Modelling the interaction of leadership, culture and power in higher education

This paper presents a conceptual framework for predicting whether power will have a unifying or subversive effect in specific organizational cultures. The Cultural Interaction Model of Leadership and Power (LP-CIM) asserts cultural norms constrain what leadership approaches will be successful in particular organizational contexts. These constraints stem from legitimate forms of power and influence sanctioned by the leadership theories that align with an organization’s culture. According to the LP-CIM model followers’ responses to leaders’ influence attempts are a function of the interaction of leadership theory and power. The model predicts leaders will be successful to the extent they practice forms of leadership that align with an organization’s cultural norms. Leadership theories that align with six normative academic cultures are explicated, based on a concordance of underlying values and basic assumptions; influence tactics sanctioned or proscribed by each leadership theory are delineated. The LP-CIM framework can be used to: a) select a leadership theory that aligns with multiple levels of organizational culture; b) predict when the exercise of power will have a unifying or subversive effect, depending upon the influence tactics a leader employs; and c) anticipate the potential impact of a variety of factors that moderate application of the model.