Leadership-shaping experiences: a comparative study of leaders and non-leaders (original) (raw)
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The Leadership Quarterly, 2011
The theory and research reported in the Special Issue are examined with the goal of providing integrative perspectives on various approaches used to understand the leader development process across the lifespan. Historical and contemporary perspectives on longitudinal research are explored, with a distinction made between true longitudinal research (includes three or more waves of data, tracks an outcome over time, adopts a sensible time metric) with quasi-longitudinal research that includes only two waves of data or does not track change. Research studies in the Special Issue were grouped into either Fullerton Longitudinal Study or developmental trajectory approaches. The relative merits of each class of studies were examined and it was concluded that they provide complementary perspectives on leader development. The article concludes with a look to future research directions as well as a review of how the Special Issue studies have advanced an emerging science of leader development.
Development of outstanding leadership: A life narrative approach
The Leadership Quarterly, 2008
Developmental events of a sample of outstanding leaders experienced in early life were examined. Relevant sections of 120 biographies of outstanding leaders in the 20th Century were content coded using a life narrative framework. The results indicated that individuals evidencing a particular leadership type (charismatic, ideological, or pragmatic) and orientation (socialized or personalized) were linked to certain types of developmental events. Similarly, event content was found to vary between the leader styles. Specific kinds of experiences were also related to various indices of leader performance. Practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.
Introduction to the special issue: Longitudinal studies of leadership development
The Leadership Quarterly, 2011
This introduction provides an overview of The Leadership Quarterly special issue on Longitudinal Studies of Leadership Development. The purposes of the special issue were to highlight research on the precursors of adult leadership, and to emphasize the importance of longitudinal designs and long-lens approaches to the study of leadership. In addition to shedding light on variables that impact the development of leadership, many of the studies in this special issue make use of important longitudinal databases that can be tapped for future research on leadership development across the lifespan.
In a two-pronged approach, this study attempts to explore the relationship between life experience and what affect that has on how people lead and also attempts this assessment by using a simple, creative exercise called "Name-Child" or "What's In A Name?" This technique was developed by the author (Hill, 2001) for use in leadership coaching and psychotherapy as an assessment and intervention tool. The exercise was taken from a pattern noticed in the Old Testament where parents sometimes named their children after parts of their life experience. Clients or patients are asked, "What would you name your child (or children) if you named them after your life experience?" The answers and subsequent explanations were compared to leaders' reflections on how they lead. Several important and significant themes emerged from the data, including the concept of leader-as-servant, developing staff, developing self, and vision facilitation. Results indicated a strong relationship between leaders' life experiences and their leadership as seen by them. The Name Child exercise was shown to be an effective exercise in drawing out life experience and connecting it to leadership. Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my father, W. James Hill, J.D., my tireless supporter and fellow celebrant in my quest to do well in school and reach my goals. It is also dedicated to
Experiences that develop leadership capabilities
Leadership & Organization Development Journal
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to answer the research question: what recent experiences – other than undertaking training and development programmes – do mature managers and professionals regard as important for their development as leaders? Design/methodology/approach A survey was issued to mature managers and professionals, asking them to rate the contribution of certain experiences to their recent development of leadership capabilities, and to provide qualitative data on the most important experiences. Findings The experience that was rated most highly in developing leadership capabilities was “tackling a significant challenge or challenges”, followed by “taking, or contributing to, major decisions”, and then by “taking on new responsibilities”. Controlled interventions such as coaching/mentoring, appraisal feedback, and temporary new responsibilities were awarded relatively low ratings. Research limitations/implications The sample was drawn from graduates of an executive m...
The building blocks of leader development
Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 2007
PurposeThe paper aims to present a conceptual model that delineates the psychological substructures (“building blocks”) and their impact on the major learning processes required for leader development.Design/methodology/approachBased on theories in developmental psychology, it is argued that certain variables formed in early childhood are “building blocks” for leader development in later phases of the individual's life. The influence of these variables on leader development is discussed.FindingsThe building blocks – self‐confidence, pro‐social orientation, proactive optimistic orientation, openness, along with high motivation to lead – are precursors for (socialized) leader development. Their significance and how they affect two major learning processes of leaders – experiential learning and vicarious learning – are discussed.Originality/valueThe article presents a conceptualization that is research oriented and can be tested empirically. Most of the concepts discussed have vali...
Investigating the Development of Adolescent Leadership Potential: A Longitudinal Case Study
2017
My doctoral research project explored the development of adolescent leadership potential within a secondary Catholic school in Perth, Western Australia. Previous research efforts that looked at adolescent leadership did so by examining the perspectives of adults and children using a "snapshot" approach, but the longitudinal design of this project was chosen intentionally to investigate how leadership developed over time. Located within the interpretive paradigm, a 3-year longitudinal case study framed the data collection process. Data were collected from the staff and students most closely involved in a school-based student leadership development program through the exercise of four qualitative research methods. The methods included conducting semi-structured interviews, performing an extensive document search (of published literature and written communication at the school), taking researcher field notes (both in and out of interviews), and regularly maintaining a reflective field journal. These methods helped the researcher inductively conceptualize how one school-based program contributed to the development of adolescent leadership potential of participating students. Learning Outcomes By the end of this case, students should be able to • Describe some benefits and limitations associated with longitudinal research • Affirm the importance of using multiple methods of data collection (i.e., triangulation) to enhance a longitudinal project's trustworthiness • Develop an appreciation for the practicalities of various qualitative research methods within a longitudinal case study • Appreciate how longitudinal research can heighten ethical issues present in other investigations Case Study Purpose of Research The purpose of my doctoral study was to investigate how one Western Australian Catholic secondary school developed leadership potential in its young adolescents (aged 15-18 years) and to discern what kind of leaders were being produced through its efforts. The five specific research questions that directed and underpinned the focus of the study explored how the key participants of the study-namely, the elected student leaders and key staff-perceived and understood the program of student leadership development currently implemented at the school. These questions were predominantly concerned with the experienced reality of the program as perceived by the participants and were grounded in their subjective understanding of the diverse transactions that constituted the "lived experience" of the program in practice. The chief focus of this study was to obtain explicit, personally expressed accounts from the participants themselves about student leadership and student leadership development. Inquiries were made to illuminate what was expected of student leaders in their elected positions, what these leaders understood about themselves, and the development that had taken place as a result of their involvement in the existing leadership program.
The Leadership Quarterly, 2011
The developmental trajectories of participants (N = 1315) engaged in team-based action learning projects (k = 205) to promote leader development were estimated using two classes of growth modeling techniques. Evidence was found in support of differences in the initial leadership effectiveness levels across participants as well as differences in the shape or form of their personal trajectories. Based on recent theorizing on leader development (Day, Harrison, & Halpin, 2009), it was predicted that adopting a leader identity would serve as a within-person, time-varying covariate of leadership effectiveness and that goal orientation would serve as a between-person, cross-level moderator of the personal change trajectories. Results suggested full support for the role of leader identity and partial support for goal orientation. The results of growth mixture modeling analyses revealed two distinct latent classes of developmental trajectories that could be distinguished empirically by one type of adult development processes (i.e., selection). Results are discussed in terms of advancing leader development science and practice, especially with regard to the insights gained from charting and understanding leaders' developmental trajectories.