Leadership In Context Research Articles

This cloud has a silver lining: Gender diversity, managerial ability, and firm performance

In this study we explore the mediating role of managerial ability in the relationship between gender diversity and firm performance. Drawing on diversity, gender, and upper echelon theories, we propose that the addition of unique female perspectives and leadership styles will afford gender-diverse TMTs a managerial capability advantage over equally talented yet homogeneous male teams; and this link between gender diversity and managerial capability will be more pronounced in times of crisis. Our results confirm our hypotheses. Our key finding is that increasing female representation in TMTs has a substantial and direct influence on overall managerial capabilities and elicits positive performance effects both in times of stability and more so, in times of crisis. Notably, and unique to this study, we show that managerial ability completely (partially) mediates the gender diversity-performance link suggesting that feminine traits and transformational leadership styles are more efficacious in contemporary leadership contexts than generally believed.

The impact of sexism on leadership in female-male climbing dyads

We investigated how sexism affected leadership in mixed-gender alpine climbing-dyads. We asked whether benevolent sexism would impair, and hostile sexism would increase (as a form of resistance) women’s leadership; and whether benevolent sexism would increase men’s leadership (as a form of paternalism). A correlational study assessed reported leading behaviour of alpine climbers. Then a vignette-based experiment presented climbers with cross-gender targets, of which three were sexist (non-feminist), and one feminist (non-sexist), and assessed leading intentions depending on targets’ and participants’ gender attitudes. Findings showed that women endorsing benevolent sexism indicated lower leading intentions with targets expressing benevolent sexism (i.e., benevolent and ambivalent men) as compared to hostile sexist men. Moreover, women’s benevolent sexism negatively affected their leading intentions with men endorsing the same gender ideology. Unexpectedly, women with low endorsement of hostile sexism reported higher leading intentions with a hostile sexist man than an ambivalent one, and with an ambivalent than a benevolent man. Conversely, men intended to lead more with female targets who expressed benevolent sexism, accommodating these women’s expectations. Further, men intended to lead more with ambivalent women, than with women deviating from gender stereotypes (i.e., feminist women, or hostile sexist women – who lack expected benevolence based on gender stereotypes). We conclude that benevolent sexism likely reinforces traditional gender roles in a leadership context when men face women who fit the gender stereotype; and when women are benevolently sexist, themselves. Moreover, low hostile sexist women confront men’s hostility with higher leading intentions, as a form of resistance.

Investing in Queensland's rural medical leaders: Lessons from the Queensland Rural Generalist Program.

To improve the leadership capacity of existing Queensland Rural Generalists and support the emerging leaders needed to assume future leadership roles. A customised leadership program for medical Rural Generalists, embedded in professional standards, was developed and delivered during 2016-2018. Pre and post-program and individual module evaluations from two Program cohorts were analysed. Qualitative, semi-structured phone interviews (n=30) discussing participant views on leadership in a rural context and their Program experience were also conducted. The Rural Generalist Leadership for Clinicians Training Program runs over twelve months and includes three residential modules as well as online learning sets. Forty-four participants completed the Program and obtained Associate Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators. Development and delivery of the Rural Generalist Leadership for Clinicians Training Program. Participant's ability to apply Program learning in a rural leadership context. Participant views on leadership in a rural context. Participants indicated they benefited most from the 'understanding self' and management aspects of the Program such as finance, budgeting, and understanding and navigating broader health system governance. They greatly valued the opportunity to enhance their professional networks and relationships and have since developed a regular forum to assist in the transition from individual leadership development to the development of the broader workforce and organisation. The results of this study suggest that further attention and investment in medical leadership is warranted to support and enable the Rural Generalist workforce to continue to meet the complex, context-specific needs of the communities within which they deliver vital health services.

Coffee, Courage, and Cannabis: Leading Change in the Regulated Marijuana Market

As Washington approaches another anniversary of marijuana regulation, lessons learned serve as a reminder that courageous leadership is a critical component in successful forward movement in a complex, unstable authorizing environment. What does leadership look like in this context, and how is it experienced? Offered from the perspective of a pracademic and regulatory leader in the nascent marijuana industry in Washington State, this paper explores the underpinnings and practical application of complexity theory in both the public administration and leadership contexts, going beyond theoretical, metaphorical application, and actually engaging scholarship and complexity through the emerging theory of engaged complexity.

The Refined Middle-Range Theory on Women's Leadership in Asian Culture.

Introduction: Because virtually no theories were available to explain unique characteristics of Asian women's leadership in nursing, a middle-range theory on women's leadership in Asian culture was previously published. To reflect recent political and social changes in different countries, there is a necessity to refine the theory. The purpose of this article is to present the refined middle-range theory on Asian women's leadership in nursing. Methodology: Using an integrative approach, the theory was further developed based on two major sources: literature reviews and exemplars/cases from six different countries. Results: The Refined Middle-Range Theory on Women's Leadership in Asian Culture has two main domains: (a) leadership frames and (b) leadership contexts. The domain of leadership contexts has been extended with two additional main concepts including demographic contexts and health workforce/system contexts. Discussion: The refined theory is expected to guide Asian women's leadership in nursing across the globe.

Should I stay or should I go? The role of leadership and organisational context for hospital physicians\u2019 intention to leave their current job

BackgroundPhysician turnover is a concern in many health care systems globally. A better understanding of physicians’ reasons for leaving their job may inform organisational policies to retain key personnel. The aim of this study was to investigate hospital physicians’ intention to leave their current job, and to investigate if such intentions are associated with how physicians assess their leaders and the organisational context.MethodsData was derived from a survey of 971 physicians working in public hospitals in Norway in 2016. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis.ResultsWe found that 21.0% of all hospital physicians expressed an intention to leave their current job for another job. An additional 20.3% of physicians had not made up their mind whether to stay or leave. Physicians’ perceptions of their leaders and the organisational context influence their intention to leave their hospital. Respondents who perceived their leaders as professional-supportive had a significantly lower probability of reporting an intention to leave their job. The analysis suggests that organisational context, such as department mergers, weigh in on physicians’ considerations about leaving their current job. Social climate and commitment are important reasons why physician stay.ConclusionsA professional-supportive leadership style may have a positive influence on retention of physicians in public hospitals. Further research should investigate how retention of physicians is associated with performance related to organisational and leadership style.

Millennial Leaders: Ready or Not, Here They Come

Millennial Leaders: Ready or Not, Here They Come

Principal leadership for students with disabilities in effective inclusive schools

PurposeCreating inclusive schools for students with disabilities is a major leadership responsibility for principals throughout the world. Each national, regional and local context is different, but every principal can help create and support inclusive schools. The purpose of this article is to describe the evolving context of inclusive education and school leadership in the United States aligning what is known to an established leadership framework (Hitt and Tucker, 2016), as there are similarities between the Hitt and Tucker domains and the work of leaders in inclusive schools. The authors emphasize that inclusive leadership is consistent with existing conceptualizations of principals' work. The authors consider specific policies and organizational conditions that support inclusive schools and highlight successes and continuing challenges for principals that can be applied throughout the world.Design/methodology/approachThis paper utilizes an exploratory approach to review the US policy-related and empirical literature on school leadership for effective inclusive schools. The authors draw across time from research syntheses in school and inclusive leadership from leading journals in educational leadership, special education and edited volumes focused on school leadership. The authors analyze common themes centered on leadership practice, organizational and social conditions and challenges.FindingsThe research review identified effective leadership practices that support inclusive education in the United States and provides a critical discussion of how these findings relate to international research and practice.Practical implicationsThe paper considers the relevance of national policy contexts coupled with a review of school leadership for inclusive schools that is insightful for policymakers and practitioners seeking to create more inclusive schools throughout the world.Originality/valueThe paper offers a situated review of leadership for inclusive schools in the United States. As such, this review lays the foundation for a comparative and international conversation on school leadership for inclusion.

Impostor syndrome: an integrative framework of its antecedents, consequences and moderating factors on sustainable leader behaviors

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to integrate impostor syndrome and leadership research to identify antecedents of impostor syndrome, their impact on sustainable leader behaviors. The paper also postulates the moderating effect of mindfulness and leader member exchange on impostor syndrome and sustainable leader behaviors, respectively.Design/methodology/approachThe paper relies on an integrative approach of literature review on impostor syndrome and leadership. After identifying gaps in impostor syndrome research and its intersectionality with the constructs of contextual leadership theory, an integrative conceptual framework was formulated incorporating antecedents, consequences and moderators of impostor syndrome.FindingsThree antecedents of impostor syndrome were identified from the literature, namely, gender, family/social role expectation and personality traits. Additionally, this paper also unearths contextual factors as yet another antecedent to impostor syndrome. Negative impact of impostor syndrome on leader behaviors such as managerial decision-making, innovative work behavior (IWB) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) were established by connecting those to the three primary characteristics of impostor syndrome, namely, low self-efficacy, fear of failure and perceived fraudulence, respectively. Finally, the paper also posits the moderating role of leader member exchange and mindfulness and proposes mindfulness training as an effective intervention for impostor syndrome.Research limitations/implicationsThis being a conceptual paper will benefit from empirical studies that corroborate theoretical posits. The scope of studying the effect of impostor syndrome on sustainable leader behavior was limited to three major variables, namely, managerial decision-making, IWB and OCB. Thus, it calls for a more elaborate model of impostor syndrome including other relevant leader behaviors.Practical implicationsThe model when applied in organizational context addresses the need for mindfulness training to reduce the effect of impostor syndrome among leaders. Leaders will exhibit sustainable behaviors when provided with the right kind of training.Originality/valueThe study attempts to integrate the two independent constructs, impostor syndrome and leadership to establish a novel and meaningful connection and throws light to the unaddressed antecedents, consequences and moderators of its impact on sustainable leader behaviors. From learning and development practitioners’ perspective, it also signifies the effectiveness of mindfulness training among employees’ personal and professional development.

Between legal requirements and local traditions in school improvement reform in Austria: School leaders as gap managers

AbstractThe implementation of a new school type has changed the context of school leadership in Austrian lower secondary schools. An interview study with 25 secondary‐school leaders was undertaken. The goal of the study was to inquire how school leaders conceptualise their role in the local policy adaptation of a centrally driven reform. The results indicate that school leaders saw themselves as double agents in facing increasing demands from within and without schools for legitimating their work. Neo‐institutionalist theory is used for explaining the role of school leaders as gap managers. The concept of gap management is deployed for describing the role of school leaders as balancing multiple and contradictory interests at school and among local actors such as teachers, parents, students, and community partners.

Leader Interpersonal Emotion Regulation and Follower Performance

Abstract. Interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) refers to the actions of influencing other people’s feelings. We apply this construct to the context of leadership to determine whether leader IER may explain followers’ performance. Drawing on emotions-as-social-information theory, we argue that leader strategies to improve or worsen followers’ feelings would be related to followers’ affect and thereby to their performance. We tested these proposals using a multisource field study involving 31 leaders and 157 followers. Results from multilevel modeling supported a mediation model in which leaders’ attempts to improve their followers’ feelings enhance followers’ task performance via the followers’ experience of positive affect. In contrast, leaders’ use of affect-worsening actions was associated with the experience of followers’ negative affect, but not related to task performance. These findings contribute by expanding knowledge on the affective underpinnings of the leader–follower relationship and informing the development of leadership interventions aimed to foster employee performance.

Amit Mukherjee: seven principles shaping digital strategy and leadership

Purpose In his new book, Leading in the Digital World: How to Foster Creativity, Collaboration and Inclusiveness, MIT leadership expert, Amit S. Mukherjee identifies seven principles that together help to define the new context for work, organization and leadership. Design/methodology/approach The seven principles offer a valuable template for corporate leaders everywhere seeking to understand the new leadership imperatives of the digital age and why the new era “calls for a new kind of leader – one who emphasizes creativity, collaboration and inclusivity.” Findings Today, discovering and serving unpredicted, unmet needs creates great customer value. A group that can draw on a multitude of lived experiences is more likely to uncover those than a cloistered, self-aggrandizing one. Practical implications The digital world requires executives to have a true collaboration instinct because, typically, no group possesses all the intellectual property necessary to accomplish creative, mission-critical tasks. Originality/value Amit Mukherjee’s seven principles offer a new set of insights into the shaping of emerging digital strategy and leadership. The message for leaders: Recognize that in the digital world you must primarily be the connector of people and ideas, not their approver or decider

The stories that make us: Leaders’ origin stories and temporal identity work

The stories we tell about our origins can shape how we think and act – helping us make sense of and communicate who we have “become” over time. To better understand the role that origin stories play in individuals’ work lives, we explore how 92 men and women leaders make sense of “becoming” a leader (origin stories) and “doing” leadership (enactment stories). We find that, despite the uniqueness of their experiences, their narratives converge around four frames, being, engaging, performing, and accepting, through which they understand, articulate, and enact their leader identities. We theorize that these narrative frames serve as sensemaking and identity work devices which allow them to create temporal coherence, validate their leader identity claims, and offer them behavioral scripts. Our findings also unearth key gender differences in the use of these frames, in that men used the performing frame more often and women tended toward the engaging frame. These findings provide novel insights into the ways in which the gendered context of leadership becomes embedded in leaders’ understandings of who they are and what they intend to do in their roles. We discuss the theoretical implications of our findings on scholarly conversations around identity, leadership, and gender.

ACHIEVING EXECUTIVE PRESENCE: INTEGRATING THE SEVEN DIMENSIONS OF LEADERSHIP INTELLIGENCE

AbstractThis article notes that leaders want to develop their executive presence, a concept elaborated on by authors such as Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Suzanne Bates. The article also expands upon my concept of Seven Dimensions of Leadership Intelligence®: Physical Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, Pragmatic Intelligence, Communication Intelligence, Heart Intelligence, Neuroscience Intelligence, and Consciousness Intelligence. It is stressed that there is no hierarchy in these dimensions; all carry equal importance. Transforming something in one dimension impacts the whole executive presence of the leader. Each dimension is described in detail; for instance, Pragmatic Intelligence relates to consensus reality: bringing together areas such as vision, goals, strategies, events, to‐do lists, and action plans. Research is cited from a 2015 Cornell University study, and the effectiveness of the Personality Pattern Inventory (PPI), developed by Dr. Taibi Kahler, is noted. Detailed case studies from my executive coaching practice are provided, with examples of how the seven dimensions are woven together; and readers are guided to greater awareness of authenticity in leadership. The article also explores the relationship between emotional sensitivity and vulnerability, within the context of leadership. Two illustrative figures are included, to further amplify the message.

Views of Psychosocial and Organizational Dimensions: The Case of Two Elementary School Leaders

Using a case study approach, the authors explored psychosocial and organizational dimensions of leadership among two elementary school leaders (principals) in Southern California. At each school, interviews with the school's principal as well as two key informants were conducted, and we analyzed the findings based on principals' mental models, self-efficacy, and immunities to change. Using Kellar and Slayton's leadership framework, we considered how psychosocial and organizational leadership contexts fostered conditions to promote organizational change. The findings for this study highlight some of the conditions principals believed were important for organizational improvement as well as challenges faced. Findings indicate that psychological and organizational dimensions reveal complexities of educational leadership by providing a fine-grained portrait of leadership and organizational learning. A study implication is that leaders must not only have time for reflection but also be open to identifying their immunities that may deter efforts at growth and change. Research directions are proposed, including further exploration of how leaders' efforts are shaped by their contexts as well as particular challenges experienced in the role.

Gender identity relevance predicts preferential neural processing of same-gendered faces

ABSTRACT The very early perceptional processes that underlie social categorization can be detected with event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Using this methodology, the present work aims to detect differential attentional processing of ingroup and outgroup members based on gender categories. Specifically, three EEG studies tested how factors that enhance social identity relevance, namely gender identification and contextual salience of gender representation, moderate neural gender categorization effects. Study 1 showed that both women (Study 1a) and men (Study 1b) were more likely to show preferential attention to ingroup over outgroup members, but only when they identified strongly with their gender group. Study 2 showed that when gender categories in an intergroup leadership context were made salient (i.e., when women were numerically underrepresented versus equally represented compared to men), women, irrespective of their level of gender identification, showed preferential attention to ingroup over outgroup members. Together, this work provides empirical evidence for (1) the neural gender categorization effect among both men and women as soon as 100 ms after face perception and (2) the moderating role of factors that enhance social identity relevance in early gender categorization.

Gornall, L., Thomas, B., & Sweetman, L. (Eds.). (2018). Exploring consensual leadership in higher education: Co-operation, collaboration and partnership. London, England: Bloomsbury.

This is the third book that I have reviewed in the series, Perspectives on Leadership in Higher Education, published by Bloomsbury. The book is written within the context of leadership involving interconnectivity with staff and building consensus on future strategies to embrace the issues confronting universities. The book is written around the challenges facing universities in an increasingly corporatised environment facing challenges of marketisation, internationalisation and the need to agree on approaches to deal with increasing global complexity and fragmentation.It is interesting to reflect on styles of leadership across society in the current era. At the highest political levels, we are finding it increasingly difficult to build a majority consensus on approaches to things like climate change, migration and economic policy settings. Politics in democratic societies have become dominated by populist politicians and coalitions of minority groups pushing for individual agendas rather than a collective agenda as may have been apparent in the past. In other parts of the world, authoritarian rule has been strengthened.

Divergence in social traits in Trinidadian guppies selectively bred for high and low leadership in a cooperative context

In many animal species, individuals with certain morphological, physiological, or behavioural traits may have a disproportionately large role in determining group behaviour. While most empirical studies of leadership have focused on behaviour of individuals exploring new environments or foraging, little is known about leading behaviour in other ecological contexts. Here, we use a selective breeding design in the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata) to quantify the heritability of leadership in a cooperative context, and determine the behavioural traits associated with it. Firstly we found that phenotypic selection for high and low leadership (HL and LL, respectively) over three filial generations resulted in pronounced differences in leadership tendency with a moderate degree of heritability. In our assay of other social traits, LL males were more aggressive and sampled their social environment less than HL males, but HL and LL females did not differ in either aggressiveness or sociability. Traits such as boldness and exploratory tendency did not diverge between the two lines. Leading behaviour was thus associated with social traits in males, but not females; suggesting that there may be sex-specific mechanisms driving the emergence of leadership in this context. We discuss our findings in the context of the evolution of cooperation.

A Model of Virtuous Leadership in Africa: Case Study of a Nigerian Firm

The nature and extent of Africa’s leadership challenge has been explored from multi-theoretical perspectives finding that amongst other issues, it is ethical in nature. This study therefore aimed to investigate and present a model of virtuous leadership within an indigenous African firm’s context drawing from the African virtue ethics of Afro-communitarianism. Using a qualitative case study design, it explored a model of virtuous leadership within a leading Nigerian pharmaceutical brand. Data was collected from multiple primary sources including semi-structured interviews and informal conversations as well as secondary sources. This study found a virtuous leadership model underpinned by four African primary virtues—Truthfulness, Courage, Humility and Humanity within a context of communitarianism. It also found that the nature and practice of these four virtues by the leaders within the context positively shaped employees’ moral characters through visible modelling but not without its flaws. It concluded that virtuous leadership models are essential within the African leadership context to rise above existing status quo to build communities of practices that are not business as usual but seeking the ultimate end of facilitating the flourishing of immediate and wider communities alike.

Co-creating a visual thesaurus for the role of design thinking in management decision making

The workshop will engage participants to co-create concept maps and a visual thesaurus associated with ‘design thinking’. For design researchers, scholars and practitioners this workshop aims to expose the epistemological challenges and opportunities associated with ‘design thinking’ in management and leadership contexts. Concept mapping is a tool and technique that aims to enable visual thinking and knowledge organization skills. It offers a way to externalize understanding of complex topics (i.e. design thinking) in terms of both intra- and inter-personal relationships (i.e. within the management domain). A visual thesaurus displays semantic connections using pictures or images, not words. It aids in recognizing visually similar events or visual synonyms. Workshop participants will be guided through a series of visual thinking and design techniques to develop concept maps and a visual thesaurus for ‘design thinking’ and design-related terminologies within the management discourse. The outputs generated from the workshop will reflect a multidisciplinary understanding of the subject for knowledge translation and identify future research goals