Most organisations operate in a turbulent environment characterised by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. Disruptive and unpredictable forces of change are key features of this environment and sustainability of organisations has become fragile and unstable. Organisations that are able to grow and thrive within this environment have adaptive capabilities to learn (Ovans, 2005) and adjust faster with more confidence compared to their competitors. Leadership is a decisive influence in the creation of a competitive advantage within thriving organisations. Leaders absorb high levels of turmoil, unpredictability and uncertainty and need to respond to regular shocks and surprises in a productive manner so that the organisation can be responsive to threats and opportunities. The ability of leaders to offer this type of leadership is determined by their own levels of leadership resilience. Leadership resilience is a capability that can increase or diminish depending on the leader’s ability to learn and adapt following unexpected disruptive experiences, continued adverse conditions or while dealing with persistent pressure. Practices associated with self-renewal offer leaders, opportunities to develop disciplined intentional processes of change and adjustment. These are based on a state of awareness regarding one’s level of internal well-being, energy and balance, aimed at replenishing or strengthening resilient qualities and protective factors. Leadership development programmes can make a significant contribution to sustained leadership being effective, by developing personal strengths and strategies that can buttress tough resilience capabilities in leaders. The main research problem in this study was to explore the relationship between leadership resilience and self-renewal practices. To address the main and identified sub-problems, a literature study was conducted focusing on the main components of resilience with specific reference to resilience in leaders, while exploring self-renewal practices that can be used by leaders to improve their resilience. A web-based survey with a questionnaire was administered to a target group consisting of middle and senior managers who have participated in leadership development programmes at the Leadership Academy of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Business School. The survey was a self-reporting instrument that included the Leadership Resilience Profile developed by Dianne Reed and Jerry Patterson (2009) as well as a section focused on self-renewal practices that included physical, spiritual, cognitive and socio-emotional renewal practices. The results from the empirical study revealed that the levels of leadership resilience are related to the self-renewal practices of leaders. The study identified spiritual self-renewal as most significant to leadership resilience. Higher levels of resilience were demonstrated with regard to value-driven leadership, optimism, courageous decision-making and self-efficacy. Senior managers reported higher levels of self-efficacy as compared to their counterparts at middle level management. The study identified adaptability, perseverance and social support as resilience capabilities that leaders should grow. In general, lower scores were obtained for self-renewal practices than for resilience levels. Leadership development initiatives that integrate resilience capabilities and self-renewal practices will create an adaptive resource within organisations. Supporting the development and maintenance of strong leadership resilience capabilities will contribute to the development of adaptive organisations that are able to navigate turbulent conditions with confidence.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:27395 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Venter, Celeste |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Arts |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MA |
| Format | xii, 145 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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