Judith Holton

Building trust and collaboration in a virtual team

Organizations are increasing their reliance on virtual relationships in structuring operations for a global environment. Like all teams, virtual teams require a solid foundation of mutual trust and collaboration, if they are to function effectively. Identifying and applying appropriate team building strategies for a virtual environment will not only enhance organizational effectiveness but will also impact positively on the quality of working life for virtual team members.

What Grounded Theory Is…A Critically Reflective Conversation Among Scholars:

Grounded theory (GT) is taught in many doctoral schools across the world and exemplified in most methodological books and publications in top-tier journals as a qualitative research method. This limited view of GT does not allow full use of possible resources and restrains researchers’ creativity and capabilities. Thus, it blocks some innovative possibilities and the emergence of valuable theories, which are badly needed. Therefore, understanding the full reach and scope of GT is becoming urgent, and we brought together a panel of established grounded theory scholars to help us in this endeavor through a reflective conversation.

Leadership development needs assessment in healthcare: a collaborative approach

Purpose – This exploratory study aims to present data collected from a collaborative project designed to assess leadership development needs in a healthcare setting.Design/methodology/approach – The research describes a three‐phase design that draws primarily upon qualitative data collected from focus groups, written submissions and interviews with middle managers employed in a provincial health authority, Horizon Health Network, located in Atlantic Canada.Findings – The findings reveal a number of considerations for future leadership development programs including the need to make space for leadership development, the role of partnerships in leadership development, and the need for mentoring and coaching. In addition, a number of challenges facing the organization and the possible impact on leadership development are identified.Research limitations/implications – The findings are based upon one case study site and this limits the generalizability of the research. In addition, the researchers were only ab...

Evaluating Leadership Development Needs in a Health Care Setting Through a Partnership Approach

The Problem Strategic HRD contributes to creating an environment in which objectives and improved performance can be realized through leadership development (LD). Despite considerable investment in LD by public and private sector organizations in North America and Europe, these efforts often fail to produce significant changes in leaders’ behaviors, organizational culture, or organizational performance. As a result, too often leadership development programs (LDPs) are “one size fits all” or a prepackaged competency model without paying attention to individual and contextual differences. A more collaborative approach in the design and delivery of LD has been advocated; however, to date little research has documented or evaluated this at the pre-LDP or needs assessment stage. The Solution This research argues that LD should be a collaborative process involving all stakeholders and that such a partnership approach starts at the needs assessment phase. The research documents and evaluates a three-phase LD needs assessment process in a health care setting. Adopting a case study methodology, it draws primarily upon qualitative data collected from focus groups, written submissions, and interviews with senior and middle managers employed in a provincial health authority, Horizon Health Network, located in Atlantic Canada. The Stakeholders HRD researchers and practitioners in health care responsible for designing, delivering, and evaluating LDPs will find the approach described here insightful and practical. Middle and senior managers working in health care settings who seek to find practical and effective means of addressing leadership gaps and building and sustaining leadership competence across organizations under the pressures of persistent and complex change will also find this research relevant and valuable.

Mobilizing change in a business school using appreciative inquiry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how appreciative inquiry (AI) as a pedagogical tool can be generative in nature creating opportunities for development and change in a business school context.Design/methodology/approach – Using a qualitative approach this research involved data collection and analysis in three stages of AI with a group of undergraduate students enrolled in strategic management and organizational change courses. Initial data collection occurred over a three‐hour period with a larger group of students, followed by two sessions with a smaller group of organizational change students.Findings – The experiential nature of the AI process was a success in promoting inquiry and dialogue, encouraging collaboration and team building, and empowering individuals toward a collection vision. Through an iterative process, four possibility statements were developed including: meaningful relationships with professors and peers; leadership opportunities; experiential learning; and creativit...

Rejoinder Moving the Management Field Forward

It has become essential and urgent that significant actors in the management field of research become aware of the current rejection of previously accepted philosophical caricatures. The unrealistic though “tidy” paradigmatic dichotomy, positivism/quantitative/deduction versus interpretivism/qualitative/induction, is being rejected. Instead, a growing and “untidy” consensus is emerging that helps to position grounded theory (GT) in the research landscape. This growing consensus includes perspectives that range from nomothetic to idiographic and highlights data-driven exploratory approaches in opposition to theory-driven confirmatory approaches. While the foundational pillars of GT (emergence, theoretical sampling, and constant comparison) have to be respected when conducting a GT study, there certainly is plenty of room for creativity in the implementation of a data-driven exploratory GT approach. GT is not limited to an all-encompassing method for qualitative or interpretive research: It is much broader ...It has become essential and urgent that significant actors in the management field of research become aware of the current rejection of previously accepted philosophical caricatures. The unrealistic though “tidy” paradigmatic dichotomy, positivism/quantitative/deduction versus interpretivism/qualitative/induction, is being rejected. Instead, a growing and “untidy” consensus is emerging that helps to position grounded theory (GT) in the research landscape. This growing consensus includes perspectives that range from nomothetic to idiographic and highlights data-driven exploratory approaches in opposition to theory-driven confirmatory approaches. While the foundational pillars of GT (emergence, theoretical sampling, and constant comparison) have to be respected when conducting a GT study, there certainly is plenty of room for creativity in the implementation of a data-driven exploratory GT approach. GT is not limited to an all-encompassing method for qualitative or interpretive research: It is much broader and may be applied from various philosophical perspectives that range from nomothetic to idiographic.

Voiced inner dialogue as relational reflection-on-action: The case of middle managers in health care:

We look to the experiences of middle managers in a health-care setting to empirically develop and explore the concept of voiced inner dialogue. Voiced inner dialogue is conceptualised as a form of reflection-on-action whereby fragments of narrative self-reflection reveal an organisation’s unspoken backdrop conversation or interpersonal mush. The normalised intensity that characterises many health-care settings, an artefact of increased governmentality and responsibilisation, leaves middle managers experiencing increased work and personal pressures. The interpersonal mush in this context is centred upon individuals’ felt disconnect between espoused and enacted organisational values. Voiced inner dialogue was triggered in dialogic conversation with the researchers, a type of participant-focused reflexivity. From our qualitative analysis, we present three themes to illuminate how organisational context can inform the creation and maintenance of interpersonal mush, impeding managers’ reflection. Voiced inner dialogue offers an opportunity for managers stuck in the silence of interpersonal mush to engage in reflection-on-action. We conclude with the implications for reflection, reflexivity and management learning.