Here is an excerpt from an article written by Alyson Meister, Wei Zheng, and Brianna Barker Caza for Harvard Business Review and the HBR Blog Network. To read the complete article, check out the wealth of free resources, obtain subscription information, and receive HBR email alerts, please click here.
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Origin stories come in many forms: tales of how we entered a profession, personal chronicles explaining how and when we became part of an organization, accounts of how we met our significant other, or even how we emerged as a new person after a crisis. Despite this natural inclination, we rarely examine what we include (and don’t include) in those accounts and how those choices shape our present reality. To better understand how leaders see themselves, we conducted in-depth interviews with 92 men and women to discover how they tell the story of their leadership origins, and then examined how their telling aligned with their present-day realities.
Our findings provide insight into how leaders tell their stories, why they matter, and, more specifically, how those stories differ across gender. Below are our key findings, along with questions you can consider when it comes to your own leadership origins, how you can draw on your origins to become a more adaptable leader, and what you can do to cultivate different ‘types’ of leaders within your organization.
We All Pick a Lens
How would you respond if someone asked when you first felt like a leader? Would you start in childhood, or when you first took on that big position in your organization? Was it when others told you that you were a leader or asked for direction? We found that the 92 origin stories we studied converged around one of four dominant themes, which we labeled: being, engaging, performing, and accepting. These themes acted as lenses, determining how the leaders we interviewed see themselves today. As you read through them, consider which one sounds the most familiar to you, and think about how this narrative might shape your leadership today.
Being
The leaders who adopted this lens suggested that they have “always thought of themselves as leaders.” For example, Juan told us: “I’ve been a leader since I was a child. I’ve always enjoyed leading teams, leading people.” They highlighted a natural call to leadership that started in childhood or early school years, perhaps organizing kids in the neighborhood, engaging in entrepreneurial activities, or becoming captains of sports teams. In describing their current leadership, people who use this lens often noted their personal qualities, such as confidence and optimism, and their natural — and inspirational — leadership styles.
Engaging
Leaders who used this lens highlighted the successful facilitation of others and activities. They believed their leadership originated when they were compelled to address an urgent need. For example, Jennifer linked her origins to activities: “It’s not like I came out of the chute trying to be the natural-born leader,” she told us. “But I do like the idea of creating a vision, looking at what needs to get done, making something better than it is now.” The leaders who used this lens took it upon themselves to change unsatisfactory practices: starting a new organization, helping disparate groups come to a shared vision, volunteering to tackle a challenge or crisis situation, liaising between two groups in conflict. In the present day, these leaders gravitate toward a more facilitative leadership style, focusing on engaging others and enabling collective action.
Performing
Do you feel a sense of duty to the organization? Or perhaps you often feel protective of your team, which you might sometimes refer to as “my people”? Leaders who adopted this lens often recounted their leadership as emerging from the achievement of a particular position. For example, Randy said: “I never really thought about [being a leader] until I worked for the agency in Chicago. I was actually running … [an organization with] 50 full-time people, in 50 offices, [who] all needed me. And that’s when it clicked in that, ‘Wow, I have a big position and I’m responsible for a lot of people.’” People talked about having a sense of autonomy and control over an area of work, as well as a strong sense of duty and responsibility for their teams. This group tended to describe themselves as having paternalistic leadership styles, marked by a demonstration of control, support, and guidance of their team.
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Here is a direct link to the complete article.
Alyson Meister is professor of leadership and organizational behavior at IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland. Specializing in the development of globally-oriented, adaptive and inclusive organizations, she works with executives, teams, and organizations spanning a vast range of industry sectors, from professional services through to industrial goods and technology. Her research focuses on identity and diversity, leadership, and team dynamics in organizations.
Wei Zheng is an associate professor of management and Richard R. Roscitt Endowed Chair in Leadership at Stevens Institute of Technology. Her research addresses practical questions at the intersection of leadership and diversity, such as how individuals grow into leaders, how leaders influence learning and innovation, how women leaders navigate gendered organizations, and what practices and mechanisms enhance diversity. She has studied leadership in corporate, entrepreneurial, national laboratory, and faith-based organizations.
Brianna Barker Caza is an Associate Professor of Management in the Bryan School of Business and Economics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She received her PhD in Organizational Psychology from the University of Michigan. Her research examines identity processes, interpersonal relationships, power dynamics, and resilience at work. Brianna was recently recognized as one of the 2019 Radar thinkers by Thinkers50.