From lone wolves to members of the pack: Exploring interpersonal identity work within identity workspaces

Abstract

Summary Individuals can experience the urge to realize their desired work selves, inspired either by the “roads not taken” in the past or positive images of the self in the future. Based on a qualitative study of healthcare professionals working in Italian community hospitals, we develop a process model of how communities of individuals who are unable to enact their desired work selves in their current occupations create new entities to act as identity workspaces to host their identity work. They may do so even if they hold different desired work selves, engaging in interpersonal identity work. The processes of identity work and collective creation of an identity workspace are intertwined since the identity work of one individual is in an ongoing dynamic relation with the identity work of other individuals. People converge to play out their desired work selves in an identity workspace which is supportive. However, the heterogeneity of the desired work selves involved can lead to the individual's identity work encroaching on the identity work of the others, and this heterogeneity results in impasse. This impasse is resolved only when individuals engage in interpersonal identity work, through mutual exploration and enactment of expanded work selves in an enabling identity workspace.

Shared accountability in distributed leadership for improved healthcare access: a study of a US dental institution

“…Our findings make several contributions to the DL literature. First, our overarching contribution is demonstrating that shared accountability in DL is necessary for DL to “work.” Without shared accountability, organizations can experience disconnects among distributed leaders (Martin et al , 2015), risking individuals working as “lone wolves” or within groups that might work against the organizational strategy (Bertolotti et al , 2021). The three elements of personal ownership, agentic actions and a shared belief system serve as the platform for shared accountability so that distributed leaders across the organization could move the strategic change forward.…”

“…First, our overarching contribution is demonstrating that shared accountability in DL is necessary for DL to "work." Without shared accountability, organizations can experience disconnects among distributed leaders (Martin et al, 2015), risking individuals working as "lone wolves" or within groups that might work against the organizational strategy (Bertolotti et al, 2021).…”

Implementing reshoring: insights and principles from a longitudinal case study in the e-bike industry

“…Then, all the members of the research team actively participated in data analysis following the procedure proposed by Miles et al (2013), which consists of (a) data reduction, (b) data display, and (c) drawing conclusions. Finally, in stage three, the research team applied a temporal bracketing strategy (Langley 1999): a method that helps to structure process analysis and sensemaking by splitting process data into a series of more discrete but connected blocks (Bertolotti et al 2022;Langley 1999). In our case, we identified coherence within each phase and discontinuity between phases over three fundamental aspects: 1) the company's central goal; 2) the company's primary internal processes and how they are managed; 3) the company's supply chain approach, in terms of both supply relocation decisions and supplier relationship management.…”

Are emergency departments leader identity workspaces? A qualitative study of emergency physicians

“…These mutually reinforcing elements combine to create an identity workspace that helps individuals understand who they are and enables them to develop into the professional they hope to become. While acknowledging that EPs' work relationships and environments can be enabling and supportive as well as constraining or adversarial, 6 and that the same institution may serve as an identity workspace for some group members and not for others, 5 the aim of the present study is to explore whether EDs are leader identity workspaces. To this end, we asked two key research questions.…”

“…While acknowledging that EPs' work relationships and environments can be enabling and supportive as well as constraining or adversarial, 6 and that the same institution may serve as an identity workspace for some group members and not for others, 5 the aim of the present study is to explore whether EDs are leader identity workspaces. To this end, we asked two key research questions.…”