New Water Policy and Practice Issue 4, Number 1, Fall 2017 | Page 12

New Water Policy & Practice Journal
the view that traditional ways of managing water in river basins are not sustainable
(see te Boekhorst et al. 2010). Drivers for change commonly include the need for
greater resilience to flooding, water security, equitable access to water, and envi-
ronmental protection.
The need for substantial change in the water sector is also reflected in sev-
eral of the United Nation’s (2015) 17 sustainable development goals. For example,
goal 6 is to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanita-
tion for all”. At the 2016 International Water Association’s World Water Congress
and Exhibition (IWA 2016) delegates highlighted the need for greater “global lead-
ership” to achieve such goals.
Leadership is needed to initiate and drive change (Kotter 2006). In the con-
text of this paper and drawing on definitions by Ernst and Chrobot-Mason (2011),
Drath et al. (2008), and McCauley (2014), “leadership” is defined as a process of
influence that accomplishes three outcomes. The first is direction—a shared un-
derstanding of common goals and strategy (e.g. a shared vision for a new water
management project or team). The second is alignment—the joint coordination
of resources and activities (e.g. aligning people, projects, funding, and research
to deliver a vision). And the third is commitment—a commitment to collective
success (e.g. motivating and inspiring others to achieve mutual interests). From
this perspective, the term “leader” is used to describe people who engage in such
processes of influence irrespective of their formal organisational role.
Numerous research projects and case studies have highlighted the impor-
tance of people playing different leadership roles in initiating and steering process-
es of positive change in the water sector (e.g. Brown & Clarke 2007; Herrick & Pratt
2012; Howe & Mukheibir 2015; Huitema & Meijerink 2010; Lincklaen Arriëns &
Wehn de Montalvo 2013; Taylor et al. 2011). For example, Meijerink and Huitema
(2010) conducted an analysis of 16 international case studies where water leaders
(“policy entrepreneurs”) successfully initiated and steered processes of change to
improve water policy and practice. Similarly, research on the transitional steps that
cities typically take as they progressively embrace principles of “water sensitive
cities” (Brown, Keath & Wong 2008) has identified the key role that networks of
leaders (e.g. champions) play to facilitate change (Brown & Clarke 2007; Mukhei-
bir, Howe & Gallet 2014; Taylor et al. 2011).
Awareness of the significance of leadership as a catalyst for change has led
to calls for improved leadership and a greater emphasis on building leadership
capacity in the water sector (IWA 2016; Lincklaen Arriëns & Wehn de Montal-
vo 2013). For example, at the Fourth Delft Symposium on Water Sector Capacity
Development in 2007, delegates called for capacity building activities to develop
1,000 water leaders in Asia and Africa (Lincklaen Arriëns & Wehn de Montalvo
2013).
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