Udayan Dhar and Richard Boyatzis
Modern careers are marked by periods of feeling betwixt, or “in-between,” – yet, there is no validated measure of this experience, recognized as subjective liminality. The present…
Abstract
Purpose
Modern careers are marked by periods of feeling betwixt, or “in-between,” – yet, there is no validated measure of this experience, recognized as subjective liminality. The present research aims to (1) operationalize subjective liminality and (2) develop and validate a scale to measure it.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review was used to operationalize subjective liminality, and the scale validation was performed using four separate samples: 150 workers on M-Turk, 151 graduate and professional students at a large Midwestern University, 252 unemployed individuals in the US and Canada, and 416 full-time employed individuals in the US.
Findings
Subjective liminality was conceptualized as a second-order latent construct reflected by three dimensions: feelings of anxiety, ambiguity and reduced group identification. A 9-item scale was developed and validated to measure it.
Originality/value
This study clarifies and measures an emergent construct in the career transition and organizational change literature.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this study is to investigate professional identity development among management professionals through the lens of the ideal self and personal values.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate professional identity development among management professionals through the lens of the ideal self and personal values.
Design/methodology/approach
Detailed career vision essays based on the ideal self and personal values of 48 participants ranging in age from 22 to 54 were analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis. A theory-based classification of their personal values, collected through a survey, was also conducted as a supplemental analysis.
Findings
The visions of older management professionals were less career-oriented, more holistic, involved in a greater multiplicity of career roles, had more clarity and placed higher emphasis on work–life balance and on developing others. The older participants also reported having fewer self-enhancement values.
Originality/value
The findings demonstrate the relevance of the ideal self as a lens to study identity development and advance our understanding of professional identity development in the context of modern careers.
Details
Keywords
Richard Boyatzis and Udayan Dhar
The ideal self has had a place in management literature in recent years with reference to identity and role change. However, except for a JMD article in 2006, there has been…
Abstract
Purpose
The ideal self has had a place in management literature in recent years with reference to identity and role change. However, except for a JMD article in 2006, there has been little theorizing on the ideal self, which is often treated as a static construct. The purpose of this article is to update and refine the concept and explain the dynamic nature of the construct.
Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual paper is based on a review of the recent management and psychology literature related to the ideal self and its components.
Findings
The authors propose a dynamic theory of the emerging ideal self and delineate how its components evolve over time.
Research limitations/implications
The ideal self, or one's personal vision, is a major motivator of learning and change and the sustainability of such efforts. The time dynamic theory would encourage and guide longitudinal research using better variables and measures as well as help in conceptualizing the role of socialization, social identity and life/career stages.
Practical implications
With a better theory of the ideal self, trainers, consultants, coaches and teachers can help people update their deep sense of purpose and the sustaining driver of learning and change the ideal self. It could help people and organizations address a major determinant of engagement.
Originality/value
This theory offers a temporal understanding of how the ideal self can motivate learning and change at different life and career eras, which can help in designing future research on identity-related transitions.
Details
Keywords
Studies on managerial coaching have documented the challenges and complexities involved. Therefore, this study aims to develop a conceptual framework to understand these…
Abstract
Purpose
Studies on managerial coaching have documented the challenges and complexities involved. Therefore, this study aims to develop a conceptual framework to understand these challenges.
Design/methodology/approach
This article uses the lens of paradox theory and intentional change theory to develop a conceptual framework to explain that managerial coaching is the source of emergent tensions.
Findings
In this study, four tensions that emerge in the socio-psychological response of the team member and their bi-directional impacts are described, namely, the tensions between change and continuity; autonomy and structure; short and long-term orientations; and authenticity and social influence.
Originality/value
The theory developed in this paper could help researchers design methodologically rigorous studies on managerial coaching effectiveness.