Neil D . Walshe | University of San Francisco (original) (raw)
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Papers by Neil D . Walshe
Several studies have used subjective assessments of effectiveness, by individuals who are also ra... more Several studies have used subjective assessments of effectiveness, by individuals who are also rating the leaders' behavior, style, or competencies. The potential influence of common-source and common-method variance is regularly cautioned by leadership researchers (e.g.
Academy of Management Annual Meeting, 2015
The three topics of this volume—leadership, change, and organization development (OD)—can be view... more The three topics of this volume—leadership, change, and organization development (OD)—can be viewed as three separate and distinct organizational topics or they can be understood as three distinct lenses viewing a common psycho-organizational process. We begin the volume with a comprehensive treatment of leadership primarily because we view leadership as the fulcrum or crucible for any significant change in human behavior at the individual, team, or organizational level. Leaders must apply their understanding of how to effect change at behavioral, procedural, and structural levels in enacting leadership efforts. In many cases, these efforts are quite purposeful, planned, and conscious. In others, leadership behavior may stem from less-conscious understandings and forces. The chapters in Part I: Leadership provide a comprehensive view of what we know and what we don’t know about leadership. Alimo-Metcalfe (Chapter 2) provides a comprehensive view of theories and measures of leadershi...
Academy of Management Learning & Education, 2014
Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 2015
Although there is much research on the links between work and well-being, there is relatively lit... more Although there is much research on the links between work and well-being, there is relatively little good-quality research on resource-based or other interventions such as more traditional stress management and job redesign. This paper provides guidance about how to improve the quality of intervention research. First, drawing on the logic of interventions and principles of evidence-based practice, we take the example of a relatively simple resource-oriented intervention to identify 11 key characteristics that we would expect to see in an evidence-based intervention of this type. These characteristics and their underlying principles can be used to evaluate the quality of existing intervention studies and guide the design of future interventions. Second, we discuss an evidence-based approach to reporting the process and the outcomes of interventions. Providing only limited information about an intervention means that it is difficult to replicate or use that method in practice. We describe a checklist developed in a more mature evidence-based field (medicine) that can be used to ensure that sufficient intervention details are reported. Next, we discuss the importance of reporting all the outcomes of all interventions. Last, we consider the ways in which this approach to improving interventions is not only important scientifically and practically but also ethically. Practitioner points Although many resource-oriented well-being interventions are available, their effectiveness is not always known, and they may be implemented without initial diagnosis. An evidence-based practice approach to intervention involves using local organizational evidence as well as evidence from scientific research. Before implementing an intervention, it is important to gather information from the target population to ensure, for example, that there is a significant well-being problem and that it is amenable to change, as well as seeking out research evidence for the efficacy of the intervention. This approach is useful in terms of practice but also helps to ensure that we are working in an ethical way.
Several studies have used subjective assessments of effectiveness, by individuals who are also ra... more Several studies have used subjective assessments of effectiveness, by individuals who are also rating the leaders' behavior, style, or competencies. The potential influence of common-source and common-method variance is regularly cautioned by leadership researchers (e.g.
Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2013
Kepes and McDaniel (2013) have provided us with a valuable and challenging overview of some of th... more Kepes and McDaniel (2013) have provided us with a valuable and challenging overview of some of the poor scientific practices that have become institutionalized within industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology research. As they make clear, these dubious scientific practices are not unique to I-O psychology, they are not new, and have been subject to serious and well-founded criticism for decades. Dubious practices are to be found in many areas of practice, and evidence-based perspectives seek, in part, to understand why such practices are adopted, what else, apart from evidence, shapes practice decisions, and what evidence-based approaches to making practice decisions might look like. We believe these perspectives provide further insights into the issues raised in the focal article. We first discuss the fact that researchers are themselves practitioners. Next, we consider some of the reasons I-O and HR practitioners give for adopting dubious practices and illustrate how these closely parallel researchers own practice decisions.
Human Relations, 2016
This article elaborates the organizational literature’s process theory of compassion – an empathi... more This article elaborates the organizational literature’s process theory of compassion – an empathic response to suffering – which falls short of adequately explaining why and how compassion unfolds readily in some workplace situations or settings but not in others. We address this shortcoming by calling attention to the basic uncertainty of suffering and compassion, demonstrating that this uncertainty tends to be particularly pronounced in organizational settings, and presenting propositions that explain how such uncertainty inhibits the compassion process. We then argue that understanding the accomplishment of compassion in the midst of uncertainty necessitates regarding compassion as an enactment of courage, and we incorporate insights from the organizational literature on everyday courageous action into compassion theory. We conclude with a discussion of implications in which we underscore the importance of organizational support for the expression of suffering and the doing of co...
Leonard/The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Leadership, Change, and Organizational Development, 2013
Organizations can be led and managed in many different ways and there is no shortage of perspecti... more Organizations can be led and managed in many different ways and there is no shortage of perspectives, models, and frameworks for thinking about how such tasks can be accomplished. This chapter focuses on one such perspective: evidence-based management (EBMgt). At its core is the idea that when managers and organizations make decisions, evidence of various types should be collected, critically appraised, and taken into account. Put this way, EBMgt does not appear to be either new or radical. However, as we shall go on to discuss, recent attempts to elaborate and flesh out this idea show that while some of its core principles are unremarkable, actually doing EBMgt presents major challenges, threats, and opportunities. Far from being business as usual, using evidence seriously and systematically appears to represent a significant departure from what organizations typically do. This chapter starts with an account of the origins of the idea of evidence-based practice in other fields and how it has been adapted in the development of EBMgt. It then looks at the sometimes controversial notion of leadership and what we know about what managers and leaders do. We then consider the extent to which leaders, managers, and organizations are evidence-based in their approach to managing organizations and what can be done to further develop this approach. Finally, we discuss some of the challenges that managing in an evidence-based way present to leaders and to more traditional ways of thinking about what leadership entails. 3.2 Origins of the evidence-based-practice idea 3.2.1 The basic idea of evidence-based practice Practitioners of all kinds, including managers, routinely use different forms of evidence in their work. So why do we need the idea of evidence-based practice if it's already happening? The underlying problem or question evidence-based practice sets out to tackle is not 3
Several studies have used subjective assessments of effectiveness, by individuals who are also ra... more Several studies have used subjective assessments of effectiveness, by individuals who are also rating the leaders' behavior, style, or competencies. The potential influence of common-source and common-method variance is regularly cautioned by leadership researchers (e.g.
Academy of Management Annual Meeting, 2015
The three topics of this volume—leadership, change, and organization development (OD)—can be view... more The three topics of this volume—leadership, change, and organization development (OD)—can be viewed as three separate and distinct organizational topics or they can be understood as three distinct lenses viewing a common psycho-organizational process. We begin the volume with a comprehensive treatment of leadership primarily because we view leadership as the fulcrum or crucible for any significant change in human behavior at the individual, team, or organizational level. Leaders must apply their understanding of how to effect change at behavioral, procedural, and structural levels in enacting leadership efforts. In many cases, these efforts are quite purposeful, planned, and conscious. In others, leadership behavior may stem from less-conscious understandings and forces. The chapters in Part I: Leadership provide a comprehensive view of what we know and what we don’t know about leadership. Alimo-Metcalfe (Chapter 2) provides a comprehensive view of theories and measures of leadershi...
Academy of Management Learning & Education, 2014
Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 2015
Although there is much research on the links between work and well-being, there is relatively lit... more Although there is much research on the links between work and well-being, there is relatively little good-quality research on resource-based or other interventions such as more traditional stress management and job redesign. This paper provides guidance about how to improve the quality of intervention research. First, drawing on the logic of interventions and principles of evidence-based practice, we take the example of a relatively simple resource-oriented intervention to identify 11 key characteristics that we would expect to see in an evidence-based intervention of this type. These characteristics and their underlying principles can be used to evaluate the quality of existing intervention studies and guide the design of future interventions. Second, we discuss an evidence-based approach to reporting the process and the outcomes of interventions. Providing only limited information about an intervention means that it is difficult to replicate or use that method in practice. We describe a checklist developed in a more mature evidence-based field (medicine) that can be used to ensure that sufficient intervention details are reported. Next, we discuss the importance of reporting all the outcomes of all interventions. Last, we consider the ways in which this approach to improving interventions is not only important scientifically and practically but also ethically. Practitioner points Although many resource-oriented well-being interventions are available, their effectiveness is not always known, and they may be implemented without initial diagnosis. An evidence-based practice approach to intervention involves using local organizational evidence as well as evidence from scientific research. Before implementing an intervention, it is important to gather information from the target population to ensure, for example, that there is a significant well-being problem and that it is amenable to change, as well as seeking out research evidence for the efficacy of the intervention. This approach is useful in terms of practice but also helps to ensure that we are working in an ethical way.
Several studies have used subjective assessments of effectiveness, by individuals who are also ra... more Several studies have used subjective assessments of effectiveness, by individuals who are also rating the leaders' behavior, style, or competencies. The potential influence of common-source and common-method variance is regularly cautioned by leadership researchers (e.g.
Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2013
Kepes and McDaniel (2013) have provided us with a valuable and challenging overview of some of th... more Kepes and McDaniel (2013) have provided us with a valuable and challenging overview of some of the poor scientific practices that have become institutionalized within industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology research. As they make clear, these dubious scientific practices are not unique to I-O psychology, they are not new, and have been subject to serious and well-founded criticism for decades. Dubious practices are to be found in many areas of practice, and evidence-based perspectives seek, in part, to understand why such practices are adopted, what else, apart from evidence, shapes practice decisions, and what evidence-based approaches to making practice decisions might look like. We believe these perspectives provide further insights into the issues raised in the focal article. We first discuss the fact that researchers are themselves practitioners. Next, we consider some of the reasons I-O and HR practitioners give for adopting dubious practices and illustrate how these closely parallel researchers own practice decisions.
Human Relations, 2016
This article elaborates the organizational literature’s process theory of compassion – an empathi... more This article elaborates the organizational literature’s process theory of compassion – an empathic response to suffering – which falls short of adequately explaining why and how compassion unfolds readily in some workplace situations or settings but not in others. We address this shortcoming by calling attention to the basic uncertainty of suffering and compassion, demonstrating that this uncertainty tends to be particularly pronounced in organizational settings, and presenting propositions that explain how such uncertainty inhibits the compassion process. We then argue that understanding the accomplishment of compassion in the midst of uncertainty necessitates regarding compassion as an enactment of courage, and we incorporate insights from the organizational literature on everyday courageous action into compassion theory. We conclude with a discussion of implications in which we underscore the importance of organizational support for the expression of suffering and the doing of co...
Leonard/The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Leadership, Change, and Organizational Development, 2013
Organizations can be led and managed in many different ways and there is no shortage of perspecti... more Organizations can be led and managed in many different ways and there is no shortage of perspectives, models, and frameworks for thinking about how such tasks can be accomplished. This chapter focuses on one such perspective: evidence-based management (EBMgt). At its core is the idea that when managers and organizations make decisions, evidence of various types should be collected, critically appraised, and taken into account. Put this way, EBMgt does not appear to be either new or radical. However, as we shall go on to discuss, recent attempts to elaborate and flesh out this idea show that while some of its core principles are unremarkable, actually doing EBMgt presents major challenges, threats, and opportunities. Far from being business as usual, using evidence seriously and systematically appears to represent a significant departure from what organizations typically do. This chapter starts with an account of the origins of the idea of evidence-based practice in other fields and how it has been adapted in the development of EBMgt. It then looks at the sometimes controversial notion of leadership and what we know about what managers and leaders do. We then consider the extent to which leaders, managers, and organizations are evidence-based in their approach to managing organizations and what can be done to further develop this approach. Finally, we discuss some of the challenges that managing in an evidence-based way present to leaders and to more traditional ways of thinking about what leadership entails. 3.2 Origins of the evidence-based-practice idea 3.2.1 The basic idea of evidence-based practice Practitioners of all kinds, including managers, routinely use different forms of evidence in their work. So why do we need the idea of evidence-based practice if it's already happening? The underlying problem or question evidence-based practice sets out to tackle is not 3