Applying S-D Logic to Leadership Development

This article is exploratory and critical. It explores the possibilities of value-integrated leadership
development delivery for businesses and higher education institutes and criticizes the long-standing
standardized leadership development programs.
Whilst declining 18-year-old enrolment (BBC, 2024) is considered a worry for parents in Wales, we as
Higher Education (HE) and Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) cannot disregard it as someone else’s
problem. This rather signifies a symptom of a greater problem; indicating that we (HEIs) need to reflect
on what we do, how we do it, and how we can continue to develop leaders and experts to materialize
society’s vision in 2035 if that is what we claim, we do. Multiple factors in play are simultaneously
impacting HEIs and have been appreciated tremendously elsewhere, this paper establishes a critical
perspective on the role of HE in supporting people development largely from a business perspective.
It proposes a framework for establishing a collaborative leadership development program delivery for
people development today and tomorrow and preparing us to continue to serve businesses and
society with a future ready HE offers. This paper analyses top leadership development programs
offered in the UK, today and progresses the idea of the future proofing such programs based on
Service-dominant logic.
The role of HE is described in three domains of teaching and learning, research, and community
engagement (Chankseliani and McCowan, 2021) [Figure 1], which have sprouted business and
enterprising education ABC theme (Advance HE, 2024) where they are largely perceived as one-way
relations from HEIs to the outer world. Teaching and Learning (TnL) is about delivering teaching and
learning activities to prepare students for their future employment and learning, research for
understanding problems and their underlying causes, and engagement with the community in a range
of ways to solve problems. Whilst they are regarded as distinctive domains, they are considered
interlinked and interdependent (Khalid, 2020). For example, the growing realization of the role of HE
in achieving Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) and a constructive alignment of TnL, assessment
activities and interdisciplinary studies (Žalėnienė and Pereira, 2021) in achieving those SDGs. Another
factor is the fifth wave of the industrial revolution, Artificial intelligence as a powerful resource
(Michel-Villarreal et al, 2023) and preparing HE for a system upgrade on similar lines.