Abstract:

Defining adverse moments in our past can transform how we handle difficulties in the future. Leaders face distinctive emotional demands shaped by their ecological environment on a daily basis. Yet most research privileges employee well-being or the effects of leader emotions on followers, leaving leaders’ own emotional well-being and its inward consequences underexplored. To better understand how leaders navigate negative emotions, this paper asks: How do leaders develop scripts to manage negative emotions and the impact of leadership pressures on their well-being? Drawing on interviews with Australian business leaders, this paper redirects attention to leaders lived emotional experiences to theorize the origins of regulatory “scripts”, proposing that formative life events or “moments that matter”, and the heightened salience of negative experiences catalyse script development for inward regulation. The findings show that psychological capacities–the HERO within–act as transformative tool to convert destabilizing experiences into constructive, adaptive scripts.

Please choose your submission type: Full Paper

Primary Track: Leadership and Leadership Development

Keywords: Traditional paradigms of leadership, including traits, behaviour and contingency approaches;Leadership skills and development;Transformational leadership in organisations

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Dr. Nilupulee Liyanagamage