The Potential of Intentional Ambiguity: The Role of Leadership Development Programmes in Organisational Change

Abstract

This paper examines the role of leadership development programmes (LDPs) in organisational change, through a case study of Volvo Group's Exploration programme aimed at emerging leaders. Through 27 interviews divided between executive members, programme facilitators and former programme participants, a more detailed picture is painted about the programme and the organisation’s change effort from a rule-based to a value-based approach to leadership. This sheds light on the underlying mechanisms within LDPs that play a role in organisational change. Programmes can facilitate engagement in reflexive thinking through which leaders can develop new understandings, which shape future action and induce emergent change. The incorporation of intentional ambiguity into LDPs can act as a mechanism to facilitate such reflexive thinking and expose leaders to ambiguity in a practice setting making them better equipped to cope with ambiguity in the work environment. Programmes can play a role in answering the call for ambidextrous leadership, producing reflexive leaders who are knowledgeable about themselves and the surrounding leadership structures, therefore capable of engaging in both exploitation and exploration activities. These leaders are sources of emergent change which they bring along from programme environments into organisational settings. They can add to the critical mass of ambidextrous leaders in organisations that contributes to organisational change.