Leadership Identity Construction Research Articles

Leadership identity development, meaning-making and the intersection of marginalized social identities: a scoping review

PurposeThe current paper is part of a larger scoping review project investigating the intersection of leader(ship) identity development and meaning-making. In this review, we analyzed 100 articles to determine the current extent of literature that covers the intersection of leader(ship) identity development, meaning-making and marginalized social identities.Design/methodology/approachA review of the extant literature is included, and a conceptual model is suggested for further exploration into this critical and under-researched domain.FindingsMore research is needed at the intersection of leadership identity development, meaning-making and marginalized social identities.Originality/valueAs this area of study has expanded, scholars have noted an absence of research on the effect of multiple social identities, especially marginalized identities, on meaning-making and leadership identity construction.

The dialectics of leadership identity construction: Case studies from Indigenous women leaders

Challenging oversimplified models, the leader identity literature calls for new perspectives of leadership identity construction (LIC). Using a collective leadership lens and narrative methods, this collaborative study explores how Indigenous women’s leadership identities develop within a contest for power and voice. Observations, interviews, and micro-ethnographies helped identify how history, community dynamics and cultural contradictions influence LIC. We find the LIC process to unfold as a dialectical spiral, informed by contradictions experienced when enacting social identities in various spheres of influence. This highlights the intersectionality of salient identities when theorizing LIC, and suggests that minoritized leaders can resignify and ultimately, capitalize on their multiple identities to strengthen their leadership.

Leadership identity construction in a hybrid medical context: ‘Claimed’ but not ‘granted’

In the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS), the growing number of hybrid clinical leaders has given rise to professional practice and identity struggles. Co-construction theories of leadership point to a need for leaders to engage in significant ‘identity work’ to construct themselves as leaders and to make legitimate claims for a leadership identity to potential followers. Our research aimed to contribute to the leader-follower literature by examining how medical leaders deal with professional identity struggles and changes to traditional work identities. We draw on data from a study of senior hospital doctors (consultant-level doctors from a variety of medical specialties in Health Boards in NHS Scotland). Our findings suggest that most senior hospital doctors in our study struggle to grant leadership identities to their medical leaders who claim such leadership identities, although they seek to see more doctors engaging in leadership. This article contributes to extant research on the influence of medical leadership roles on leader-follower identity construction.

How Distributed Leadership Fosters Individual Leadership Emergence: The Mediating Role of Empowerment Role Identity and Enacted Leader Identity

Departing from past research on managers’ influence on employees’ informal leadership emergence, we explore the mechanism of how distributed leadership enhances individual leadership emergence from a cognitive perspective. Drawing upon the leadership identity construction theory and role identity theory, we theoretically developed and empirically tested a serial mediation model. It examines how distributed leadership promotes employees’ leadership emergence via individual empowerment role identity and enacted leader identity. Using a three-wave field survey from 496 subordinate–supervisor dyads (82 supervisors and 496 employees) in China, we found that empowerment role identity and enacted leader identity serially mediate the association between distributed leadership and employees’ leadership emergence. The results demonstrate the leadership identity construction process of employees’ leadership emergence under distributed leadership. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are then discussed.

“Leisureship”: Impact of pursuing serious leisure on leaders' performance

An increasing number of individuals in leadership roles have a serious leisure interest. We develop a theoretical model of how pursuing serious leisure impacts leaders' performance at work. We propose that a serious leisure interest, through its defining characteristics (effort in mastering a skill, perseverance through adversity, a special ethos, a strong identity, a leisure career), can both promote and harm leaders' performance at work and we examine the conditions under which this can happen. Our theory contributes to research on non-work antecedents of leader performance, to the leader identity construction literature, to theories on the work-nonwork interface and to the serious leisure literature.

Emotional tensions as rewards: An emerging teacher leader's identity construction in EFL textbook development

Textbook development plays an important role in teacher development and educational reforms. Although research has examined how textbook creation may afford teacher identity (re)formation, attention has rarely been given to how this process informs leadership identity construction, especially in times of educational change when leaders often serve dual roles: the role of seeking new teacher identity construction and the role of leader to guarantee the success of textbook development and thus the reform. The construction of both roles may involve great efforts to manage challenges and tensions encountered during the textbook creation process. Grounded in the Douglas Fir Group's (2016) framework of multilayered complexity of language development and situated in a Chinese higher education context, this 3‐year longitudinal case study examined how Gee, a newcomer in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teaching who also led the reform team, formed her identities as both an EAP teacher and a reform leader through her active tension engagement with an EAP textbook development process. Through Gee's narrations, we found that her emotional tensions were negotiated as a rewarding agentive resource for textbook development, from which she also learned to build her interactively co‐reinforcing EAP teacher and reform leader identities.

Agency as power: An ecological exploration of an emerging language teacher leaders' emotional changes in an educational reform.

Teacher emotion, an important aspect of language teacher psychology (LTP), has recently drawn growing attention in language teacher development studies. Previous research has shown that language teachers, typically pressured by heavy workloads, may face emotional challenges from multiplied sources, especially in the context of educational changes such as curriculum reform and the COVID-19 emergency. Current literature on teachers’ emotions largely centers around ordinary language teachers, with teacher leaders whose agentic actions often exert greater influence on the effectiveness of educational changes rarely examined. Situated in a top-tier research university that has been promoting an English for Academic Purposes reform to enhance its science students’ multilingual competence in academic contexts, this longitudinal case study tracked the emotional trajectory of an English teacher, Lea, for 5 years. Adopting an ecological perspective, our study confirms that language teachers’ emotions vary across the reform ecosystems and extends the current inquiry by conceptualizing the intricately interrelated teacher emotion, agency, power, and identity as dynamic constructs. This study also reveals how the reform-inflected emotional changes were associated with Lea’s EAP teacher and teacher leader identity construction, with both identities reinforcing each other, which to some extent reconciled Lea’s emotional tensions. Our study bears significant implications for language teachers involved in educational reform, teacher leaders, and school administrators.

How will I Lead in This Organization? How Individuals Situate Preexisting Leader Identity Content

Based on qualitative data collected at the United States Military Academy (West Point), this research uses a qualitative grounded theory approach to contribute important theoretical insights to our understanding of how leaders construct leader identities in organizations (c.f., Ashforth & Schinoff, 2016). Our theoretical model moves beyond existing research on leader identity construction- which largely treats individuals as blank slates as they construct leader identities- by highlighting the critical role of preexisting leader identity content that individuals bring with them to new organizations. Our model suggests that as organizations utilize sensebreaking and sensegiving to help socialize and guide members towards their preferred prototype of leadership, individuals must figure out how to situate their preexisting leader identities in relation to that prototype. In this process, individuals may discard certain aspects of their preexisting leader identity and/or ignore certain aspects of the organization’s preferred prototype of leadership, resulting in one of four situated leader identity types: Pretender, Adopter, Maverick, or Rogue. Our model uncovers important outcomes associated with these four types of situated leader identities and illustrates how one’s situated leader identity might evolve over time as leaders engage with and learn from new experiences they encounter.

Constructing a Leader Identity: A Video Study of Teams in Interaction

Many leadership researchers now conceptualize leadership as a process of mutual social influence which is bound neither by formal roles nor hierarchy structures. This framing of leadership as inherently social and multi-directional in nature provides rich possibilities for new ways of understanding the interactional and relational processes which in turn lead to the construction of leader and follower identities. This qualitative study attempts to investigate the leader identity construction process through the use of video data. Teams of young adults engaged in an entrepreneurship program were video recorded during their team meetings in order to analyze the leader and follower identity construction process as it took place in real time. Leadership Identity Construction Theory was utilized as the theoretical lens with which to interpret the leader identity construction process, while interaction analysis was used to analyze the video data. Findings suggest that followers play critical roles in the leader identity construction process both as sources of support for leader identity construction as well as acting as challengers to this process. The findings also bring critical new insights regarding how individuals might resist unwanted identities. The paper also outlines how individuals make use of multimodal resources in the construction of their leader identity.

Leading Through Tensions: How, Why and When a Paradox Approach Can Help Create a Better World

In this symposium, we will focus on how leaders cope with the competing tensions ubiquitous in organizational life and how paradoxical leadership improves their followers’ willingness and ability to navigate tensions and competing demands. As much as ever, two years into the COVID-19 global pandemic, tensions from contradictory elements are highly salient, posing significant challenges to organizations and their leaders. To cope with increasing uncertainty and change, leaders must inspire optimism while remaining realistic, cultivate psychological closeness despite employees working remotely and balance health and economy related needs. Moreover, leaders influence the way their followers make sense of tensions and manage competing demands. Their navigation and articulation of paradoxes are therefore closely tied to virtuous dynamics. This symposium will present a theoretical paper and four empirical works, all exploring how, why and when a paradox approach is conducive for leaders in volatile times. Adopting a multi-method, multi-level approach, it investigates how leaders experience and communicate paradoxes, as well as develop paradoxical leadership mindsets and abilities. We address the following questions: 1) How do paradoxical leaders influence their followers identity and creativity? 2) How does a paradoxical approach influence leaders’ position in the social network? 3) How should leaders articulate paradoxical messages? and 4) How can leaders cultivate a paradox mindset? Our discussant, Marianne Lewis, will tie together the research and contribute her unique perspective on the implications for paradox theory and leadership, as well as offer future directions for research. Leadership with Agency and Communion: Implications for Shared Leadership Identity Construction Presenter: Jennifer Linda Sparr; U. of Zurich Presenter: Andreas Wihler; U. of Exeter Business School Communicating from a Distance: Construal Level and Leader’s Communication of Paradoxical Tensions Presenter: Matthew Rubin; INSEAD Presenter: Ella Miron-Spektor; INSEAD Presenter: Yair Berson; McMaster U. How Does Paradoxical Leadership Influence Employee Creativity? Control, Uncertainty, and Culture Presenter: Yan Zhang; Peking U. Presenter: Ying Zhang; Peking U. How a Paradox Mindset Influences Leaders’ Role in a Social Network Presenter: Orit Zommer-Balicer; U. of Haifa Presenter: Dana Rachel Vashdi; U. of Haifa The Role of Intercultural Interactions in Stimulating Paradox Mindset Presenter: Rany Salvoldi; Ben Gurion U. Presenter: Dorit Efrat-Treister; Ben Gurion U. of the Negev Presenter: David M. Brock; Ben-Gurion U.

Novel Applications of Mixture Modeling to Organizational Research

This symposium highlights ways in which organizational researchers can utilize person-centered mixture models in their work. Specifically, this symposium illustrates the application of latent profile analysis (LPA) at both the event and person levels, as well as its extension to also include predictors and outcomes of profile membership. Investigating Newcomer Employees’ Commitment Profiles: A Person-Centered Approach Presenter: Simon Houle; Concordia U. Presenter: Arya Shafei; Concordia U. Presenter: Istvan Toth-Kiraly; Concordia U. Presenter: Alexandre Morin; Concordia U. Understanding Reluctant Leaders: A Person-Centered Approach to Examine Leader Emergence Presenter: Michaela Scanlon; Smith School of Business, Queen's U. Presenter: Ann-Renee Blais; Statistics Canada Presenter: Cindy D. Suurd Ralph; Royal Military College of Canada Presenter: Alyssa Grocutt; Smith School of Business, Queen's U. Presenter: Shani Pupco; Smith School of Business, Queen's U. Presenter: Kaylee Somerville; Smith School of Business, Queen's U. The Daily Grind: Multilevel LPA of Employees’ Motivation During the Work Day Presenter: Matthew McLarnon; Mount Royal U. Presenter: James M. Diefendorff; U. of Akron Presenter: Megan Nolan; - A Person-Centered Analysis of Multi-Domain Leader Identity Construction Presenter: Greg Thrasher; Oakland U. Presenter: Benjamin Biermeir-Hanson; Radford U.

Possibilities and Potential: A Multilevel Analysis of Leader Identity Construction for Faculty of Color

Possibilities and Potential: A Multilevel Analysis of Leader Identity Construction for Faculty of Color

The construction of a leadership identity based on empathy, care, and participation: María Eliana's history

Recent academic research highlights the role of leadership identity when thinking about the improvement of the educational field. Based on this research, this article aims to identify and analyze the elements that affect the development of leadership identity in female school principals within the Chilean context. This is achieved by working from a biographical-narrative approach, specifically from the life history technique. This analysis emerges from a considerate reflection on the teachings, and personal and professional milestones highlighted in the biogram. Both personally and professionally, a multiplicity of elements is observed in the life history of María Eliana, influencing the development of her leadership identity, particularly highlighting her self-recognition as a woman. This identity is oriented towards social justice, based on socio-emotional tools such as care, empathy, and participation; and understands and values the role these elements must take in Chilean education. The case study presents tensions for the Chilean educational system, which must be able to address the complexities that women experience while holding leadership positions, especially when challenged with the perspective that school is an inclusive space of social justice.

The Seeds of Leadership: Experiences of Malaysian Women in Senior Leadership

The scarcity of women in top leadership is a global gender equity issue. Men dominate senior leadership positions in almost all industries. As such, countries are not leveraging on the business case for diversity in top leadership. This gap is problematic in Asia and Malaysia, as well. The 2020 WEF Global Gender Gap Report shows that only 20.4 % of women held senior roles in Malaysia as compared to men at 79.6 %. Though numerous global studies have investigated the barriers and challenges of women leaders, few studies have investigated the lived experiences of women business leaders who have successfully navigated to the top. These elites are not only scarce but challenging to reach. Keywords: leader identity construction, leadership development, hermeneutical phenomenology, women in senior leadership.

Constructions of Leadership Identities via Narratives of African Women School Leaders

The paper explores African women school leaders' constructions of their leadership identity. Using self-perception theory which sees changes in self-perceived leadership skills and dispositions as being related to changes in perceived leader identity, constructions of African women's leadership identity are mapped over a life-long career. Leader identity is, in this sense, inextricably linked to gender and an attempt is therefore made to understand these leader identities as gendered. The paper presents an analysis of the interviews of three women selected from a bigger study of 89 school leaders from four countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The three narratives of women leader identity construction are drawn from three of the four case study countries. The narrative approach to data analysis reflecting women school leaders' experiences of leader identity construction involved reading transcripts and coding them with themes characterizing the processes of becoming a leader and being identified as one. Findings suggest that processes of becoming a leader are influenced by women leaders' experiences of early socialization that gave them ways of doing leadership as well as values and attributes that shape their approach to leadership. These women grew up with a strong perception of who they are, and this instilled a sense of agency that facilitates leaderful actions. These actions were then affirmed through their different stages of growth and career development, thus strengthening their leader identity. It is concluded that understanding women leaders' experiences of leader identity is an important ingredient of leadership development.

Becoming a leader: catalysts and barriers to leader identity construction

ABSTRACT In response to increased calls for research that can provide greater understanding of the relational and contextual issues surrounding leader identity construction processes, this qualitative study aims to provide insights into the subjective experience of constructing a leader identity within the context of organizations. Drawing on data from 50 semi-structured interviews, this paper focuses on significant sub-themes, which were grouped into two categories, namely identity catalysts (e.g. issues that participants identified as positively aiding in their leader identity construction process) and identity barriers (e.g. issues that participants identified as negatively impacting their leader identity construction process). These catalysts and barriers will be elaborated upon and their relationship to leader identity explained. This paper provides new insights into the leader identity construction process by using Leadership Identity Construction Theory as a lens for interpretation, and offers notable implications for theory, research and practice.

Am I a Leader? Incongruence in the Leader Identity Construction Process (WITHDRAWN)

Grounded in the relationship-based approach to leadership and leadership identity construction theory, this study examines the implications of incongruence between collective endorsement and the other two elements of the leader identity construction process – individual internalization and relational recognition. Scholars suggest collective endorsement assumes a uniformity of perceptions of leader identity throughout the group, but by relaxing this assumption this study examines the significant implications of incongruence in leader identity perceptions. Specifically, I suggest that incongruence between two elements of the leader identity construction process disrupts the process, which has significant implications for an individual’s well-being. Using data from 106 individuals on a collegiate football team in the United States over 12 consecutive weeks, I find incongruence between collective endorsement and each of the either two elements (relational recognition and individual internalization) is positively related to perceptions of job demands in the workplace which then leads to diminished well-being. Interestingly, when looking in-depth at the incongruence between individual internalization and collective endorsement, I found that when internalization was high and collective endorsement was low, perceived job demands were enhanced; however, when internalization was low and collective endorsement was high, perceived job demands were minimized. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The Capacious Model and Leader Identity: An Integrative Framework

The Integrated Capacious Model of Leadership Identities Construction (ICM) is a framework for understanding leader identity that integrates four extant leader identity theories with the systems and influences in the Capacious Model of leader identity. The ICM's systems (Individual System, Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem, and Chronosystem) contextualize leader identity in time and space; its influences (Purpose/Calling, Self‐Identity, Social Identity, and Relationships) pinpoint select factors that affect the construction of leader identities; and its integrated theories (Narrative Identity, Identity Theory, Social Identity Theory, and Social Constructionism) address the leader identity construction process. The ICM speaks to calls for interdisciplinary, multi‐level frameworks that are situated within the stream of scholarly literature on leader identity, as the model presents leader identity as a construct located across space, time, and people, rather than the purview of a heroic leader or single instance of identity claiming. Connecting established identity theories, systems, and influences results in a descriptive, practical model of leader identity. Examples are provided of the practical utility of using the ICM as a diagnostic tool for constructing a leader identity, designing leader development programs, and identifying gaps in leader identity scholarship.

The building blocks of shared leadership: The interactive effects of diversity types, team climate, and time

AbstractDespite the wealth of empirical studies and recent meta‐analyses demonstrating the positive performance effects of shared leadership, knowledge regarding antecedents is limited. We draw upon a collective approach to leadership identity construction theory and team diversity in order to understand the member attributes that impact leadership sharing. We suggest that both informational/functional and social categorization diversity types are important dimensions when considering shared leadership antecedents. First, we suggest functional diversity will result in higher levels of shared leadership but will only be realized when teams elicit a cooperative climate. Second, we suggest that gender diversity, a salient social category, will have a negative impact on shared leadership, particularly in a low cooperative climate. We further hypothesize these effects will change over time as the positive effects of functional diversity strengthen and the negative effects of gender differences weaken. We test our hypotheses, including the impact on team performance, in a time‐lagged sample of 267 undergraduate students in 73 teams competing in a complex business simulation and a constructive replication with 142 MBA students in 41 teams. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Leadership coaching: a multiple-case study of urban public charter school principals’ experiences

ABSTRACTThe purpose of our multi-case study was to understand the experiences of non-novice New York City and Washington, DC public charter school principals who had participated in leadership coaching as a component of their leadership development. Eight New York City and Washington DC public charter school principal cases were selected through purposeful sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, documents, and artifacts, which were analyzed, coded and grouped into three broader themes: the coaching process, the impact of coaching, and principal leader identity construction. The findings supported the following conclusions: (a) Participants’ experiences of coaching were inconsistent with the coaching literature; (b) The impact of coaching was shaped by perceived competencies of the coach and the structure of the coaching session; and (c) Participants’ leader identity construction was supported through the process of coaching.