Project (M.S.)--Brigham Young University, Department of Instructional Psychology and Technology, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-66).

M.Phil. (Personal & Professional Leadership) / “Why should we pay for leaders to find themselves?” is a question that has been posed to the researcher numerous times in her career as an executive coach. The link between self-awareness and leadership is at best ignored and more often dismissed by organisations as irrelevant. The problem posed by this study was that all too often organisations focus on leaders’ performance and tangible results only. Instead, it is important to take a holistic leadership approach that integrates who the leader is with what the leader does. By looking at leadership learnings from a catalytic experience, the research connects the concepts of catalytic experience with self-awareness, personal leadership and leadership in an organisational context. The objective of this study was to explore the learnings derived from personal catalytic experiences in a leadership context. Identifying themes related to these learnings enabled leaders to gain a deeper understanding of personal leadership and its importance in organisations. Personal leadership is a pillar of leadership that focuses on who the leader is, including concepts such as personal mastery, selfawareness, meaning and purpose. Together with performance, personal leadership creates a holistic view of leadership in an organisational context. The key focus of the study was to draw leadership learnings from leaders’ catalytic experiences. The research paradigm utilised was qualitative. Narrative inquiry was used as a research strategy. The research method was unstructured interviews and a thematic analysis of the data. This method enabled leaders to first tell their stories and then gain learnings. The learnings were analysed by identifying the emerging themes, using thematic analysis, that could be related to various aspects of personal leadership and then linking these to the discoveries from the literature review. Most of the leadership learnings related to aspects of personal leadership, highlighting the reality that personal leadership is at the heart of leadership as a whole, even in an organisational context. Leaders found that taking time to reflect on their catalytic experiences helped the draw learnings and turn often challenging catalytic events into opportunities for learning, growth and meaning-making. Based on the findings and conclusions, it was determined that personal leadership grows through catalytic experiences and through having an opportunity to reflect on these. Specific leadership qualities emerged when a person had adverse experiences and managed to get through them in a way that turned these adverse experiences into opportunities for learning and growth. Leaders sought meaning from catalytic experiences and were often shaped by them. In a sense this helped to create true leaders since they lead from within. Catalytic experiences were first defined and then described based on the themes emerging from the leaders’ stories in terms of their type, number and emotional value. Survival came up as a strong thread in each leader’s telling of their story. In terms of the leadership learnings from the catalytic experiences, these were able to be categorised, as follows: the ‘doing’ of leadership; the ‘being’ of leadership; interpersonal relationships; and meaning and purpose. Factors enabling leaders to get through the experiences meaningfully were also discussed. The study concluded by making recommendations that can be used by organisations in designing leadership development programmes. The contribution of the study is in enabling organisations to use the findings to help leaders derive learning and experience personal growth without necessarily having to go through the experience of a challenging catalytic event. Offering leaders opportunities to reflect on challenging experiences and then sharing those experiences and reflections can contribute to a holistic approach of developing leaders in organisations. The key learning for the researcher, as a result of embarking on this research study, is to recognise the internal treasure chest that resides within each individual. In order to be a good leader, a level of self-awareness and understanding is required together with the recognition of the importance of purpose and meaning. Each individual’s unique qualities and experiences contribute to their leadership journey and it is through life experiences and challenges that people develop and grow. Even a small learning can have a far-reaching impact. The research journey has been a journey of learning for the researcher on a personal level and was illustrated by the use of the butterfly metaphor throughout the writing.

Please read the abstract in the section 06summary of this document / Dissertation (MTh (Practical Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

Conflict resolution education tends to emphasize the analysis of conflict dynamics, and skills for communication and problem-solving. The role of emotions, and practical strategies for one’s own emotional self-management have received less attention. Emotional dysregulation in conflict may interfere with the use of learned conflict resolution skills, thus reducing transfer of learning. The study explored the possible influence of mindfulness practice on emotional self-management, and subsequent transfer of learning in interpersonal conflict. This modified qualitative case study involved 15 adult undergraduate students in the researcher’s class on “Managing Conflict.” Mindfulness practice was included in every class, and subjects kept a journal on their frequency of out-of-class practice. Subjects were interviewed before the start of the class on their ways of handling conflict, and were asked to describe a recent conflict they had been involved in. A post-class interview asked the same questions, as well as exploring subjects’ experience of mindfulness. Findings revealed that for this group of subjects, frequency of mindfulness practice had little influence on emotional self-management or transfer of learning. However, subjects’ stance toward mindfulness, a qualitative descriptor, appeared to positively influence both emotional self-management and transfer of learning. Stance toward mindfulness was described as focusing on either self-soothing or self-awareness. Subjects reporting a self-awareness stance were more likely to report managing their emotions in conflict, regardless of whether their dominant emotion in a conflict was anger or fear. They were also more likely to report transfer of learning (specifically, the ability to identify causes of conflict and the other party’s needs, to use receptive communication skills, and to incorporate mindful awareness in the negotiation process). Self-awareness appeared to be a foundational capacity that supported emotional self-management and transfer of learning for this group of subjects. Possible implications for the field of conflict resolution, and directions for future research, are discussed.

In the health psychology literature there has been a proliferation of research linking forms of self-attention to psychological distress, especially to depression. The broad conclusion that self-attention is harmful, however, challenges the central premise of self-regulation theory - a theory detailing the role of self-attention as the engine of an adaptive regulating system that enables people to achieve their goals. In an attempt to reconcile these perspectives, I conducted two studies to distinguish the forms and states of self-attention that serve an adaptive self-regulation function from those that create a vulnerability to depression. Both studies included a pretest and a daily diary component. Participants were pretested on trait self-attention, trait negative affectivity (Study 1), depression (Study 2), and a goal inventory. Study 2 included a follow-up session where participants again completed the depression inventory. For the diary component, participants described and rated the most negative event they experienced during the rating period (twice daily for 2 weeks in Study 1; once daily for 4 weeks in Study 2). Diary self-report measures of self-attention included: level of rumination (Study 1), initial self-analysis (Study 2), and multi-day-protracted attention (Study 2). After the diaries were completed, participants' event descriptions were coded for goal-relevance and level of self-focused attention (SFA). Consistent with self-regulation theory, participants' goal-related events elicited stronger self-attentional responses (higher levels of SFA, rumination, initial self-analysis, and protracted attention) than did their goal-unrelated events. These within-person effects were not moderated by the pretest measures, nor did they predict levels of emotional distress. Thus, in daily life it appears to be typical and not harmful for people to respond to goal-setbacks by engaging in elevated levels of introspection, self-analysis, and even negative, symptom-focused rumination. With respect to individual differences, people higher in pretest rumination and in chronic daily rumination, initial self-analysis and protracted attention experienced higher levels of emotional distress. Chronic daily levels of initial self-analysis and rumination predicted emotional distress after controlling for pretest levels of distress. Thus, self-attention appears to create a vulnerability to depression only when people have chronic difficulty containing initial levels of self-analysis and rumination in response to negative events.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Tasmania, 1996. / Library has additional copy on CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-108).

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University (Macquarie Graduate School of Management), 2006. / Bibliography: leaves 243-283.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2009. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Rhode Island, 2007 / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 250-294).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-129). Also available on the Internet.