How leaders navigate dysfunctional interdependency: the interplay between leading and politicking in Ghanaian public hospitals

In this study, we explore why and how leaders deploy political behaviour to overcome dysfunctional interdependency in public organizations. Employing grounded theory methodology and analysing interview data from managers of public hospitals in Ghana, we uncover how structural and emotional factors create dysfunctional interdependency and how managers use trans-spherical leadership – an approach that conceives effective leadership as orchestrating influence beyond a manager’s focal sphere – to overcome this situation. Trans-spherical leadership has two dimensions (buffering and bridging), three levels (micro-lobby, meso-lobby, and macro-lobby) and two mechanisms (substance and signal). We also found that it serves as a foundational approach that underpins the successful deployment of other leadership styles. Together, our findings highlight the role of political behaviour in effective leadership as well as the synonymity of effective leadership and internal politicking in dysfunctional conditions, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of public leadership as a political process.