High Performance Leadership: Narratives of identity and control in corporate leadership development and performance management

Abstract

This article reviews the outcomes of a three year workshop series with senior leadership and management development managers from a range of public and private sector organisations. The aim of this enquiry was to explore the interface between performance management and leadership development systems and the extent to which they can complement one another to offer a coherent progression and performance framework. A number of competing and inter-related dynamics were uncovered that influence the extent to which performance management systems facilitate appropriate and desirable forms of behaviour in organisations and the extent to which these are supported and reinforced through leadership development. The most significant of these influences was seen to be one of identity and the impact that these systems can have on a sense of shared ‘social identity’ and purpose. By way of conclusion we argue that the narrative function of corporate leadership systems in expressing ‘who we are’ and ‘what we value’ is equally, if not more, important in determining their impact (positive or negative) than their corrective or developmental capacity per se.