10 senior scholars from various countries and sub-disciplinary areas of kinesiology who have demonstrated interest/expertise in the construct (considered experts) in an interview-Delphi study. Thematic analysis revealed the experts viewed: (a) the meaning of and need for LDS in kinesiology as a powerful, yet slippery, philosophy focused on ensuring and enhancing the future of the discipline through the pursuit of integrity, and is variously and intentionally embedded in all aspects of all scholars’ work; and (b) the development of and motivation for LDS in kinesiology as requiring dedicated, multifarious, and contextualized development initiatives that are dialogical, narrative-based, and incentivized. Interpretation of the thematic findings through Alvesson’s (2012) organizational culture theory suggests the experts’ vision of and for LDS in kinesiology can be understood as: (a) focused on understanding and critically reflecting upon organizational culture so as to inspire more thoughtful and ethical organizational perspectives; and (b) developed and motivated through cultural change via the everyday reframing of cultural orientations. An appreciation of the individual and holistic connections between the experts’ vision and Alvesson’s theory indicates LDS is sufficiently specific, practical, and transformative for realistic and fruitful application; and well-suited to navigating the fragmenting and depoliticizing challenges of the 21st Century given the enhanced cultural understanding, coordination, and ethical consciousness it stimulates. Ultimately, it can be concluded from this research that the experts’ vision of and for LDS in kinesiology is a theoretically-supported and empirically-evidenced way of meaningfully understanding, acting in, and improving organization and, as such, indicates investment in the construct holds promise for a vibrant disciplinary future