Research paper: Pursuing legitimacy: conceptualising and developing leaders' performances

This paper seeks to suggest that there has been little detailed exploration of the potential links between theories of performance and theories of leadership. It aims to argue for an account of leadership which goes beyond current constructivist accounts of sensemaking to one that recognises that the acceptance or confirmation by an audience of the putative leaders' legitimate authority is the primary purpose of any performance of leadership.

Participants on the leadership development programme were asked to complete a series of individual reflective exercises, each of which links to the individual components of the development framework.

Overall, these data demonstrate the salience of the performative framework and, in particular, the importance of the attribution of legitimacy to leaders.

There are limits to the conclusions that can be drawn from adopting this methodological approach; however, this study is one of the few to date that provide data on leaders' observations and insights into their leadership practice.

The paper concludes with a consideration of the ways in which incorporating a theme on leadership as performance addresses some of the challenges that such programmes face.

Not only does the paper set out a coherent body of knowledge, linking theory and practice, but also this adds significantly to the raft of current debates relating to leadership development.