Leadership Narratives Research Articles

Beyond the Narratives on the Traits of Empathetic Leadership-Discovery from 20 Global Business Leaders

In the leadership literature, “empathetic leadership” as the narration of leadership traits is much more recent than that of other theories. Though empathetic leadership is a new behavior-based narrative of leadership, it has been attracting the attention of a lot of researchers around the world. P Progressing through the trajectory, the narrations on empathetic leadership have been focusing on trait-based theoretical explorations. Beyond narrations of traits and characteristics, inquiries on what empathic leaders do, what activities they focus on to create their enterprises as empathic organizations, whether there are any action-based models of empathetic leaders, etc. may enrich the leadership scholars. The present study is conducted based on examples of their activities and focus areas of empathetic action in order for their organization to examine the theoretical narratives of the earlier study. It has not been an attempt to refute all narrative but has been given an effort for narrative for empathetic leaders to prove with examples of global leaders. The study has clarified many traits and actions of empathetic leaders with a simplified, indicative model for explanation.

Regina Jonas: a life of aspiration and inspiration

PurposeLeadership educators have the responsibility to help students hear the stories of those who may otherwise be forgotten. There is great value to unearthing the stories of those who have been cast aside due to neglect or malice, both historically and in contemporary society. Given the interdisciplinary nature of leadership education, we benefit from a historical lens which helps us to understand who we are and where we come from. One transformative leader whose story impacts us immensely and whose story we believe would benefit leadership educators to learn about is the story of Rabbi Regina Jonas, the first woman to be ordained as a Rabbi.Design/methodology/approachThe article offers a rich narrative account of experiences, people and lessons learned when considering an impactful leader.FindingsThe often untold story of the first known woman rabbi shifts the male dominated narrative of leadership, particularly leadership in religious communities.Originality/valueThough we have never met Regina Jonas, her story has shaped our study and practice of leadership and her triumphs live on in the spirits of women who lead with resilience, tenacity and fortitude today.

Harmonizing Political and Marketing Aesthetics: Insights from The Chess Olympiad 2022

This article explores how the Government of Tamil Nadu, India, utilised strategic mass communication methods that emerged from a fusion of political and marketing strategies to create an aesthetic approach that elevated Chess Olympiad 2022, an event typically less in the public eye, into a spectacle that captured widespread attention by focusing on the event’s impact on their cultural identity and the subsequent construction of a narrative of global cultural leadership. The marketing strategy of the Government of Tamil Nadu, India may be considered an aesthetic application of the theory of symbolic interactionism, as it employed literary, musical arts and visual arts across Chennai, that ensured active engagement of individuals in the city with the government's aesthetic representations. These visual representations acted as symbolic cues, inviting interaction and sparking the curiosity of the the whole host city, the Government of Tamil Nadu, India succeeded in turning Chess into a spectator sport, and by doing so, forged a key place in the national identity for Chess by building a narrative of collective linguistic and cultural identity. Since all citizens do not have an expert level knowledge on government policies, the media narrative that is built around any government policy determines its perceived success. The media narrative of Chess Olympiad 2022 was the narrative of India emerging as a global leader in cultural diplomacy - a soft power approach that is shaped by aesthetics. In dissecting the intricate interplay between mass communication, aesthetics, and societal identity formation, this study elucidates the transformative role of these strategies during the Chess Olympiad 2022, highlighting their profound implications within the socio-cultural landscape.

Early childhood teachers engaging with leadership narratives in policy

Educational leadership resists a unifying definition, assumption, or theory. This complexity encourages us to learn about leadership to understand its core components, underlying assumptions, and relevance for context. In Aotearoa New Zealand, policy rhetoric promotes leadership as being enacted by teachers and positional leaders. This consideration for teachers is positive but problematic, as it requires them to consider leadership in ways beyond what they feel equipped or supported to achieve. Augmenting this concern is the limited professional learning support for leadership development, especially in early childhood, and the increasing responsibility for teachers to achieve policy aspirations. To understand the rhetoric used to emphasise this responsibility, we utilise qualitative document analysis to examine the leadership narratives promoted in the Teaching Council’s Leadership Strategy and Capability Framework, from the perspectives of provisionally certificated teachers, teacher leaders, and positional leaders. Our argument suggests the leadership narratives promulgated by these texts are ambitious and raise issues of: coherence, contextualisation, and complexity. We discuss these issues in relation to support for teachers to critically engage with policy texts as important leadership learning.

To Mica With Love

A growing body of research exploring the lives of Black Canadian students largely focuses on achievement and disciplinary outcomes. Such scholarship centers the negative experiences of Black boys, overlooking the quotidian lives of Black Canadian girls in public schools. The lack of educational research engaging Black Canadian girls hinders scholars, educators, and communities from fully reimagining schools for liberation. Drawing from literature and personal stories, this arts-informed autoethnography investigates how I partnered with three Black Canadian girls to reconceptualize their role in research processes. The study relied on disability critical race theory (DisCrit), Black feminist notions of homeplace, and Endarkened storywork to share and analyze narratives of Black girl leadership and innovation. The study revealed how Black researchers and Black Canadian girls used the arts, storytelling, and space to reimagine research processes as homeplace. The study emphasized the need for scholars to engage in research that uphold marginalized Black girls as producers and leaders striving for social change.

Female Leadership in Wine Tourism in Portugal

Abstract Based on data collected from managers of wine tourism businesses in rural areas in Portugal, this study highlights the equal potential of female leadership in wine tourism. Specifically, women’s profiles, management practices and leadership narratives were analyzed and contrasted with corresponding data reported by their male counterparts. Concerning personality traits, no statistical difference between men and women was identified, which was also the case for some management practices, with sustainability concerns being important for both male and female business managers. Differences were found in communication with markets, being dominated by online devices, particularly with social networks in the case of women. As for their leadership position, women further tend to prefer a shared management approach in opposition to a more individualist management style followed by men.

Understanding the Complexities of Leadership and Intersectionality in Women in Tourism Research: A Conceptual Analysis

Research on women in leadership within the tourism sector has spanned several decades. However, much of this inquiry has narrowly focused on the experiences of white, middle-class women, inadvertently sidelining the leadership narratives of women from diverse backgrounds. This study adopts an intersectional lens to explore the intricate dynamics of women's leadership roles in tourism. Intersectionality theory, which acknowledges the complex interplay of social identities such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class, serves as a pivotal framework for understanding these multifaceted experiences. Through an examination of the relational dynamics within leadership constructs, this conceptual study delves into how intersecting identities shape individual experiences. The study emphasizes the need for a more expansive conceptualization of gender in leadership analysis within the tourism sector. By integrating intersectionality theory, researchers can gain deeper insights into the diverse experiences of women in leadership positions. Moreover, applying an intersectional perspective to women in leadership tourism research illuminates the unique challenges faced by women from marginalized backgrounds, thus fostering a more inclusive understanding of leadership in the tourism industry.

Bringing utopian visioning to educational leadership: participatory action research as professional learning

ABSTRACT This article describes the Future Creating Workshop (FCW) and explores how it can create learning forums for participatory leadership. We investigate how FCW can be an effective form of professional development for educational leaders and explore what leaders learn from implementing FCWs in their settings. The FCW, a three-phase participatory process, invites community members to identify a pressing problem, critique reality, dream about possible futures, and take steps toward realizing new futures. This research was a shared process between leaders and four participants at the Mandel Teacher Educator Institute, an intensive professional development program for pedagogical leaders. Using a participatory narrative inquiry methodology, the participants wrote detailed narratives about their implementations of FCW and subsequent reflections. Through thematic data analysis processes, we identified three thematic strands: ‘changing my narrative’ about self as leader, listening as leadership, and the complexity of participatory leadership. First, by describing ways that their leadership narratives change – from less confident to more, from resigned to more optimistic – they noticed shifts in their relationship to self. Second, by engaging in a process that required attuned listening to stakeholders, they described shifts in their relationship with people they lead. Third, by enacting a form of participatory leadership, they saw how the burden of action could be shared with stakeholders. By inviting collaboration, democratic exchange of ideas, negotiating disagreement, and shared dreams of a better future, the FCW models a form of participatory leadership that can strengthen the fabric of communities and relationships between communities and leaders.

An Asian American Feminist Manifesto: Asian American Women Heads of Schools Embodying Culturally Responsive School Leadership

Background: Within more than 1,600 preK–12 member schools in the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) in the United States, there were only seven Asian American women heads of schools in 2019, representing 6% of all heads of color, 1% of all women heads, and 0.4% of all heads of schools. There has been limited research on intersectionality in educational leadership, particularly in the context of independent schools. Purpose of Study: This article sets out to address the research gap in current literature as it pertains to examining the intersectional impact of race, gender, culture, and epistemology on the leadership experiences of Asian American women heads of independent schools, and to deconstruct mainstream leadership narratives by unearthing and complicating critical narratives of a small group of educational leaders who are women of color. Research Design: This qualitative study employs intersectionality theory as the conceptual framework, culturally responsive school leadership as the leadership framework, and elements of portraiture, critical Indigenous studies, and critical race theory as the research methodologies and analytical tools. Data Collection and Analysis: A background information survey was emailed to all seven Asian American women heads of schools to collect contextual and demographic information. The goal of the survey was to find commonalities among the heads and their schools so that a portrait of these seven individuals and their schools could be drawn as an intelligible whole before delineating specific experiences of the research participants. Perceptual information was collected via interviews. The interview protocols were designed to gather information around participants’ pathways to leadership, and their epistemological foundation and its impact on their leadership journeys and styles. Elements of portraiture were used to analyze participants’ experiences based on interviews in this qualitative study. Findings: This study connects culture and epistemologies to leadership practices and shines a light on how these Asian American women heads of schools—despite experiencing stereotype threats, microaggressions, and oppositions—negotiate between the transactional nature of independent schools and the transformational power of educational leadership, and make powerful contributions toward reimagining schools as places with radical possibilities. Conclusions: Asian Americans are a historically disadvantaged racial minority group, and Asian American women in education and academia have faced a long history of discrimination grounded in racism, xenophobia, and misogyny. The NAIS leadership team should better understand what challenges Asian American women face on their pathways to leadership and develop a better support system for all women of color aspiring leaders.

Narratives of Actionable Medical Leadership From Senior Leaders for Aspiring Leaders in Academic Medicine.

Physicians understand that certain personal attributes are essential in medical leaders, but they often do not know what actions are expected of them as leaders or what they should do to be more effective leaders. We sought to compile, through interviews with senior leaders at an academic institution, real leadership scenarios for a series of case-based examples to be used during group mentoring sessions for aspiring medical leaders. We conducted one-to-one interviews using open-ended questions with 11 current and emeritus chairpersons or chiefs of major departments or divisions at our academic medical center. Questions were designed to elicit anecdotes and examples of actions that demonstrate effective and ineffective leadership. Responses were analyzed with qualitative techniques to generate topics of leadership behaviors, which then were compiled into a collection of illustrative examples. The leaders interviewed discussed challenges they encountered in daily routines and described how they addressed certain dilemmas. Topics included making decisions without complete information, winning over reluctant administrators, building alliances with peers, involving subordinates in initiatives, and using knowledge to defend one's position. Actions requiring interpersonal skills also were discussed, including varying modes of communication, avoiding adversity, displaying gratitude toward subordinates, and safeguarding one's professional image. The leaders' insights and recommendations were compiled into a themed collection of topics to be used during group mentoring sessions to enhance leadership skills. This qualitative study suggests that the wisdom and experience of senior leaders may be gleaned for a collection of case-based topics that could complement other formal training programs for aspiring medical leaders.

Leading Toward Excellence … But Whose Excellence?

Leadership toward excellence is vital in shaping human and ecological life, but who defines and benefits from excellence? In religious and educational communities, visions of excellence can serve to support the flourishing of life, and also to critique perspectives that reinforce individualism and hierarchical systems. This paper explores excellence in three narratives of leadership in public and religious spheres and in dialogue with religious education values. It underscores the importance of excellence that is developed by and for living communities within their larger contexts, and it concludes with five contributions from the field of religious education.

Women’s crucible leadership experiences: through the lens of the four-frame organisational model

PurposeThis study aims to explore the individual lived crucible experiences of women leaders in higher education (HE) and business as the catalyst to investigate organisational inequality regimes that prevent women leaders from fully participating, contributing and flourishing at work. Drawing upon Bolman and Deal’s four-frame theoretical organisational model, this study analyses women’s lived crucible leadership experiences to better understand the organising processes and practices that render intersectionality invisible that reinforce and perpetuate inequality regimes.Design/methodology/approachA collaborative autoethnographic research method was selected for data collection. The research team members each selected one significant crucible moment from their professional career and used the Gibb’s six-part reflective cycle to document their narrative and reflect on their leadership experience. A reflexive thematic analysis was used based on Braun and Clarke’s six phases.FindingsThe study features the importance of creating a climate in organisations that acknowledges the need for greater equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) to support women leaders. Four global themes emerged from the analysis of the leadership narratives: organisation, power dynamics, emotional distress and perseverance and intersectionality. These themes illuminate a greater understanding of organisational life for women and confirm the presence of inequality regimes of gender and race.Originality/valueThis is the first study to explore the impact of women leaders’ crucible experiences through the lens of the Bolman and Deal’s model that highlights the need to consider an EDI lens as the fifth frame.

The Forgotten Human Service Sector: Leadership Narratives of Immigrant and Refugee-Led Community-Based Ethnic Organizations

ABSTRACT Although community-based ethnic organizations (CBEOs) play a crucial role within the human services landscape, their role often remains unacknowledged. Our study examines the role of CBEOs in the context of the larger human services environment. Purposive sampling was used to interview immigrant/refugee CBEO leaders (N = 7). Four overarching themes emerged: perceived role of CBEOs in immigrant/refugee services; CBEO challenges in the human services environment; inclusion versus exclusion in the HSO network; and CBEO positioning as a way forward for human services. We argue for increased legitimization of CBEOs serving immigrant and refugee communities for an equitable human services environment.

Narrativas del liderazgo y cambio organizacional

This paper focuses on the narrative of leadership as it relates to organizational change. Two theoretical positions are taken into consideration: The Evolutionary and Behavioral perspectives. After they are presented, and their respective ideas related to leadership are described, a proposal is developed which highlights the idea of narrative as a behavioral phenomenon and in doing so this proposal reinterprets the leadership cognitive frames in evolutionary approach and outlines them as an integrated functional verbal component of the Behavioral Systems Engineering Model. A specific hypothetical case is reconstructed from a professional experience of the author in order to show how such an understanding of leadership narratives reduces possible resistances to the design and implementation of an organizational change program.

When Everyone and No One is a Leader: Constructing individual leadership identities while sustaining an organizational narrative of collective leadership

Our paper investigates the dynamic interplay of narratives of individual and collective leadership within a professional service firm, where an organizational narrative of collective leadership prevails. We explain how it is possible for ‘everyone’ to claim a leadership identity for themselves while simultaneously granting a leadership identity to the collective. We identify multiple leadership archetypes embedded in individuals’ identity narratives, representing their differing senses of themselves as leaders and their alignment with the organizational narrative of collective leadership. These archetypes are mutually constitutive, representing centripetal and centrifugal tendencies in relation to the organizational narrative of collective leadership. We show how individuals committed to collective leadership nevertheless construct an individual leader (the Avatar identity archetype) to embody the collective on their behalf, and this enables them to grant leadership to the collective in the abstract. We emphasize the persistent sacralization of leadership in individual and organizational narratives, even in avowedly collectivist contexts, and the value of narrative-based perspectives in highlighting practitioners’ ability to navigate and accommodate the messy coexistence of collective and individual leadership. Our study shows the importance of integrating dialectically the individual and collective dimensions of leadership, emphasizing the mutually constitutive nature of individual and collective leadership narratives.

Climate discourses as barriers to rights-based adaptive social protection: How historical politics shape Ethiopia’s climate-smart safety net

A rights-based approach to ‘adaptive social protection’ holds promise as a policy measure to address structural dimensions of vulnerability to climate change such as inequality and marginalisation, yet it has been failing to gain traction against production and growth-oriented interventions. Through the lens of Ethiopia’s flagship Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), we trace the role of climate discourses in impeding progress towards socially transformative outcomes, despite the importance of social protection for building resilience. We argue that intertwining narratives of moral leadership and green growth associated with Ethiopia’s national climate strategy shape how the PSNP is rendered ‘climate-smart’. These narratives, however, are embedded within politics that have historically underpinned the country’s drive for modernisation and growth-oriented policies, particularly in dealing with food insecurity. Like pre-existing narratives on development and the environment, they rationalise the presence of a strong central State and its control over natural resources and rural livelihoods. The PSNP is thus conditioned to favour technocratic, productivist approaches to adapting to climate change that may help reproduce, rather than challenge the entrenched politics at the root of vulnerability. Ultimately, this case study demonstrates how climate discourses risk diluting core rights-based dimensions of social protection, contradicting efforts to address the structural dimensions of vulnerability to climate change.

Mobilized and Polarized: Social Media and Disinformation Narratives in the 2022 Philippine Elections

Social media played a significant role in the 2022 Philippine national elections. Using various empirical sources, including an original pre-electoral survey, we argue that social media was critical in the production, transmission, and reception of election-related information and narratives that resulted in o ine and online polarization and mobilization of Filipino voters in the 2022 elections. This article discusses the role of social media in electoral politics in the Philippines relative to other factors, such as material incentives for political partisans, prior voting behavior patterns, information consumption, and long-standing grievances. We discuss how these factors inform social media's role in mobilizing and polarizing the Philippine electorate. We also unpack the leading disinformation narratives of authoritarian nostalgia, conspiracy theory, strongman leadership, and democratic disillusionment, which fueled support for Marcos Jr. and undermined the other candidates. In conclusion, this article discusses the implications of disinformation in the 2022 elections for the post-electoral political engagement of Filipinos and its contribution to the further political dysfunction of Philippine democracy.

The Materiality of Leadership: Fort Knox’s General George Patton Museum of Leadership as a Living Field Manual

ABSTRACT This paper offers a rhetorical analysis of both textual and material leadership narratives at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Contributing to research on military communication, leadership studies, and narrative criticism, we argue that the General George Patton Museum on Leadership (GPML) is what we call a living field manual that materially performs the evolutive leadership definitions in U.S. Army Field Manuals from 1948 to the present. Using rhetorical fieldwork methodologies, we show that the Patton Museum appropriates the symbolic iconicity of General George Patton as a timeless rhetorical resource for teaching the Army’s principles of leadership to cadets, cadre, and publics. Leadership is not transmissional, but embodied and alive. While Patton himself may have displayed a traits-oriented style of leadership that cannot be replicated, the U.S. Army has nevertheless shaped memories of his life and career to meet the Army’s changing leadership needs in the present.

A historical overview of institutional types.

This article examines higher education as a vehicle for leadership development and discusses the historical evolution of different institutional types. Through the lens of access and equity, the traditional leadership narrative can expand to critically examine how these different institutional types advance racial equity in leadership education.

Challenges of Moksh Organization: an epitome of humanity

Theoretical basis This case uses concepts from Korten’s strategies of development-oriented four generations of non-government organizations (NGOs) and social psychology such as stereotypes, prejudices and actions to explain the social phenomenon. In furtherance, the case presents Aristotle’s approach to creating a message for masses that include use of ethos, pathos and logos. Stood’s (2017) narrative, engagement and technology (NET) model of social leadership was used to analyse the characteristics of social leaders. Research methodology Prima facie the case was developed from primary sources i.e. interviewing with Ashish Thakur. Literature from secondary sources was obtained to make teaching notes. List of references is presented towards the end that depicts the use of textbooks, research papers, websites and blogs. This case was tested in the classroom with MBA students learning business communication. Case overview/synopsis The case dealt with the challenges of an NGO that included conducting respectful last rites of unclaimed dead bodies. As the NGO grew, Ashish Thakur, the initiator of Moksh started facing resource management challenges, namely, volunteer induction, fundraising and managing non-human resources. These issues are deeply embedded in several social stereotypes about dead bodies. Learning covers strategies of four generations of NGO development, a NET model of social leadership, breaking social stereotypes related to dead bodies and last rites (necrophobia), designing social communication and opportunity to assess faulty rationalizations and do critical thinking around the socio-religious practices. Complexity academic level This case is intended to be used for the students of the social leadership or social entrepreneurship, social psychology, business communication or communication skills, organizational behaviour, advertising and social media.