Becoming “leaderful”: leading forward in turbulent times

Developing a Conceptual Model for How Occupational Therapists Can Address "Wicked Problems": A Critical Review

IMPORTANCE

Wicked problems are those that are messy and complex and have no obvious solution. Occupational therapists and their clients encounter wicked problems in all areas of practice, and therefore it is essential that they know how to address them.

OBJECTIVE

To identify the key constructs involved in addressing wicked problems, discover considerations for occupational therapists, and develop a conceptual model that supports how to address these problems.

DESIGN

This study had a critical review design and focused on literature from sectors such as health care, social services, policy, business, management, and leadership. It followed a traditional critical review process and extracted records from Scopus, CINAHL and Ovid databases.

RESULTS

A total of 36 articles were included in the review. The results indicated that, to address wicked problems, one must first identify the problem as wicked. The key constructs identified in the literature include collaboration, leadership, perspectives, and innovation, with collaboration and leadership as the most prominent constructs. Subthemes include interdisciplinary teams and diverse perspectives, visualizing interdependencies, team communication, leadership style, leadership communication, and shared vision.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

The key constructs identified in this review are interconnected and imperative when addressing wicked problems as depicted in the new Addressing Wicked Problems conceptual model. Occupational therapists are well suited to extend between the traditional role and be key stakeholders in addressing wicked problems by using their leadership and collaboration skills and attitudes. What This Article Adds: Collaboration, leadership, perspective, and innovation are the key constructs for addressing wicked problems. The Addressing Wicked Problems conceptual model highlights the interconnectedness of these constructs.

Critical reflection in leadership development

Purpose

This paper explores the role of critical reflection in the context of leadership development and how it is measured. The purpose of this paper is to review theoretical and empirical research that captures the application of critical reflection in leadership development.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is an integrative literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles on critical reflection in leadership development. The search revealed 172 peer-reviewed journal articles based on the search terms. The authors conducted a staged review of the abstracts and identified a final sample of 27 empirical articles and 12 non-empirical articles for review.

Findings

The findings of this review show that critical reflection is an essential tool for leadership development and has been utilized in a variety of ways and through multiple theoretical perspectives. Despite being relied on heavily in leadership development, the measurement for critical reflection is not well established in the literature.

Originality/value

The researchers propose a conceptual model that integrates the phases and levels of critical reflection as well as the desired outcomes in leadership development. Implications for leadership development are also discussed.