Leadership barriers: an exploratory investigation in a South-East Asian/Pacific context

Abstract

This exploratory paper investigates barriers influencing leadership within a contextual perspective. Leadership theory is extended to barriers within contextualisation of leadership. The purpose of the paper is to explore leadership barriers within the rich contextual dynamic in three South-East Asian/Pacific countries. Researchers continue to call for greater understanding of leadership within particular contexts. However,barriers and context remain little understood. This paper explores multiple contextual barriers to leadership impacting on leadership, rather than viewing barriers as specific factors, events or phenomenon. Data were drawn from ongoing leadership studies in Malaysia, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, and the extant literature. Results suggest that understanding barriers and their influence is important as they affect leadership actions. Leaders are able to develop greater understanding and appreciation of barriers, and concepts underpinning leadership, and the value of resulting outcomes of leadership actions. Leaders, in any context, are subject to external and internal barriers, and are not uniform across all contexts. Studies such as this are useful in extending our understanding of leadership beyond a universal point-of-view by offering an insight into an integrated perspective of leadership that recognises differences within particular contexts. Many leadership studies overlook the importance and contribution of barriers to leadership, particularly within country specific contexts. This study engages that need.