Home > Research > Publications & Outputs > Developing leaders as symbolic violence

Links

Text available via DOI:

View graph of relations

Developing leaders as symbolic violence: reproducing public service leadership through the (misrecognized) development of leaders’ capitals

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published

Standard

Developing leaders as symbolic violence: reproducing public service leadership through the (misrecognized) development of leaders’ capitals. / Michael, Tomlinson; O'Reilly, Dermot; Wallace, Mike.
In: Management Learning, Vol. 44, No. 1, 2013, p. 81-97.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

APA

Vancouver

Author

Bibtex

@article{f5488911c0404b2d971b6a7a3d3c584a,
title = "Developing leaders as symbolic violence: reproducing public service leadership through the (misrecognized) development of leaders{\textquoteright} capitals",
abstract = "A critical analysis is developed of the part that centrally initiated leadership development plays as a strategic lever for ensuring a steady supply of organizational leaders equipped and willing to meet the goals of widespreadservice improvement. Selected Bourdieusian conceptual tools are employed to illustrate how centrally initiated development of leaders operates as a form of {\textquoteleft}symbolic violence{\textquoteright}: a covert means of perpetuating political elite domination. Organizational leaders misrecognize it as promoting their interest in expandingtheir influence because they are attracted by the opportunity it overtly offers to build their {\textquoteleft}capitals{\textquoteright}. This process operates across two main administrative levels: the central (system) level and the organizational (local) level. The analysis is empirically grounded through the case of UK public services, drawing on a study of public service leaders, policymakers and representatives from national leadership development bodies in the United Kingdom. The findings illustrate how central policy elites endeavour to use leadership development to acculturate organizational leaders capable of responding favourably to a reconfigured and re-professionalized public service field. At the same time, organizational leaders consent to this through its perceived value in expanding their influence and developing their leader-related forms of capital.",
keywords = "Leadership, leadership development, public sector management, symbolic violence, forms of capital",
author = "Tomlinson Michael and Dermot O'Reilly and Mike Wallace",
year = "2013",
doi = "10.1177/1350507612472151",
language = "English",
volume = "44",
pages = "81--97",
journal = "Management Learning",
issn = "1350-5076",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Ltd",
number = "1",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Developing leaders as symbolic violence

T2 - reproducing public service leadership through the (misrecognized) development of leaders’ capitals

AU - Michael, Tomlinson

AU - O'Reilly, Dermot

AU - Wallace, Mike

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - A critical analysis is developed of the part that centrally initiated leadership development plays as a strategic lever for ensuring a steady supply of organizational leaders equipped and willing to meet the goals of widespreadservice improvement. Selected Bourdieusian conceptual tools are employed to illustrate how centrally initiated development of leaders operates as a form of ‘symbolic violence’: a covert means of perpetuating political elite domination. Organizational leaders misrecognize it as promoting their interest in expandingtheir influence because they are attracted by the opportunity it overtly offers to build their ‘capitals’. This process operates across two main administrative levels: the central (system) level and the organizational (local) level. The analysis is empirically grounded through the case of UK public services, drawing on a study of public service leaders, policymakers and representatives from national leadership development bodies in the United Kingdom. The findings illustrate how central policy elites endeavour to use leadership development to acculturate organizational leaders capable of responding favourably to a reconfigured and re-professionalized public service field. At the same time, organizational leaders consent to this through its perceived value in expanding their influence and developing their leader-related forms of capital.

AB - A critical analysis is developed of the part that centrally initiated leadership development plays as a strategic lever for ensuring a steady supply of organizational leaders equipped and willing to meet the goals of widespreadservice improvement. Selected Bourdieusian conceptual tools are employed to illustrate how centrally initiated development of leaders operates as a form of ‘symbolic violence’: a covert means of perpetuating political elite domination. Organizational leaders misrecognize it as promoting their interest in expandingtheir influence because they are attracted by the opportunity it overtly offers to build their ‘capitals’. This process operates across two main administrative levels: the central (system) level and the organizational (local) level. The analysis is empirically grounded through the case of UK public services, drawing on a study of public service leaders, policymakers and representatives from national leadership development bodies in the United Kingdom. The findings illustrate how central policy elites endeavour to use leadership development to acculturate organizational leaders capable of responding favourably to a reconfigured and re-professionalized public service field. At the same time, organizational leaders consent to this through its perceived value in expanding their influence and developing their leader-related forms of capital.

KW - Leadership

KW - leadership development

KW - public sector management

KW - symbolic violence

KW - forms of capital

U2 - 10.1177/1350507612472151

DO - 10.1177/1350507612472151

M3 - Journal article

VL - 44

SP - 81

EP - 97

JO - Management Learning

JF - Management Learning

SN - 1350-5076

IS - 1

ER -