Professor Rob Warwick
Professor in Management and Organisational Learning
About
Dr Rob Warwick is Professor of Management and Organisational Learning at the University of Chichester. Rob switched to academia from a career in organisational change and development. He has a doctorate in healthcare policy, focusing on the interaction between policy and frontline practice. This was gained whilst working as Head of Strategic Change for a large NHS organisation where he worked on a national healthcare initiative.
Rob runs the MBA and leadership masters programmes at the University. The programmes are characterised by practice based learning whereby participants use their own context and experience as the basis for their personal development. Rob enjoys working with small groups whereby learners are encouraged and supported to learn as much from each other as they are from more formal learning and lectures.
For Rob, teaching excellence is about developing nurturing and trusting relationships where people feel valued and confident. It is this that forms the bedrock for reflexive and transformational learning whereby participants build their knowledge and confidence. Rob is always keen that learning and teaching moves beyond the traditions of set-piece lectures and PowerPoints to include walking in the outdoors, artful and creative practice and the power of deep and sometimes meandering conversations.
Rob has an active interest in ethics and corporate responsibility and chairs the University’s Research Ethics Committee. Ethical practice features strongly in Rob’s teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. This extends beyond the essentials of ethics policy, forms and gaining consent and extends to how we ethically interact with each other as an ongoing process of organisational life.
At the heart of Rob’s teaching practice is the use of action learning, a method of facilitated and supported group coaching. Rob sees his role as getting people to see their world slightly differently, often through the eyes of others, so they can realise their own agency to bring about real-world change and improvement.
Rob’s fields of research include organisation development, ethics, action learning, leadership and education; topics that he is always keen to bring back to the classroom and share.
Professional
Rob believes that for education to be effective we need to move beyond what is comfortable – student and lecturer alike.
Between us that are often missed in favour of models, frameworks and over-arching theories.
Key Publications
Consultancy work
Rob has also carried out a project funded by Roffey Park about trust in organisations, collecting conversations and narratives of people’s experiences.
Other funded research and leadership and social work leadership with the Colebrook Centre and Cass Business School.
Rob worked on the King’s Fund report for Cass Business School on complexity in leadership and the implications this has for healthcare.
Chichester District Council, Evaluation of the Choose Work scheme on behalf of Chichester in Partnership.
Publications – books
Traeger J and Warwick R (2018) Organisation Development: Bold Explorer’s Guide. Oxford: Libri Publishing.
Warwick R and Board D (2013) The Social Development of Leadership and Knowledge – A Reflexive Inquiry into Research and Practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Publications – recent papers
Warwick, R., McCray, J., & Palmer, A. (forthcoming). Collaborative Autoethnography: Its Use and Revelations in Management and Leadership Research and Publishing. Journal of Autoethnography.
McCray, J., Warwick, R., Palmer, A., & Thompson, T. (2021). The Experiencing temporal patterns of action learning and the implications for leadership development. The International Journal of Management Education, 19(1).
Bradbury, H., Glenzer, K., Ku, B., Columbia, D., Kjellstrom,, S., Arag, A. O., Warwick, R., Traeger, J., Apgar, M., Friedman, V., Chuan Hsia, H., Lifvergren, S., & Gray, P. (2019). What is good action research: Quality choice points with a refreshed urgency. Action Research, 17(1), 14–18.
McCray, J., Warwick, R., & Palmer, A. (2018). Impressions of action and critical action learning: exploring the leadership development of senior doctors in an English healthcare organization. International Journal of Training and Development, 22(1), 69–85.
Warwick, R, & Pete, B. (2018). Bringing Purpose to Life: Reflexive Thoughts and Possibilities. TAMARA Journal of Critical Organization …, 16(1), 13–24.
Warwick, Rob, McCray, J., & Board, D. (2017). Bourdieu’s habitus and field: implications on the practice and theory of critical action learning. Action Learning: Research and Practice, 14(2), 104–119.
Warwick, R, Palmer, A., & McCray, J. (2017). Action learning: ripples within and beyond the set. Leadership in Health Services, 30(2), 138–147.
Warwick, Rob. (2016). Doubt, uncertainty and vulnerability in leadership: using fiction to enable reflection and voice. Tamara: Journal for Critical Organization Inquiry, 14(4), 127–137.
Research
A core feature of his research is the complexity of human interaction at work and how we come to make sense of what we do.
Rob’s recent research activity has focused on the impact action learning has on both the individual and the ripples it creates in the organisation.
Rob takes an active interest in healthcare and was on the Editorial Board of Perspectives in Public Health for ten years. Rob is also on the Editorial Board of the Action Research Journal.
External has undertaken examining and advising roles in subjects such as organisation development, leadership and strategy for the universities of Sussex, Exeter, Edge Hill, Regent’s, Plymouth as well as the Open University.
Research Output
Articles
Warwick, R. and Riedy, C. (2023) Action Researchers Book++ Review. Action Research Journal, 21 (2). pp. 254-255. ISSN 1741-2617
Warwick, R., Khandekar, S., Traeger, J. and Riestra, M. S. (2022) Artfulness in the organisational playground: Actions and choices. Action Research, 20 (1). pp. 3-9. ISSN 1476-7503 10.1177/14767503221080238
Warwick, R., McCray, J. and Palmer, A. (2021) Collaborative Autoethnography: Its Use and Revelations in Management and Leadership Research and Publishing. Journal of Autoethnography, 2 (4). pp. 380-395. ISSN 2637-5192 (In Press) 10.1525/joae.2021.2.4.380
McCray, J., Warwick, R., Palmer, A. and Thompson, T. (2020) Experiencing temporal patterns of action learning and the implications for leadership development. International Journal of Management Education, 19 (1). p. 100433. ISSN 1472-8117 10.1016/j.ijme.2020.100433
Warwick, R. and Traeger, J. (2020) Purpose and ethics of organisation development: moral practice of the moment. Mayvin Website.
Warwick, R. (2019) Communities of impact at the University of Chichester’s Business School. eOrganisations and People, 26 (2). pp. 4-10. ISSN 2042-9797
Bradbury, H., Glenzer, K., Ku, B., Columbia, D., Kjellstr€, S., Arag, A. O., Warwick, R., Traeger, J., Apgar, M., Friedman, V., Chuan Hsia, H., Lifvergren, S. and Gray, P. (2019) What is good action research: Quality choice points with a refreshed urgency. Action Research, 17 (1). pp. 14-18. ISSN 1476-7503 10.1177/1476750319835607
Warwick, R. and Pete, B. (2018) Bringing Purpose to Life: Reflexive Thoughts and Possibilities. TAMARA Journal of Critical Organization Inquiry, 16 (1-2). pp. 13-24. ISSN 1532-5555
Warwick, R. (2018) The ethics and practice of teaching the practice of ethics. e-Organisations & People, 25 (4). pp. 43-52. ISSN 2042-9797
McCray, J., Warwick, R. and Palmer, A. (2018) Impressions of action and critical action learning: exploring the leadership development of senior doctors in an English healthcare organization. International Journal of Training and Development, 22 (1). pp. 69-85. ISSN 1360-3736 10.1111/ijtd.12119
Warwick, R., McCray, J. and Palmer, A. (2017) Action learning: ripples within and beyond the set. Leadership in Health Services, 30 (2). pp. 138-147. ISSN 1751-1879 10.1108/LHS-10-2016-0049
Warwick, R., McCray, J. and Board, D. (2017) Bourdieu’s habitus and field: implications on the practice and theory of critical action learning. Action Learning: Research and Practice, 14 (2). pp. 104-119. ISSN 1476-7341 10.1080/14767333.2017.1296409
Warwick, R. (2017) Doubt, uncertainty and vulnerability in leadership: using fiction to enable reflection and voice. Journal of Critical Organization Inquiry - TAMARA, 14 (4). pp. 99-109. ISSN 1532-5555
Warwick, R. (2016) Routine innovation: complex processes from policy development to implementation. International Journal Business and Globalisation, 17 (4). pp. 541-555. ISSN 1753-3635 10.1504/IJBG.2016.079334
Warwick, R. and MacKenzie, B. (2016) Kaleidoscopic views of trust. e Organisations & People, 23 (4). pp. 3-13. ISSN 2042-9797
Burden, P. and Warwick, R. (2014) The purpose and practice of Conscious Business. eOrganisions & People, 21 (1). pp. 3-10.
Warwick, R. and Burden, P. (2013) Editorial: Exploring conscious business practice - sensing as we act, reacting to what we sense. eOrganisation & People, 20 (4). pp. 3-9.
Warwick, R. and Cunnane, D. (2013) Francis report: what went wrong with NHS leadership? The Guardian.
Board, D. and Warwick, R. (2013) Chief executives are running scared. Health Service Journal. ISSN 0952-2271
Warwick, R. and Board, D. (2012) Reflexivity as methodology: an approach to the necessarily political work of senior groups. Educational Action Research, 20 (1). pp. 147-159. ISSN 0965-0792 10.1080/09650792.2012.647757
Warwick, R. (2012) The intertwining of private conversation and public presentation. eOrganisations and People, 19 (1). pp. 26-32.
Warwick, R. (2011) How to develop a culture of excellence. Health Service Journal.
Warwick, R. (2011) Guest Editorial - Innovation. Perspectives in Public Health, 131. p. 108. ISSN 1757-9139 10.1177/17579139111310030901
Monographs
Warwick, R. and Donaldson, A. (2016) Trust and the emotional bank account. Other. Wolters Kluwer, Kingston-upon-Thames.
Warwick, R. and Donaldson, A. (2016) The emergence of trusting relationships: stories and reflections. Technical Report. Roffey Park Institute, Horsham, UK.
Welbourn, D., Warwick, R., Carnall, C. and Fathers, D. (2012) Leadership for whole systems. Project Report. King's Fund.
Warwick, R. (2011) Reflexivity – an innovative leadership research methodology and an ongoing means to develop personal effectiveness. Working Paper. University of Bedfordshire, University of Bedfordshire.
Conference or Workshop Items
Warwick, R., McCray, J. and Palmer, A. (2016) Building sustainable yet unsettling inter-disciplinary research practices: paying attention to ourselves as researchers. In: British Academy of Management Conference, 5-8 Oct 2016, Newcastle.
Warwick, R. (2014) Gaining leadership insights from literature – an exploration of paradoxical processes and how we might make sense of them. In: The New Romantics of Responsible Leadership: 6th Developing Leadership Capacity Conference, 7-9 July 2014, Lancaster Management School, Lancaster University, UK. (Unpublished)
Warwick, R. and Board, D. (2012) The Social Development of Leadership and Knowledge - Re-thinking Research and Practice: a Summary. In: Centre For Progressive Leadership, 12th Nov 2012, London Metropolitan University.
Books
Warwick, R. and Traeger, J. (2018) Organisation Development: A Bold Explorer's Guide. Libri Publishing, Oxfordshire. ISBN 9781911450221
Warwick, R. and Board, D. (2013) The social development of leadership and knowledge - a reflexive inquiry into research and practice. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. ISBN 9781137005502
Theses
Warwick, R. (2010) The experience of policymaking in healthcare: the interaction of policy formulation and frontline staff practice. Doctoral theses, University of Hertfordshire.
Artefacts
Warwick, R. and Traeger, J. (2020) Artful ways - practice based learning in organisational change - an incitement to humanity. [Artefacts]
Audio
Warwick, R. and Board, D. (2014) Webinar: Dr Watson I presume – thinking of doing a DBA, research or further education after your MBA? [Audio]
