Navigating the double bind: Transformations to balance contextual responsiveness and authenticity in women’s leadership development

Gelaye Debebe

doi:10.1080/23311975.2017.1313543

Abstract

AbstractWomen leaders’ double bind arises from followers’ contradictory expectations that are rooted in the societal female gender role and the organizational leader role. Using qualitative data from alumnae of the Women’s Leadership Series (WLS) of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research, this paper examines whether and how formal training enables women to more effectively navigate this double bind. Findings show that the WLS fostered four types of leadership transformations: hidden to visible leadership, inflexible to receptive leadership, attenuated to expanded leadership, and discouraged to inspired leadership. Interpreting these transformations through the lens of three ideas from the leadership effectiveness literature—context, authenticity, and behavior—this paper proposes a grounded theory, dual contingency model of leadership effectiveness for women. The model suggests that effective leadership behavior accounts for the demands of context and authenticity and identifies fou...

Highlights

This paper addresses the overall question of whether and how leadership development training can help to improve women’s leadership effectiveness
The objective of this paper is to offer an interpretive analysis of qualitative data obtained from interviews with 24 Women’s Leadership Series (WLS) alumnae to illuminate how critical learning experiences can produce transformation in habitual thought patterns, which in turn result in leadership transformation
The model is composed of three aspects: habitual patterns of thinking that produce ineffective leadership behavior, critical learning that catalyzes transformation in habitual thought patterns, and new patterns of thinking and behaving that improve leadership effectiveness

Summary

Introduction

This paper addresses the overall question of whether and how leadership development training can help to improve women’s leadership effectiveness. By looking at training impacts from learners’ perspective, this paper illuminates an often-ignored but critical aspect of leadership development, namely the transformation of habitual thought patterns. Since shifts in unhelpful and habitual thought patterns may precede behavior change, it is important to identify the various forms these patterns might take and how they might change to improve leadership practice. The objective of this paper is to offer an interpretive analysis of qualitative data obtained from interviews with 24 WLS alumnae to illuminate how critical learning experiences can produce transformation in habitual thought patterns, which in turn result in leadership transformation.

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Conclusion