Space, Place and Time: How Consideration of these Factors Impact Leadership Development Design and Practice

Abstract

This chapter takes an unusual view of leadership development through the study of philosophies of phenomenology and the works of Martin Heidegger. By focussing on the three elements of space, place and time, Arthur explores their roles in providing a structure or scaffolding for innovative and interesting programmes of learning. Phenomenology allows us to see how leadership skills and behaviours are emergent and are part of a longer journey of development for both individuals and organisations where leadership exists in all parts of the company.

Of course, this treatment of the topics of space, place and time is partially conceptual, however, course designers and developers can now add these lenses and perspectives to their work and provide a better balance to programmes which might otherwise be too full of data, power-point slides and tutor-led discussions. By dovetailing theory with practice, the author seeks to forge a link between those diverse ideas articulated by Martin Heidegger and what really happens in real-life workshops and a wide range of training opportunities. The reader is taken through definitions, case histories, up-to-date theory (which includes the notion of un-leadership) and contemporaneous student feedback from an online programme completed in July 2021.

The chapter allows the reader to then contemplate their own journeys and to consider what they might do to undertake changes in their own approaches. These ideas are offered not as a prescription but as a stimulant to rigorous course design and consideration of the intangible aspects of our lives in leadership.

Citation

Turner, A.F. (2022), "Space, Place and Time: How Consideration of these Factors Impact Leadership Development Design and Practice", Gray, H., Gimson, A. and Cunningham, I. (Ed.) Developing Leaders for Real: Proven Approaches That Deliver Impact, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 139-149. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80071-364-220221021