How Leadership is Implemented in Organisations in Cambodia Today

Submission note: Submitted in total fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Department of Occupational Therapy and Social Work and Social Policy, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.

Cambodia is recovering from decades of civil war which destroyed infrastructure and caused devastation to every level of society and weakened social capital. The role of social institutions in rebuilding society is critical and requires people to take leadership roles. Yet leadership capacity among Cambodian nationals was neglected during the early post-war reconstruction period. Thus there is a lack of knowledge about leadership development and implementation. This study aimed to address this gap by exploring the characteristics of leadership in post conflict Cambodia. To achieve this aim, a phenomenological study was conducted. Twenty two participants (eleven men and eleven women) Cambodian born, who held leadership positions in government and non-profit organisations in Cambodia, were invited to share their experience and perceptions of leadership. Semi-structured interviews enabled the researcher to gain insight into participant’s up-bringing, schooling and critical points in their life and path to leadership positions. The participants described their goals, visions and motivations and the support they had, as well as challenges they experienced. The participants explained their ability to implement leadership roles and responsibilities, make decisions achieve organisational goals and develop staff to become competent to take on leadership roles. Thematic analysis identified the leadership styles utilised by the participant leaders, reflect cultural values of Cambodian society and in responding leadership challenges. The leaders asserted themselves as compassionate, intelligent, educated, generous, fair, decisive, confident and self-controlled, which in the Khmer culture are considered as virtuous qualities. They had the ability to develop good relationships and trust with their subordinates and were flexible in employing leadership styles required by the situations. The study findings will be useful to support development of potential leaders in Cambodia and thus contribute to the rebuilding of social capital.