Billions of dollars are invested annually on leadership development interventions within organizations. And while these leadership development programs are generally effective, as evidenced by meta-analytic findings, researchers and organizational leaders alike are perplexed by the fact that some individuals’ leadership abilities do not show improvement after participating in a leadership development program. Drawing from social psychology and implicit person theory, I extend implicit self-theory into the leadership domain to examine leadership mindset, the belief an individual has about the malleability of leadership ability, and its relationship to leadership growth. Individuals with a more incremental leadership mindset believe that through hard work and effort they can improve their leadership ability. Individuals with a more fixed mindset, conversely, believe that leadership ability cannot be purposefully changed. Implicit self-theory would suggest that individuals with a more incremental mindset will have more leadership growth than individuals with a more fixed leadership mindset. Using self-regulation theory as a foundation, I propose that the effect of leadership mindset on leadership growth will be transferred through three mechanisms: negative feedback-seeking, reflection, and fear of failure. I also hypothesize that the relationship between these mediators and leadership growth will be stronger for leaders who have more developmental opportunities. Thus, I hypothesize a second-stage moderated mediation effect whereby the effect of leadership mindset on leadership growth through negative feedback-seeking, reflection, and fear of failure is stronger when individuals have more developmental opportunities.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uiowa.edu/oai:ir.uiowa.edu:etd-6608 |
| Date | 01 August 2016 |
| Creators | Walter, Sheryl L. |
| Contributors | Colbert, Amy E. |
| Publisher | University of Iowa |
| Source Sets | University of Iowa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Copyright 2016 Sheryl L. Walter |
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