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The Importance of Collaborative Leadership, from Diverse Disciplines in Tackling

Complex Organizational Challenges

Shane Walker

Bachelor of Organizational Development, Arkansas Tech University

WEB - Organizational Leadership Capstone WEB-FALL-2023-70982-OL-4963-TC1

Jennifer Enderlin

October 15, 2023

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The Importance of Collaborative Leadership, from Diverse Disciplines in Tackling

Complex Organizational Challenges

In today's changing world, organizations grapple with complex issues beyond traditional

disciplinary boundaries (Bloomquist & Georges, 2022; Boone et al., 2020). These interconnected

challenges require leadership approaches that can leverage the expertise of professionals from

diverse backgrounds (Bloomquist & Georges, 2022; Boone et al., 2020). Interdisciplinary

leadership has emerged as a transformative paradigm offering a solution to tackle the problems

faced by modern organizations (Bloomquist & Georges, 2022; Boone et al., 2020).

This essay aims to explore the concept of leadership by examining its significance in

various developmental models and broad implications across different fields, such as healthcare

(Folkman et al., 2019) and the scholastic arena (Bloomquist & Georges, 2022). In today's era,

where organizational success relies on leadership, it becomes crucial to understand its principles

and applications (Bloomquist & Georges, 2022; Boone et al., 2020).

Traditionally, leadership models rooted in a discipline often struggle to solve the complex

challenges contemporary organizations confront (Bloomquist & Georges, 2022; Boone et al.,

2020). However, interdisciplinary leadership brings hope by enabling leaders to tap into the

skills and knowledge of individuals from different fields.

This paper seeks to explore the potential of leadership in bringing about changes. It draws

on insights from sources and successful case studies (Bloomquist & Georges, 2022; Boone et al.,

2020). The study provides information on developing leadership qualities and skills crucial for

tackling the challenges organizations face today (Bloomquist & Georges, 2022; Boone et al.,

2020).
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At the heart of our investigation is how interdisciplinary leadership addresses the

complex challenges organizations encounter in today’s changing arena. (Bloomquist & Georges,

2022; Boone et al., 2020).

Literature Review

Interdisciplinary Leadership: A Leadership Development Model for Scholar Practitioners

In their article titled "Interdisciplinary Leadership: A Leadership Development Model for

Scholar Practitioners, " Bloomquist and Georges (2022) introduce a leadership development

model known as "Interdisciplinary Leadership." The authors argue that there is an increasing

recognition of the importance of leaders from different disciplines collaborating effectively on

issues (Bloomquist & Georges, 2022). They suggest that bringing together individuals from

fields in the environment only sometimes leads to a successful collaboration (Bloomquist &

Georges, 2022).

The authors explore the idea of " leadership," which emphasizes the power of complexity,

diversity, and integration in preparing scholar-practitioners to study and practice a form of

leadership (Bloomquist & Georges, 2022). They argue that creating conditions for integrated

collaboration among individuals from different disciplines requires a comprehensive

understanding across disciplines, sectors, and differences (Bloomquist & Georges, 2022). The

authors also discuss the perspective of leadership as a practice within the field of leadership. This

approach acknowledges the nature of leadership. Embraces the complexity and uncertainty

associated with addressing complex issues requiring diverse viewpoints input (Bloomquist &

Georges, 2022). They suggest that cultivating leadership scholar-practitioners who embody

perspectives will necessitate an approach to leadership development. This approach should

incorporate learning experiences that extend beyond growth to encompass groups and systems
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(Bloomquist & Georges, 2022). This article offers insights into leadership and practical strategies

for developing leaders who can effectively leverage interdisciplinarity to tackle leadership

challenges (Bloomquist & Georges, 2022).

Preparing interdisciplinary leadership for a sustainable future

The article “Preparing interdisciplinary leadership for a sustainable future” delves into

the pressing need for leaders in transdisciplinary institutions to tackle sustainability issues. The

authors draw upon their experiences. Highlight insights from various approaches to establishing

successful programs (Boone et al., 2020). They discuss two pathways to forming organizations:

creating or merging existing entities (Boone et al., 2020). This piece offers an overview of the

obstacles faced and potential solutions in preparing leaders who can navigate the complexities of

work toward a sustainable future. The authors emphasize that addressing sustainability

challenges necessitates leadership within these institutions (Boone et al., 2020).

Based on the experiences of 20 leaders in ITD institutions and specific case studies, this

article summarizes the lessons learned from various paths toward establishing successful

programs (Boone et al., 2020). These lessons represent both the achievements and setbacks

encountered by our group (Boone et al., 2020). The authors demonstrate how both pathways

benefit from an approach offering examples of how ITD organizations have progressed (Boone

et al., 2020). Their diverse international experiences showcase ways to cultivate leadership

qualities and skills (Boone et al., 2020), including the ability to envision beyond the status quo,

collaborative leadership, building partnerships, fostering a shared culture, communicating with

diverse audiences, implementing appropriate monitoring and evaluation practices, and

demonstrating perseverance (Boone et al., 2020). They have identified five resources for success:
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resources, institutional policies, financial support, physical infrastructure, and governing boards

(Boone et al., 2020).

Additionally, they provide real-life illustrations from their experience supporting success

stories while learning from failures (Boone et al., 2020), presenting a framework that articulates

these elements.

Leadership in Collaboration in Health Care

Leadership plays a role in collaboration within the healthcare industry, ensuring effective

and efficient patient care. In the article titled "Leadership in Collaboration in Health Care" by

Folkman, Tveit, and Sverdrup (2019), the focus is on how frontline managers in Norway

facilitate collaboration among social educators and nurses in their daily practice. Through

research, the authors interviewed eleven frontline managers from district centers, municipal

health care services, and nursing homes. The findings indicate that these managers primarily

employ self-governance and co-governance as their leadership approaches, with hierarchical

governance playing a role. Using self-governance and co-governance allows for flexibility in

practices while strengthening discipline-related approaches and user-oriented strategies.

However, it is essential to acknowledge that this approach may lead to groups or professional

interests overshadowing others.

In essence, the study's findings indicate that frontline managers encounter difficulties

when attempting to integrate professions to establish professional roles and competencies

(Folkman et al., 2019). These managers must support both collective efforts to achieve service

goals. Additionally, they must facilitate change and encourage creativity within a working

community of professionals from different backgrounds (Folkman et al., 2019).

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To summarize, this literature review sheds light on the nature of leadership in

collaboration within healthcare. It suggests that successful leaders are those who can foster

shared leadership, drive innovation, communicate efficiently, manage teams, provide guidance,

engage with external stakeholders, align goals among team members, drive transformative

change, possess personal qualities such as empathy and resilience relevant to their context, and

possess clinical expertise. They also can build teams and provide leadership (Folkman AK et al.,

2019).

Conclusion

To sum up, this research underscores the role played by leadership in addressing complex

organizational challenges (Bloomquist & Georges, 2022; Boone et al., 2020; Folkman et al.,

2019). The idea of leadership, as discussed in the literature, represents a shift in how we develop

leaders. It emphasizes the importance of leaders collaborating across disciplines and effectively

tackling problems (Bloomquist & Georges, 2022; Boone et al., 2020).

Interdisciplinary leadership has far-reaching implications across fields, including our area

of study. It offers a highly relevant approach to developing leaders in today's complex and

interconnected world (Bloomquist & Georges, 2022; Boone et al., 2020). Leaders who embrace

leadership have the potential to drive innovation, foster collaboration, and tackle challenging

issues (Folkman et al., 2019).

This research encourages exploration into the long-term effects of leadership on

organizational performance and sustainability (Boone et al., 2020). Additionally, it suggests

investigating strategies for promoting leadership in different contexts (Bloomquist & Georges,

2022). As we navigate a changing landscape, interdisciplinary leadership will continue to guide

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us as we face and overcome complex challenges within organizations (Bloomquist & Georges,

2022; Boone et al., 2020; Folkman et al., 2019).

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References

Bloomquist, C.D., & Georges, L. (2022). Interdisciplinary Leadership: A Leadership

Development Model for Scholar-Practitioners. Journal of Leadership Education.

Boone, C.G., Pickett, S.T.A., Bammer, G., Bawa, K., Dunne, J.A., Gordon, I.J., Hart, D.,

Hellmann, J., Miller, A., New, M., Ometto, J.P., Taylor, K., Wendorf, G., Agrawal, A.,

Bertsch, P., Campbell, C., Dodd, P., Janetos, A., & Mallee, H. (2020). Preparing

interdisciplinary leadership for a sustainable future. Sustainability Science, 15(6), 1723–

1733.

Folkman, Tveit, & Sverdrup. (2019). Leadership in interprofessional collaboration in health care.