Abstract
Starting with the devolution of some political powers to the Senedd in 1999, civic life in Wales is diverging from that in England. This increasing divergence is leading to a demand for more leaders in Wales. However, it has been said that the Welsh produce “Great foot soldiers but they don’t produce officers”. By using an abductive approach and using the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) this study aims to interview 20 employees of Welsh organisations who claim Welsh identity so as to investigate whether this statement is a deep cultural belief, and therefore a barrier to leadership development in Welsh organisations. By probing for this possible deep cultural barrier, a better understanding of the influence culture has upon leadership formation in Wales can be gained, which could lead to a re-examining of the approaches currently used by Welsh organisations to develop leaders from Wales.