The Challenged Interplay of Integrative Aims and Shared Leadership: Experiences From Nordic Practice

Abstract

To tackle the accelerating societal polycrises, contemporary planning has to deal with increasingly complex questions, which defy sectorial and scalar boundaries. Therefore, a need for integrated planning has emerged and shared leadership logic has gained popularity in municipal planning organizations. Still, their potential mismatches have remained unacknowledged. Exploring experiences from everyday practice, this research provides theory guided analysis on how shared leadership is not automatically in line with integrative aims, but its interpretation and operationalization should move from individually-focused selective self-organization in the operational sphere towards collective sensemaking in the tactical sphere to support adequate overall awareness and shared understanding.

Keywords:

• Planning practice
• integrated planning
• self-organization
• planning organization

Acknowledgements

The author thanks the editors and reviewers for the valuable comments to improve the manuscript.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Susa Eräranta

Susa Eräranta, is a researching practitioner and a Professor of Practice in the Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering research group at the Aalto University. Her research interest is in exploring the complex dynamics of diverse living beings in the practices, processes and networks of planning.