An exploration of theories of action in leadership development: a case study

Citation

(2009), "An exploration of theories of action in leadership development: a case study", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 23 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/dlo.2009.08123fad.008

An exploration of theories of action in leadership development: a case study

Article Type: Abstracts From: Development and Learning in Organizations, Volume 23, Issue 6

Allen S.J. Organization Development Journal (USA), Summer 2009, Vol. 27 No. 2, Start page: 39, No. of pages: 13

Purpose – Presents a method for evaluating leader development programmes. Design/methodology/approach – Explains that the method is based on the user-focused theory of action, clarifies that the theory of action is a representation of how participants think the initiative is supposed to work, pinpoints the goal of evaluation as finding the causal link between initiative objectives and the development of behaviour change, and discusses the transformation of tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge using theory of action principles. Traces introduction and development of the theory of action, lays out a five-step process for: explicating an organization’s theory of action; making the process of theory articulation understandable; helping participants be comfortable with the process; providing direction; facilitating commitment; and keeping focus on the evaluation, provides further guidance/steps that advise understanding of the organizational context, define desired outcomes, work with participants, discuss organizational constraints and brainstorm solutions, and recommends evaluation of programme development and background information, and examination of immediate, intermediate and ultimate objectives. Details a programme for improving frontline supervision in a large US company, shows how immediate and intermediate objectives are derived from ultimate objectives, and illustrates articulation of ultimate, intermediate and immediate objectives. Originality/value – Includes qualitative and quantitative measurement. Article Type: Research paper ISSN: 0889-6402 Reference: 38AN194

Keywords: Leadership, Management development, Management theory, Objectives, Supervisory training