Leadership South West (LSW)

Thank you for visiting the Leadership South West (LSW) website.

This pan-regional project which was previously hosted by the Centre for Leadership Studies (CLS) at the University of Exeter, Business School and supported by the South West of England Regional Development Agency SWRDA) and the Learning Skills Council (LSC) has now come to an end and therefore this particular website has now closed.

However please do visit the Centre for Leadership Studies site at the University of Exeter, Business School available at centres.exeter.ac.uk/cls for further information on leadership reports as shown below and leadership research centres.exeter.ac.uk/cls/research. CLS is the main European window onto leadership studies, development and practice, and aim to offer first-class leadership development, educate the next generation of leadership developers and assess the value and underlying assumptions of this field in general.

What is Leadership? (July 2004)

This first report gives an introduction to some of the key issues in the field of leadership, including what is it, how can it be measured and what impact does it have upon performance? This report does not claim to be the definitive guide to all things leadership, but rather to present some of the most significant concepts and debates to have emerged in recent years.
Download the full report (723KB PDF)

What is Leadership Development? Purpose and Practice (June 2005)

This second report looks at "What is Leadership Development? Purpose and Practice". The aim of the report is to explore the current range of approaches to leadership development available to individuals and organisations and the assumptions and principles that underlie them. The intention is both to provide practical advice on best practice but, above all, to challenge organisations to consider the ways in which they go about developing management and leadership capability and what they hope to achieve by doing this.
Download the full report (1.1MB PDF)

Leadership Development in Context (August 2006)

This third report builds on from the last one by considering the impact of context on the appropriate content, style and format of leadership development. It is divided into two main sections, the first looking at how different organisational and individual priorities shape the content and format of leadership development, and the second taking more of a sector/occupational focus on the most significant factors and challenges facing organisations in different environments. The report concludes with a summary of themes arising from the different sections and an integrated framework for leadership development.
Download the full report (1.94MB PDF)

Other LSW articles

• Leadership Matters
• Responding to crisis - the birth of Catalytic Leadership
• Evolution in the built environment - the signs of leadership
• The Federation of Small Business (FSB) and a Day at the Races
• Leadership and spirituality - Invitation to an impolite conversation
• Building for the future – Youth leadership
• The Essence of Leadership
• Leadership South West resources
• Regional papers and consultants reports