Atypical Black Leader Emergence: South African Self-Perceptions

Abstract

The research aimed to gain understanding of the self-perceptions of black professionals in relation to business leadership, and how these self-perceptions influenced their behaviors, aspirations and self-perceived abilities in leadership positions. The study was specifically focused on black South African professionals. Black professionals were found to exhibit signs of deep-rooted pain, anger and general emotional fatigue stemming from workplace-, socio-economic- and political triggers that evoked generational trauma and overall negative black lived experiences. The negative lived experiences could have led to racial identity dissonance and, in extreme cases, complete racial identity disassociation. Moreover, black professionals were found to display symptoms of ‘survivor guilt,’ stemming from the shared history of oppression amongst black people in South Africa. The ‘survivor guilt’ contributed toward a profound sense of shared responsibility and purpose to change the circumstances, experiences and overall perceptions about the capabilities of black professionals. Results showed that upbringing, determination, resilience, black support networks, and black leadership representation within organizational structures were important ingredients that positively contributed to the leadership aspirations and success of black professionals. The research discovered that, in some cases, black professionals leveraged white relationships to propel their careers forward, however, this practice reportedly resulted in the black professionals experiencing feelings of self-doubt in their own abilities. Self-doubt, also found to be a result of historical oppression, could have and have been shown to eventually lead to self-deselection, negatively impacting the aspirations and career advancement prospects of black professionals in organizational leadership. Furthermore, the research found that black leaders believed that their blackness, specifically, its unique texture of experiences and history in South Africa, provided them with superior empathetic leadership abilities toward other black employees. Black leaders frequently highlighted the distinctive values of ubuntu as the cornerstone of their leadership approach. In addition, it was found that black professionals also considered their blackness, particularly the shade of their skin, to detract from their leadership opportunities, as it reduced the odds of being authorized as natural leaders, thus fortifying a skewed self-perception of their own leadership capabilities.

Health hazards in sports: Exploring the influence of despotic leadership and perceived organizational politics on well-being

“…Usually, employees repress negative emotions at work. The despotic leadership makes the employee doubt their capabilities, thus negatively aspiring their career for advancement [ 31 ]. The despotic leaders' toxic supervision increases the employees' tendency to leave the organization if they fail to control their emotional trauma [ 32 ].…”

Authenticity and atypicality in leadership: Can an atypical leader afford to be authentic?

“…When assessing what is considered to be atypical, one should take into account the idiosyncrasies of a particular context, as a minority social category may in some cases be more powerful than the majority. For instance, even though White elite leaders are a minority in the South African context, they should not be considered as atypical leaders as they often occupy positions of power (Myeza & April, 2021; Nkomo, 2011).…”

“…The existing literature on atypical leaders has mainly addressed their key characteristics, such as empathy, resilience, inclusiveness and openness, while scrutinizing the socio‐cultural and organisational conditions which have enabled their rise to leadership positions (Alter, 2017; Myeza & April, 2021; Samdanis & Lee, 2021; Samdanis & Özbilgin, 2020). However, atypical leaders should not be essentialized as a unified social category; each atypical leader should instead be seen as an individual who may possess ‘varying degrees of atypicality based on a unique blend of status beliefs about their social identities (e.g., gender, class, race, religion)’ (Samdanis & Özbilgin, 2020, p. 103).…”

“…Atypicality and authenticity are closely linked, although they do not always align seamlessly. Myeza and April (2021) highlight how Black leaders mentoring Black employees can bolster genuine resilience in predominantly White working environments. Yet, mentorship by an atypical leader can sometimes prioritize dominant interests, merely presenting a facade of valuing diversity (Lumby, 2006; Zanoni & Janssens, 2015).…”

Black Women School Leaders: Building Effective Schools Against the Odds

“…The preparation programmes for black leaders need to examine black psychology and ways of overcoming ingrained societal beliefs when it comes to leadership. Myeza and April (2021) write about the importance of using the black experience when it comes to the emergence of black leaders. Black women leaders also need to understand the intersectional frame because the sexism and racism are not discrete experiences.…”