Power Dynamics at the Interface: The Case of Leadership Development

This paper contributes to a call for more complex portrayals of leadership development by showing the influence of space on organizational phenomena, here power dynamics and ethics in organization. By positioning executive coaching as a boundary space, we tap into the inherent ambiguity of between-ness to characterize the types of power dynamics that take place in these places located between spaces, people, and times. More specifically, building on Fleming and Spicer's theoretical framework, our analysis of 20 semi-structured interviews conducted with the critical incident technique shows that coaches can be both power agents and power subjects, through the experience of "episodic" (coercion and manipulation) and "systemic" (domination and subjectification) faces of power, and the corresponding faces of resistance. However, coaches tend to acknowledge episodic forms of power more easily than the systemic faces of power. Additionally, by framing coaching as a boundary space, we suggest introducing a fifth site of power to Fleming and Spicer's model to reflect the between-ness of leadership development. Based upon these theoretical contributions, specific recommendations are made to educate coaches to embrace the boundary condition of their practice; in particular, increasing coaches' awareness of their position in a system, and abilities to evolve constructively in this system.