Self-Views and Leader Development

This chapter explores the proposition of self-views of leaders as proximal indicators of leader development. Doing so acknowledges that time plays an important role in development. Knowing what develops more proximally and what develops more distally allows researchers to propose and test more specific hypotheses, better research questions, and a wider range of theories. At a more proximal level, developing leaders acquire knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) related to leadership, and these are complemented and reinforced by self-views. One such self-view involves a leader identity. Internalizing an identity as a leader—along with other valued self-identities that individuals hold—helps to motivate the kinds of practice needed to develop over the long term. People allocate their most valuable resource (i.e., time) to what they value the most. What is highly valued becomes an integral part of one’s self-construal (i.e., identity). Other relevant self-views in leader development include self-awareness and self-efficacy, especially regarding leadership KSAs. This chapter reviews the role of self-views in leader development focusing on leader identity, self-awareness, and self-efficacy. It also elaborates on how self-views and skill development are mutually reinforcing processes in leader development.