Understanding six water leadership roles: a framework to help build leadership capacity
Abstract
This paper describes six leadership roles that often feature in processes of change that drive more sustainable forms of water management in developed and developing countries. These are referred to as the champion leader, enabling leader, cross-boundary team leader, thought leader, strategic leader and trusted advisor roles. The paper also highlights some of the key leader competencies (e.g., skills) and leadership strategies (e.g., behaviours) associated with these roles. Understanding these roles can help to build the leadership ability of emerging water leaders and therefore the capacity of the water sector to drive change. It helps to 'cut through the complexity' of leadership development by providing a practical framework to identify which leadership roles are most relevant to a developing leader, and therefore the types of knowledge, skills, leadership models, case studies and leadership strategies to include in tailored leadership development activities. It also helps to identify which roles an emerging water leader is most suited to, and provides a framework to help analyse how people in different leadership roles typically work together to drive major processes of influence in the water sector. This framework is now being used to inform the design of water leadership development programmes around the world.