Emotional Labor and Midlevel Leadership

Abstract

In this chapter, we extend the conventional expectations of midlevel academic leadership to include emotional labor. To do so, we draw on examples salient to academic department chairs, who are the ultimate example of midlevel leaders: sitting between senior‐level leaders and a cadre of disciplinary‐ and departmentally‐based peers. After defining emotional labor, we discuss how it applies to higher education, generally, and to academic department chairs specifically. We highlight the potential consequences of emotional labor for such midlevel leaders and conclude with practical suggestions for raising awareness and advancing healthier notions of leadership for midlevel academic leaders.