Not becoming a leader
In this chapter, we question the possibility of developing a leader identity and explore the emancipatory opportunities of a focus on ‘not becoming’ a leader. We do this through a focussed review of leadership applications of Jacques Lacan’s approach to identity construction. By taking this lens, we...
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Routledge
2024
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| Summary: | In this chapter, we question the possibility of developing a leader identity and explore the emancipatory opportunities of a focus on ‘not becoming’ a leader. We do this through a focussed review of leadership applications of Jacques Lacan’s approach to identity construction. By taking this lens, we intend to make visible the fallacy of both leader/ship scholarship and practice’s preoccupation with the positive notion of leader identity construction and becoming. We also provide guidance on how to study the dynamics of desire and lack by looking at what is present and absent in narratives of the self and where ruptures in these narratives may signal failed identification processes. Finally, we offer ways forward for leadership research and practice by drawing conclusions on the implications of a focus on ‘Not becoming’ a leader for leadership studies. |
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