Self, change and leadership : an autobiographical inquiry

• Main Author: Antrum, Richard F.
• Published: University of South Wales 2012
• Subjects: 658.4092
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.574486

I was beginning the second year of a new job as head of marketing at Peacocks, a national fashion clothing retailer based in Cardiff, when I received a leaflet in the post announcing a new course at a nearby university - a 'Guided Doctorate in Organisational Leadership and Change ... a programme for senior managers who wish to pursue research into their practice in their own organisations'. This sounded interesting and could help me to understand the dynamics of my new position with my identity. I had previously thought about how I had worked within the structure and culture of the organisations I had been employed by. As new senior positions in new organisations reflected my career growth, I became increasingly conscious of my identity (Adams 2007) at work and wondered how leadership (Yukl 1998) contributed to my practice, if at all. As I later found out, the course was part of an emerging trend of practitioner doctorates where senior executives undertook doctoral research in their own organisations (Coghlan 2007). This approach could provide the answers to some searching questions that were already concerning me in my new job. I found the organisational culture (Schein 1997) and management style (Handy 1993) at Peacocks to be very different to anything I had previously experienced. I had even wondered whether they really needed the 'experienced retail marketer with an MBA' that the Sunday Times advertisement had stipulated. I experienced a period of uncertainty in how I felt my colleagues perceived me and my performance that led me to question my practice. The organisational setting was somewhat unusual and I was the 'new boy', one that was not adept at playing politics (Hope 2010), an activity that I increasingly felt clashed with my values (Michie & Gooty 2005) of trust, fairness and honesty (Burns 1978). Despite these concerns, I was resolved to continue working at Peacocks and to attempt to make the changes to the organisation that I considered were necessary. The Guided Doctorate course appealed to me as a way to contribute to my work and for me to understand, learn and create my practice as a leader. My research journey had begun.