This is one of the first books to fully value and realise the connection between leadership and learning in SMEs. It provides a real-life narrative, encapsulating the development of business people on a leadership programme for SME managers, whilst explaining the key theories, models and techniques that underpin the leadership methods and approaches deployed at each stage of the delegate's journey.The authors examine comprehensive data sources associated with three managers within SMEs and follow them over a ten-month period. Each chapter splits into two - an aesthetic narrative on the learning journey and a 'theory sandwich', which draws the reader's attention to the theories, models and debates underpinning the learning at each stage of the delegate's journey. A cycle of leadership learning through 'lived experience' is outlined and the importance of leadership learning within a community of practice and developing concurrently three key capitals - human, social and institutional capitals - are emphasised.Academics as well as students will benefit from the research-based examination of leadership learning in the SME context, as it will allow them to stand in the shoes of owners or managers. Policy makers and practitioners will also find the narrative both revealing and informative.
Contents: Preface: Background and Introduction to LEAD 1. The Owner/manager, Leadership and Business Growth 2. Why is Leadership Learning Problematic for Small Business? 3. Leadership Learning 4. Coaching for Growth 5. Becoming a LEAD Delegate and Identity Development 6. Observational Learning 7. Single, Double and Triple-loop Learning 8. Human, Social and Institutional Capital 9. Theoretical Importance of Exchanges 10. Bird Nest and Marbles 11. Reflection and Reflexivity 12. The Learning and the Changes 13. Ambitious Implications Epilogue - Turning LEAD into GOLD to GAIN: Business Alchemy and Work Based Learning References Index
