Faculty of Education - Theses

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Author: Prins, Adrienne × End date: 1999 × Type: Doctorate × Subject: Leadership ×

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    Flexible leader behaviour and change management
    Prins, Adrienne ( 1999)
    This thesis examines the relationship between flexible leader behaviour and effective and efficient management of change at a middle level within a public sector organisation. The organisation provides programs to assist the English as a Second Language educational and vocational needs of its clients. Three major areas of recent successful change management were identified: tenders, new program provision, and audits as part of a quality assurance system. These three areas provided the context in which leader behaviour, what the middle managers actually did, was examined. The setting was four separate metropolitan centres. Twenty-eight subjects participated, seven from each centre. Theories were developed from the relevant literature about the properties of flexible leader behaviour and factors that promote it. These culminated in the design of a theoretical framework. Its purpose was to illustrate the interrelatedness and interdependence of many of the themes and factors associated with demonstrated flexible behaviour.. Three research questions guided the study. Various data collection modes were used to establish consensus for terms used and to explore leader behaviour. Analysis of the data demonstrated that the use of a Conceptual Framework Grid was appropriate and provided a second dimension in analysis, aligning behaviour with performance outcomes. The findings produced evidence of collaborative leadership in an organisation the culture of which values access and equity for all. However, no causal link was established between behaviour and performance outcomes that would hold for every occasion. Rather, it was found that clusters of factors specific to that organisation enhanced performance outcomes. Intrinsic to these factors was a predisposition for tolerant, empathetic, responsive leader behaviour that was focused on needs. The study illuminated good practice at a level that is becoming increasingly important for management in Australia.