Developing leaders towards an uncertain future – a leadership identity perspective
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact millions of lives around the world, the complexity of lives within families, organisations, communities and social systems continues to increase[i]. With blurred boundaries between personal and work responsibilities driving an ‘always available’ culture and associated expectations, many leaders are questioning what leadership means, and who they need to be as a leader to lead teams in an uncertain, contemporary world.
Many leaders have realised that traditional command and control, ‘heroic leadership’ models are no longer appropriate in a continually changing context [ii].
Leaders need to be able to recognise that the changing, uncertain world is offering them cues, signals and information as to who leaders can be now, and who they might need to be in the future. Different leadership styles, different ways of thinking, different ways of behaving, and different skills may all be required to remain successful in the coming months and years. With changing expectations of leadership, leaders who adapt fastest and align their capabilities in anticipation of future requirements, will avoid career derailment and plateauing.
Where does this leave contemporary leaders looking to consider the next phase of their leadership development?
An effective way for leaders manage this process is to look into the future, perhaps in the next 6-, 12- or 18-months, and consider who they might want, or need, to be at that time.
There are some recommended principles for leaders to use to develop their sense of who they could be in the future:-
Remaining adaptive and flexible will support your future emerging leadership develop and align with families, organisations, communities and social expectations;
Your vision of your ideal self[iii] is one of the possible selves[iv] that you could become across your selected timeframe. Alternatively, your ideal self may be something you are aiming at after a number of intermediate steps in which you evolve over time, perhaps in different roles;
Your leadership identity is made up from different elements of who you are, including your professional identity (e.g. an engineer); your cultural identity (e.g. a Sydneysider); your age (generation Z); or any others valued labels which you apply to yourself [v]. Leverage these different elements to create new possible versions of you as a leader in the future;
Closely observe those who are succeeding in the way you want to succeed. Identify how they are speaking, behaving, thinking and approaching leaderships challenges;
You may have a number of possible future selves which you might be interested in becoming, particularly if you are looking at changing careers, roles or life circumstances;
The transition between how you see yourself now and the leader you want to be in the future will be challenging [vi]. Anxiety, stress, confusion[vii], and fatigue may accompany you during the transition period. Remember, this is a natural part of the process;
You may need to let go of elements of who you are, what you are, and your previous life [viii] in order to transition to a being a new leader;
Remember that your future leadership will need to be negotiated between yourself, others in your social systems, and between you and become fit culturally and socially[ix] within your future role;
Look how you might look for other perspectives[x] to help you understand what you need to know and become as you transition;
How you see yourself in the future will be influenced by how you see yourself now – the same biases, information filters, etc. may impact how you see your potential for change and growth. Be prepared to challenge your assumptions, your thinking, your behaviours, and your feelings. Changing your leadership means changing you. Don’t be afraid of how much you might want to change once you start;
Your networks of contacts, friends, colleagues, resources[xi] and assets will all be of use to you as you transition[xii]. Be opportunistic to seeing introductions in a new way, exploring how your existing strengths and knowledge can be used differently to support your transition[xiii]; and
Don’t forget, how you change will impact upon those around you and all the interactions and networks you belong to, let go of, and enter[xiv].
The above provide a very brief summary of the principles which may apply to your specific transition into a new leadership, or other, role.
Mudlarks Coaching & Advisory PTY Limited offer a range of solutions to leaders who want to transition to a new way of being a leader and leading their teams. Please get in contact with us to discuss your specific requirements.
[i] Cavanagh, M., & Lane, D. A. (2012). Coaching Psychology Coming of Age: The challenges we face in the messy world of complexity. International Coaching Psychology Review, 7(1), 75 - 90.
[ii] De Klerk, J. J. (2019). Leading transitions in traumatically experienced change – a question of doing or being? Journal of Organizational Change Management, 32(3), 340-355. https://doi.org/10.1108/jocm-04-2017-0099
[iii] Boyatzis, R., & Akrivou, K. (2006). The ideal self as the driver of intentional change. Journal of Management Development, 25(7), 624-642. https://doi.org/10.1108/02621710610678454
[iv] Plimmer, G., & Schmidt, A. (2007). Possible selves and career transition: It's who you want to be, not what you want to do. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2007(114), 61-74. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.257
[v] Cross, S. E., & Markus, H. R. (1994). Self-Schemas, Possible Selves, and Competent Performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86(3), 423 - 438.
[vi] Ibarra, H., & Obodaru, O. (2016). Betwixt and between identities: Liminal experience in contemporary careers. Research in Organizational Behavior, 36, 47-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2016.11.003
[vii] Lipshits-Braziler, Y., Braunstein-Bercovitz, H., & Kapach-Royf, N. (2018). Strategies for Coping With Career Indecision During the College-to-Work Transition: Concurrent and Predictive Validity. Journal of Career Assessment, 27(3), 440-456. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072718759983
[viii] Ebaugh, H. R. F. (1988). Becoming an Ex - The Process of Role Exit. University of Chicago Press.
[ix] Gordon, L., Rees, C. E., & Jindal-Snape, D. (2020). Doctors' identity transitions: Choosing to occupy a state of 'betwixt and between'. Med Educ, 54(11), 1006-1018. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14219
[x] Cavanagh, M. (2013). The Coaching Engagement in the Twenty-first century: New paradigms for complex times. In S. David, D. Clutterbuck, & D. Megginson (Eds.), Beyond Goals: Effective Strategies for Coaching and Mentoring. Gower.
[xi] De Clercq, D. (2019). Getting Creative With Resources: How Resilience, Task Interdependence, and Emotion Sharing Mitigate the Damage of Employee Role Ambiguity. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 55(3), 369 - 391.
[xii] Ibarra, H., & Deshpande, P. (2004). Networks and Identities: Reciprocal Influences on Career Processes and Outcomes (Faculty and Research Working Paper Series, Issue.
[xiii] Ghosh, R., Haynes, R. K., & Kram, K. E. (2013). Developmental networks at work: holding environments for leader development. Career Development International, 18(3), 232-256. https://doi.org/10.1108/cdi-09-2012-0084
[xiv] O’Connor, S. A., & Cavanagh, M. (2013). The coaching ripple effect: The effects of developmental coaching on wellbeing across organisational networks. Psychology of Wellbeing: Theory, Research and Practice, 3(2).