Baird, Alex; (2024) Que(e)rying Leadership on a LGBTQ+ Leadership Development Programme for UK Higher Education staff. Doctoral thesis (Ed.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

The connections between LGBTQ+ lives and leadership are not always explicitly made by LGBTQ+ individuals nor is LGBTQ+ leaders’ capital always recognised by others. Reflecting upon one’s lived experiences is essential for leadership if it is to prioritise purposes and values. Despite LGBTQ+ leaders navigating a rather distinct leadership path, often without LGBTQ+ mentorship, there is currently no LGBTQ+ leadership development programme offered by organisations that provide training in aspects of Higher Education (HE) leadership. This highlights the significance of a leadership development programme for LGBTQ+ academic and professional staff in one post-1992 university that ran from Sept 2022 to May 2023 and which is the focus of this thesis. Recognising the potential to query leadership in UK Higher Education, I accessed the programme as an ‘insider’ of the LGBTQ+ population, an ‘outsider’ of the host university, and a ‘participating observer’. The in-depth study involved observations and repeated interviews with attendees who held various roles within the programme. I came to understand my research as (post-)qualitative, recognising the blurred edges of the programme and institution, the entanglement of my investment in the programme, my growing relationships with participants, and their evolving connections to one another. Reflexive thematic analysis allowed me to engage with queer theory and become aware of three interwoven themes: the distinctiveness and potential of LGBTQ+ leadership; the portrayal, solidarity, and collaboration of trailblazers; and the possibility, precarity, and rupture of queer space. By reframing leadership in these ways, this research helps to make LGBTQ+ leaders’ leadership intelligible and makes leadership more accessible and pertinent to LGBTQ+ staff. Significantly, it offers an alternative conceptualisation of leadership emphasising relationalities and communities in specific contexts, one which appears to be relevant to the challenging landscape of UK HE and offers some resistance to the negative pressures and bearings of neoliberalism. This research may also guide future leadership development programmes in order to attract, retain, and progress LGBTQ+ talent.

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