Connecting Distributed Leadership and Leadership-as-Practice to Increase Understanding of Leadership as Distributed in Healthcare Practice

This paper investigates how Distributed Leadership (DL), and Leadership-as-Practice (L-A-P) can be connected to increase understanding of leadership as distributed in healthcare practice. It has been increasingly common to utilize DL as a new model of leadership in healthcare, where DL is equal to the distribution of leadership tasks and accountabilities. Through this, we argue, one misses the opportunity to investigate leadership as inevitably distributed, missing those practices that are leadership (practices) but not related to formal responsibilities. We argue that connecting DL and L-A-P enables a re-focus on the original more analytical aspects of DL theory at the same time as it opens for making L-A-P more practically useful. Four arguments are presented as to why L-A-P could widen the perspective of how leadership is interpreted in healthcare research and practice, particularly in relation to DL. Based on this, we discuss the benefits of connecting an analytical and normative understanding of leadership, and use L-A-P and DL as illustrations of this phenomenon. We discuss the practical implications of combining the question of what leadership is, with the more normative question of how to enact leadership and propose a set of investigatory questions to be asked when leading healthcare organizations.MAD statementThis article aims to Make a Difference (MAD) by connecting Distributed Leadership and Leadership-as-Practice. Through this connection, we aim to make L-A-P more practical and thereby useful for healthcare settings. At the core, what we propose L-A-P can add to the recent accounts of leadership for healthcare organizations, is that leadership cannot be distributed, rather it is distributed. This leadership then, we argue, need to be oriented, led, or 'channelled', towards the purpose of the organization. Enabling all organizational members' leadership to move towards the purpose of the organization, the chances of more equal, fair and expedient processes become viable.