Fitting leadership for stimulating learning and developing a learning mindset in a transdisciplinary collaboration context

Abstract

This Master Thesis project was the last assignment in obtaining a MSc degree in Science Communication at the Delft University of Technology. The focus of the project was on finding fitting leadership styles, structures, or behaviors that stimulate learning and help develop a learning mindset in a transdisciplinary collaboration context.To deal with the increasing complexity and urgency of societal issues – such as the aging population, climate change, and the energy transition – a new collaboration revolution has taken shape. This revolution, also referred to as convergence, is still very new. Articles available on what convergence, and the transdisciplinary collaboration as the new collaboration type therein entail, are rather vague and abstract. The HOW of the matter is not yet clear. Learning is inextricably linked to transdisciplinary collaboration due to its novelty. However, explicit attention has not been given to building in learning and a learning mindset in relation to transdisciplinary collaboration. Leadership and learning have had an existing link in literature, but have not been regarded in a setting of transdisciplinary collaboration. Taking leadership into account will enable the formulation and implementation of more concrete actions to move away from a still rather vague idea of transdisciplinary collaboration and towards actionable steps. Therefore, the combination of transdisciplinary collaboration, learning, and leadership is not only interesting and relevant from a research point of view but it will also directly influence the effectivity of convergence endeavors of the Erasmus Medical Centre (EMC), Erasmus University of Rotterdam (EUR), and Delft University of Technology (TUD) that are currently taking place. Research on the relation between transdisciplinary collaboration, learning, and leadership has not been conducted, and thus forms the main focus of this Master Thesis project. The main research question therefore is: What leadership styles, structures, or behaviors, suited for the transdisciplinary collaboration context of the Digital Twin project of the Health & Technology branch of the Convergence Agenda of the Erasmus Medical Centre, the Erasmus University Rotterdam, and the Delft University of Technology, stimulate and facilitate learning and help develop a learning mindset?Based on an extensive literature study, a qualitative study composed of semi-structured interviews with people involved in My Digital Twin – one of the flagships of the Health & Technology theme of the Convergence agenda of the TUD, EUR, and EMC – and analysis of the qualitative data using structural coding in Atlas Ti 9, core elements of transdisciplinary collaboration and core elements of learning in a transdisciplinary collaboration context were found. Based on these elements, a long list of appropriate behaviors for leaders to portray to stimulate learning or work towards transdisciplinarity was established. Appropriate leadership styles and structures were concluded to be rotational distributed leadership consisting of formal and informal leaders. The discussion shows ideas for tools to stimulate learning and help develop a learning mindset, discusses the quality of the research, and provides recommendations for future research.Key words: transdisciplinarity, transdisciplinary collaboration, learning, leadership, duality, distributed leadership, convergence