Perceptions of Risk as a Limitation to Effective Leadership Conversations: Possibilities for Improving Practice

• In Event: Park Central Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Perceptions of Effective and Ethical Leadership From an International Perspective

Abstract

This paper draws on theories of risk and interpersonal effectiveness to explain the patterns by which leaders disclose their key beliefs during a conversation about an educational concern and the reasons for these different disclosure patterns. Analyses of the concerns, conversations, unspoken thoughts during the conversation, and interviews of 26 educational leaders revealed that leaders often didn’t disclose their beliefs and in some cases said things that were contradictory to what they actually believed. Reasons for this non-disclosure or contradictory disclosure can be explained by leaders’ perceptions of risks. These disclosure patterns are likely to lead to ineffective leadership conversations. Understanding the reasons for these ineffective behaviors can lead to the design of interventions to help address them.

Authors

• Deidre Le Fevre, University of Auckland

• Claire Sinnema, The University of Auckland

• Frauke Meyer, The University of Auckland

• Hamish Andrew Chalmers, albany senior high school

• Viviane M. Robinson, University of Auckland