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Leadership scholars, practitioners and educators find themselves at a very opportune time, when their subject matter-expertise is of increasing interest across sectors, settings and levels of analysis, as leadership is hailed as both a pressing problem and a promising solution. It is also a challenging time for leadership study—a point in time when incongruities between leadership theories and the observed dynamics and outcomes of leadership in practice have been difficult to ignore. In this article we identify and discuss several problematic incongruities, explore possible reasons for these gaps and outline an integrated view of theories of resonance, communication and systems to address these discontinuities and advance our understanding of leadership theory and practice.

Building upon the intersection of theories of resonance, communication and systems in this conceptual article, we advance a line of renewed macro-level thinking on the topic of leadership as social influence, resulting in what we describe as leadership resonance theory.

This article advances an explanation of leadership as a phenomenon that is co-constructed through the communicative connections established between leaders and followers. These connections are mutually-defining, mutually-reinforcing and mutually-causal. Resonance, activation and cultivation are central concepts in the proposed framework, introduced to help explain dynamics and outcomes that seem unpredictable or unexplainable when focusing attention solely on a leader or followers in isolation of one another at a single moment in time.

This framework offers an original, nuanced and integrated way of thinking about leadership in terms of communication, social influence and systems theory, and it helps to explain gaps between the guidance provided by leadership theory and observed leadership outcomes in practice. The proposed framework can help to explain observed leader–follower behaviors, dynamics and outcomes, irrespective of whether they are seen as desirable or comfortable, whether they are necessarily aligned with extant theories or guidance on preferred practices and whether or not they align with traditional values in a personal, organizational or societal context.

We are seeing a growing number of efforts to strengthen the capacity of leaders in higher education, such as those programs offered by the American Council on Education and the Big Ten Academic Alliance; yet, the existing scholarly literature is limited in this area. The purpose of this paper is to add to the body of scholarship on academic leadership education by summarizing the current state of formal training and development initiatives within the Association of American Universities (AAU), focusing primarily on the experiences and perspectives of academic deans and associate deans.

This study consisted of a qualitative review of current academic leadership initiatives promoted on the AAU member institution websites. Additionally, the author conducted interviews with deans and associate deans from AAU institutions to explore dominant themes associated with academic leadership in more detail.

An analysis of the AAU member websites led to the development of a comprehensive matrix consisting of nearly 30 single-spaced pages of leadership initiatives, separated by institution and coordinating office(s). Based on the interviews with deans and associate deans, three communication-centered themes related to the study and practice of academic leadership emerge: academic leadership as the art of cultivating relationships, academic leadership as a direct response to “wicked problems,” and academic leadership as a mosaic of administrative competencies.

Acknowledging the value of their experience in variety leadership development programs, the responses from current deans and associate deans may encourage the development of future programs in this area – programs that provide opportunities for faculty and staff collaboration and equip current and future leaders with the skills and concepts for navigating the complex and contested environment within which contemporary colleges and universities must survive. Additionally, the initial findings from this project may be included in the curriculum of formal and informal academic leadership initiatives.

As leading academic research institutions, one may expect to find a number of well-developed best practices in the area of leadership training and development. Focusing on this group provides a useful benchmark for understanding the methods and content of academic leadership programs. Furthermore, representing the diversity of American research institutions, the AAU provides a broad sample of institutions for this research project. As a point of entry into this area of research, the conversations with deans and associate deans, coupled with the findings of the AAU website review, provide a unique perspective into academic leadership development – an area of growing scholarly and applied importance.

In response to both the lack of formal leadership training and the challenges facing leaders across higher education, a number of programs are being planned and initiated at colleges and universities. This application brief highlights the conceptual foundations, structural components, and operational considerations of one such program, the Rutgers Leadership Academy (RLA). RLA was created to provide an integrated leadership development program for individuals in academic, administrative, and professional programs who aspire to assume or advance in leadership positions. The program is theory-based, and emphasizes leadership, communication, and organizational concepts and competencies. Somewhat uniquely, it is designed for both academic and administrative leadership positions, and it highlights the importance of informal as well as formal leadership roles, among other core topics. We have found the proposed model to be useful in developing high-quality leadership initiatives for our institution, and the core components of the model and initial outcomes may be of use to others in their leadership development efforts.