DLCC2026 invites scholars and practitioners to critically explore leadership development as a dynamic system (collective, relational, and context-sensitive) shaped by organisational structures, routines, and assumptions. We aim to move beyond fragmented, episodic interventions toward integrated configurations that strengthen leadership capacity at individual, team, and organisational levels and evolve with changing conditions.

Theme: Systemic and Integrated Approaches to Leadership Development: Bridging Practice and Research

Conference format: DLCC centres dialogue, reflection, and collective learning. Thematic sessions will be built from submitted abstracts and will combine facilitated conversations with concise presentations that frame discussion rather than dominate it. We thread theory–practice integration throughout, anchoring the programme with invited keynotes and participatory methods.

Submission Guidelines

  • Word limit: Max 750 words for the abstract (excluding references)
  • Language: English
  • Include: Title; author(s) and affiliation(s); 3–5 keywords; sector/setting (e.g., health, education, public, private, non-profit); country/region
  • References: Optional; not counted in word limit
  • Topic of preference: Indicate best fit for your contribution:
    a) Leadership Development in Everyday Work
    b) Exploring Time, Place, and Identity in Leadership Development
    c Boundary-spanning Leadership Development
    d) Adaptive capacity of Leadership Development
  • Submit to dlcc2026@ju.se Make sure to include Main author and Topic of preference in the title of the submitted document (e.g. Andersson_a_Daily work challenges)

Structure your abstract by addressing these four questions

Problem framing — What is the leadership development challenge?

Consider the nature and framing of the challenge (what is problematic, for whom, and why).

  • What leadership development challenge, tension, or gap is focused, and why is it significant in this context?
  • How is the challenge framed at organisational, professional, or societal levels (e.g., individual capability, collective capacity, system alignment)?
  • What assumptions, priorities, or structures appear to sustain the challenge or limit alternative ways of understanding leadership development?

Approach — How did you study or intervene?

Consider how the study, inquiry or intervention was designed and enacted (how did you approached the problem)

  • How was the approach shaped by the specific organisational, professional, or social context?
  • How were methods, activities, or interventions chosen to engage leadership development as a context-sensitive phenomenon?
  • What empirical, experiential, or practice-based material was generated or drawn upon?
  • What analytical, conceptual, or reflective lenses were used to explore and interpret the work?

Lessons learnt — What became visible through the work?

Reflect on what the process revealed about leadership development when approached as a systemic and integrated practice.

  • What insights, shifts, or tensions emerged through the study or intervention?
  • How did leadership capacity, collaboration, or learning change (at individual, collective, or organisational levels)?
  • What was reinforced, challenged, or rethought regarding existing leadership development practices or theories?

From here and forward — What possibilities does this open?

Reflect on how the work informs future leadership development practice, research, or system design.

  • What questions, possibilities, or directions for further inquiry have emerged?
  • How might leadership development be more intentionally embedded in everyday work, organisational processes, or strategic priorities?
  • What implications does this hold for designing leadership development systems that are adaptive, inclusive, and sustainable over time?

How do you wish to contribute?

DLCC2026 is designed around dialogue, reflection, and collective sensemaking. Please indicate your preference for conference contribution:

  1. Facilitating a roundtable or dialogic session inviting participants into shared reflection and exploration of the topic.
  2. Presenting insights or findings in a paper‑based session designed to frame and stimulate dialogue.
  3. Proposing another form of contribution aligned with the conference’s participatory and dialogic format (please briefly specify).