Leadership practices and context: Two sides of the same coin

Abstract

This article presents a theoretical and empirical analysis of the recursive relationship between leadership practices and contexts to help explain the dynamics of change in a Swiss healthcare organization. Central to the paper’s argument is the assumption that leadership is not only a contextually influenced, but also a context-producing practice. We develop this argument theoretically by building on the sociology of knowledge and practice theory. Empirically, we draw on three episodes of a longitudinal case study that shows the unfolding of leadership and traces the consequences of the leader’s micro-actions for the context and overall change success. We discuss our insights and outline their implications for understanding and doing leadership in healthcare organizations.