Leadership transformation: what does it take for a traditional manager to transform into a contemporary leader?

My research question is what does it take for a traditional manager to transform into a contemporary leader? It was born from frustration with the extant leadership literature of the positivist tradition and an opportunity to draw on privileged access to seven CEOs who had demonstrated positive shifts in both their leadership effectiveness and organisational performance, supported by additional quantitative third party evidence of their 'leadership transformation'. Invoking the work of key social constructionist authors, I have used a narrative approach to explore how the CEOs interpreted the nature and causes of their transformation 'success'. Drawing on in-depth interviews with the seven CEOs, and collaboration with a broader 'community of research', I developed seven reflective narratives to provide insight into the character and context of each CEO's journey. The narratives are then interpreted by way of seven metaphors designed to be used in a 'generative' fashion to stimulate further insights into leadership transformation. The contribution of this study to management practitioners, my primary audience, is to inspire reflection and action. This contribution has already begun through speaking engagements that have been completed by me and the CEOs in this study to several thousand members of my management practitioner audience.