Presentation Information
[ZE_VRU11-02]Beyond building Empires: Scientific Leadership as Collective Capability
*Tomoko Sugiura1, Aparna Lal1 (1. Australian National University (Australia))
Keywords:
Collective Capability,Scientific Leadership,Power and Recognition
Purpose To reconceptualise scientific leadership through a gender-neutral lens by understanding leadership as a collective capability rather than an individual attribute, and to examine how everyday negotiations of recognition, authority, and power shape who is able to exercise leadership within research institutions.
Methods Drawing on our experiences as Japanese- and Indian-Burmese origin public health scientists working in an English-dominated research system, we use reflective, conceptually informed analysis to examine scientific leadership as a continuously negotiated process in everyday interactions -whose ideas are heard, whose work is recognised, and who is regarded as authoritative.
Results These negotiations are not experienced equally; some individuals must invest substantially more effort than others to achieve comparable recognition. Conversations about systemic bias in career progression often occur mainly among minoritised groups. For many well-intentioned individuals, recognising ongoing complicity in unequal systems can be uncomfortable. Without the ability to sit with discomfort, opportunities for growth and transformation remain limited.
Discussion We argue that gender-neutral scientific leadership requires a conversation beyond gender alone. It involves building research environments in which leadership is not tied to a single cultural or behavioural template, supports multiple ways of exercising leadership, recognises diverse contributions, and distributes responsibility and agency for change across the institution.
Conclusion We propose understanding scientific leadership as a collective capability that can be intentionally cultivated through making power discussable, broadening recognition, and sharing responsibility for equity-oriented change. In the presentation, we reflect on strategies we have tried in our own institutional contexts, what has opened space for dialogue, what has not worked, and what these experiences suggest for designing more inclusive leadership environments.
Methods Drawing on our experiences as Japanese- and Indian-Burmese origin public health scientists working in an English-dominated research system, we use reflective, conceptually informed analysis to examine scientific leadership as a continuously negotiated process in everyday interactions -whose ideas are heard, whose work is recognised, and who is regarded as authoritative.
Results These negotiations are not experienced equally; some individuals must invest substantially more effort than others to achieve comparable recognition. Conversations about systemic bias in career progression often occur mainly among minoritised groups. For many well-intentioned individuals, recognising ongoing complicity in unequal systems can be uncomfortable. Without the ability to sit with discomfort, opportunities for growth and transformation remain limited.
Discussion We argue that gender-neutral scientific leadership requires a conversation beyond gender alone. It involves building research environments in which leadership is not tied to a single cultural or behavioural template, supports multiple ways of exercising leadership, recognises diverse contributions, and distributes responsibility and agency for change across the institution.
Conclusion We propose understanding scientific leadership as a collective capability that can be intentionally cultivated through making power discussable, broadening recognition, and sharing responsibility for equity-oriented change. In the presentation, we reflect on strategies we have tried in our own institutional contexts, what has opened space for dialogue, what has not worked, and what these experiences suggest for designing more inclusive leadership environments.
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