'I Have Gained Insight, Direction, Affirmation, and a Network'. Examining the Impact of the UK's First LGBTQ+ Specific Leadership Development Programme in Higher Education

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Title: 'I Have Gained Insight, Direction, Affirmation, and a Network'. Examining the Impact of the UK's First LGBTQ+ Specific Leadership Development Programme in Higher Education
Language: English
Authors: Catherine Lee (ORCID 0000-0002-4564-0787), Daniel Burman
Source: Educational Management Administration & Leadership. 2026 54(2):602-619.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 18
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: LGBTQ People, Leadership Training, Mentors, Networks, Coaching (Performance), Program Effectiveness, Higher Education, College Administration, Foreign Countries, College Faculty, Self Efficacy, Leadership Qualities
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom (England)
DOI: 10.1177/17411432241260946
ISSN: 1741-1432
1741-1440
Abstract: This article explores the UK's first specific lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBTQ+) leadership development programme in higher education. It assesses the programme's value for the participants, who comprised of 12 colleagues in academic and professional services roles in one English Post 92 University. The year-long programme offered leadership training, mentoring and networking to LGBTQ+ staff in aspiring to leadership roles. It adopted Whitmore's GROW coaching model and promoted authenticity in the workplace and authentic leadership. The article contends that leadership development initiatives for those with protected characteristics are important in an evolving higher education landscape which is ever more complex. Despite tensions with the concept of authenticity, the article is rooted in a post-structuralist theoretical framework that rejects essentialist views of gender and sexuality. Instead, it aligns with a Butlerian paradigm, where gender and sexual identities are diverse, fragmented and perpetually evolving in relation to others and within systems of power and knowledge. The leadership programme did not assume that LGBTQ+ individuals are intrinsically different from their heterosexual and cisgender peers. However, it developed in its participants, the insight to see that their distinct life experiences as an LGBTQ+ person in a hetero- and cisnormative society had given them a distinct set of attributes conducive to effective and authentic leadership.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1499413
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: 'I Have Gained Insight, Direction, Affirmation, and a Network'. Examining the Impact of the UK's First LGBTQ+ Specific Leadership Development Programme in Higher Education
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Catherine+Lee%22">Catherine Lee</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4564-0787">0000-0002-4564-0787</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Daniel+Burman%22">Daniel Burman</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Educational+Management+Administration+%26+Leadership%22"><i>Educational Management Administration & Leadership</i></searchLink>. 2026 54(2):602-619.
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  Data: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
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  Data: 18
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22LGBTQ+People%22">LGBTQ People</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Leadership+Training%22">Leadership Training</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mentors%22">Mentors</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Networks%22">Networks</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Coaching+%28Performance%29%22">Coaching (Performance)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Program+Effectiveness%22">Program Effectiveness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Administration%22">College Administration</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Faculty%22">College Faculty</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self+Efficacy%22">Self Efficacy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Leadership+Qualities%22">Leadership Qualities</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+Kingdom+%28England%29%22">United Kingdom (England)</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
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  Data: 10.1177/17411432241260946
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  Label: ISSN
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  Data: 1741-1432<br />1741-1440
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: This article explores the UK's first specific lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBTQ+) leadership development programme in higher education. It assesses the programme's value for the participants, who comprised of 12 colleagues in academic and professional services roles in one English Post 92 University. The year-long programme offered leadership training, mentoring and networking to LGBTQ+ staff in aspiring to leadership roles. It adopted Whitmore's GROW coaching model and promoted authenticity in the workplace and authentic leadership. The article contends that leadership development initiatives for those with protected characteristics are important in an evolving higher education landscape which is ever more complex. Despite tensions with the concept of authenticity, the article is rooted in a post-structuralist theoretical framework that rejects essentialist views of gender and sexuality. Instead, it aligns with a Butlerian paradigm, where gender and sexual identities are diverse, fragmented and perpetually evolving in relation to others and within systems of power and knowledge. The leadership programme did not assume that LGBTQ+ individuals are intrinsically different from their heterosexual and cisgender peers. However, it developed in its participants, the insight to see that their distinct life experiences as an LGBTQ+ person in a hetero- and cisnormative society had given them a distinct set of attributes conducive to effective and authentic leadership.
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  Data: EJ1499413
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        Value: 10.1177/17411432241260946
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      – SubjectFull: Leadership Training
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      – SubjectFull: Mentors
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      – SubjectFull: Networks
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      – SubjectFull: Program Effectiveness
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      – SubjectFull: Higher Education
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      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
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      – SubjectFull: Leadership Qualities
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