The Journal of Leadership Studies – Reimagining Scholarly Leadership Research Together

• In Event: Interactive Roundtable Discussion Session 5b

Short Description

As leadership research increases in complexity, leadership journals must show a commensurate evolution in complexity in order to accommodate this research. The Journal of Leadership Studies (Wiley) editors will lead an interactive discussion sharing how the journal is providing publishing opportunities for leadership research, which may or may not be ensconced within a single discipline. This is an opportunity for participants to reimagine the landscape of publishing together. Ideal outcomes for the roundtable will be an exchange of knowledge concerning the JLS process, information about writing for JLS and a discussion of critical topics for future symposiums.

Detailed Abstract

As the Journal of Leadership Studies (JLS) celebrates its 15th year of publishing, we continue the development of relationships with authors, reviewers, special editors, and readers. At this milestone, it feels appropriate to not only pause, reflect on, and share our publishing experiences, but to seek feedback regarding what scholars need in terms of publishing structure and processes in general, and specifically at the JLS. We have found previous ILA roundtable feedback invaluable in shaping the JLS during the first 10 years.
Scholars interested in serving as associate or content expert editors are being recruited for work with the journal’s feature articles. Articles published in the feature section are traditional comprehensive scholarly manuscripts. Feature articles can be empirical or theoretical; quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods. The important characteristic is that the articles synthesize theory and research resulting in a comprehensive exploration of a topic. Associate and content expert editors will review the submissions and make recommendations on whether to pursue review and publication of the manuscripts.

The journal also publishes a symposium in each issue. The symposium section has been the defining section of the journal throughout its 15 years of existence. The symposium section is a forum in which a group of scholars/practitioners work with a guest editor(s) to explore contemporary or nascent leadership topics. The journal is seeking scholars who have unique and innovative ideas about symposia topics and could serve as a guest editor. Over the past year, the previous editor passed the torch on to two new co-editors for the symposium. This roundtable will be a chance to meet the new co-editors and discuss possible topics for upcoming symposiums.

The third section, media review, provides an opportunity for leadership scholars to write about leadership as it is found in broadly defined media. The media review section seeks scholars who share an interest in how leadership is portrayed in the media to serve as reviewers.

The fourth, and newest, section of the journal is the Leadership Perspectives section. Articles in the Leadership Perspectives section explore leadership theory and practice. These articles are generally shorter and more focused than the JLS feature articles. The peer-reviewed articles often push the definitions of leadership as well as the methods used to implement them. The JLS expects tremendous growth in the submissions for this section during its second year of existence and seeks scholars who are interested in serving in an editorial or reviewer role.

With growth, there is a need for additional peer reviewers. The JLS desires to grow its pool of guest editors during the next year and is seeking scholars of all levels to become part of its peer-review team and for all sections of the journal.

During the roundtable we not only look to receive feedback but to also discuss issues, concerns, and questions from authors regarding publishing in leadership journals. We would like to explore the many publication possibilities authors may have available to them. We will also highlight the current publishing opportunities in the JLS including feature articles, symposium, and media reviews and seek ideas regarding other possible opportunities within the JLS. The following questions will guide our discussions:
1. How can the JLS meet the needs of the academic community now and over the next five years?
2. What leadership topics and themes are important to explore as symposiums?
3. What questions, issues or concerns do participants have about publishing in the journal?

Participants

• Matthew Sowcik, University of Florida
  Presenter

• Mark R. Ludorf, Stephen F. Austin State University
  Presenter

• Nicole Stedman, University of Florida
  Presenter

• Dan Jenkins, University of Southern Maine
  Co-Author

• Clinton M. Stephens, Emporia State University
  Co-Author

• Corey Seemiller, Wright State University
  Co-Author

• Erik Bean, University of Phoenix
  Co-Author

• Hinrich Eylers, University of Phoenix
  Co-Author