For example, work by Avolio and Luthans (2006) identified the importance of ‘trigger moments’, Bennis and Thomas (2002) highlighted ‘transformative experiences’ that shifted an individual’s identity, and Janson (2008) identified the significance of ‘leadership formative experiences’ – often attached to emotional incidents. (more…)
Key Lessons of Learning Leadership Experience (6)
Key Lessons of Learning Leadership Experience (5)
Such realization often occurs inaction (Schon, 1983; Ferry & Ross-Gordon, 1998) or reflection-on-action (Schon, 1983), but can be seen to be catalyzed through key events that disrupt routines and allow new behaviors to be learnt for new situations (Brett, 1983; a similar argument was suggested by the formative work of Whitehead, 1933). (more…)
Key Lessons of Learning Leadership Experience (4)
The significance of observational learning to leadership development is rather understated (Kempster, 2006, 2007, 2008). There is no specific focus on a deeper understanding of the processes of influence relating to these notables, good or bad or a temporal perspective as to when notables had influence: for example, earlier or later in people’s careers. (more…)
Key Lessons of Learning Leadership Experience (3)
It has been identified that the relevance of intervention and its impact was greater when it occurred at, or near the time of a significant learning episode. Burgoyne and Stewart (1976), Davies and Easter by-Smith (1984) and McCall et al. (1988) and later McCall (1998) placed emphasis towards greater salience of leadership learning as a consequence of contextualization through hardships, notable people, change of environment or difficult role assignments, rather than general de-contextualized learning through information transfer in classroom settings. (more…)
Key Lessons of Learning Leadership Experience (2)
Although the findings of McCall et al. are seen to be a significant contribution to learning through experience, there are a number of issues to be explored with respect to the specificity of leadership learning. (more…)
Key Lessons of Learning Leadership Experience
Research undertaken in the Honeywell organization (Zemke, 1985) identified similar dominance of on-the-job experiences as the primary source of development, as well as the primacy of two key developmental processes. (more…)
Educational Context of Informal Leadership Learning
The impact of relationships and developmental experiences can be seen to be continued from the parental context into the educational environment, in the form of teachers extending the development process as well as reinforcing children and adolescents’ understanding of the leadership phenomenon. (more…)
Informal Leadership Learning: Formative Childhood Development (3)
Leadership is more likely to be displayed by ‘school-boys’ in which the parental environment grants high levels of responsibility and independence (Hoffman et al., 1960), often illustrated by the eldest sibling given responsibility for younger siblings. (more…)
Informal Leadership Learning: Formative Childhood Development (2)
Within the family environment, children’s participation in decisions has been seen to stimulate a child to be more active, socially outgoing, intelligent, curious, original and constructive; in larger families social cooperativeness is developed along with an ability to work towards a group goal (Bass, 1990). (more…)
Informal Leadership Learning: Formative Childhood Development
Informal leadership learning can be described as development through experiences where managers learn, grow and undergo personal change as a result of the roles, responsibilities and tasks encountered in their jobs (McCauley & Brutus, 1998), and so reflect emergent and accidental events rather than a deliberate and consciously planned approach to development. (more…)
