ICTL 2024: International Conference on Theology and Leadership University of Lucerne in Partnership with the Evangelische Theologische Faculteit Leuven Lucerne, Switzerland, June 20-21, 2024

The S/spirit in our Leadership

International Conference on Theology and Leadership

Lucerne, Switzerland, June 19-21, 2024 - EXTENDED DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS

Traditionally, models of leadership were built on a command-and-control framework, which then developed into more relational models. However, there is a wide-spread sense that these frames of leadership no longer function very well in a postmodern, digital age. Currently, the field of leadership studies suffers “from theory proliferation, ‘theorria;’” (Antonakis et al. 2023). It produces an “overabundance of weak and untested theories” (Cronin, Stouten & van Knippenberg 2021), resulting from ever more fragmented “hyper-empiricism” (Ant 2021). Moreover, leadership theories turn out to have significant dark sides (Tourish 2013, Langberg 2020).

The search is on for a different narrative ofleadership. Leadership theories need better theoretical, epistemological and empirical grounding (Alvesson et al. 2017). A fundamental question for more fruitful grounding is, “What is the S/spirit of our leadership?” This question queries the underlying motivations and powers that drive and structure our leadership. It is the question of the conference.

The topic is both religious (“Spirit”), and more general since the spirit of the age marks, even permeates our organizations and their leadership. Hence, “TheS/spirit of Our Leadership” addresses a significant leadership dynamic that is intuitively sensed and implicitly influences many of today's organizations.

This conference is proposed in the spirit of inclusion and reflection, deliberately questioning the spirit of growth, globalism, and power that often manifests itself in our leadership. So, what is the S/spirit of our leadership? How can we contribute to a wholesome S/spirit that infuses our leadership towards human flourishing and creative environmental care? Thisconference is designed for:

1. Understanding the S/spirit of the current theory andpractice of leadership.
2. Exploring old and new approaches to S/spirit-filledleadership.
3. Discovering dimensions and qualities of S/spirit-filled leadership.
4. Experimenting with old and new practices ofS/spirit-filled leadership.

Conference Partners

Within the radiance of the KKL building (see excursion “a narrative of spirit” below), we are pleased to host an international, interdisciplinary conference on the S/spirit of our leadership.

“We” includes the Faculty of Theology of the University of Lucerne, and the Institute of Leadership and Social Ethics (ILSE) of the Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, Leuven (Belgium).

As partners, we include interests from the domains of leadership studies, economics, and theology (of various confessions).

“We” will also include contributors and participants from various countries, disciplines, religious traditions, and fields of practice (business, education, church, etc.) – exhibiting the inclusion ofthe KKL.

Excursion "Narrative of Spirit"

The lakeshore of Luzern is dominated by the magnificent KKL, Kultur- und Kongresszentrum in Luzern. The expansive, black building sits at the lakeshore, next to the international railway station and the University of Luzern. French architect Jean Nouvel designed the building with “inclusion” and “reflection.” Inclusion because lake waters come into the building in two channels, while the wide flatroof embraces trains & buses, harbor & boats, park & nearby schools. Reflection is evident in the aluminum roofing which reflects the waves and the square’s swarming people, giving the building the appearance of lightness inspite of its massive size. It radiates a spirit of hospitality, creative experience, and world class ambitions.

The reflective ambitions of the KKL are the primary focus of the conference: to reflect on the S/spirit of our leadership. Leadership in the 1990s appears to have been in the grips of the romance of leadership. A period of political and economic optimism seemed to suggest that leaders were the key drivers of growth, the central agents for change. The technologies of production, with the narratives of command and control, were increasingly applied to various fields, leading to significant performances – but sometimes also with high risks associated with the darker sides of leadership (Tourish 2013).

While older generations often approached technology andscientific management with an attitude of expectation, building lives and identities around work and the companyas family, some of the younger generations are quickly disillusioned and connect only minimally, fearing the spirit of leadership in many of today’s corporations. Still, many other of the younger generations carve out their own path, with the expectation of building a different world with a different spirit of leadership, such as the trend of “unbossing” our organizations (Resch 2019).

Yet, there is as yet no clear view as to what processes and practices of leadership are emerging. The leadership literature is replete with observations about the risks andchanges in leadership, and with proposals to fix whatever problem is envisioned with yet another model of leadership (Antonakis et. al. 2023). Hence, there is a clear search for alternative conceptions of leadership besides theframeworks focusing on command and control, and eventhose offering a relational perspective.

Submission Guidelines

Scholars and practitioners are invited to submit an abstract for a paper, containing original research or a relevant case study. Abstracts should not exceed the limit of 500 words, and include a description of the research question, the research method, and expected results.

Deadline for submission is January 31, extended to February 29, 2024. You can expect to receive a response by February 29, March 31, 2024 at the latest. Abstracts can be submitted for review as PDF using EasyChair (submission link in the CfP header). Authors of accepted abstracts are kindly invited to submit a full paper after the conference. Submitted papers will undergo a double-blind peer review process. Planned deadline for full submissions is August 31, 2024.

All papers must be original and not simultaneously submitted to another journal or conference.

Accomodation

The city of Lucerne offers a beautiful conference venue, located directly at the clear blue waters of Lake Lucerne, embedded in the scenic surroundings of the Swiss alps. We kindly advise conference participants to book a hotelroom early. The following hotels have offered rooms and rates (as long as offer or stock lasts) for conference participants. Promo codes will be made available upon conference registration:

Hotel Alpha (www.hotelalpha.ch), Hotel Continental Park (www.continental.ch), Hotel Waldstätterhof (www.hotel-waldstaetterhof.ch), Hotel Wilden Mann (www.wilden-mann.ch), Hotel Cascada (www.cascada.ch).

Other hotels of various categories and more information regarding your stay can be found on the official website of the city of Lucerne (www.luzern.com).

Please plan to be on location by 4pm on June 19, 2024, for the early parts of the program that evening. The conference will finish by 5pm on June 21, 2024. Please also visit the official conference and conference partner websites (for contact information, updates andfurther information, link in the CfP header).

Literature for Initial Orientation

• Alvesson, Mats, Martin Blom, and Stefan Sveningsson. Reflexive Leadership: Organising in an Imperfect World. Los Angeles, CA: Sage, 2017.
• Ant, Marc. 2021. Effizientes Leadership: Grundlagen, Prinzipien und Methoden einer sozialkonstruktivistischen Führungstheorie. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler.
• Antonakis, J., Dessi, R., Fischer, T., Foss, N., Haslam, A., Kvaløy, O., Lonati, S., Muthukrishna, M., and Schottner, A. “Theory in leadership and management.” The Leadership Quarterly, 2023.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2023.101736.
• Barentsen, Jack, Steven C. van den Heuvel, and Peirong Lin, eds. The End of Leadership? Leadership and Authority at Crossroads. Christian Perspectives on Leadership and Social Ethics 4. Leuven: Peeters, 2017.
• Branson, Mark Lau, and Alan J. Roxburgh. Leadership, God’s Agency, and Disruptions: Confronting Modernity’s Wager. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2021.
• Carroll, Jackson W. As One with Authority: Reflective Leadership in Ministry. 2nd and revised ed. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2011.
• Cronin, Matthew A., Jeroen Stouten, and Daan Van Knippenberg. “The Theory Crisis in Management Research: Solving the Right Problem.” Academy of Management Review 46, no. 4 (October 2021): 667–83. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2019.0294.
• Detje, Malte. Servant Leadership: Führen und Leiten in der Kirchengemeinde im 21. Jahrhundert. Vol. 23. Beiträge zu Evangelisation und Gemeindeentwicklung. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2017.
• Haslam, S. Alexander, Stephen Reicher, and Michael J. Platow. The New Psychology of Leadership: Identity, Influence and Power. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Routledge, 2020.
• Kershaw, Christine, David E. Rast, Michael A. Hogg, and Daan Van Knippenberg. “Divided Groups Need Leadership: A Study of the Effectiveness of Collective Identity, Dual Identity, and Intergroup Relational Identity Rhetoric.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 51, no. 1 (January 2021): 53–62.https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12715.
• Nullens, Patrick, and Steven C. van den Heuvel, eds. Challenges of Moral Leadership. Christian Perspectiveson Leadership and Social Ethics 2. Leuven: Peeters, 2015.
• Resch, Bernhard. “UNBOSS! On Paradox, Passion, and Power in Decentralized Work.” PhD Thesis, Universität St. Gallen, 2019. https://research.vu.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/171323673/Dis4915.pdf.
• Rosenhead, Jonathan, L. Alberto Franco, Keith Grint, and Barton Friedland. “Complexity Theory and Leadership Practice: A Review, a Critique, and Some Recommendations.” The Leadership Quarterly, August 19, 2019, 101304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2019.07.002.
• Spoelstra, Sverre. “Leadership and the Stings of Command.” Ephemera: Theory & Politics in Organization 22, no. 1 (2022).http://ephemerajournal.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/contribution/07%2022.1.%20leadership.pdf.
• Spoelstra, Sverre, Nick Butler, and Helen Delaney. “Measures of Faith: Science and Belief in Leadership Studies.” Journal of Management Inquiry 30, no. 3 (July 1, 2021): 300–311.https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492620901793.
• Tourish, Dennis. The Dark Side of Transformational Leadership: A Critical Perspective. New York, NY: Routledge, 2013.
• Uhl-Bien, Mary, and Sonia Ospina, eds. Advancing Relational Leadership Research: A Dialogue among Perspectives. Leadership Horizons. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Pub., 2012.
• Worley, David J. “Sacralizing Leadership: The Role of the Sacred in Enabling Organizational Sensemaking, Cohesion, and Identity.” Leadership 15, no. 5 (2019): 590–602.