Paper short abstract:

What is unique about leadership in global development and how can 'new' approaches to leadership help tackle development challenges, including inequalities? This paper explores the idea of development leadership, highlighting the essential dynamics that distinguish it from other leadership theories.

Paper long abstract:

The challenges confronting global development in contemporary contexts have become increasingly complex, wicked and contested. Tackling complex and wicked problems such as inequalities and poverty, for example, do not have predictable outcomes, as doing one thing does not merely lead to another. This implies that standardised approaches to addressing these kinds of issues are unlikely to yield many results as there is no guarantee that any particular method will be successful. Dealing with these problems, therefore, requires a heterodox approach and a careful consideration of the uncertainties and interests inherent in the development process as well as the dynamics of power relations among key actors. These challenges place fresh demands for higher efficiency in leading the development process and require individuals who have the skills and competencies to balance these contradictions while being able to deal with different stakeholder groups efficiently. These emerging competencies form the basis of development leadership, and there is a strong case to suggest that this perspective to leadership is unique and topical, but has inexplicably received very little attention from scholars and practitioners alike. In this paper, I examine the idea of development leadership (DL) and explore the essential dynamics that makes it distinctive from other leadership theories/perspectives. I argue that DL should be seen as a relationship-based social process influenced by local norms and politics, and conclude by positioning key conceptual and competency areas which are considered essential to the advancement of DL as a new field of enquiry and professional practice.