Navigating from ‘heroic’ leadership to a distributed leadership model in a virtual community of practice
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi33.1216Keywords:
third space professionals, learning development, distributed leadership, communities of practiceAbstract
Third space workers face the dual forces of an often-flexible working space yet a tendency for their work to be ill-defined and for them to become professionally isolated. This case study discusses how a virtual Community of Practice (vCoP) acted against these challenges by allowing a group of professionals (Learning Developers) in a third space field to connect, experiment, and build collective identity. We further suggest that the approach we took can be emulated by other third space groups. However, we also evidence how our successes were contingent on the Distributed Leadership (DL) model we adopted. The way in which CoPs function (Wenger, 1998) was important to the formation of DL theory (Spillane, Halverson and Diamond, 2001). Vice versa, DL has been argued as facilitative for CoPs by allowing them to be self-driven by members’ interests, abilities, and willingness (Lester and Kezar, 2017). This article documents how DL became increasingly important through three critical junctures for our vCoP: formation, evolving identity, and leadership transfer. We show how power was progressively and beneficially transferred away from the founding coordinator, yet also demonstrate how coordination remained equally important as the vCoP matured. Not least, we argue that a careful balance of coordination and distribution is required to allow a CoP to evolve while holding true to its initial values and purpose. We urge third space professionals considering forming or participating in a CoP to attend carefully to both these elements of a DL model to safeguard the ethos of their CoP.
References
Abbott, M. L. and Lee, K. K. (2022) ‘Researcher‐supported professional learning and development for instructors in adult L2 programs: factors leading to ongoing communities of practice’, The Modern Language Journal, 106(3), pp.617-634. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12793.
Bennett, N., Wise, C., Woods, P. and Harvey, J. (2003) Distributed leadership: a review of literature. National College for School Leadership. Available at: https://oro.open.ac.uk/8534/1/bennett-distributed-leadership-full.pdf (Accessed: 24 March 2024).
Bickle, E., Bishopp-Martin, S., Canton, U., Chin, P., Johnson, I., Kantcheva, R., Nodder, J., Rafferty, V. et al. (2021) ‘Emerging from the third space chrysalis: experiences in a non-hierarchical, collaborative research Community of Practice’, Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 18(7), pp.135-158. Available at: https://doi.org/10.53761/1.18.7.9.
Bolden, R. (2011) ‘Distributed leadership in organizations: a review of theory and research’, International Journal of Management Reviews, 13(3), pp.251-269. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2011.00306.x.
Bolden, R., Petrov, G. and Gosling, J. (2008) Developing collective leadership in higher education. London: Leadership Foundation for Higher Education.
Bourhis, A., Dubé, L. and Jacob, R. (2005) ‘The success of virtual communities of practice: The leadership factor’, Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management, 3(1), pp.23‑34.
Briggs, S. G. (2018) ‘Development of the ALDinHE recognition scheme: certifying the “Learning Developer” title’, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Issue 13, April, pp.1-11. Available at: https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.v0i13.461.
Clarkin-Phillips, J. (2011) ‘Distributed leadership: growing strong communities of practice in early childhood centres’, Journal of Educational Leadership, Policy and Practice, 26(2), pp.14-25.
Dubé, L., Bourhis, A. and Jacob, R. (2006) ‘Towards a typology of virtual communities of practice’, Interdisciplinary Journal of Information, Knowledge & Management, 1, pp.69-93.
Gray, S. (2015) ‘Culture clash or ties that bind? What Australian academics think of professional staff’, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 37(5), pp.545-557. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2015.1079397.
Gronn, P. (2002) ‘Distributed leadership as a unit of analysis’, The Leadership Quarterly, 13(4), pp.423-451. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(02)00120-0.
Hall, R. (2020) ‘Covid-19 and the hopeless university. Intellectual work at the end of the end of history’, Postdigital Science and Education, 2020(2), pp.657-664. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-020-00118-3
Harris, A. (2013) ‘Distributed leadership: friend or foe?’, Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 41(5), pp.545-554. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143213497635.
Johnson, I. (2018) ‘Driving learning development professionalism forward from within’, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, ALDinHE Conference Special Issue, October, pp.1-29. Available at: https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.v0i0.470.
Johnson, I. (2023) The framing and value of Learning Development work in British higher education: an illuminative evaluation of professional practice. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis: University of Portsmouth. Available at: https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/the-framing-and-value-of-learning-development-work-in-british-hig (Accessed: 27 November 2024).
Jones, S. and Harvey, M. (2017) ‘Revealing the nexus between distributed leadership and communities of practice’, in McDonald, J. and Cater-Steel, A. (eds.) Communities of practice: facilitating social learning in higher education. Dordrecht: Springer, pp.313-327.
Lester, J. and Kezar, A. (2017) ‘Strategies and challenges for distributing leadership in communities of practice’, Journal of Leadership Studies, 10(4), pp.17-34. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/jls.21499.
Liang, J. G. and Sandmann, L. R. (2015) ‘Leadership for community engagement: a distributed leadership perspective’, Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 19(1), pp.35-63.
Lumby, J. (2019) ‘Distributed leadership and bureaucracy’, Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 47(1), pp.5-19. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143217711190.
McLoughlin, C., Patel, K. D., O’Callaghan, T. and Reeves, S. (2018) ‘The use of virtual communities of practice to improve interprofessional collaboration and education: findings from an integrated review’, Journal of interprofessional care, 32(2), pp.136-142. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2017.1377692.
Research Virtual Community of Practice (2020) Terms of Reference (Google Doc), 16 July. Association for Learning Development in Higher Education. Personal Communications.
Sobral, F. and Furtado, L. (2019) ‘Post-heroic leadership: current trends and challenges in leadership education’, Revista de administração de emprêsas, 59(3), pp.209-214. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-759020190306.
Spillane, J. P. (2005) ‘Distributed Leadership’, The Educational Forum, 69(2), pp.143-150. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/00131720508984678.
Spillane, J. P., Halverson, R. and Diamond, J. B. (2001) ‘Investigating school leadership practice: a distributed perspective’, Educational Researcher, 30(3), pp.23-28. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X030003023.
Stapleford, K. (2019) ‘The LDHEN hive mind: Learning Development in UK higher education as a professional culture’, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 16, pp.1-23. Available at: https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.v0i16.510.
Webster, H. (2022) ‘Supporting the development, recognition and impact of third-space professionals’, in McIntosh, E. and Nutt, D. (eds.) The impact of the integrated practitioner in higher education: studies in third space professionalism. Abingdon: Routledge, pp.178-187.
Welton, K., Sum, K., Rafferty, V., Nodder, J., Kantcheva, R., Johnson, I., Chin, P., Bishopp-Martin, S. et al. (2023) ‘Working together: reflections on a non-hierarchical approach to collaborative writing’, in Abegglen, S., Burns, T. and Sinfield, S. (eds.) Collaboration in higher education. London: Bloomsbury, pp.216-220.
Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wenger, E. (2000) ‘Communities of practice and social learning systems’, Organization, 7(2), pp.225-246. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/135050840072002.
Wenger, E. (2009) Social learning capability: four essays on innovation and learning in social systems. Wenger-Trayner. Available at: https://www.wenger-trayner.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/09-04-17-Social-learning-capability-v2.1.pdf (Accessed: 24 March 2024).
Wenger, E., McDermott, R. and Snyder, W. (2002) Cultivating communities of practice: a guide to managing knowledge. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Whitchurch, C. (2015) ‘The rise of third space professionals: paradoxes and dilemmas’, in Teichler, U. and Cummings, W. (eds.) Forming, recruiting and managing the academic profession. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp.79-99.
Whitchurch, C. (2023) ‘Rehabilitating third space professionals in contemporary higher education institutions’, Workplace: A Journal for Academic Labor, 34, pp.23-33. Available at: https://doi.org/10.14288/workplace.v34i.
Woods, P. A. and Gronn, P. (2009) ‘Nurturing democracy: the contribution of distributed leadership to a democratic organisational landscape’, Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 37(4), pp.430-451. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143209334597.
Woods, P. A., Bennett, N., Harvey, J. A. and Wise, C. (2004) ‘Variabilities and dualities in distributed leadership: findings from a systematic literature review’, Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 32(4), pp.439-457. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143204046497.
Zurhellen, S. and Karaus, J. (2023) ‘Widening the margins: Making space for third space professionals’, Workplace: A Journal for Academic Labor, 34, pp.66-74. Available at: https://doi.org/10.14288/workplace.v34i.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
