A collective locus of leadership: Exploring leadership in higher education through a paradigm of collaborative effort.

This single-case qualitative study examines leadership in an institution of higher education using the Responsible Leadership for Performance (RLP) model (Lynham & Chermack, 2006) as a framework. The study explores how using a paradigm of collective leadership as an alternative to models of individual leadership could inform understanding of leadership in higher education organizations. By using the RLP framework, this study seeks to examine conceptualization of leadership as the result of collective action while exploring applicability of the RLP framework in the context of higher education. Although the RLP depiction of leadership as a system could be useful in developing leadership system assessment and categorizing constituent demands on institutional leadership, this study suggests application of RLP in higher education is incomplete without supplementing the RLP framework with theories addressing organizational culture and the influence of organization members on organization outcomes. RLP provides some insight into leadership as the result of collective action with implications for developing new leadership paradigms congruent with collaborative paradigms of organization. There continue to be opportunities for further exploration of emergent leadership theories and expanding conceptualization of leadership to include a collaborative locus.