This conference sets out to explore the critical terrain that lies between leadership research and leadership development. The conference will bring together leadership researchers, developers and practitioners, from throughout Oceania and beyond, to advance the quality and impact of the ‘R & D’ of leadership.

We see this conference as a potent theory/practice space. Indeed we propose there is a different orientation to how new knowledge can be generated in the R&D space. Leadership practitioners, developers, researchers and educators need to bring their unique knowledge, experience and questions with the desire to generate points of collision required for new thinking and innovation.

Leadership seems a ripe space for this theory meets practice encounter. Leadership practice has the promise to ground what can be romanticised tendencies in research. Research, in turn, has the capacity to test and deepen what can be idealised statements of practice behavior and attribution.

This conference happens at a time when leadership is building a body of rich theory and diverse development and practice. There is evidence of a wider paradigmatic argument, ongoing heated debates and inquiry from across diverse disciplines. This can only be strengthened by its respective stakeholders coming face-to-face in Auckland.

We invite those with a commitment to investigating and developing leadership who are based in communities, consultancies, organisations, schools, universities and all manner of leadership contexts to attend.

If this conference is to make an impact then it needs to engage with the issues that have the power to either unite or divide those who are interested in leadership and its development such as:

• What is leadership for?
• Who needs to be developed?
• How development impact can be tracked and tested?

We promise a conference that has both a rich, intellectual line of scholarship as well as innovative and impactful practice. A series of unique sessions that seek to create dialogue on core questions amongst attendees will be facilitated.

For details, please read the Call for Proposals.