women leaders, personal leadership and challenges

WOMEN LEADERS PERSONAL LEADERSHIP AND

CHALLENGES

by

Marlize van Wyk

Mini-dissertation

Submitted as part of the requirements for the degree

MAGISTER PHILOSOPHIAE

in

PERSONAL INTERPERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP

FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT

UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG

Supervisors Prof Willem Schurink

Dr Mary Anne Harrop-Allin

January 2012

i

DEDICATION

ANDRE AND BETS PRINSLOO

Photo 1 My mother and father whom I love and respect deeply February 2012

ldquoThank you for believing in me and for your supportrdquo

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The meaning associated with the concept of tree of life varies in different contexts

such as religion science mythology and philosophy etc For me personally this

tree resembles my life My ldquorootsrdquo are anchored in God I ldquobranch outrdquo to others for

wisdom and strength and the ldquotrunkrdquo is my mind and body that supports me in this

world The quality of my tree is dependent on my inner state and personal

leadership in my life When I am focused on what is good and true my tree

flourishes regenerates and bears abundant fruit

iii

Photo 2 View from my office

My office is a room surrounded by trees

and the sound of birds This is where I feel

connected

Photo 3 My writing space

My research story begins and ends with the people in my life that supported me

through this journey I see them as birds in my tree with different virtues and

qualities for example my supervisors are owls that provided me with wisdom and

insight I share with you the flock of birds that carried me through this thesishellip

My Higher support Thank you 1) God - for giving me talents and intellect to

develop myself and contribute to others 2) My Angels - for showing me the way

forward and for providing me with inspiration at times when I wanted to give up

iv

My academic support

Thank you 3) Prof Willem Schurink (my supervisor) ndash who sustained me through the

initial dark forest of qualitative research methodology and helped me to see the light

at the end of the curving path 4) Dr Mary Anne Harrop-Allin (my co-supervisor) -

who remained positive no matter what and for seeing ldquolight and angelsrdquo even during

dark times 5) Pharny D Chrysler-Fox - for being a catalyst in my study by helping

me make a paradigm shift and for the creative inspiration

My family support Thank you 6) Andre Prinsloo (my father) - who believed in me

who was genuinely interested in my progress during my studies during the last two

years who supported me emotionally and financially and for entertaining the kids on

the farm during the holidays so that I could work 7) Bets Prinsloo (my mother) - who

made me believe in myself You are always so proud of me so I started to believe

there must be something to be proud of Thanks for the emotional support and for

playing ldquoNanny McPheerdquo when I needed it most 8) Wessel van Wyk (my husband) -

who wrenched me out of my comfort zone and helped to strengthen my character

for setting an example that nothing is impossible once yoursquove broken through a

certain boundary like you did with your iron man for allowing me to study and

develop myself while neglecting my family and the household for cooking such

wonderful food on nights that I needed it most for taking the kids on fishing trips and

for loving me We survived 9) Elizabeth van Wyk (my daughter 12 years) - who

taught me patience and allowed me an opportunity to practice emotional intelligence

for teaching me to have confidence in my abilities by your example for looking after

Ben when you saw I needed time and space to work on my thesis 10) Wessel van

Wyk (my eldest son 10 years) - who taught me sensitivity and love for teaching me

respect for othersrsquo boundaries 11) Benjamin van Wyk (my ldquolaatlamrdquo 5 years) - who

reminds me that parenthood DEMANDS full attention and lots of time without

negotiation ndash this taught me total commitment and unconditional love 12) Johan and

13) Marina Stoop - Thank you Ouma and Oupa for babysitting the kids for whole

holidays so that I could work on my thesis 14) Mariet - for helping me with photos

and the tree 15) Hendrikus and 16) Colin - for entertaining the kids when I had to

work

v

My home support 17) Josephine Ramashia (my housekeeper) - who made tea

when it seemed as if I needed it for cleaning the house and taking Ben to the park

when I needed to work 18) Gabbi amp Max (my two Schnauzers) - for sitting on the

couch next to me every single hour I worked on my computer all through the night

My friends 19) Serahni Wolmerans and 20) Nig Liesl van der Merwe (my ldquosoul

sistersldquo) - who joined me on the journey of personal quests 21) Marietjie Morris 22)

Gerdi Bishoff 23) Theresa Coetser 24) Marelize Smith - for your silent support and

cheerleading from behind the scenes for being my PA in reminding me about the

kidsrsquo assignments and tests and for phoning from the cricket field when Wessel was

about to bat or during school assembly when prizes were about to be handed out

25) Lize Reynecke and Ouma Yvonne 26) Natasha Nel - for letting Ben play almost

each Saturday and many long afternoons

vi

AFFIDAVIT MASTERS STUDENT

vii

ABSTRACT

Orientation Women leaders are acknowledged for their resonance-building

leadership styles adaptive communication skills and qualities of cooperation

mentoring and collaboration - traits that are becoming increasingly important to

leadership in contemporary organisations If women are sufficiently competent to

serve as leaders why have so relatively few reached the top of the ladder Gender

based stereotypes influenced by the cultural value dimensions of society are seen as

the major barriers to womenrsquos advancement Despite enabling legislation in South

Africa statistics reflect the dwindling of opportunities as women reach the upper

echelons of management Career primary motivated women reported structural

barriers in organisations including networking glass ceilings and glass cliffs Societal

challenges that women face included lack of access to power in an environment that

is becoming increasingly toxic resulting in eroding of values and ethics among

leaders in general Personal challenges working mothers faced were finding balance

in the social construction of their life roles and creating a meandering career path

during midlife Personal leadership was evident in the womenrsquos lives in their spiritual

dimensions their mental dimensions their physical dimensions and their emotional

dimensions

Research purpose The aim of this study was to describe ldquoWhordquo women leaders in

South Africa are to explore ldquoWhatrdquo challenges they face personally in society and in

organisations and ldquoHowrdquo personal leadership helped them to cope and excel in their

careers and lives

Motivation for the study In my opinion women are equally competent to serve as

leaders but there are barriers to their achievement of leadership positions Living as

a woman in South African society where gender conditioning is interwoven Irsquove

always been painfully aware of and frustrated with segregation and lack of

opportunities based on gender The first motivation for the study was to investigate

the specific challenges career-primary motivated women face Secondly women

leaders seem to cope brilliantly and excel in their careers and personal lives The

viii

motivation of this study was to investigate what the qualities are that females bring

to leadership and to illuminate how personal leadership assisted women leaders to

overcome personal socio-cultural and organisational challenges to excel in their

careers through the different phases of their lives

Research design A modernist qualitative research methodology was employed

The research strategy adopted was multiple case studies with some elements of

grounded theory Purposive and snowball sampling was used to recruit a limited

number of women leaders in different fields and at different levels in organisations

With the aid of computerised qualitative data analysis software (ATLASti) thematic

analysis was inductively applied to data generated during unstructured in-depth

interviews A literature study was conducted to demystify conceptual elements and to

report on the status quo The study was because of its limited scope in the first

place intended to obtain an understanding of women leadership and personal

leadership from the everyday experiences and perceptions of a small group of

women that may be regarded as leaders in the South African context and not to test

any hypotheses in order to formulate a theory

Main findings The 14 themes found and positioned within the three broad

categories of challenges of ldquoWhordquo ldquoWhatrdquo and ldquoHowrdquo provide some insight into

the social world of the ten local women leaders and how they employed personal

leadership to overcome the challenges they faced In my view what is particularly

significant is that the insights derived from the women leaders confirmed the pyramid

of leadership (Covey 1991 1998) implying that it appears to be an important

construct in illuminating the experiences and views of a small group of South African

women leaders

Significant clusters of findings are i) women define leadership from a feminine

perspective ii) concluding on the women in leadership debate men and women

behave differently in leadership roles although women are not better leaders than

men their female leadership disadvantage has been minimised women receive

prejudiced evaluations as leaders and women leaders have unique strengths ii)

there is a lack of female mentors in the leadership pipeline and structured mentor

programmes in organisations need to be promoted iii) gender values and power are

ix

the essence of womenrsquos societal and organisational challenges iv) working mothers

still face challenges in the social construction of their life roles and in attaining work-

life integration v) midlife is a time of re-evaluation of priorities and achievements and

this was reflected in the women leadersrsquo career adjustments vi) personal leadership

was reflected in the women leadersrsquo mindsets and their coping mechanisms more

specifically women leaders hold their anchor in their spiritual wellbeing grow their

power in their mental wellbeing conserve their energy in their physical wellbeing and

maintain their stability in their emotional wellbeing

Practicalmanagerial implications The identification of appropriate developmental

and supportive interventions for women leaders tips to organisations and women

leaders of the future

Contribution and value Understanding leadership from a feminine perspective

understanding the personal and corporate challenges women face in the context of

the South African socio-cultural and value dimensions and an understanding to what

extent personal leadership will guide successful women leaders

Key Words women leaders gender power values work-life integration midlife

personal leadership modernistic qualitative research

x

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication i

Acknowledgements ii

Affidavit vi

Abstract vii

Table of Contents x

List of Figures xiii

List of Tables xiii

List of Photographs xiv

CHAPTER 1 ndash INTRODUCTION

11 INTRODUCTION 1

12 BACKGROUND 1

13 MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY 3

14 DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS 4

15 OBJECTIVES 7

16 EXPECTED VALUE OF THE STUDY 7

161 Expected theoretical value 8

162 Expected methodological value 8

163 Expected practical value 8

17 THE STRUCTURE OF THE MINI-DISSERTATION 8

18 CONCLUSION 9

CHAPTER 2 ndash RESEARCH DESIGN

21 INTRODUCTION 10

22 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY 10

221 Ontology 10

222 Epistemology 11

23 A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH APPROACH 12

231 Modernist qualitative research 12

232 Interpretive qualitative research 13

24 RESEARCH STRATEGY 13

241 Case study 13

xi

242 Case study informed by grounded theory 15

243 Building theory from case study research 16

25 THE RESEARCH PROCESS 17

251 Research setting 17

252 Sampling 18

253 Establishing researcher roles 20

254 Demarcating the study 21

255 Participant profiles 22

256 Data collection methods 25

257 Data management 27

258 Storing of data 29

259 Data analysis 30

2510 Report writing 40

2511 Strategies employed to improve the quality of the study 41

26 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 43

27 CONCLUSION 44

CHAPTER 3 ndash FINDINGS

31 INTRODUCTION 45

32 CONCRETE CONCEPTS 46

33 THE RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS 48

34 FINDINGS 51

341 Women in leadership 51

342 Challenges and coping mechanisms of women leaders 55

343 Personal leadership 86

35 CONCLUSION 104

CHAPTER 4 ndash LITERATURE REVIEW

41 INTRODUCTION 106

42 DEFINING WOMEN LEADERS 108

421 Leadership defined from the pyramid of leadership 108

422 Women in leadership debate 112

43 CHALLENGES AND COPING MECHANISMS 117

431 Societal and organisational challenges for women in leadership in South Africa 118

432 Challenges and coping mechanisms for working mothers 131

433 Challenges women face in midlife 134

xii

44 PERSONAL LEADERSHIP IN COPING WITH CHALLENGES 137

441 Spiritual wellbeing 138

442 Mental wellbeing 140

443 Physical wellbeing 142

444 Emotional wellbeing 143

45 CONCLUSION 144

CHAPTER 5 ndash DISCUSSION

51 INTRODUCTION 145

52 THE FINDINGS INTEGRATED WITH RELEVANT LITERATURE 145

521 Defining women in leadership 145

522 Challenges and coping mechanisms 147


53 CONCLUSION 158

CHAPTER 6 ndash PREacuteCIS IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

61 INTRODUCTION 160

62 SUMMARY AND PREacuteCIS 160

63 PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE RESEARCH 163

64 CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE STUDY 164

641 Theoretical contribution of the study 164

642 Practical contribution of the study 165

643 Methodological contribution of the study 165

65 NOTICEABLE SHORTCOMINGS OF THE STUDY 166

66 ENSURING QUALITY RESEARCH 167

67 RECOMMENDATIONS 168

671 Recommendation for future research 168

672 Recommendation for business 168

68 CONCLUSION 169

xiii

LIST OF REFERENCES 170

ADDENDA

A INTERVIEW SCHEDULE 190

B INFORMED CONSENT AGREEMENT 194

C TABLE C1 COMPARISONS OF PARTICIPANTS 195

D MY RESEARCH STORY 197 LIST OF FIGURES

11 A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS

5

21 FAMILIARISING AND DISCOVERING POSSIBLE CODES 34

22 CODE MANAGER OF COLLATED CODES EG GENDER STEREOTYPING AND ASSOCIATED QUOTES

35

23 EXAMPLE OF QUOTATION REPORT ON GENDER STEREOTYPING

36

24 EXAMPLE OF CATEGORIES IN THE FAMILY OF GENDER 37

25 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK BASED ON THEMES CONSTRUCTS AND CODES IN EXCEL

37

26 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK THEMATIC REVIEW 38

41 PYRAMID OF LEADERSHIP 110

42 NUMBER OF WOMEN IN JSE-LISTED COMPANIES AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL POSITIONS

116

43 WOMEN DIRECTORS AND DIRECTORSHIP POSITIONS 116

44 WOMEN WORKFORCE REPRESENTATION 117

45 LIFE DIMENSIONS 137

46 PERSONAL MASTERY 138

LIST OF TABLES

21 TYPES OF CASE STUDIES 14

22 STEPS AND ACTIVITIES IN BUILDING THEORY 16

23 PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS 23

31 RESEARCH PARTICIPANTSrsquo CONCRETE CONCEPTS ACCORDING TO RESEARCH QUESTIONS

46

xiv

LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS

Photo 1 My mother and father February 2012 ii

Photo 2 View from my office iv

Photo 3 My writing space iv

Photo 4 The beginning of the journey ndash Prof Schurink and Marlize February 18 2010

196

Photo 5 Research proposal panel presentation September 8 2010 201

Photo 6 Dress rehearsal meeting - Dr Harrop-Allin and Marlize June 22 2011

205

Photo 7 Van Wyk family on Christmas Day 2010 216

1


11 INTRODUCTION

The basic framework and approach adopted for this research is described in this

chapter The objectives of this chapter are to i) sketch the background of women

leaders in general ii) state the research problem and research questions to be

addressed iii) formulate the objectives of the study iv) briefly review the current

level of knowledge and v) state the anticipated contributions of the study

12 BACKGROUND

Historically women in South Africa have always been on the forefront of motivating

for change On the political front one is reminded of the pioneering mothers of the

nation like Lilian Ngoyi Helen Joseph and Albertina Sisulu who fought for justice

racial equality and gender equality Today influential businesswomen are fighting

for change in South Africa on the economic front and the following are but a few

worthy of mention Christine Ramon (Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer

of Sasol Limited) Dawn Mokhobo (elected to the management board of Eskom)

Mamphela Ramphele (Chairperson of Goldfields) Santie Botha (served as the

Executive Director of Marketing for the MTN Group from 2003 to 2010) Maria

Ramos (Chief Executive Officer of the Absa Group) and Gill Marcus (Governor of

the South African Reserve Bank) (BWASA 2011)

If women are sufficiently competent to serve as leaders why have so relatively few

reached the top of the promotion ladder For women the path to power is an

obstacle course (Ragins amp Sundstrom 1989) or even a labyrinth (Eagly amp Carli

2007) There are socio-cultural challenges such as societal stereotypes that

portray women as followers not as leaders (Eagly amp Karau 2002) that spill over

into organisations Although enabling legislation in South Africa removed structural

barriers to equal opportunities for women statistics still illustrate the dwindling

opportunities for women leaders as they move up the corporate ladder in South

Chapter 1 - Introduction

2

Africa Of the 43 of women penetrating the middle management ranks only 44

reach Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director positions in many South

African businesses (BWASA 2011) Research conducted on the remaining

barriers to womenrsquos advancement opportunities include gender-based stereotyping

(Eagly amp Carli 2003) structural constraints (Goodman Fields amp Blum 2003) the

glass ceiling (Morrison amp Von Glinow 1990) and glass walls (Lopez 1992)

While structural barriers were addressed little attention has been given to the

personal challenges women as leaders face - to break through the internal barriers

in the mindsets of individuals and institutions The following aspects of women in

leadership have been debated and researched the female leadership advantage

(Eagly amp Carli 2003) on an exploration of stereotypical beliefs about leadership

styles (Vinkenburg Van Engen Eagly amp Johannesen-Schmidt 2011) the

emergence of executive leadership of women (Furst amp Reeves 2008) social and

emotional competencies predicting success for male and female executives

(Bilimoria amp Hopkins 2007) ldquomasculinerdquo task-orientated positions (Eagly amp Karau

2002) and womenrsquos leadership development (Hopkins OrsquoNeil Passarell amp

Bilimoria 2008)

Women leaders who are mothers face additional challenges in having to juggle

career and family responsibilities causing conflict as they feel they have to choose

the one or the other (Halpern amp Cheung 2008) It is necessary to understand the

obstacles that women leaders have to overcome at different phases of their life

cycles such as being passed over for jobs that require relocation (Lyness amp

Thompson 2000) or bias in recommending women with children for promotions

(Heilman amp Okimoto in Kassin Fein amp Markus 2008)

Furthermore when working mothers reach midlife they often experience a sense

of dissatisfaction with life (Meyer Moore amp Viljoen 2002) followed by a period of

re-evaluation of life choices and an opportunity to make changes if necessary

(Erickson 1963 Levinson 1986 Schein 1978) There is a move towards an inner

directedness and humility towards a new identity priorities and direction (Jung

1989a) In midlife women often seek new challenges at work and in personal


3

interests (Gordon amp Whelan-Berry 2004) that can affect their career patterns

(OrsquoNeil Hopkins amp Bilimoria 2008) This is a time when women leaders take

charge of their lives and careers by showing self-discipline and commitment

(Helson amp Moane 1987) by demonstrating personal leadership

Women leaders who benefit from the progress made by pioneering women are

responsible for building the next mantle of female leadership by investing in

themselves and others The final internal challenge women leaders face is to

master their own unique circumstances - ldquohellipto lead by authentically connecting our

own life experiences values and talents to the special circumstances we facerdquo

(Cashman 2008 p34) Personal mastery is having a personal perspective of

continually clarifying and deepening onersquos personal vision (Senge 1990) through a

progressive process of awareness of the essence and potential of onersquos internal

dimensions (physical spiritual emotional and mental) and actualising it (Smith

2009)

13 MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY I reiterate my question ldquoIf women are sufficiently competent to serve as leaders

why have so relatively few reached the top of the ladderrdquo In my opinion women

are equally competent to serve as leaders but there are barriers to their

achievement Living as a woman in South African society where gender

conditioning is interwoven I am aware and frustrated with segregation and lack of


the specific challenges career-primary motivated women face

Secondly in my personal experience as a fulltime working mother I had to halt my

career in my early thirties due to burnout as a result of post natal depression and

lack of meaning in my job Therefore I have always admired women who

seemingly cope brilliantly and excel in their careers and personal lives In the

process of completing the M (Phil) Personal Interpersonal and Professional

Leadership degree Irsquove grown personally and have realised the importance of

personal leadership in balancing work and family life I wanted to investigate if


4

personal leadership was the secret ingredient in successful women leadersrsquo lives

specifically in midlife when the challenges are different

14 DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Having scanned the literature it became clear to me that the following issues

regarding women can be clustered into three broad questions namely ldquoWho are

women leadersrdquo ldquoWhat are their challenges and coping mechanismsrdquo and ldquoHow

are women leadersrsquo lives directed by personal leadershiprdquo (See Figure 11)


5

FIGURE 11 A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The question ldquoWHO are women leaders in South Africardquo implies that there is no

clear understanding of what is meant by the term ldquoWomen in Leadershiprdquo and their

positioning in the South African context

W

HO

W

HAT

HO

W

ldquoWho

are wom

enlead

ers

rdquoldquoW

hat a

re th

e ch

alleng

es and

cop

ing

mec

hanism

srdquo

ldquoHow

are wom

en lead

ersrsquo

lives

directed

by pe

rson

al

lead

ersh

iprdquo

Define

Working Mothers

Spiritual Wellbeing

Mental Wellbeing

Physical Wellbeing

sect Who are women leaders in the South African context

sect How does personal leadership direct women leadersrsquo lives spiritually mentally physically and emotionally

Research Question Objective

Emotional Wellbeing

Category

sect To investigate how women leaders anchor their lives with personal leadership specifically in their spiritual mental physical and emotional dimensions

Womenrsquos challenges at

midlife

sect What is the influence of midlife on womenrsquos careers and how do organisations accommodate them

sect To clarify how midlife affects womenrsquos careers

Societal and Organisational

sect What are the challenges that women leaders in particular working mothers face

sect To identify the societal and organisational challenges and coping mechanisms for all women leaders in SA

sect To describe the women in leadership debate

sect What are the societal and organisational challenges that all women leaders in SA face

sect To identify the challenges and coping mechanisms for working mothers


6

Regarding the question ldquoWHAT are the challenges and coping mechanismsrdquo the

following factors are important

sect Societal and environmental aspects What is the impact of bigger societal

issues eg gender conditioning stereotyping and discrimination on women

leaders How have women leaders empowered themselves Do women

leaders use the strength of their traditional collectivistic cultures in the

corporate environment How healthy and ethical is the corporate environment

under the influence of ldquopower and politicsrdquo

sect What are the challenges of working mothers that impact on their time

energy and values How are they coping Have they reached a balance in

life Have their careers been influenced by their family-life decisions Have

organisations met them half way with family orientated cultures and flexible

arrangements

sect What are the challenges women face at midlife and how do these

influence their career positioningrdquo

In respect of the question ldquoHOW are women leadersrsquo lives directed by personal

leadershiprdquo the following aspects are important

sect Spiritual Wellbeing How connected are women leaders to themselves and

in what do they find an anchor How do they define meaning in work and

meaning in life Have they defined their lifersquos purpose What spiritual

characteristics do they display

sect Mental Wellbeing Do women use their mental dimension to access power

How have their mindsets evolved to cope with the challenges How does the

ego enhance or derail their careers How do women leaders define success

What characteristics do they display that help them with stress management

How do they recharge How much insight do they have in respect of their

temperaments and the resulting career fit

sect Physical Wellbeing How do women leaders maintain their energy How

would they describe their physical health exercise patterns and eating habits

sect Emotional Wellbeing How would women define emotional intelligence Do

they manage their emotions and use them constructively


7

15 OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to explore and describe the phenomena lsquoWomen in

Leadershiprsquo in the context of ten senior business womenrsquos lives (of different levels

race and industries in South Africa) In addition I wanted to understand their

experiences and perceptions of the challenges they face during different life

cycles and how they cope with these through personal leadership

More specifically the study aimed to achieve the following specific research

objectives

sect To define women in leadership in the South African context

sect To identify the societal and organisational challenges all working women

in South Africa experience

sect To identify the challenges and coping mechanisms working mothers

experience

sect To identify the challenges women face at midlife and how it influences

their careers

sect To investigate how women leaders anchor their lives with personal

leadership specifically in their spiritual mental physical and emotional

dimensions

16 EXPECTED VALUE OF THE STUDY

Considering the limited scope of the mini-dissertation and the studyrsquos explorative-

descriptive nature it might be too ambitious to claim theoretical methodological as

well as practical contributions Therefore the study carefully aimed to add the

following value


8

161 Expected theoretical value

This study was aimed at describing local women in leadership by understanding

how they define women in leadership and to provide some understanding into the

strengths that female leadership brings to the table In addition it was aimed at

investigating the challenges that a small group of South African women leaders

were experiencing in society in organisations and in their personal lives (as

mothers in midlife) In researching the social worlds of these women it was

anticipated that the study would make a modest contribution by providing

knowledge of local women leadersrsquo mastering of personal leadership in their

careers in midlife

162 Expected methodological value

It is anticipated that this research will contribute to the methodology of the limited

local qualitative organisational studies and leadership research and womenrsquos

studies in particular Since researchers in the fields of leadership and human

resources management locally tend to favour quantitative research designs I

believed that undertaking a qualitative study could provide a deeper understanding

of the challenges and personal leadership of women leaders

163 Expected practical value

The expected practical value of the research is to use the insights gained from the

research findings to provide guidelines to business on how programmes could be

developed to grow women leaders in South Africa

17 THE STRUCTURE OF THE MINI-DISSERTATION The remainder of the mini-dissertation is structured as follows Firstly a description

of the research design strategy and methodology will be discussed in Chapter 2

The qualitative data collected during the study and the empirical findings will be

presented in Chapter 3 Then a detailed review of extant literature and findings


9

that inform the research problem and questions will be reviewed in Chapter 4 This

leads to the discussion and interpretation of the synthesised findings and key

literature in relation to the research problem and objectives in Chapter 5 Finally

Chapter 6 discusses the key findings theoretical practical and methodological

added value and implications It also highlights suggestions for future research

18 CONCLUSION This chapter reviewed the background the motivation for the study the definition

of the problem and research questions as well as the objectives the expected

value of the study and the structure of the mini-dissertation

Chapter 2 ndash Research Design

10

CHAPTER 2 - RESEARCH DESIGN

21 INTRODUCTION

This chapter deals with the studyrsquos research design More particularly I discuss my

(i) research philosophy (ii) what qualitative research entails (iii) the key decisions

I took during the research process and (iv) how I dealt with ethical challenges

22 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY

In qualitative inquiry it is widely believed that in order to conduct quality research it

is necessary at the outset for the researcher to unpack his or her scientific beliefs

(Byleveld 2008) Therefore I had to consider my position with regard to social

reality and in particular my research topic the experiences and views of women

leaders including their personal leadership behaviour (ontology) and how I was

going to study these experiences and perspectives (epistemology) I took heed of

my study leadersrsquo advice as well as the truism by Flick (2006) namely that since

the way one constructs onersquos social views influences onersquos presentation of facts it

is crucial to unpack and understand how one constructs onersquos social views at the

outset of onersquos research

221 Ontology

The term ldquoontologyrdquo refers to the nature of the reality we research It is concerned

with the researcherrsquos beliefs about what social reality is ndash what there is to know

about the world (Potter 1996) Ritchie and Lewis (2003) claim that three realities

need to be considered in attempting to understand the social world namely

realism materialism and idealism Realism maintains that there is an external

reality that exists independently of peoplersquos own beliefs in other words people

interpret reality differently from what it actually is (foolrsquos paradise) Materialism

proposes a real world governed and ruled by material features while idealism


11

assumes that reality is only evident through socially constructed meanings (the

human mind)

According to Mouton and Marais (1996) the following three broad ontological

questions are important

(i) Does social reality exist free from human conceptions and understanding

(ii) Is there a shared social reality or do various context-specific realities exist

(iii) Is social reality for example human behaviour regulated by laws which

can be seen as unchangeable

So what is my ontology While not easy to express I believe that context-specific

realities exist and that reality is created through socially constructed meanings In

other words people experience situations differently from one another they have

different experiences of particular circumstances events or phenomena according

to their social context Reality is not something simply ldquosittingrdquo in our midst We

create it on a daily basis according to situations needs and experiences we have

to deal with

222 Epistemology

Epistemology is concerned with the researcherrsquos beliefs about what shehe regards

as knowledge or evidence of things in the social world (Potter 1996)

ldquoYour epistemology is literally your theory of knowledge and should therefore

concern the principles and rules by which you decide whether and how social

phenomena can be known and how knowledge can be demonstratedrdquo (Mason

1996 p13) Social researchers are ldquosubjectsrdquo and are just as much interpreters of

social situations as the people being studied This has made perfect sense to me

and therefore I have focused on womenrsquos meaning in context Following Myers

(2009) I have aimed to understand the context of the phenomenon of women in

leadership as well as the related challenges Context really defines the situation

and makes it what it is More specifically the meaning of a particular word depends


12

upon its context within a sentence paragraph and culture Without understanding

the broader context it is impossible to understand the correct meaning of a single

piece of data Similarly the meaning of a social phenomenon depends on its

context ldquo the context being the socially constructed reality of people being

studiedrdquo (Myers 2009 p39)

To decipher and understand the socially constructed reality of women leaders and

their worlds I applied a research approach namely qualitative research to enable

myself to capture the richness of concrete experiences and to make sense of

them But what does this approach imply This is the next subject of discussion

23 A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH APPROACH

Contemporary qualitative inquiry entails many different approaches In the present

explorative-descriptive study both elements of what might be termed modernism

and interpretivism are found Letrsquos take a closer look at what these entail

231 Modernist qualitative research

Rogelberg (2002) describes principles of the modernist paradigm as enabling the

researcher to predict and control behaviour independent of the circumstances and

the context of the situation Usually a hypothesis will be set prior to the research

process The researcher will then use what has been found in real situations to

authenticate or refute the hypothesis that was set This can also lead to the

development and extension of the existing theory which was utilised

Denzin and Lincoln (1998) offer modernism as part of their momentsrsquo typology in

the history of qualitative research and suggest that it represents the golden age of

rigorous qualitative analysis (Denzin amp Lincoln 2000) Strategies of inquiry range

from grounded theory and the case study to the methods of historical

biographical ethnographical and clinical research Methods of data collection vary

from interviewing and participant observation to the study of human documents

Data is analysed by means of analytical induction and grounded theory In this


13

tradition influential texts attempt to formalise qualitative methods with a view of

making qualitative research as rigorous as its quantitative counterpart (Sparkes

2002)

232 Interpretive qualitative research

As previously suggested exponents of the interpretive paradigm assume that

access to reality (given or socially constructed) is only possible through social

constructions such as language consciousness shared meaning and instruments

(Myers 2009) and attempt to understand phenomena through the meanings that

people assign to them (Boland 1991 Orlikowski amp Baroudi 1991) Interpretive

researchers ldquohellipdo not predefine dependent and independent variables but focus

instead on the complexity of human sense-making as the situation emergesrdquo

(Kaplan amp Maxwell in Myers 2009 p38)

24 RESEARCH STRATEGY In light of the previous paragraphs it should come as no surprise that different

qualitative research designs or strategies are found in contemporary qualitative

inquiry Schram (2006) for example lists the following five ethnography

phenomenology grounded theory narrative inquiry and case study In the present

study I used both a case study and a variety of grounded theory

241 Case study

According to Cresswell (2007) a case study can be regarded as an in-depth

analysis of a bounded system a single case or multiple cases over a period of

time Along similar lines Yin (in Myers 2009 p79) defines a case study in two

parts Firstly a case study is ldquoan empirical inquiry that investigates a

contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context especially when the

boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evidentrdquo Secondly

ldquothe case study relies on multiple sources of evidence (triangulation)rdquo


14

Myers (2009 p74) adds a business focus to the definition of case study ldquoA case

study can be of a social process an organisation or any collective social unithelliprdquo

Case study research in business uses empirical evidence from one or more

organisations where an attempt is made to study the subject matter in context

Multiple sources of evidence are used although most of the evidence comes from

interviews and documents (Myers 2009 p76)

So when should one use a case study According to Yin (2003) a case study

design should be considered when (a) the focus of the study is to answer ldquohowrdquo

and ldquowhyrdquo questions (b) one cannot manipulate the behaviour of those involved in

the study and (c) one wants to cover contextual conditions because one believes

they are relevant to the phenomenon under study

The reason I chose a case study was because I wanted to study women leaders in

different organisations in the context of their challenges at midlife and sought to

determine how they were coping

The selection of a specific type of case study design will be guided by the overall

study purpose Yin (2003) and Stake (1995) use different terms to describe a

variety of case studies Yin (2003) differentiates between single holistic case

studies and multiple case studies Stake (1995) and Schram (2006) refer to three

types of case studies namely intrinsic instrumental and collective multiple or

comparative case studies with different purposes

TABLE 21 TYPES OF CASE STUDIES

Type Definition

Intrinsic Schram (2006) finds that the intrinsic case study is undertaken when

a researcher desires a better understanding of a particular case The

purpose is not to build theory (although that is an option) (Stake

1995)

Instrumental

In the case of an instrumental case study the researcher examines a

particular case in order to illuminate an issue or refine a construct

such as theory (Schram 2006)

Multiple

case studies

A multiple case study enables the researcher to explore differences

within and between cases The goal is to replicate findings across


15

Type Definition

cases predict similar results across cases or predict contrasting

results based on a theory (Yin 2003)

Collective or

comparative

This type of case study is applied where the researcher extends the

instrumental case study to cover several cases in order to learn more

about the particular phenomenon (Schram (2006) Collective case

studies are similar in nature and description to multiple case studies

(Yin 2003)

The present study reflects elements of multiple and comparative case studies

242 Case study informed by grounded theory

Case studies can be used to accomplish various aims namely to provide

description (Kiddler 1982) test theory (Anderson 1983 Pinfield 1986) or to

generate theory (Gersick 1988) Glaser and Straussrsquos (1967) work on grounded

theory is based on the comparative method that relies on the continuous

comparison of data and theory beginning with data collection It emphasises both

the emergence of theoretical categories solely from evidence and the incremental

approach to case selection and data gathering (Miles amp Huberman 1994) The first

stage of grounded theory that was applied involved the collection and transcription

of data namely open coding (Myers 2009) This involved analysing the text and

summarising this by succinct code I asked theory generating questions (Who

What When How) as suggested by Bohm (2004) when the coding was done

Constant comparison was applied to compare and contrast qualitative data in the

search for similarities and differences (Myers 2009) This was done by comparing

the codes and concepts in a provisional manner and as analysis progressed the

differentiated concepts became categories The second stage involved axial

coding or selective coding which involved refining the conceptual constructs

(Glaser in Myers 2009) The third stage of grounded theory research namely

theoretical coding was not applied The study did not attempt to formulate

theory through forming hypothesis about the phenomena (Myers 2009)

Rather the study provided insights regarding the phenomena of women leaders at

midlife


16

243 Building theory from case study research

Although a theory was not formulated (Myers 2009) I did follow the process of

building theory from case study research that was synthesised by Miles and

Huberman (1994) and consequently combined case study (Yin 1984) and

grounded theory building (Glaser amp Strauss 1967) The decisions and steps I

followed are portrayed in Table 22

TABLE 22 STEPS AND ACTIVITIES IN BUILDING THEORY

Step Activity Reason

Getting started - Definition of research question - Possibly a priori constructs - Neither theory nor hypothesis

- Focus efforts - Provides better grounding of

constructs measures - Retains theoretical flexibility

Selecting cases - Specified population - Theoretical sampling

- Constrains extraneous variation and sharpens external validity

- Focus efforts on theoretically useful cases

Crafting instruments and protocols

- Multiple Data collection methods

- Qualitative and quantitative data combined

- Multiple investigations

- Strengthens grounding of theory by triangulation of evidence

- Synergistic view of evidence - Fosters divergent perspectives and

strengthens grounding Entering the field - Overlapping data collection and

analysis including field notes - Flexible and opportunistic data

collection methods

- Speeds analysis and reveals helpful adjustments to data collection

- Allows researcher to take advantage of emergent themes

Analysing data - Within-case analysis - Cross-case pattern search

- Gains familiarity with data and preliminary theory generation

- Seeks evidence through multiple lenses

Shaping hypothesis

- Interactive tabulation of evidence for each construct

- Search evidence for ldquowhyrdquo behind relationships

- Sharpens construct definition validity and measurability

- Builds internal validity

Enfolding literature

- Comparison with conflicting literature

- Comparison with similar literature

- Build internal validity raises theoretical level and sharpens construct definitions

- Sharpens generalisability Reaching closure - Theoretical saturation when

possible - Ends process when marginal

improvement becomes small

The activities in building theory from Miles and Huberman (1994) mainly involved

selecting the cases crafting instruments and protocols entering the field


17

analysing data shaping insights enfolding literature and reaching closure (Miles amp

Huberman 1994)1

25 THE RESEARCH PROCESS

Qualitative research has no fixed design it is not linear but entails a cyclical

process (Schurink 2006) Consequently various steps and decisions were taken

often at the same point to explore and describe the experiences and perceptions

of the women The following represents the main decision taking steps selecting

an appropriate research setting establishing researcher roles and gaining entreacutee

locating the data sampling data sources applying data collection methods

recording the data analysing the data devising strategies to ensure quality

research and reporting the study and its findings

251 Research setting

Qualitative researchers need to select a research setting normally a small scale or

micro world where people who have been involved in the phenomenon studied

are found (Schurink 2006)

But what was the setting I used in the current study Here I asked myself the

following questions ldquoDo I want to analyse individuals Do I want to analyse a

programme Do I want to analyse the process Do I want to analyse the

difference between organisations In this case I studied the experiences and views

of women leaders at midlife in different organisations

1 See Chapter 6 for a more detailed discussion


18

252 Sampling

While quantitative sampling concerns itself with representativeness qualitative

research requires that data must be rich in description of people and places

(Patton 1990) According to Bogdan and Taylor (1975) an important consideration

in choosing research participants is that some people make better research

partners than others because of their ability and their willingness to communicate

their experiences

Initially I used purposeful sampling - ldquohellipa strategy in which particular settings

persons or events are deliberately selected for the important information they can

provide that cannot be gotten as well from other choicesrdquo (Bickman amp Rog in

Schurink 2009b p 816) However as the research progressed and themes

started to emerge I made use of snowball sampling2 by selecting women on an

ongoing basis to gain more insight

One of the common pitfalls associated with case study is that researchers have a

tendency to attempt to answer a question that is too broad or a topic that has too

many objectives for their study In order to avoid this problem several authors

including Stake (1995) and Yin (2003) have suggested that placing boundaries on

a case can prevent this explosion from occurring Suggestions on how to bind a

case include using the following specifications (a) time and place (Cresswell

2007) (b) time and activity (Stake 1995) and (c) definition and context (Miles amp

Huberman 1994) Binding the case ensures that onersquos study remains reasonable

in scope (Baxter amp Jack 2008)

In the present study the research participants were bound (a) by time and place -

by selecting women leaders in the 35 to 45 age group who are currently working in

corporate organisations (b) by time and activity - working mothers at midlife who

have faced the combined challenges of career and parenthood and (c) by

2 Snowballing helps the researcher to gain access to other interviewees and to obtain a critical

mass of interview data (Myers amp Newman 2007)


19

definition and context ndash women who employed personal leadership to overcome

socio-cultural challenges

I also relied on theoretical sampling where multiple cases were chosen for

theoretical but not statistical reasons (Glaser amp Strauss 1967) The goal of this

type of sampling is to choose cases which are likely to replicate or extend the

emergent theory process (Miles amp Huberman 1994) In a multiple case study one

examines several cases to understand the similarities and differences between

them (Baxter amp Jack 2008)

Yin (2003) describes how multiple case studies can be used to either predict

similar results through literal replication or contrasting results through a theoretical

replication Given the fact that a limited number of cases can be studied in a

masterrsquos study of limited scope such as this one I chose cases I considered would

fill theoretical categories and provide examples of polar types in which the process

of interest is ldquotransparently observablerdquo (Miles amp Huberman 1994 p13)

Since race and the challenges previously disadvantaged women faced became

emerging themes I expanded the sample to include women of all races and

languages as well as women who found themselves at different managerial levels

The conclusion of the data collection phase of my study was determined by

pragmatic considerations such as time constraints and money implications

(obtaining extension to complete the research) Another issue in this instance was

the availability of resources

Since this is a mini-dissertation which of necessity implies an explorative-

descriptive study I had to limit the number of women taking part in the research

Nevertheless I added participants until I felt I had reached theoretical saturation

This point I reached when I sensed that no new information and statements were

forthcoming


20

253 Establishing researcher roles

Ritchie and Lewis (2003) address the relationship between the researcher and the

research participant In a purely scientific sense the researcher should not

influence the phenomenon under study However since studying a social

phenomenon is based on a relationship between at least two people this

relationship may influence onersquos understanding of the phenomenon (ibid) In

qualitative research it is generally acknowledged that the researcher becomes the

research instrument (Schurink personal communication 21 August 2010) This

has resulted in me paying much attention to my role and how to manage

subjectivity Following (Schurink 2005) I considered a number of aspects in this

regard (Schurink 2005) Firstly when studying a particular social reality

qualitative researchers need to become immersed in people and social situations

Secondly they need to apply varying interactive social roles when observing

interviewing and interacting with people to collect and capture data interpret them

and validate the data (ibid) I was fortunate to live in the same security estate as

the research participants I purposively selected and with whom I share social roles

around school activities Thirdly since qualitative researchers need to strive

towards being objective and detached from the research they must do their best to

avoid bias Finally qualitative researchers have to deal with their own experiences

and viewpoints With regard to the latter two points the research diary assisted me

to document my experiences and reflect on my understanding of reality and what I

made of the participantsrsquo accounts3 In essence I strived towards disciplined

subjectivity and reflexivity by implying a critical self-examination of my role as

researcher throughout the entire research process (Mason 1996)

3 The reflections included in these documents form part of what has become known as an internal

audit which is typically included in a studyrsquos research story See Addendum D


21

254 Demarcating the study

As already alluded to I recruited professional women leaders who resided in the

same security estate where I live This allowed me access to shared social

activities around the school sports fields with most of the participants I had rapport

with most of them and asked if they would be willing to participate in this research

that is part of my postgraduate study at the Department of Industrial Psychology

and People Management of the University of Johannesburg I briefly informed

them about the purpose of the study Where participants were recruited through

snowballing I was introduced to them via e-mail In these cases more detail about

the study (problem statement purpose and aim of the study) and the purpose and

process of the interviews were e-mailed before the interviews were scheduled

At the first meeting with the participants I negotiated a protocol and an action plan

More specifically

ndash I explained the aim and nature of qualitative research and clarified what is

required of them during the interviews

ndash I clarified what their participation will entail

ndash I obtained their willingness to share their leadership development

experiences and how they coped with challenges


22

255 Participant profiles

I identified ten women whom I wished to interview4

Key features of the participantsrsquo profiles are discussed in Table 23 Certain

aspects and characteristics of the research participants guided me to group them

according to similar jobs and seniority Research participant 1 (RP1) and research

participant 2 (RP2) are both executive life coaches and played the role of

lsquoinformantsrsquo in the study due to their view of women in leadership Schurink (2005)

refers to ldquokey informantsrdquo as respected or knowledgeable people with regard to the

research subject who are able to provide a deeper understanding and to identify

emerging themes and hunches

Research participants 3 4 and 5 (RP3 RP4 and RP5) are at senior executive and

director levels in their companies and are primarily career focused Research

participant 6 (RP6) was a senior external consultant with an entrepreneurial

background while research participants 7 8 9 and 10 (RP7 RP8 RP9 and RP10)

were all at middle management level and career-family orientated ndash with research

participant 10 employed in a half day position

4 A detailed description of each as well as their metaphoric pseudonyms is included in Chapter 3

Cha

pter

2 ndash

Res

earc

h D

esig

n

23

TABLE 23 PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS

Participant

(RP)

Metaphor

Race

Age

Industry

Current position

Current

years in

position

Educational

Level

Sam

pling

technique

and date

interviewed

Interview

1 Interview 2

RP

1 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoSpi

ritrdquo

Whi

te

34

Cor

pora

te

Spi

ritua

l Life

Coa

ch

(Mar

ketin

g M

anag

er b

efor

e ca

reer

cha

nge)

1 M

aste

rs in

C

oach

ing

(UC

T)

Pur

posi

ve

19 J

an

2011

28

Jan

201

1

RP

2 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoMid

wife

rdquo B

lack

45

+ G

over

nmen

t an

d

Cor

pora

te

Exe

cutiv

e C

oach

C

onsu

ltant

M

anag

emen

t amp

Hum

an R

esou

rces

D

evel

opm

ent (

2002

-

pres

ent)

D

irect

or B

lack

M

anag

emen

t F

orum

10

BC

om I

nd

Psy

c (H

ons

(RA

U)

Sno

wba

ll 18

Aug

201

1 19

Aug

20

11

RP

3 ldquoF

lore

nce

Nig

htin

gale

rdquo W

hite

38

F

inan

cial

S

ervi

ces

Mot

or

Man

ufac

turin

g

Man

ager

A

ccou

ntin

g an

d T

axat

ion

1

B C

om C

A

(UP

) P

urpo

sive

23

Feb

20

11

15 J

un 2

011

RP

4

ldquoIro

n W

oman

rdquo W

hite

40

T

ele-

co

mm

unic

atio

n S

ales

amp M

arke

ting

Dire

ctor

10

B

Com

M

arke

ting

Pur

posi

ve

7 Ju

l 20

11

RP

5

ldquoMur

ielrdquo

Bla

ck

45

Info

rmat

ion

Tec

hnol

ogy

Pub

lic S

ecto

r E

xecu

tive

1

B C

om

Info

rmat

ion

Sys

tem

s

Sno

wba

ll 24

Aug

20

11

RP

6

ldquoShi

rley

Val

entin

erdquo

Col

oure

d 45

E

ngin

eerin

g H

uman

Cap

ital

Con

sulta

nt

1 B

Com

In

dust

Psy

ch

(UN

ISA

) P

urpo

sive

7

Jul

2011

Cha

pter

2 ndash

Res

earc

h D

esig

n

24

Par

ticip

ant

(RP

) M

etap

hor5

Rac

e A

ge

Indu

stry

C

urre

nt p

ositi

on

Cu r

rent

ye

ars

in

posi

tion

Edu

catio

nal

Leve

l

Sam

plin

g te

chni

que

and

date

in

terv

iew

ed

Inte

rvie

w

1 In

terv

iew

2

RP

7 ldquoR

ubyrdquo

In

dian

Tel

e-

com

mun

icat

ions

Lo

gist

ics

Man

ager

9

Logi

stic

s S

now

ball

17 A

ug

2011

RP

8 ldquoT

he

Dip

lom

atrdquo

Bla

ck

40

SA

RS

K

now

ledg

e an

d In

form

atio

n S

peci

alis

t 4

MC

om In

f S

yste

m (

UP

) S

now

ball

24 A

ug

2011

RP

9

ldquoFai

ry

Prin

cess

rdquo W

hite

40

In

form

atio

n T

echn

olog

y A

ccou

nts

Dire

ctor

3

BA

dmin

D

iplo

ma

Pur

posi

ve

25 F

eb

2011

RP

10

ldquoFio

nardquo

(Shr

ekrsquos

) W

hite

40

T

ele-

co

mm

unic

atio

ns

Fin

anci

al M

anag

er

4 B

Com

Acc

(H

ons)

RA

U

Pur

posi

ve

25 F

eb

2011

5 M

etap

horic

pse

udon

yms

are

incl

uded

in Chapter 3


25

256 Data collection methods

In the study I made use of individual face-to-face interviews and participant

observation

sect Qualitative interviews

While many definitions of interviews have been offered scholars would generally

agree that a qualitative interview entails a meeting in which a person is asked for

his or her views in order to achieve a specific goal or which serves as a

conversation with a purpose (Websterrsquos Dictionary 2010) In qualitative

interviewing substantially more information emerges than in other forms of

interviews like structured or semi-structured interviews The qualitative or

unstructured interview best enables an interviewer to obtain an ldquoinsider viewrdquo of

the social phenomenon and to explore varieties of human experiences as avenues

of research (Schurink 2004a)

I used in-depth open-ended interviews and made use of a research schedule6

This interview guide offers some structure while it still ensures a relatively high

degree of flexibility (Patton as cited in Bowen 2005) Even though I used this

guide I regarded the interviews as informal personal conversations during which I

drew detailed information and comments from the participants about their worlds

with their informed consent7 In terms of experience and subjectivity in-depth

qualitative interviews are characterised by close personal interaction and

reciprocity of the researcher and the researched (Kvale 2006)

The approach followed was to first conduct pilot interviews with a group of women

to ensure that the most suitable candidates were selected for the purposeful

sample Subsequent interviews were conducted in two phases in order to confirm

the accuracy and stability of the research participantsrsquo reports over time The

6 See Addendum A 7 See Addendum B


26

interview time varied from about an hour and a half to two hours and took place in

the comfort of the research participantsrsquo homes offices or board rooms or at a

restaurant (not ideally) The purpose of the first phase of these interviews was to

introduce a general theme clarify expectations and establish the context of the

participantsrsquo experiences as claimed by Watt (2007) Peer debriefing (with my

supervisors) took place after the first phase of interviews in order to ensure that

what interviewees shared with me was analysed optimally and if necessary to add

themes to the schedule for subsequent interviews The second round of interviews

was more structured in order to clarify subjective personal experiences

Let us now turn to participation observation

sect Participant observation

Participant observation refers to ldquohellipdata in the form of field notes that are

unobtrusively and systematically collected (Bogdan 1972 p3) It is ldquohellipthe

process in which an investigator establishes and sustains a many-sided and

relatively long term relationship with a human association in its natural setting for

the purpose of developing a scientific understanding of that setting (Lofland amp

Lofland in Schurink 2005 p5) Essentially participant observation can be

described as a method whereby the researcher personally to a greater or lesser

extent becomes part of the everyday eventualities of subjects and gains an

understanding of their life world by observing asking questions listening and

capturing information

Schurink (2005 pp7-13) discusses certain dimensions of participant observation

which I generally applied in the study

ndash Membership roles As a member of the purposive participantsrsquo social

worlds I had personal access to the everyday lives of the research

subjects and shared experiences in the childrenrsquos school context I had an

opportunity (and ethical responsibility) to observe listen and ask

questions in the flow of the participantrsquos social behaviour


27

ndash Participant perspectives I had insight into the participantsrsquo social

construction of reality or the process through which people make sense of

their everyday situations

ndash Empathy and insight Being a woman myself I was able to have insight

into the feelings and world views of the participants and promoted

empathy (Patton 1990) It was very difficult at times to align what the

participants said during the interviews with their social behaviour but

what was more difficult for me was not to judge how the women define

success in their personal lives

ndash Researcher reflected field-notes I recorded each dayrsquos events social

activities and details of the people I met in a research journal as soon as

possible after the event (Kellehear 1993) The following is an example of

a journal entry made following a sport field conversation with one of the

participants

This is the definition of work-life balance on a Wednesday afternoon

ldquoFionardquo who is a Financial Manager is taking photos of the cricket

match while looking at her e-mails on her laptop She has got her

priorities right [Journal entry Thursday 21 Jul Cricket Match boys 011

ndash Midstream oval]

257 Data management

During the course of the study I captured the data in a number of different ways

sect Field notes

I made brief notes during interviews which I typed as field notes afterwards In this

regard I applied the Schatzman and Strauss (1973) model as adapted by Schurink

(2006) to construct the notes8 The types of notes are

8 See Addendum A


28

ndash Observational notes These notes entail facts on what happened Little

or no interpretation is provided It describes the Who What When Where

and How of human activity (Schatzman amp Strauss 1973)

ndash Theoretical notes are self-conscious systematic attempts by the

researcher to derive meaning from the observational notes Schatzman

and Strauss (1973 p101) write ldquoThe researcher interprets infers

hypothesises conjectures develops new concepts links these to older

ones or relates any observation to any otherhelliprdquo

ndash Methodological notes are mainly reminders instructions and critical

comments to the recorder or researcher

As a novice researcher I used the field notes as running commentary to

accomplish some degree of overlap between data collection and data analysis I

agree with Miles and Huberman (1994) that the key to useful field notes is writing

down whatever impressions occur that is to react rather than sift out what may

seem important because it is often difficult to know what will and will not be useful

in the future A second key to successful field notes is to drive the thought process

in these notes by asking questions such as ldquoWhat am I learningrdquo and ldquoHow does

this case differ from the lastrdquo

Researchers are expected to reflect on how they come to know what they know

and the chronicle of onersquos thinking contained in a research journal potentially

facilitates such awareness (Watt 2007) Self-reflection or researchers revealing

their bias to readers and scholars is recommended by Cresswell (2007 p196) to

ldquoclarify the bias the researcher brings to the studyhellipsince (it) creates an open and

honest narrative that will resonate well with readersrdquo (emphasis in the original) I

systematically wrote reflective notes in my research diary which are incorporated

in my research story9

9 See Addendum D


29

sect Audio recording

The intention with the audio recording was to have the participantsrsquo own words on

record to use in reporting the findings I requested the research participantsrsquo

permission to record the interviews using an MP3 device These digital records

were saved on my computer Recording unstructured interview discussions not

only reduced reactivity considerably but also enabled me to devote all of my

attention to the task of interviewing Aspects such as the non-verbal

communication the physical environment and nuisance factors such as

interruptions and pauses were noted in the field notes (Schurink 2004b)

258 Storing of data

Data was effectively organised and safeguarded using digital technology a paper

trail and computer assisted data analysis namely ATLASti In preparation for

analysis I transcribed the audio files of the interviews verbatim excluding all the

ldquoumsrdquo and ldquoaahsrdquo and superfluous repeated phrases and words (eg you know)

I added the electronic transcriptions as primary documents in a hermeneutic unit in

ATLASti Data organisation and management were eased by ATLASti and

contextualised by specific quotations codes and themes The advantage of using

a database to accomplish this task is that raw data is available for independent

inspection Using a database improves the reliability of the cases as it enables the

researcher to track and organise data sources including notes key documents

tabular materials narratives and photographs and audio files can be stored in a

database for easy retrieval at a later date (Baxter amp Jack 2008) I created a back-

up system to ensure that valuable and often irreplaceable data would not be lost in

the event of my computer becoming infected with a virus or becoming

dysfunctional for some reason (Schurink 2004b)

I kept the hard copies of all the recorded data (eg printed transcriptions field

notes and data analysis) manually filed in lever arch files and locked away in my

house All other types of documents (ie signed consent forms and conceptual

mind maps) were safely stored All paper printouts (eg revisions of chapters


30

conceptual models revision of codes and themes reduced and analysed in

ATLASti) were stored in lever arch files This was automatically done as part of

the audit trail

259 Data analysis

Qualitative data analysis should not be seen as a distinct stage because it

continues throughout the research process in an interactive and reflective way

(Hammersley amp Atkinson 1983) The process and product of analysis provide the

basis for interpretation (Robson 1993) and ldquogives meaning to first impressions

as well as to final compilationsrdquo (Stake cited in Sandiford amp Seymour 2007 p

726)

Data analysis consists of a combination of three elements namely ldquodata reduction

data displayverification and conclusion drawingrdquo thus incorporating interpretation

within the umbrella of analysis (Miles amp Huberman 1994 p10) Central to any

form of analysis process is the act of ldquotaking something apartrdquo or deconstructing it

by condensing it into meaningful units coding the data developing categories of

phenomenon in order to deconstruct raw data developing subcategories and

finding the underlying meaning organised in a theme (Graneheim amp Lundman

2004 Sandiford amp Seymour 2007) In addition to sorting and coding of data Miles

and Huberman (1994 pp245-246) include making contrasts and comparisons

moving towards generalisations building a logical chain of evidence and

developing theories

A particular challenge qualitative researchers face is to reduce and code extensive

qualitative data without losing its richness It requires careful familiarisation and

selection of descriptive data which inevitably rests on the researcherrsquos subjective

judgment (Bresnen 1988)

In making sense of the data I firstly looked for similarities and dissimilarities in the

data to reconstruct the womenrsquos social reality


31

The analysis of the interview transcripts and field notes was based on an inductive

approach geared to identifying patterns in the data by means of thematic codes

(Bowen 2005) Inductive analysis means that the patterns themes and categories

of analysis come from the data ndash ldquohellipthey emerge out of the data rather than being

imposed on them prior to data collection and analysisrdquo (Patton 1990 p306)

Secondly I used retroductive reasoning ndash explained by Mouton (2001 p118) as

ldquousing inferences from observations or data in order to construct or lsquoinferrsquo an

explanation of such observationsrdquo A typical example of this form of reasoning is

when observations and certain trends are detected that were not predicted by

theory The researcher then postulates possible explanations that might account

for these differences (Mouton 2001 p119) For example

Unexpected results on the glass ceiling theory ndash these particular women report

that the glass ceilings did not affect them because they made a choice that

steered their career in a different direction ndash a choice to change their priorities

in life (Journal entry 7 July 2011)

Thirdly I applied aspects of grounded theory by generating concepts directly from

the data rather than from pre-established assumptions eg previous research

findings and existing theories (Glaser amp Strauss 1967) A grounded theory is one

that is ldquodiscovered developed and provisionally verified through systematic data

collection and analysis of data pertaining to that phenomenonrdquo (Strauss amp Corbin

1990 p23)

Finally my data analysis process entailed a combination of Graneheim and

Lundmanrsquos (2004) as well as Sandiford and Seymourrsquos (2007) approaches Let us

take a closer look at this process


32

sect Phase 1 Intensive periods of in-depth interviews and participant observation

Considerable thought was given to the analytic strategy which implied a gradual

accumulation of data rather than a single snap-shot provided by a survey

(Sandiford amp Seymour 2007) This process was influenced by my reflection

analytical interpretation and alignment with theory Ideas that arose from observing

the women during the interviews were further examined in later interviews Here

the research journal was a very useful tool The primary rationale for keeping this

journal was to record and describe my observations experiences and perceptions

alongside my initial analysis and interpretation (Sandiford amp Seymour 2007)10

sect Phase 2 Determining the unit of analysis One of the most basic decisions when using content analysis is selecting the unit

of analysis In the literature ldquounit of analysisrdquo refers to a great variety of objects of

study It can refer to ldquowhordquo or ldquowhatrdquo is studied that is the primary research object

about which you want to make conclusions in the end for example a person a

program an organisation a classroom or a clinic (Mertens 1998) or a community

state or nation (Patton 1987) Other authors have considered ldquounit of analysisrdquo as

interviews or diaries in their entity and the amount of space allocated to a topic or

an interaction under study (Downe-Wamboldt 1992) Parts of the text that are

abstracted and coded (Weber 1990) or every word or phrase written in the

transcript (Feeley amp Gottlieb 1998) have also been considered to be ldquounits of

analysisrdquo It has been suggested that the most suitable ldquounit of analysisrdquo is whole

interviews or observational protocols that are large enough to be considered a

whole and small enough to use as a context for the meaning unit during the

analysis process In this study the primary research object was the individual

woman leader Ultimately the findings in the study are aimed at understanding and

explaining their challenges and how they cope with these

10 The journal also helped me to keep my focus and to facilitate auditing


33

sect Phase 3 Defining concepts for qualitative content analysis

There is no consensus on the various uses of concepts in qualitative content

analysis and after having pondered this for a while I decided to incorporate

Graneheim and Lundmanrsquos (2004) concepts in the analysis11

sect Phase 4 Familiarisation and discovery

Having collected the data I was confronted with the ldquorawrdquo data that needed to be

internalised Simply listening to the recordings and reading transcripts was not

sufficient To achieve the desired deep level of ldquocloseness to the datardquo (Sandiford

amp Seymour 2007) I had to combine reading and listening to maintain my focus

and to connect with the data (Strauss 1987) In discovering the data I read

through the interview transcripts several times while listening to the recordings to

obtain a sense of the whole I made theoretical notes (TN) methodological notes

(MN) (Schatzman amp Strauss 1973) and formulated questions that arose in the

margins of the transcripts As part of this early interpretation I labelled emerging

themes and categories and coded quotations accordingly on the transcripts (Watt

2007)12 Additional notes were updated in the electronic transcripts to facilitate

easy cross-referencing and clearer recording of the analysis in ATLASti

11 See Chapter 3 for an explanation of the concepts 12 See Figure 21


34

FIGURE 21 FAMILIARISING AND DISCOVERING POSSIBLE CODES

Identifying themes and categories was not as easy as I thought I agree with Watt

(2007 p96)

We are led to believe that themes simply ldquoemerge from the datardquo but I

discovered looking back at my journal that most of the categories had

been identified before this time hellip and what I was extracting from the

transcripts either confirmed or disconfirmed them

The themes and categories originated from my expectations of what I thought I

might find even before I started collecting data from ideas present in the literature

on women leaders as well as from insights gained during the research process

sect Phase 5 Generate initial code and display

I used the computer assisted data analysis programme namely ATLASti to

capture the codes I identified I imported the transcripts into ATLASti and coded


35

them by assigning open codes (substantive ldquolabelsrdquo) including in vivo codes

(participantsrsquo exact words) and also created codinganalytical memos (analysis of

codes and themes related to theory formulation) My notes with regard to

decisions on coding formed part of the analytical memos The ATLASti ldquofamiliesrdquo

editing option was used to create ldquoaxialrdquo coded at the second level of coding that

was used to create mind maps of themes and categories Collated coded data and

a large number of different codes were outputs of this phase Codes and

associated quotations were reviewed and changed in alignment with the meaning

of the data Figure 22 is an excerpt from ATLASti of codes and associated

quotations and memos

FIGURE 22 CODE MANAGER OF COLLATED CODES EG GENDER STEREOTYPING AND ASSOCIATED QUOTES

Figure 23 provides a visual example of a work-in-progress ATLASti quotation

report and provides evidence of code-data interpretation and confirmation


36

FIGURE 23 EXAMPLE OF QUOTATION REPORT ON GENDER STEREOTYPING

sect Phase 6 Search for themes

At this point I compared the various codes with regard to differences and

similarities and sorted them into families of categories and sub-categories in order

to condense and label meaning units (Graneheim amp Lundman 2004) Figure 24

provides a visual example of a work-in-progress ATLASti network printout of

codes in a theme


37

FIGURE 24 EXAMPLE OF CATEGORIES IN THE FAMILY OF GENDER

Finally I formulated the underlying meaning that is the latent content of the

categories into a theme These I organised in Excel to form the conceptual

framework as illustrated in Figure 25

FIGURE 25 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK BASED ON THEMES CONSTRUCTS AND CODES IN EXCEL


38

sect Phase 7 Review themes

The objective of this phase was to validate (test) themes against supporting data

to ensure that the themes ldquoadequately capture the contours of the coded data

(Braun amp Clarke 2006 p91) I validated the themes against coded data extracts

in ATLASti This process involved reworking or creating new themes or discarding

existing themes from the analysis I collapsed problematic themes into each other

or broke them down into separate themes Some themes appeared not to be

actual themes (eg not enough supporting data or the data was too diverse)

(Braun amp Clarke 2006) Figure 26 is a work-in-progress Excel printout of codes in

a theme and shows how themes were eliminated based on reflecting on the entire

data set and meanings

FIGURE 26 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK THEMATIC REVIEW


39

sect Phase 8 Defining and naming themes

This final phase of analysis had two objectives namely (i) to define and further

refine themes (identifying any sub-themes in themes) and entailed identifying the

essence of each theme and determining the aspect of the data each theme

captures (Braun amp Clarke 2006 p92) and (ii) to analyse data within themes

(Braun amp Clarke 2006) I wrote a detailed analysis (ie scope and content) for

each theme in the literature review13 The research participants shared

experiences and views they had on broad questions I put to them which I

structured in terms of codes themes and categories organised under main

interview questions Table 31 illustrates the tools used to describe the research

participantsrsquo concrete concepts

sect Phase 9 Producing the report

The purpose of this phase was to take the findings of Phase 5 and produce it in a

report (Braun amp Clarke 2006)14

sect Phase 10 Interpreting the data

The interpretation of data is probably the most difficult state to describe and

explain Sandiford and Seymour (2007 p738) describe it as follows ldquohellipthere

seems to be an assumption that a sort of conceptual jump is necessary

constructing (or reconstructing) knowledge out of raw datardquo In case study analysis

it is important to search for cross-case patterns It is a reality that people are

notoriously poor processors of information They leap to conclusions based on

limited data they are overly influenced by the vividness or by more elite research

participants they ignore basic statistical properties or they sometimes

inadvertently drop disconfirming evidence The danger is that investigators reach

13 See literature review in Chapter 4 14 The findings are presented in Chapter 3


40

premature and even false conclusions as a result of these information-processing

biases (Miles amp Huberman 1994 p18) Thus the key to good cross-case

comparison is counteracting these tendencies by looking at the data in many

divergent ways Table C115 illustrates comparative analysis between the cases

2510 Report writing

In contemporary qualitative research it is important for researchers to pay close

attention to how they present themselves in their work and the writing styles they

use (Schurink 2007) I have made use of three writing styles namely the scientific

tale the realist tale and the confessional tale (Sparkes 2002)

sect The scientific writing style Miles and Huberman (in Sparkes 2002 p27)

described the scientific tale as the ldquowriting style of the physical sciences the

tables the findings the tested hypotheses simply speak for themselves

and the exercise is simply one of presenting not writing lsquothe findingsrsquordquo

Sections covered in this dissertation in a scientific tale include the statement

of the problem conceptual framework research questions method data

analysis conclusions and discussion (Miles amp Huberman in Sparkes

2002) All chapters have been written in this tale except for parts of

Chapter 2 (Research design) Chapter 3 (Findings) and Addendum D (My

research story)

sect The realist writing style The most striking characteristic of realist tales is

the almost complete absence of the author from most segments of the

finished text (Van Maanen in Sparkes 2002 p41) Only the words actions

and (presumably) thoughts of members of a studyrsquos culture the research

participants are visible in the text In realist tales empirical data is used to

illustrate theory This implies integrating participantsrsquo voices into a coherent

text with specific points in mind to increase credibility (Sparkes 2002)

Sufficient evidence should be provided through enough vivid examples from

15 See Addendum C


41

data extracts that easily support an issue ldquoArguments surrounding the

research question as opposed to merely describing the data should

illustrate the story (Sparkes 2002 p93) Chapter 3 (Findings) have been

written in this tale

sect Confessional writing style In contrast to scientific and realist tales the

confessional tale represents the researcherrsquos concerns and decisions

These are supplementary to realist reports and are the researcherrsquos

attempts to unmask and demystify the fieldwork for the reader These tales

which are typically deep personal reactions represent how the fieldwork

affected the researcher It also highlights ethical and methodological

complexities the researcher faced as well as how he or she overcame

those (Sparkes 2002) In the mini-dissertation I used confessional tales in

Addendum D (My research story)

2511 Strategies employed to improve the quality of the study

Schurink (2009a) points out that despite many attempts there is at present a lack

of consensus among researchers as to what criteria would be acceptable to

assess a qualitative project He points out that in the light of the diversity of

contemporary qualitative inquiry this should come as no surprise

Following Schurink (2009a) I believe the best one can do is to illustrate how the

principles were applied and provide logic in executing your project In the study I

considered strategies to ensure quality during the research design phase

(Schurink 2009b)

In qualitative research the concepts of credibility dependability and transferability

have been used to describe various aspects of trustworthiness (for example

Guba 1981 Lincoln amp Guba 1985 Patton 2002) I employed these to the best of

my ability in the study


42

sect Credibility Credibility deals with the focus of the research and refers to

confidence in how well data and processes of analysis address the intended

focus (Polit amp Hungler 1999) The first question concerning credibility arises

when making a decision about the focus of the study the selection of the

context selection of the research participants and the approach to

gathering data Selecting the most appropriate method of data collection as

well as the amount of data collected are also important in establishing

credibility The amount of data necessary to answer a research question in

a credible way varies according to the complexity of the phenomena studied

and the quality of the data (Graneheim amp Lundman 2004) Another critical

issue for achieving credibility is to select the most suitable meaning units ndash

not too broad with multiple meanings and not too narrow risking

fragmentation Credibility of research findings also deals with how well

categories and themes cover data ensuring that no relevant data has been

excluded or otherwise Credibility is also a question of how to judge the

similarities within and differences between categories by using

representative quotations from the transcribed text (Graneheim amp Lundman

2004)

sect Trustworthiness Trustworthiness is the degree to which data changes

over time as a result of the researcherrsquos decisions during analysis (Lincoln

amp Guba 1985) It includes the question of transferability which refers to

ldquothe extent to which the findings can be transferred to other settings or

groupsrdquo (Polit amp Hungler 1999 p717) The researcher or author can offer

suggestions about transferability but it is the readerrsquos decision whether or

not the findings are transferable to another context (Graneheim amp Lundman

2004) To facilitate transferability the researcher should give a clear and

distinct description of the culture and the context of the study how the

research participants were selected their characteristics the data collection

methods used and how he or she went about analysing the data A rich and

vigorous presentation of the findings together with appropriate quotations

will also enhance transferability (Graneheim amp Lundman 2004)


43

sect Internal validity Internal validity deals with the question of how research

findings match reality (Merriam 2002) In ensuring that I reconstructed the

social world of my research participants appropriately I implemented the

following strategies

(i) Triangulation This implies using multiple data collection methods

data sources theories and methodologies (Schurink 2006) I used

multiple data collection methods interviews and participant

observation

(ii) Peer debriefing This involved assistance from my supervisors

lecturers of the department andor other scholars It assisted me in

critically self-examining my researcherrsquos role and alerted me to be

aware to minimise the effect I have on the research participants

(McMillan amp Schumacher 2001)

(iii) Participant checks Member validation was applied by discussing

the findings with the research participants in order to establish

whether my descriptions were indeed a true reflection of their social

worlds

26 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Particularly important when assessing qualitative research or any research for

that matter is that the researcher needs to comply with research ethics The

following ethical considerations were included in the planning and execution of the

study

ndash Voluntary participation the research participants understood that they

could withdraw from the study at any time

ndash Confidentiality and anonymity I respected the privacy of the research

participants at all times

ndash Informed consent with the assistance of my study leaders an informed

consent form was developed and signed by all research participants


44

ndash The research participants were fully informed about the research

objective and how their contributions will add to knowledge

ndash The research findings will be available to the research participants As

part of the member validation the transcriptions were discussed with the

participants to check for accuracy

27 CONCLUSION

In this chapter I outlined my research philosophy in terms of my ontological and

epistemological beliefs described qualitative research as research approach and

discussed the key decisions I took during the execution of the research


45

CHAPTER 3 - FINDINGS

31 INTRODUCTION

As is the case with qualitative research the methods I employed in the study

generated rich and varied experiences and views from the research participants

regarding the three key foci of the study women leadership challenges and

personal leadership In this chapter I use codes themes and categories I created

to present these concrete or first order concepts to order if not describe and

interpret them on a higher logical level (Graneheim amp Lundman 2004)

But what do these tools imply

i) Codes These are labels assigned to condensed meaning units that

enable one to look at data in a new and different way (Coffey amp Atkinson

1996)

ii) Themes Baxter (1991) defines themes as threads of meaning that recur

in domain after domain A theme answers the question ldquoHowrdquo

(Krippendorff 1980) and can be a golden thread of an underlying

meaning (or latent content) that runs through the condensed meaning

units codes or categories (Graneheim amp Lundman 2004)

iii) Categories Categories imply groups of content sharing commonalities

(Krippendorff 1980) Categories must be exhaustive and mutually

exclusive A category answers the question ldquoWhatrdquo and can be seen as

an expression of the manifest content A category often includes a

number of sub-categories at varying levels of abstraction (Graneheim amp

Lundman 2004) The categories were organised under main research

questions

Chapter 3 ndash Findings

46

32 CONCRETE CONCEPTS

In striving towards finding answers to the question ldquoCan personal leadership help

to overcome specific challenges that women leadership in the workplace are

experiencingrdquo a kaleidoscope of challenges facing women were revealed The

research participants shared experiences and views they had on broad questions I

put to them which I structured in terms of codes themes and categories organised

under main interview questions Table 31 illustrates the tools used to describe the

research participantsrsquo concrete concepts

TABLE 31 RESEARCH PARTICIPANTSrsquo CONCRETE CONCEPTS ACCORDING TO RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Codes Themes Categories

Key research questions

16 Leadership definition Theme 1

Women define leadership from a feminine perspective

Definition

Women in

leadersh

ip

Women in leadership debate Perception of women as leaders

Gender conditioning Theme 2- Yin Gender conditioning and stereotyping

Societal and organisational challenges

Challen

ges an

d co

ping

mech

anism

Husbands mindset Gender stereotyping

Equality Theme 3 - Yin Discrimination

Gender discrimination Glass ceilings

Glass cliffs Racial discrimination

Entitlement Theme 4 - Yang Empowerment Changed mindset

Supporting women leaders Theme 5 - Yang Guidance and support

Develop women leadership in SA Mentoring Coaching

Cultural roots are shrinking Theme 6 - Yin Culture power and politics

Collectivism vs individualism Power

Networking

16 The findings were ordered according to the framework presented in Chapter 1


47



16 Toxic environment and lack of personal

leadership Values Theme 7- Yang

Values and ethics Ethical leadership Work pressure and time management

Theme 8 ndash Yin work ndash life reality

Working mothersrsquo challenges

Role strain Role conflict

Career and life Decisions Dual career

Work-life Balance and integration

Theme 9 - Yang Work ndash life integration

Family structure Independent children

Single parents Family orientated corporate culture

Flexibility Support structures

Working mother rights Midlife Theme 10

Influence of midlife on career

Womenrsquos challenges at midlife

The spiritual dimension Theme 11 Women leaders hold their anchor in their spiritual wellbeing

Spiritual wellbeing

Perso

nal lead

ership

Personal awareness Meaning in life

Meaning in work Purpose Religion

Spiritual characteristics The mind

Theme 12 Women leaders grow their power in mental wellbeing

Mental wellbeing

Knowledge is power Definition of success

Character Resilience

Perseverance Leadership qualities

Professional ethic Tough upbringing

Temperament Stress management Coping mechanisms

Recharge Ego

Exercise Theme 13 Women leaders conserve their energy in their physical wellbeing

Physical wellbeing

Eating habits Energy management

Effect of stress on the body

Emotional intelligence Theme 14 Women leaders maintain stability in emotional wellbeing

Emotional wellbeing


48

The colours used in the above table were applied to the key interview questions

as follows pink as a feminine colour illustrating who the women in leadership

positions are and what the unique contributions of their leadership style are

Yellow (as a strong positive colour) illustrate the societal and organisational

challenges women in South Africa face and how they cope with these - themes

2 3 6 and 8 relate to negative challenges (blue) and themes 4 5 7 and 9 relate

to positive coping mechanisms (yellow) Green resembles personal growth and

illustrates how women balance their careers with family during midlife Finally

purple resembles spirituality and higher order thinking and illustrates how the

women have applied personal leadership in their lives to progress to where they

are today

33 THE RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS

I interviewed ten research participants with varied backgrounds17 I would like to

introduce you to the participants by using a detailed description of the metaphoric

pseudonyms I gave to the participants In terms of their socio-demographic

features metaphoric pseudonyms were given to the participants as follows

sect RP1 or ldquoSpiritrdquo This pseudonym is derived from the fact that she is a

spiritual life coach Spirit is 35 a single mother of two (12 year old daughter

and 10 year old son) and recently left a marketing career to pursue her

passion of life coaching She has developed and presented empowering life

coaching programmes at various local companies

sect RP2 or ldquoMidwiferdquo received this name from the analogy she used in

describing the leadership lessons learned from midwives in Nigeria and how

we should put them into practice ldquohellipwe should nurture women leaders in

our organisations and prepare them for promotions like a midwife prepares

the mother for the birth of her baby We should massage each other

through pain to prevent burnout and personal failurerdquo Midwife is an

executive coach and serves as an independent consultant to a leadership

17 Details on the participant profiles are offered in Table 23 in Chapter 2 and a comparison of the

participantsrsquo socio-demographics is offered in Addendum C Table C1


49

development solutions group Her career includes ten yearsrsquo experience as

a senior brand manager several years as Human Resources Development

Manager and three years as a Human Resources Executive Director and as

acting Group CEO for a period One of her major accolades was being

awarded the ldquoWoman of the Year 2009rdquo title in her industry

sect RP3 or ldquoFlorence Nightingalerdquo described herself as ldquolady of the lamprdquo in a

cold hard cut throat financial environment She sees the value she adds

with her caring transformational type leadership in a corporate culture

where transactional leadership is the norm Florence is very ambitious and

rated among the top 15 global managers of an international motor

manufacturer and importer She was recently promoted to the position of

General Manager in Corporate Finance in South Africa

sect RP4 or ldquoIron Womanrdquo got her name because she personifies strong women

leaders portrayed by the media She is balanced and authentic Work is in

her blood and she and her husband have fully integrated their dual careers

with their family life She has been a Sales Director for a telecommunication

imports company for the last ten years and her husband is an engineer

sect RP5 or ldquoMurielrdquo gave herself this tongue-in-cheek name because in the old

South African apartheid regime traditional African names were not used in

society and her ldquowesternrdquo name was ldquoMurielrdquo (which sounds similar to her

real name that means Maroela - a wild fruit) She serves as the managing

director of a database consulting group and is involved in various BEE

transactions in various industries She served as a Director for a business

consulting company She has worked on various IT projects and has held

various consulting positions and senior and executive management

positions all adding up to a total of 20 years in the IT industry

sect RP6 or ldquoShirley Valentinerdquo is named after a film because her strong

liberated character reminds me of the lead actress that was such a woman

of substance (coincidentally her physical features are similar to Shaleen

Surtie-Richards the South African actress who performed the one woman

show ldquoShirley Valentinerdquo in 2009) ldquoShirleyrdquo has been the CEO of an HR and

recruiting company for 10 years Her experience lies in business consulting

in the professional services and she was recently appointed as human

capital projects consultant in an engineering firm


50

sect RP7 or ldquoRubyrdquo refers to the red bindi (or sindoor) on her forehead that is

traditionally worn only by married Hindu women Ruby is a Christian while

her husband is Hindu She is a very committed and driven Logistics

Manager at the same telecommunications importer as Iron Woman Her

lecturer husband has flexible working hours and they sometimes fulfill

reversed roles in terms of the childrenrsquos responsibilities

sect RP8 or ldquoThe Diplomatrdquo Her life and career started off in Uganda at an

Austrian diplomatic mission (therefore she speaks English with an Austrian

accent) After her first degree she moved to South Africa for post-graduate

studies (Masters in IT at the University of Pretoria) where she met her

husband (from Nigeria) who was completing his law degree She is well

groomed and eloquent Her culture values women who are outspoken She

is in a specialist position as a Knowledge and Information Manager at a tax

consulting firm

sect RP9 or ldquoFairy Princessrdquo She gave herself this name because of her

husbandrsquos stereotyped expectations of her Fairy Princess has had a varied

career in sales and marketing in the IT industry She is a go-getter fighter

and sporty personality As account director at a major local IT company she

recently won their ldquoSales Person of the Year 2011rdquo award

sect RP10 or ldquoFionardquo Fiona gave herself this name which refers to the female

lead in the movie ldquoShrekrdquo because she is passionate about supporting her

family amidst a career (and she wore the costume at a school dress-up fund

raising) Fiona has made the change to ldquohalf day employment although her

responsibilities as financial manager remained the same She enjoys the

supportive network she found amongst working mothers


51

34 FINDINGS

Letrsquos now take a look at the research questions and the research participantsrsquo

experiences and perspectives presented as codes categories and themes The

following is a balanced representation of the participantsrsquo views together with

appropriate quotations The quotations are identified through the participantsrsquo

document references eg [P4 (ATLASti document no) RP4 (Research

Participant number) _ Iron Woman (metaphoric pseudonyms) _ 470 (the line

number in the document)]

In order to create more interesting reading I present only those views of the

research participants that offer clear and detailed descriptions and may be

considered highly personalised and revealing texts of their lived experiences

(Richardson in Sparkes 2002) In presenting the excerpts from the interviews I

took special care not to lose the richness of the data (Bresnen 1988)

341 Women in leadership

The womenrsquos definitions of leadership (as well as their arguments with regard to

female leadership) are interesting leaving one with the impression that women

leaders are a rising force

THEME 1 Women define leadership from a feminine perspective

sect Defining leadership Some research participants pointed out that leadership is typically defined from a

masculine perspective

Certain people define leadership according to fear this is what you must do

and if you donrsquot there will be consequences [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_470]

However other interviewees define it as an act of influencing others

Itrsquos about people wanting to almost imitate you There is a trust element a

vision element a passion element and you can only do that if you are living

your true authentic self [P6 RP6_Shirley Valentine_638]


52

Further the research participants offered authentic versus ego driven definitions

of leadership

Leaders must define themselves without their ego If you know who you are

and you are confident in whom you are and you are emotionally intelligent

Then you can be any leader that you need to be It is so simple and yet

they donrsquot see it [P6 RP6_Shirley Valentine_639]

I struggled to get commitment from the men until I became more of my

authentic self If you really give input to my people you get fifty times more

out of them and Irsquove proved it over and over [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_471]

sect Women in the leadership debate The big debate around women in leadership is 1) are women a different

kind of leader than male leaders 2) do they bring something unique to the

equation 3) should they be pertained or should female leaders become like

male leaders (patriarchal society) [P2 RP2_Midwife_231]

In response to the question whether women bring something unique to the

leadership equation Midwife believed that

I think women bring something more to the leadership debate they bring the

warmth from family they bring the maturity I want them to achieve like male

leaders but I donrsquot want them to lose their authenticity [P2

RP2_Midwife_232]

However simultaneously she believed that a womanrsquos qualities are not exclusive

and that men and women both have feminine and masculine qualities that are

integrated within and which can be accessed

Some characteristics that we consider to be innately feminine or masculine

are not necessarily like that I would like to say that I think men and women

both bring something to the equation and we need to manage as

partnership While men can have warmth and nurture the children women

can have ldquomasculinerdquo strength and power [P2 RP2_Midwife_240]


53

Further women leaders reported feminine leadership qualities that is listening

caring and empathy

I listen a lot I talk a lot to them Maybe I am more like a mother to them -

they are telling me things I could never imagine anybody would be telling

me their deepest secrets and their deepest insecurities [P5

RP5_Muriel_527]

Leadership for me is to be who I am I really care for the people and they

know it My leadership style has changed over the years - initially I thought

I had to be very hard because a man does not have empathy for womenrsquos

issues But I donrsquot do it anymore I try to listen to the people who work for

me I ask how their children are and what their husbands do I got back my

personality [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_467]

Regarding receiving prejudiced evaluations as leaders the participants felt they

are not judged equally in the workplace and have to prove themselves more than

men before they reach the same job levels

When a woman gets up to speak men will judge her differently to what

they would with a male counterpart Men just generally trust men more than

they trust women unless they spend time with her and know how she

works It is unfair that I must go the extra mile to achieve that level of trust

when a male just gets it instantly [P6 RP6_Shirley Valentine_652]

sect Perception of women leaders The research participants confirmed that the perception created in the media of

business women in black suits shaped some young women leaders to act strong

overambitious and unemotional These women may be termed ldquomasculinerdquo

women leaders

People think that women managers are extremely hard and there are

women who play this hard core role because they believe they have to

overcompensate for their femininity in order to be accepted in a male

dominated world where the centralised type of leadership is very analytical

and clinical [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_412]


54

Women are emotive by nature and they believe that their emotion will

undermine their leadership power ndash but it is incorrect [P2

RP2_Midwife_247]

However mature women leaders reported having found the power in their

femininity and being able to act authentically

We try too hard to be someone we are not to impress others I found that

if you do your work and you can prove that you are competent there is a

place for you You donrsquot have to be so stricthellipyou can have a work persona

and be authentically feminine [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_412]

In todayrsquos world a womanrsquos femininity and her intuition is her strength

particularly in an organisation where decisions are made I feel that we

bring strength to the table [P2 RP2_Midwife_247]

In trying to understanding womenrsquos strength as leaders I wanted to find out why

they are not in top positions what were the barriers and socio-cultural challenges

they faced as leaders in the workplace and as working mothers


55

342 Challenges and coping mechanisms of women leaders

The spectrum of challenges the research participants faced fall into (i) socio-

cultural and organisational challenges (ii) challenges working mothers faced and

strategies they employed to manage these and (iii) challenges women face at

midlife

3421 Societal and organisational challenges facing South African

women

A number of themes were identified in this regard Letrsquos take a look at each of

them

THEME 2 - Yin Gender conditioning and stereotyping

This theme relates to the research participantsrsquo experiences and views on

gender conditioning their husbandsrsquo mindsets and gender stereotyping

sect Gender conditioning The participants raised the issue that perhaps one needs to trace the origins of

societyrsquos weaknesses projected onto women They suggested that the role

expectation of women should be traced to cultural traditions and conditioning

sect Husbandsrsquo mindsets The women were aware that role perceptions and expectations live on in their

marriages because of their husbandsrsquo traditional mindsets One woman

experienced distinctly different gender expectations at home and at the office

hellipitrsquos like having two personalities - the strong person that I am at the

office but the more obedient role at home [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_411]


56

One participant relied on her sense of humour to cope with her husbandrsquos

traditional expectations

My husband has unrealistic expectations of me I have to work I have to

earn money I have to pay my part of the household I have to stay

interesting I have to be pretty the food must be good I must stay thin the

kids must be happy and smart the house must be beautiful but I must

spend a minimum amount of money Everything around him has to be

perfect Everything is expected from me to make a difference while nothing

can be expected from him because he is ldquothe breadwinnerrdquo He lives in a

fairy world and he thinks Irsquom the ldquofairy princesrdquo [P9 RP9_1_Fairy

Princess_916]

Materialistic values often appeared to be the driving force behind the husbandsrsquo

ldquosupportrdquo for the wives to work

My husband didnrsquot allow me to quit work after having children it was

important to him that I work while I feel we could comfortably live on a

single salary I will rather give up on the good things in life or what he

thinks are the good things the material things I could do without those

things they are not important to me and donrsquot make me happier at all On

the other hand those things are very important to my husband the big

house the car [P8 RP 8_The Diplomat_831]

The husbandsrsquo mindsets often led to interpersonal conflict

Irsquove learned to desensitise myself to my husbandrsquos comments On the one

hand he is very proud of me and considerate My promotion is important to

my husband because it will mean more ldquodollarsrdquo but the way he acts

sometimes feels very patriarchal and I donrsquot feel appreciated [P3

RP3_Florence Nightingale_332]

My husband grew up in a chauvinistic conflict avoidance home and ldquovery

religiousrdquo Today everything is still swept under the carpet and everything in

our life that goes wrong is my fault This creates huge conflict in our

marriage [P9 RP9_1_Fairy Princess_942]


57

sect Gender stereotyping The women reported being stereotyped as not being assertive enough and

portraying traditional characteristics They acknowledged gender stereotyping as

part of cultural conditioning

I donrsquot think they mean to do it yet it is still there It is up to the women in

organisations to say ldquoSorry I am not going to take this role and I will take

that rolehellip I will not do the typing you can do itrdquo I am more verbal now that

I am older [P6 RP6_Shirley Valentine_629]

However some women leaders with mature mindsets realised that women can

perform gender roles without losing their power

In the beginning I thought I had to compensate for my femininity and be

more like the men and I refused to hand out the tea Now I can do it with a

smile because I am over myself I can show my natural softer side without

losing my power [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_466]

THEME 3 - Yin Discrimination

This theme includes equality gender discrimination glass ceilings glass cliffs

and racial discrimination

sect Equality The research participants felt that gender conditioning and lack of trust in

womenrsquos ability could be a reason why so few women leaders are found in senior

positions Another reason offered was industry related for example that

engineering is traditionally a very male orientated environment Further the

women argued that their ability to organise led to their effortless placement in

management positions (eg general managers or office managers and logistics)

rather than director level positions

To get to higher positions is more difficult you need to have a history build

relationships and prove yourself [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_483]


58

In respect of womenrsquos current status in senior positions in organisations the

research participants revealed

60 of employees working here are women but only four are in leadership

positions 1) Director in Enterprise Development amp BEE (a Coloured

woman although not a token appointment she is very competent) 2)

Director Sales 3) Internal Sales Manager and 4) the Logistics Manager

Two out of the six directors are women [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_413]

We only have five women in management positions in a company that

consists of 150 people at management level Three are on middle

management and two at the top management one HR Director and one

Marketing Director (both black for BEE purposes) White women are no

longer ldquoPreviously Disadvantaged Individualsrdquo (PDIs) so their chances are

slimmer [P9 RP9_1_Fairy Princess_928]

sect Gender discrimination The research participants reported that gender discrimination is deeply rooted in

the South African culture with men still being very patriarchal in certain areas

There are cultural differences that apply in the workplace in some areas

certain men will not accept female leadership nor appoint women

managers [P2 RP2_Midwife_246]

sect Glass ceilings The interviewees believed that the glass ceiling was still in place It was for

example pointed out that women would excel to director level but seldom to

managing director level

I did experience a glass ceiling at my previous company I knew that I

couldnrsquot go further [P8 RP8_The Diplomat_846]


59

Additionally the women believed that white women were confronted with BEE

realities if they wanted to move to the top positions

I couldnrsquot grow further - there were no positions above me available and

BEE was a reality [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_481]

However many participants indicated that they had reached a point where it was

no longer about the glass ceiling but about choices and priorities They chose

balance and stability and prioritised their families instead of their careers

You get to a point that despite the glass ceiling you make choices based

on the priorities in your life I donrsquot want to go further If I have to do more

something has got to give I am at a point where I donrsquot want to let another

thing go Irsquom keeping all the balls in the air and that is enough for me now

My company knows my career path planning [P4 RP4_Iron

Woman_481]

It is not about glass ceiling it is about choices You can get as far as you

want to Itrsquos where you want to go I have balance now why should I cause

and imbalance there is no reason to [P7 RP7_Ruby_761]

Some interviewees felt that should a woman decide to compete to reach the top

and succeed she could perform equally to if not better than a man

Because she is already in touch with the softer side of leadership which we

know calls for success however there are always certain sacrifices maybe

she does not have children or if she has children she has already

sacrificed on relationships this is the unfairness in life [P6 RP6_Shirley

Valentine_658]


60

sect Glass cliffs The interviewees reported that some women are set up for failure by not being

provided with the necessary support or by accelerating their careers before they

have developed the competencies required to progress to the next level of work -

some of these women were believed to be BEE appointments

Unfortunately this company has a token BEE appointment where an

inexperienced woman was appointed to a senior position She is

desperately trying to prove herself in that position which could be very

stressful She is continuously leaning on others and cannot add value The

sad part is that everyone realises it [P6 RP6_Shirley Valentine_661]

sect Racial discrimination All the black Indian and coloured women in the study experienced some form of

racial discrimination in the workplace prior to the introduction of the Labour

Relations Act (1995) whether it was in terms of applying for a job a promotion or

company benefits

I had racial challenges applying for a HR job in the thick of the apartheid

years I adjusted my Cape Town accent but then they would ask me where

I lived and that I couldnrsquot lie about As soon as they knew where I lived

they would reply ldquohellipsorry the job is takenrdquo [P6 RP6_Shirley

Valentine_61]

In one womanrsquos life this theme replayed itself combined with gender

discrimination

I was the only black woman professional consultant at an all-white male

police station I was naiumlve about colour and sex The police general

ordered me to ldquomake my coffeerdquo and my instruction from my manager was

ldquoto behaverdquo She told me ldquothey will get used to your black facerdquo [P5

RP5_Muriel_58]


61

The research participants reported that after the dawning of post-apartheid South

Africa they changed their views about race An internal challenge for some

woman leaders of colour was to overcome the perception that they were

appointed in ldquoaffirmative action positionsrdquo ndash they needed to believe in their

competence and tried to prove themselves intensely to achieve credibility

Initially when I was appointed I thought I was a token BEE appointment I

must admit I did have issues with race and I wasnrsquot mature enough so I

took everything personally But then I realised I am good at what I do I

decided to take my job opportunity embrace it and show my competence

[P7 RP7_Ruby_762]

The research participants also pointed to racial challenges for black immigrants

and diplomats working in present day South Africa

hellipIf you are black and you cannot speak the local language you are

rejected I experienced a bit of xenophobia from black South Africans

There are people who just donrsquot like Africans from other countries working

in South Africa They want to know how you got a job in South Africa

ldquoWhat do you have that I donrsquot have [P8 RP8_The Diplomat_841]

THEME 4 - Yang Empowerment

Women responded to the negative challenges of gender stereotyping and

discrimination with their empowering minds and a willingness to support other

women This theme entails the research participantsrsquo experiences and views

regarding their entitlement changed mindsets and the support for and

development of women leaders in South Africa


62

sect Entitlement The interviewees realised that menrsquos behaviour was conditioned and that they

could change these perceptions by standing up and being assertive without

being ultra-aggressive and trying to imitate a man

We grew up ldquonot to be heard only to be seenrdquo but that doesnrsquot serve you

You need to say what you need to say when you have to There is a way to

say it in a very confident low voice and you can be heard [P6 RP6_Shirley

Valentine_642]

There seemed to be cultural differences in womenrsquos entitlement women of

colour were more assertive in claiming their rights

There were no debilitating victim mentalities when I grew up I grew up in

AZAPO politically I learned that being black and being authentic is OK

and being a woman is not different This philosophical stance urges such

females to regard themselves as survivors not victims [P5

RP5_Muriel_59]

sect Changed mindset An important finding is that women leaders coped with most challenges they

faced by changing their mindsets about it specific examples were racial and

gender discrimination

helliponly if we change our mindsets about it we can change and emanate a

new way of thinking that it will ripple out to everyone [P7

RP7_Ruby_750]


63

The women reported how changing mindsets helped them to accept

circumstances that couldnrsquot be changed and how they coped for the sake of

everyone

Itrsquos about a choice you make either you want to cope or you donrsquot and then

you push your problems onto somebody else You can read and you can

pray and go for yoga and meditation whatever helps you to deal with the

stuff you need to deal with But you need to make a decision and say ldquoI am

going to do this to make sure that it gets donerdquo [P7 RP7_Ruby_755]

It seemed that the participantsrsquo belief systems determined their realities I

observed an enlightened and changed vision with the women leaders on various

challenges in their lives

ndash Racial discrimination

I tried to coach others around me to change their thinking about racial

discrimination I donrsquot listen anymore when people say they are being

discriminated against because they are not it is because they believe it

they are acting it It is a mindset They are not victims [P7

RP7_Ruby_748]

ndash Coping with full-time employment

It doesnrsquot help to fight something I canrsquot change - I have to work I do enjoy

my work and it is not now the time to downscale so I made the decision to

be positive Irsquove accepted my circumstances and changed my attitude I

keep on saying to myself ldquoI have to cope and the better I cope the better

everyone will coperdquo [P3 RP3_Florence Nightingale_335]


64

ndash Defining success

Your belief system - that what you believe of yourself and in other people

does in a way determine your success The moment you start to believe in

other people and you motivate them to get somewhere- you grow in the

process [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_485]

ndash Gender conditioning

We as women have to change this gender socialisation and conditioning

Society wonrsquot change because we raise the kids the wrong way We show

them what women do and how men should behave towards women It is

also what you allow your children to do We have to decide to change our

children they should be involved in the household with chores and putting

things away The rules are not strict enough I often ask dads with

daughters ldquoWould you like your daughter to be a slave to a husband like

you The example you show is what she will look for Think about your

behaviourrdquo [P9 RP9_1_Fairy Princess_932]

THEME 5 - Women leaders need guidance and support

This theme captures the need voiced by the interviewees to be supported

developed mentored and coached in order to take up the challenge of

transforming organisations and society

sect Supporting women leaders The research participants reported that organisations are not retaining and

developing people from designated groups as stipulated by the Employment

Equity Act (1998) More specifically they pointed out that black women leaders

who are in fast tracked careers are not sufficiently supported and trained in

transformational leadership


65

We should nurture women leaders in our organisations and prepare them

for promotions (like a midwife prepares the mother for the birth of her baby)

to prevent burnout and personal failure [P2 RP2_Midwife_21]

The women reported the need to provide nurturing safety networks to each other

by listening helping others to accept and embrace change influence and

respect subordinates educate and insulate the teams from toxicity and harm to

ensure good growth of young talent in organisations

sect Developing women leadership in South Africa The women reported a need for systematic leadership development

We need to assess leadersrsquo readiness for promotions and develop them

before we elevate them [P2 RP2_Midwife_210]

Has someone prepared our woman leaders for this responsibility of

transforming our organisations Are we systematically up-skilling our

abilities to meet the challenges that we are faced with at any given time

[P6 RP6_Shirley Valentine_635]

sect Mentoring Although only half of the interviewees reported having had personal mentors

they acknowledged their

hellipresponsibility to be role models and to use their knowledge and

experience to up-skill guide and grow young woman leaders and to instil

confidence in them (P17 RP4_Iron Woman_123]

The women commented on their readiness for the task of mentoring

Irsquove been blessed with a skill and the competence and the patience to

assist lower level and unskilled people with their growth and personal

development [P6 RP6_Shirley Valentine_645]

An interesting finding was that two of the participants had a similar childhood to

their mentors and could relate to them


66

The benefits of mentoring experienced by the women included having an expert

with respected knowledge and experience whom could be used as a sounding

board for decisions and someone who trusted their abilities and exposed them to

opportunities

My mentor left me to do my thing she trusted in my abilities didnrsquot micro

manage gave me opportunities and introduced me to senior people It

helped me gain confidence [P8 RP8_The Diplomat_850]

Further the women reported that mentors lead by example when they needed

advice eg deciding to scale down or continue full-time

My mentor sees work as something that has to be done She is an example

that you can do a job and still be a good mother [P3 RP3_Florence

Nightingale_321]

sect Coaching The research participants believed that coaching should be part of their

development plan and that the perception of coaching as a remedial activity

should be changed It seemed that the interviewees needed development at a

more personal level A need to have coaching conversations about their personal

and professional excellence and working on all their personal wellbeing

dimensions was voiced

We need to coach women leaders for excellence We need to have

conversations about her 1) relationships 2) possibilities and 3) action

plans [P1 RP1_Spirit_122]

The interviewees also pointed out that coaching newly promoted leaders where

one progresses from a senior manager level to an executive level were required

On-board coaching is taking off in South Africa - it is a package deal that

with a big promotion you get a six month on-board coach to assist with the

huge jump The result is that the people who take on that opportunity

really reach that level of effective performance [P2 RP2_Midwife_252]


67

THEME 6 - Yin Culture power and politics

The participants reported negative forces in the environment pulling women

down their shrinking cultural roots the movement in the black South African

community from collectivism to individualism the lack of access to power and

networking and an increasingly toxic environment where there is a lack of

personal leadership Letrsquos have a closer look

sect Shrinking cultural roots An interesting finding was the coincidence of the two black woman participants

both growing up with fathers in exile and for political reasons being raised in

Catholic private schools outside the borders of South Africa It seems quite

unfortunate that as a result of their western education and upbringing these

women changed their mannerisms and the way they raise their children This is

representative of many young black people in the present day corporate

environment being unable to or unwilling to speak in their mother tongue

I grew up in a Phedi culture that valued your mannerism respect for

people wait your turn to speak be humble about yourself and donrsquot be

arrogant to people But today in terms of our cultural practices we donrsquot

practice much of it anymore [P5 RP5_Muriel_550]

My home language is Ghanda but the children speak little of it - they are

totally western it is not like I wanted it to be [P8 RP8_The Diplomat_818]

sect Collectivism versus individualism The black interviewees reported that they were focused on high achievement

and performance but admitted that they were not building safety nets and

support for each other

In South Africa the black women in the corporate environment are

becoming more individualistic My observation is that young women

(probably 35) today are offered positions as CEOs She knows internally

ldquoIrsquom not readyrdquo but would like the prestige and think ldquolet me give it a


68

chancerdquo Rather than creating a network around them with a mentor and

other experienced women these women are tackling it by themselves

because they are too proud They want to portray an image that they are

coping and they donrsquot want others to see that they are not coping So they

become individualistic they donrsquot share they donrsquot soundboard with their

husbands to get the other view and they are cracking [P2

RP2_Midwife_229]

sect Power The women reported that lack of access to power is a reality that prevents them

from reaching top positions should they wish to pursue them

While I was Chief Operating Officer (COO) a black CEO was appointed He

had a ldquoboyrsquos mentalityrdquo (and got very close to the guys I was not part of the

networking I didnrsquot play golf at that time He didnrsquot consult me (as the

COO) in decisions I realised I was on my own I enjoyed my job there

were lots of opportunities to grow but I had no power [P5

RP5_Muriel_517]

Another important finding was not only the differences between men and women

in having access to power but amongst women once they have accessed power

The participants reported dealing with power hungry women fighting for their

positions at the top

Women in senior positions want to be the only one there so make life very

tough for the next one coming up [P6 RP6_Shirley Valentine_660]

The women reported power plays lack of character and unethical behaviour at

these levels

hellip the second black lady was appointed on our executive team as an HR

Executive She did not like my confrontation of her and wanted to get rid of

me She wanted the power and the MD gave it to her She started

recruiting and advertised my job while I was still working there I went to the

labour court and things went wrong Six months later I left [P5

RP5_Muriel_525]


69

The interviewees reported that contrary to womenrsquos nurturing qualities and

inclusive collaborative leadership styles power-based women in positions of

power struggle to support or promote other women or acknowledge their

contributions

In organisations we talk about the need to empower previously

disadvantaged sections of the workforce which include women However

when we need to identify these people around the boardroom table

support from the female directors are not forthcoming It is not a natural

thing The only explanation for that can be power and greed [P2

RP2_Midwife_244]

Such women are known to be ruthless in their treatment of their staff especially

when it comes to mothers taking time off for parental responsibilities

I was reporting to a female minister she couldnrsquot find fault with my work

but she could never give me the acknowledgement and support After my

second baby was born I was sent on an overseas trip for three weeks

when the baby was only two months old I was not assertive enough to

stand up for myself [P5 RP5_Muriel_520]

sect Networking The research participants pointed out that networking never really happens in a

boardroom since men network socially The challenge women faced was to have

access to social networking where informal decisions were taken eg

They discuss business on the golf course on Saturday by Monday they

have worked out the design and are ready to sign off while I was not part

of that discussion [P6 RP6_Shirley Valentine_653]

The interviewees revealed that for most working mothers their families are a

priority when it comes to allocating private time

I donrsquot want to play golf with a stranger instead of spending time with my

children on a Saturday but that is what is required and that I think is the


70

reason why you have so many ldquosuccessful menrdquo at the top and so few

women [P6 RP6_Shirley Valentine_653]

I am not fitting into the rest of the things They cycle I donrsquot When I arrive

at the office in the morning they are here when I leave in the evening they

are here They do late nights I donrsquot Once Irsquove done my work I want to be

home There are a lot of parties here I donrsquot enjoy it I chat here and there

but I am not connecting For you to make it to the corner office you have to

play the game be here drink the whiskey and have a glass or two [P5

RP5_Muriel_545]

ldquoCareer-primaryrdquo women reported that they have integrated their work with their

private lives and included networking in their family schedules

I plan my life around social obligations - the dates are available a year

ahead My family often goes with me to the rugby at Loftus [P17 RP4_Iron

Woman_179]

Research participants who were in financial industries reported more ldquocontainedrdquo

networking eg dinners and conferences while those in sales and marketing

had a lot more social activities such as sports events and lunches However

some women felt that

hellipdespite networking gender discrimination is still strong ndash if a woman is

well networked and a man is well networked they will trust a man still

[P6_RP6_Shirley Valentine_629]

sect Toxic environment and lack of personal leadership An important finding is that personal leadership provides a foundation for women

to handle politics in a toxic environment Midwife reported

In the coaching environment we find that organisations are becoming toxic

You find a young CEO probably 35 involved with drugs probably with

another executive some of them are female She is not sure of herself as a

CEO she hasnrsquot got the sufficient depth she needs to be comfortable at

that level The team is not insulated and does not provide the support that


71

she needs while climbing that ladder This CEO is now managing other

assertive young upcoming executives and they are a threat to her unstable

foundation [P2 RP2_Midwife_225]

The research participantsrsquo ethical morals were challenged in environments where

underhanded business (which occurs in certain industries) was spilling over into

the corporate world Unfortunately in some corporate environments for one to

make it to the top positions one has to be willing to play along

My challenge is in our sales environment you have to win against all odds

including going against your values Irsquove had an incident where a colleague

stole my ideas and presented it in a meeting My morals are my biggest

challenge in this environment It feels as if you lose your sole [P5

RP5_Muriel_573]

THEME 7 - Yang Values and Ethics

sect Values The research participants reported that company values could be very superficial

with honesty and integrity often not being reflected in the behaviour of the

leaders of the organisation The women noted the importance of personal values

being aligned with that of the company to be authentic

Integrity and ethics are very important to me and this company does

everything in the straight and narrow way Fairness is also a value that is

underpinned by the company I feel alignment between the company and

my manager and my personal values [P3 RP3_Florence

Nightingale_346]

Irsquove kept my religious values Irsquove noticed that certain corporate cultures

influence peoplersquos moral values and if you donrsquot have a strong anchor you

start to float [P5 RP5_Muriel_573]


72

An interesting if not important finding relates to the two black women I

expected their race to be an obstacle in their corporate careers This was initially

the case but ultimately their biggest challenge was their religious Catholic

values These women experienced an incongruence of their value systems with

their corporate environments For this reason one was struggling to fit into the

corporate culture This confirms that onersquos personal goals must be aligned with

the companyrsquos culture to ensure survival

Values are so important because if it is different from whom you are you

disrupt yourself and your family [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_437]

sect Ethical Leadership The biggest challenge for women finding themselves in the corporate

environment was to deliver and win at all costs and to be true to their morals

I donrsquot think you have to step on other people to get to the top Some

people get far doing that but I donrsquot believe in that I donrsquot think it is

necessary [P3 RP3_Florence Nightingale_320]

Ethical leadership is about being honest admitting when you made a

mistake or if you are in over your head [P2 RP2_Midwife_230]


73

3422 The challenges working mothers face and the coping

mechanisms they employ

In terms of the Yin and the Yang18 of working mothers two broad themes are

identified here namely Theme 8 - Yin Work-life reality and Theme 9 - Yang

Work-life integration

THEME 8 - Yin Work-life reality

There are various circumstances related to organisations that impact womenrsquos

lives the work pressure and demands of her roles creates role strain and

conflict The women reported that at some stage they had to make career and

life decisions that impacted on themselves and their families or resulted in dual

careers

sect Work pressure and time management

The research participants reported that certain positions and industries for

example the sales environment in information technology are characterised by

high pressure and extreme workloads Women in these positions found that work

is spilling over into family time with them having to work after hours including

late at night and over weekends

hellipas acting CEO for two years my previous job was absorbing and

destroying my life There were meetings at all hours dinner invitations

travelling and conferences It was political and hectic [P5

RP5_Muriel_523]

Other industries like finance have predictable work cycles and women can

prepare mentally and psychologically for high pressured times However when a

corporate culture demands ldquobeing availablerdquo it takes its toll on family life

18 The yin and the yang represent positive and negative forces respectively that interact in culture

society and organisations See Chapter 4 for a more detailed discussion


74

On weekends I switch to another phone that canrsquot receive e-mails I am

trying to take some control but I am not there [P5 RP5_Muriel_568]

The interviewees reported that such circumstances require excellent time

management principles structure and planning

I am structured I plan things according to what I need to do by when At

middle management you get enough time during the day to do your work

you need to prioritise [P7 RP7_Ruby_715]

My personal rule is that I never do work when I come home From the time

I get home at six until I put them to bed at 830 is family time At 9 orsquoclock I

switch on my laptop and do my work [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_416]

The job description and requirements also determined how the women managed

and structured their time Two of the participants decided to move into specialist

roles to avoid management of staff and meetings Diplomat said

Being in a specialist role you manage your own time I work straight

through without getting involved in chit-chat [P8 RP8_The

Diplomat_814]

sect Role strain

Women have to play multiple roles which put strain on their mental physical and

emotional energy The working mothers reported how they nurture their full-time

(or part-time) careers and then come home to give what is left of their energy to

their children husband and household thereby compromising them

I am a working mom and when I get home I give my all to my children - I

feed bath read stories and put them to bed Then I try to be a wife to my

husband who is never home (he is the MD of an international on-line

gambling company and works all hours) It feels like I need to compromise

more and more It has its ups and downs Sometimes I think men are

nowhere because all they can do is work - thatrsquos all mine can do [P3



75

For single mothers the strain was even worse

After my divorce I worked long hours - once I put my children to bed I

would take out my laptop and work till 1 or 2 in the morning I also wanted a

social life and to be involved in the community ndash which placed additional

strain on me ndash but thatrsquos what I need to do to feel balanced [P6

RP6_Shirley_64]

sect Role conflict The interviewees reported that while a working motherrsquos anchor and priority is her

family work responsibilities demanded time away from the family Long working

hours and going away on management trips impacted on family life

Sometimes I get bitter about working long hours it feels that my efforts are

not appreciated but then I learned to cope with it [P3 RP3_ Florence

Nightingale_316]

Those research participants who were from homes where traditional gender roles

are still expected experienced a lack of support from their husbands with regard

to maintaining the family and their careers and became despondent

hellipit is as if more and more is expected of me and lsquonothingrsquo from my

husband [P9 RP9_1_Fairy Princess_912]

The biggest conflict working mothers experienced was the guilt for ldquooutsourcingrdquo

their children to au pairs and not connecting with them Some were worried about

how this will impact their careers their children and their marriage in the long

term

The psychologistrsquos advice was that my children would be fine I need to

realise that I canrsquot work until 10 every evening There has to be structure

and routine I am not always so confident I worry if my kids will turn out

lsquoOKrsquo [P3 RP3_Florence Nightingale _349]

hellipin the end if they donrsquot turn out well it wasnrsquot worth it [P8 RP8_The

Diplomat_835]


76

sect Impact of career and life decisions on the family All the participants were faced with career and life decisions in their late twenties

and early thirties The determining factor with regard to these life decisions was

the family and in particular the decision to have children Generally the women

were expected to maintain the role of caregiver while their husbands were

required to devote all their time to the company This led to women having to

sacrifice their careers

Our biggest decision was who was going to take a step back on their

career once the kids go to school I made the sacrifice and scaled down to

half day [P11 RP10_1_Fiona_1118]

I was in line for sales director and I gave it up because it involved regional

traveling and overseas I was prepared to stay at my level where I have

been ever since It was expected of me in the workplace to step down as a

mother [P9 RP9_1_Fairy Princess_9 25]

Some research participants reported that decisions such as having to surrender

their careers to raise children left them dissatisfied The women further reported

that the result of this was that long hours were demanded from the bread winner

leaving the mother to cope single handed with challenges related to the

upbringing of the children The women also pointed out that the fathersrsquo work

commitments had a negative impact on quality time with the children and

ultimately on all the relationships at home

Irsquove made peace that my children will not always see their father - he has to

work very long hours The psychologist confirmed that fathers can be away

a lot but it is how the mother handles it - if she isnrsquot fine about it they wonrsquot

be either If I compare myself to single mothers I am lucky [P3

RP3_Florence Nightingale_ 333]

My husband comes home every day when the kids are already in bed It

impacts negatively on the family Whats the meaning of that In the end

was that worthwhile [P8 RP8_The Diplomat_833]


77

During the week I am a single mom My husband leaves home at 6am and

returns between 7 and 8pm He is not available at all during the day to

assist with crises He often has to travel overseas for a week or two at a

time Luckily he is a committed father [P11 RP10_1_Fiona_114]

However other interviewees reported that for men the separation of work from

family does not have such a big impact on their careers as it has for women

Men have supporting wives and structures at home that enable them to

focus fulltime on their careers [P8 RP8_The Diplomat_833]

sect Dual Career

A second option with regard to career life decisions was when couples made the

decision to continue with dual careers and to form a support structure at home in

order to take care of the children

I never wanted to stop work I think it is in your blood you work or you

donrsquot [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_419]

Reversed roles were another alternative

My friend is the breadwinner and her husband is the stay-home parent who

does the home work and childrenrsquos parties- their roles have swapped

completely My husband wonrsquot do that he will appoint an au pair and play

golf the whole day [P9 RP9_1_Fairy Princess_930]

Dual careers are often an economic reality The impact of this on family where

both parents have demanding jobs and especially where travelling is required

demands planning compromise and making their work part of their lives Iron

Woman related how she and her husband coped

Itrsquos been like that since we were married this is how we operate It is a

decision If you are not prepared to make your job part of your household it

will not work We get a lot of criticism People criticise and ask when we


78

see each other But we donrsquot travel permanently The children are used to

it [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_443]

In dual career families women reported that their careers were often

underplayed and the husbandrsquos career took priority in importance and in the

allocation of time and energy

My husbandrsquos career is more important than mine [P8 RP8_The

Diplomat_827]

Some interviewees maintained that their jobs are important for their self-esteem

He underplays the importance of my job while it is very important for me ndash

this is where I get recognition and a sense of achievement [P11 RP

10_Fiona_119]

A challenge for working mothers was to create work-life integration

THEME 9 - Yang Work-life integration

This theme relates to the fact that the research participants had to balance and

integrate their careers into their lives Factors impacting on this balance included

family structures having independent children being single parents (for some)

working in a family orientated corporate culture having flexibility and support at

home The participants were quite assertive in claiming their ldquorights as working

mothersrdquo in their attempts to create work-life integration


79

sect Work-life balance and integration

The working mothers were determined to balance their careers with their family

roles and responsibilities To create balance and pursue a long term career

some of the women found that their work and personal life should be integrated

Your life and your work must be mixed You donrsquot have a personal life and

a work life Your work is embedded in your life and your children accept it

after a while You build your work life and your personal life in one and they

accommodate each other otherwise you are going to bump heads the

whole time [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_449]

However some of the women didnrsquot want to integrate their work with their family

life and still managed to keep it separate

I work in a clinical high powered intellectual financial environment I canrsquot

and donrsquot want to integrate my work and family life [P3 RP3_Florence

Nightingale_331]

The interviewees reported that balance is not static and that everyone does not

always have balance or that the balance they had was achieved by

ldquooutsourcingrdquo their children

There are times that I feel I donrsquot cope when I donrsquot feel in control and

nothing gets done It feels like you just kill fires and the one day rolls-over

to the next day The one who loses out is you [P11

RP10_1_Fiona_1110]

I am sure everyone has days that do you do not cope ie when your kids

are writing exams you cope because you have to It doesnrsquot mean that you

do everything perfect in those times and I do think that your work does

suffer during those times [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_414]

The participants felt that once they gave enough on all facets of their lives they

would experience balance and peace

There is time for everythinghellip itrsquos the choices you have to make [P7

RP7_Ruby_757]


80

But when would they have given enough The superwoman notion was always

at the back of their minds An important finding was that at midlife they reached a

point of maturity

I got tired of trying to be perfect You get to a point where you realise you

canrsquot do everything perfect [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_431]

I am in a stage of my life where I donrsquot worry if I canrsquot buy everything I want

to focus on fun and making memories with the family [P7

RP7_Ruby_757]

sect Family structure The research participants reported that family structures and the ages of their

children had an influence on their work-life balance

The smaller your children the more difficult it is to cope with high demands

at the office The mother always has to compensate a lot [P4 RP4_Iron

Woman_43]

I have a demanding job and my husband is more flexible to take leave to

take the children to the doctor [P7 RP 7_Ruby_738]

sect Independent children

The working mothers reported that they had to plan ahead which forced their

children to become independent earlier Some acknowledged that they were very

protective as mothers and that their children would learn more independence

being with the au pair although the mothers reported that the price to pay for

lsquobalancersquo was feelings of guilt


81

sect Single parents

Single mothers reported having to structure their work around their

responsibilities in order to survive They had financial liabilities that took priority

over passionate career choices

After being an entrepreneur for ten years the recession forced me to get

back into formal employment because of my family responsibility as a

single parent It was a big decision that wasnrsquot necessarily comfortable for

me or my children [P6 RP6_Shirley Valentine_6 31]

I canrsquot just do what I have a passion for (counseling) I had to change to

coaching to bring in the finances I need money to sustain my family I am a

single mother and my ex-husband does not always pay maintenance [P1

RP1_Spirit_128]

sect Family orientated corporate culture With regard to the corporate culture the women reported

A family orientated corporate culture makes it easier for mothers to

combine career and family especially when your children are young If

your child is sick our MD sends you home because you are not productive

at the office if you worry about your child It makes a difference In return

he gets back a lot [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_435]

Good working relationships with your manager managerial support for

utilising family benefits and an open door policy makes a difference [P7

RP7_Ruby_751]

sect Flexibility The working mothers reported that making use of flexible arrangements such as

flexi work hours internet access from home and teleconference meetings

allowed them to make use of their time more effectively while attending to

children and fulfilling job requirements


82

Our company uses lsquowebexrsquo and voicemail to have video conference

meetings Yesterday I lsquoattendedrsquo a 4 orsquoclock meeting through my laptop

while at home [P10 RP9_2_Fairy Princes_102]

Women who were in the fortunate position to have half-day positions reported

flexibility but simultaneously role strain

Flexibility is critical to enable me to work It places a lot of pressure on me

because although ldquoone is being paid a half day salary yoursquore still

responsible for a full-time job The result is that you work at night or next to

the cricket field to ensure that the job is done [P11 RP10_Fiona_1112]

sect Support structures Some interviewees said that they managed to put support structures in place at

home which enabled them to fulfil a career on top of their mothering role This

often involved a fulltime domestic worker that lived in and cooked during the

week as well as an au pair that picked up the children from school and ensured

that their homework and activities were done Working mothersrsquo advice in this

respect was that one has to distinguish between important and unimportant

matters when spending quality time with onersquos children

You have to farm out all the non-important things like the washing

cooking cleaning and grocery shopping but bathing the children reading

stories and doing the homework is very important [P6 RP6_Shirley

Valentine_ 623]

Working mothers also reported finding support and a sense of belonging among

other mothers (working and stay-at-home) in their community (especially women

living in the same security estate) that created a safety net for times of need

sect Working mother rights The interviewees believed that it would be career limiting should one claim onersquos

parental rights Some experienced being discriminated against (or not taken

seriously) when they were not able to work late at the office or took time out for

their responsibilities as mothers However I observed a growing mindset change


83

amongst the women namely that motherhood plays an important role in

establishing values in children and in society Therefore not surprisingly two

participants felt that women have the right to work and perform motherhood roles

simultaneously

I donrsquot expect any promotions I did put it clearly that I didnrsquot want people

reporting to me and I didnrsquot want to work X amount of hours because I have

children [P9 RP9_1_Fairy Princess_655]

I became more assertive and said I donrsquot want 6 am meetings - I want to

see my boy go to school and go to gym I block my diary out [P5

RP5_Muriel_564]

The working mothers were assertive focused driven and committed to both their

careers and their motherhood roles

It is a very important job that we have as women leaders with children We

should not deny our responsibilities as parents The more women

normalise their lives around their familiesrsquo situation the better they will

perform Ask for support from your company You have to be able to say

what your requirements are and make flexible arrangements To be an

effective mom I attend to my family from 5 till 8 in the evening and am

available again at 9 orsquoclock to continue with work [P6 RP6_Shirley

Valentine_619]

The women pointed out that mentors should lead by example so that other

working mothers are able to claim their rights

My mentor is disciplined with her working hours she goes home and works

late nights As a senior executive she has walked out of a budget meeting

that was scheduled till five and at 545 she had to fetch her children [P3



84

3423 The challenges women face at midlife

THEME 10 - Influence of midlife on career

This theme relates to the challenges and options women face with their careers

as these meander through their life cycles Inevitably women make life decisions

that impact on their careers - some may even follow alternative career paths

sect Midlife My impression is that midlife is when women face deep life issues and reassess

priorities

Maybe it is a midlife crisis going on with 40 approaching because I have

gone through a period of being dissatisfied with life I experienced a

change in moods and felt disorientated However after refocusing I am

filled with confidence I want to do something different ndash maybe learn a new

language [P8 RP8_The Diplomat_837]

If you want to understand a womanrsquos leadership traits and competencies

and their strengths you have to understand the phases in her life [P2

RP2_Midwife_23]

The research participants reacted differently to midlife and reported that the

challenges and decisions they faced were influenced by the structure of the

families the ages of their children their support structures and their unfulfilled

dreams Some took on robust challenges eg taking their career to a new level

Irsquom ready for the promotion I know the challenge will be good for me to get

out of my comfort zone The timing is right Irsquom 38 I am confident in my

abilities and I have support structures at home I want to prove to myself

that I can do it [P3 RP3_Florence Nightingale_3 36]

At the age of 36 I was appointed as Chief Operation Officer (COO) [P5

RP5_Muriel_516]


85

Some women changed their careers completely

There is a great opportunity for me to move into new technology I can

make lots of money I am getting bored and need to get out of my comfort

zone I am 40 maybe its time for a change [P10 RP9_2_Fairy

Princess_103]

Other interviewees maintained

I donrsquot want to move ndash I am busy implementing systems processes and

procedures it is so stimulating and rewarding [P13 RP10_Fiona_135]

I donrsquot want to be more than what I am I have no more strive to be the MD

Irsquom OK and in the next 5 years I want to do less Irsquove got my own goals

when I am 45 I want to downscale and at 50 I definitely do not want to work

anymore [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_456]

Some research participants were scaling down

I made a career decision to step into a half day position where I can

manage all the roles that are required to maintain a job and raise my kids

My children are my priority now It is important to be there in the afternoons

to take them to their activities and do their homework I no longer have the

corporate ambition to get to the top ladder I am comfortable [P11

RP10_Fiona_1133]

My career was important to me at some point it defined me having to

achieve something But now I could do without it [P8 RP8_The

Diplomat_828]

This concludes the challenges women face as leaders in society and in their

careers at midlife Now it is time to take a look at the third main focus of the study

namely personal leadership


86

343 Personal leadership

With regard to how the research participants managed their spiritual mental

physical and emotional dimensions to ensure constant energy to cope with

challenges four themes were identified

3431 Spiritual Wellbeing

THEME 11 - Women leaders hold their anchor in their spiritual wellbeing

sect The Spiritual dimension The participants portrayed a number of spiritual characteristics

sect Personal Awareness The women knew who they were where they were in their lives what shaped

their opinions and perceptions about themselves and where they would like to

be

Our world is made up of mirrors Personal awareness is looking at what is

reflected in your mirrors Is your world reflecting the mirrors that your

parents spouses pivotal people are holding up or is it the true you Who

are you really at the core of your being Is it real or is it fictional or

irrational [P1 RP1_Spirit_13]

Personal awareness was also reflected in the way they acknowledged their

weaknesses and developed their strengths

The more you know about yourself the more you realise what you need to

learn to develop and what you have to overcome The more you know

about yourself the more humble you become about who you are the

awareness of what you still have to learn to be thankful for the goodness

that crosses your road [P1 RP1_Spirit_15]


87

An important finding was that those interviewees who were mothers were

critically aware of the pivotal role they played in the balance of the whole family

If I (the mother) am not fine then the whole family is out of sync [P3


sect Meaning in life Most mothers defined meaning in life in terms of their relationships with their

children and their husbands

My kids and my husband give me meaning in life All I think about is going

home and spending time with them [P7 RP7_Ruby_729]

Irsquove changed - money is not that important anymore - I need to provide to

pay for the good things and support myself and my family but it is not my

focus My children and my family are my focus I love spending all my free

time with them [P3 RP3_Florence Nightingale_338]

sect Meaning in work The interviewees reported finding meaning in their work by creating meaning for

others through inspiring others and developing them

I am leading a young team of sixteen people and I guide them by listening

and asking questions and seeing their God given talents their natural

attitude and willingness to learn give me meaning [P5 RP5_Muriel_558]

Furthermore the research participants found meaning in their passion and

excellence

Meaning in my job is doing the best I can even if nobody sees it For me it

is all part of my search for being You do it for God at the end of the day I

donrsquot do things halfway how will I gain from that I do it the right way I see

this business as my own business I ask myself lsquohow I would do it if it is

minersquo and that enhances my passion even more [P7 RP7_Ruby_730]


88

Recognition was reported as the most important meaning the women received

from their jobs

In my work the reward and recognition is what fills me [P5

RP5_Muriel_548]

sect Purpose Spirit perfectly summarised onersquos purpose in life as was reported by most of the

women

Purpose is about a deeper principle It is about pursuing something in your

deepest self You will have challenges and difficulties that you didnrsquot

expect as well as doors that open that you never expected When you

persist with something that you know inside is your right life things fall into

place Life has a way to make place for you when you insist in what you

believe is the right world for you [P1 RP1_Spirit_17]

sect Religion Some participants reported that religion was an anchor in which to find peace

and help through difficult times

I was not sure about religion in my life anymore I had to work things out for

myself We struggled with personal problemshellip I cracked in April while on

holiday in Mozambique I cried for two days When I came back I had to

ask for help went to church alone prayed seriously and read the Bible I

found an anchor in prayer and life became easier You need to know

exactly what you want and ask for it [P9 RP9_1_Fairy Princess_940]

I connect to God by going to church reading the Bible I donrsquot take sayings

or verses in the Bible for granted If it is in my mind I want to live it and

mean it [P7 RP7_Ruby_728]

Lunchtime I go to the church up the road and just read something and get

peace and I come back I love it It is my anchor [P5 RP5_Muriel_5 53]


89

sect Other spiritual characteristics The following quotes from the interviews illustrate the many spiritual

characteristics the women leaders displayed in their lives

ndash Authenticity

It takes a lot to sustain a role of someone who you are not at your core

being I chose to become who I am not what I want others to think of me or

think that is what I am [P1 RP1_Spirit_147]

Being true to yourself is to accept that working is not the ideal

circumstances but that you have peace with what you do and you can stop

pretending to be something you are not [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_484]

A leadership style can be acquired through training and development but

authenticity and confidence comes with age [P6 RP6_Shirley

Valentine_641]

ndash Wisdom

One should never be caught up in the issues of the day my mother

always says lsquoThat too shall pass my dearrsquo Donrsquot wish the early years of

your career away because it passes quickly and this is where you grow In

the big scheme of things everything is temporary [P3 RP3_Florence

Nightingale_354]

ndash Intuition

I have an intuitive ability that I trust when I recruit I know when someone

will not stay long in a position I trust my gut feeling [P5 RP5_Muriel_559]


90

ndash Passion

Passion does not take energy - it gives energy [P1 RP1_Spirit_112]

You have to keep your passion alive with your family with your kids with

your husband - everything is affected by your passion for life [P7

RP7_Ruby_756]

It was a decision I realised I have this passion these talents these gifts

and this knowledge to coach I decided to guide it into a career field It is

something that consumes me It is a discipline Coaching is more like a

drug euphoria Once you drove that wave it is an addiction [P1

RP1_Spirit_129]

ndash Not judging

How will it serve you if you judge someone else It takes energy that you

can spend on other things People need to be accepted unconditionally not

to be judged [P1 RP1_Spirit_158]

ndash Life lessons

I need to get to the bottom of why I am not fitting in this company and I

need to resolve this thing before I leave here otherwise it will repeat itself

in my career [P5 RP5_Muriel_579]

ndash Gratitude

You donrsquot think your life is that blessed until you look back [P7

RP7_Ruby_721]

ndash Synchronicity

It wasnrsquot Godrsquos will for us to get the tender But in fact it created a space for

me to do my honours [P6 RP6_Shirley Valentine_69]


91

ndash Connectedness

We have an essential self that should love what we do That should get

energy from what we are doing because we love what we are doing This is

our real life That loses time when we are busy with that [P1

RP1_Spirit_132]

I lecture my children that who you are on the outside is not important it is

what you are on the inside that is important what is in your heart [P8

RP8_The Diplomat_861]

ndash Giving back

It fills me if I help somebody out I embraced the challenge to help the

school raise funds and it enriched me [P7 RP7_Ruby_720]

I used to be involved in charity projects Giving to under-privileged children

is something I can do I need to make it a priority again [P13

RP10_Muriel_134]

ndash Respect

We need to be respectful of each other on another level When last did you

do something out of your heart for another person with the right intention

Who does it serve if you do something for the other person It serves

yourself firstly [P1 RP1_Spirit_124]

ndash Creativity

Creativity fills your cup - every woman should do something creative

where she can let go and relax It is important to create I find a creative

outlet in my computer and creating and editing DVDrsquos [P11

RP10_Fiona_113]

I fulfill my creativity through my work I love doing presentations and

proposals [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_430]


92

3432 Mental wellbeing

THEME 12 - Women leaders grow their power in mental wellbeing

This theme relates to the research participantsrsquo experiences and views regarding

the mental dimension

sect The Mind Being professional women the participants identified strongly with their minds

and the importance of knowledge

The most important tool in personal leadership is your mind If you can get

your mind and your thoughts right everything else falls into place Whatrsquos

priority and what is not [P7 RP7_Ruby_768]

sect Knowledge is power The women reported finding their power and confidence in knowledge

Knowledge makes me feel in control and enable me to excel Knowledge is

power Before I achieve knowledge I am on the quiet side Competence

gives me power I prepare very thoroughly when I go into a meeting [P5

RP5_Muriel_5 60]

My confidence is in my knowledge I lose my confidence if I donrsquot know

something I have to be well prepared to think on my feet [P3



93

sect Definition of success The research participants differentiated between success at work and personal

success

Success at work is if we make target and keep within budget - it is a clean

paper decision But it is also about growth in my role and meeting

expectations [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_453]

Personal and professional success is interlinked I am not interested in

searching for a new job to earn more money because more means less

family time and longer hours at work I am at a stage where I am content

with what I have It comes with an attitude of gratitude [P7

RP7_Ruby_735]

The women believed that for them success was also being comfortable with

themselves being able to do great things like travel to be able to stop working if

they so wished

Success means different things for different people As a coach I ask

people How do you define success Is it money - Then you have to

follow your passion Is it family relationships - Then you have to be true to

yourself How did it turn out How did it serve yourdquo My question is ldquoAre

you happy Do you love what you are doingrdquo [P1 RP1_Spirit_155]

sect Character The participants were women of substance who developed strong characters

over the years They showed resilience perseverance leadership qualities and

had a professional ethic Some participants reported a tough upbringing shaping

their character The following quotes illustrate some of these character traits

ndash Resilience (bouncing back from adversities in life)

I think my strong personality pulled me through the difficult times when I

thought of giving up and staying home with my difficult baby I have always


94

been self-disciplined since childhood I am self-driven and might push

myself to a point that might be unhealthy [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_47]

ndash Perseverance

I have pushed myself through the limits on a career side and on a personal

side not with my energy - with the Lords energy and help Itrsquos been just a

wonderful ride The down moments were very hard but the up moments

were fabulous [P6 RP 6_Shirley Valentine_613]

ndash Leadership qualities

My less tolerant part is people who have no backbone and discipline [P4

RP4_Iron Woman_49]

ndash Professional ethic

People comment on my consultancy style I approach my work by doing

research draw up a model and find a theoretical base [P6 RP6_Shirley

Valentine_62]

ndash Tough upbringing

Four of the womenrsquos tough upbringing shaped their characters and determined

their focus to be successful in life

There wasnrsquot always money to pay for the house or the car when I grew up

I hated that and I knew that my life will be different I knew I had to work

hard My mother motivated me not to be dependent on anybody I was

driven to be academically successful and totally independent [P3


I had a tough upbringing always a Catholic boarder never close to my

family my father was in exile [P5 RP 5_Muriel 52]


95

I had a tough upbringing I was in boarding school from the age of 12 [P6

RP6_Shirley Valentine_633]

I have been independent since a very young age I am not very close to my

family I was raised by my grandparents and went to boarding school very

young because my mother had a very demanding career flying up and

down all over the world and I didnrsquot fit in with her new family when she

remarried [P8 RP8_The Diplomat_820]

sect Temperament

The correlation of the participantsrsquo self-evaluations of their temperament and the

career choices they made were very interesting

ndash Spiritual life coach I am not a very structured person I dream a lot [P1

RP1_Spirit_150]

ndash Chartered accountant I am a perfectionist driven to be the best that I

can be and to achieve my goals It has always been important to me to

be the best that I can be in everything I do [P3 RP3_Florence

Nightingale_34]

ndash Logistics manager It just gets me going to sort things out because I am

a very strong administrator I am very organised I am a perfectionist and I

have high standards [P7 RP7_Ruby_77]

ndash Knowledge and information specialist I am very structured and I am

more comfortable with work the childrenrsquos homework and tasks that are

structured [P8 RP8_The Diplomat_ 844]

ndash Sales account director I am not detail orientated and I donrsquot like people

reporting to me I want to be free to close deals with clients I am

confrontational I have a fighting spirit [P9 RP9_1_Fairy Princess_91]

sect Stress management Stress and overload were realities to the interviewees Their mental wellbeing

showed in their resilience to stress and how they coped with stress


96

Being a life coach I observe how women handle stress She will manage

to play all her roles to perfection except the role of real relaxation exercise

and self-fulfilling activities because she always put the needs of other

before her own [P1 RP1_Spirit_150]

There is no lsquomersquo-time Last year I had a personal trainer and a daily

exercise routine Apart from being more fit it was a daily let go - being able

to talk to another woman about the daily stressors I unwind by reading and

can easily take a book and disappear into my own world on a weekend for

an hour or two [P11 RP10_1_Fiona_1111]

So my biggest challenge now is to find time for myself I donrsquot always get to

that For me it is to have coffee with a friend on a Saturday for an hour and

a half - I only have to do it twice a month and I will be happy with it thatrsquos

enough for me When my children get into bed at night at 9 orsquoclock it is my

time I have a bath read my book and get sanityhellip that to me is time for

myself [P4 RP4_Iron Woman_429]

In respect of whether the level of work is an indicator of how much stress women

experience the experiences and views of two women leaders in the same

company were interesting The first participant at director level had the

perception that working mothers at middle management had more stress

I think that women at senior levels cope better because of more flexibility or

the challenges are more at middle management If you have to talk to

women that are not at director level they might not cope so well [P4

RP4_Iron Woman_417]

The participant at middle management disagreed and stated that stress is a

perception and state of mind

I am in middle management but I donrsquot think that women in higher

positions have less stress because they have more flexibility or money to


97

afford support structures like au pairs I think stress is a mind thing [P7

RP7_Ruby_752]

This confirmed the importance of mindset and the perception of stress

sect Coping mechanisms The women employ different coping mechanisms Women excelled by effectively

communicating and building meaningful relationships through which they

typically resolve issues

I cope by talking and discussing difficult issues with my seniors or my

family [P15 RP3_Florence Nightingale_155]

One inference here was that on face value certain women excelled in life and

displayed positive behaviour on spiritual physical mental and emotional levels

while others in their private lives employed negative destructive coping

mechanisms A resulting question was Could it be that women play roles or are

in relationships that are not authentic to themselves and that they need an outlet

somewhere For example one participant frequently referred to social drinking

and conflict in relationship on a daily basis The following quotes illustrate the

frequency and conflicting relationships in the course of one week in this

participantrsquos life

Last week Wednesday I ignored my husband for the whole day I didnrsquot

answer my phone I met my friend at 5 for a glass of wine [P9

RP9_1_Fairy Princess_920]

Monday my friend phoned me to meet her at 3 orsquoclock at the Purple Cow

for a glass of wine I thought it is not a bad ideahellip My husband phoned to

check up on me (he does that) I didnrsquot tell him that I was having a glass of

wine We had a huge fight because the kidsrsquo homework was not done when

I got home after six [P9 RP9_1_Fairy Princess_921]


98

Yesterday my husband got home late he poured us a glass of winehellip [P9


sect Recharge

The women applied different ways of recharging Generally it seemed that they

didnrsquot make enough time for relaxing exercising and reading

I listen to music sing along and drink wine I take a lsquochill pillrsquo from time-to-

time Exercise helps [P18 RP9 _ Fairy Princess_185]

In the past I traveled to recharge [P6 RP 6_Shirley Valentine_616]

My kids give me energy To relax I will read a book or watch a TV program

with the kids I love my sleep especially on a Sunday afternoon [P8


I used to read I like reading different things I like reading novels I like my

gym sometimes it gets so rough I have to be here at six in the morning

When I miss my gym I feel it my one shoulder gets stiff I havenrsquot struck a

balance [P5 RP5_Muriel_541]

sect Ego The interviewees reported that in their work environment they experience women

who display ego centeredness It seemed that they personally were not

egocentric

You get some leaders that will never appoint a leader that is stronger than

him because it is a threat If you can overcome that you grow as leader

[P4 RP4_Iron Woman_486]


99

I find women leaders on the fast track who are attracted by the money and

are not aware of the challenges they will be facing They donrsquot admit that

they need advice from colleagues because they will look incompetent The

problem is everyone can see it and they are not fooling anyone The result

is some of these CEOs or executives do not want to employ competent

people who will challenge them [P2 RP2_Midwife_229]

3433 The physical dimension

THEME 13 - Women leaders conserve their energy in their physical wellbeing

This theme includes health energy management exercise and eating habits

sect Exercise From the womenrsquos accounts it was clear that they felt the responsibility to

exercise in order to be physically healthy to relieve stress and to maintain their

energy The challenge for them was to create space in their diaries for exercise

Irsquove started boot camp two weeks ago and my energy levels are picking up

I am coping better with life overall We eat very healthy at the office - fruit

and whole bread sandwiches to maintain my energy [P13RP

10_Fiona_131]

There was a time when I started losing myself and missed my gym

because there were early morning meetings now I block out that time for

myself in my diary [P5 RP 5_Muriel_24 Aug2011_563]

Exercise is non-existent in my life but I want to get into this by beginning of

October Exercise will help with the stress levels [P15 RP3_Florence

Nightingale_153]

I exercise frequently I am in a comfortable place in my career and can

create enough time for exercise [P17 RP4_Iron Woman_173]


100

Monday to Friday I exercise six times and I cycle with my husband on

weekends or play golf I am very fit [P18 RP9_Fairy Princess_183]

sect Eating habits The participants reported that they were all health conscious

I am a very careful eater I pack my own lunchbox and I am specific about

what I eat for sustained energy I am bordering on being fanatical I eat

according to my blood type and my energy levels are quite high [P5

RP5_Muriel_562]

My eating habits are fine - when the stress levels are high I can sometimes

go for comfort food [P15 RP3_Florence Nightingale _154]

Irsquove always had healthy eating habits [P17 RP4_Iron Woman_174]

Irsquom trying to follow the book ldquoWhy French women donrsquot get fatrdquo The author

talks about eating flavourful bite sized food she says you only taste the

first two bites thereafter you are just stuffing yourself We do mostly healthy

eating except Sundays I try to set a nice table and cook healthy foods

every night [P18 RP9 _ Fairy Princess_184]

sect Energy management The women drew energy from different sources some found their energy and

inspiration in their passion for their careers

My energy levels are great My new promotion is my inspiration [P15



101

If you are doing who you are at your core you will have abundant energy

and it will not be draining work You will invest time and energy in that what

is most important [P1 RP1_Spirit_114]

sect The effect of stress on the body Some participants acknowledged that they sometimes became so focused on

their careers that they neglect their bodies

The stress had an effect on my body - I was worried about my health and

early menopause came on [P 6 RP 6_Shirley Valentine_65]

Irsquove been sick with the lsquoflursquo for months now I have been dosing myself with

over-the-counter medication and I didnrsquot realise how much medication I

was taking My body just reacted with break-outs and rashes all over The

doctor said I had adrenalin fatigue I was so focused I didnrsquot even notice

that my body was not coping I donrsquot believe in stress my attitude is that if

you can plan and manage yourself the illness will go away It caught up

with me finally I had to listen to my body I made a few changes [P7

RP7_Ruby_739]


102

3434 The emotional dimension

THEME 14 - Women maintain stability in their emotional wellbeing

sect Emotional intelligence

The interviewees acknowledged womenrsquos emotive nature and their strength of

emotions

Emotionally intelligent leaders should access their intuition and use their

emotions in decision making [P2 RP2_Midwife_247]

The women described emotional intelligence in the work environment which is an

important aspect of networking and building trust relationships

When I network I am genuinely interested in other people [P3


The women felt that maturity and experiences had helped to improve their

emotional intelligence

As you become more mature you learn what emotional responses to have

in certain situations I have accepted that I am an emotional person and I

am regulating my responses consciously [P17 RP 4_Iron Woman_176]

Some women acknowledged the impact of emotions on thoughts and the

importance of regulating it

If emotional issues get the better of you you canrsquot control your thoughts

[P7 RP7_Ruby_724]

Speak about things when it happens but clear your mind and emotions first

When you talk out of emotions then you have no control [P7 R

7_Ruby_724]


103

The women defined emotional intelligence as follows

ndash Understanding how emotions can be used in decision making

We can either let our emotions get the better of us and make the wrong

decisions out of sympathy or it can help us [P7 RP7_Ruby_724]

ndash Applying appropriate responses to problems

95 of the time I respond appropriately to problems At home I should

think a bit more before I talk [P18 RP9_Fairy Princess_186]

ndash Being aware of the effect of stress on onersquos emotional responses

I can become too emotional and sensitive when stressed Maybe I need to

discuss it with a coach [P15 RP3_Florence Nightingale_156]


104

35 CONCLUSION

Rich and varied experiences and views were obtained from the ten research

participants These concrete concepts were ordered by applying codes categories

and themes and an attempt was made to describe and interpret them on a higher

logical level (Graneheim amp Lundman 2004)

The experiences and views of the research participants were related to women

leadership and personal leadership The participants expressed their views on

including more feminine qualities in the definition of leadership and the unique

qualities and styles they believe women bring to the leadership equation The

participants reported having experienced prejudiced evaluations as leaders

Important insights regarding societal and organisational challenges women face

involved the gender conditioning and stereotyping that women experience in their

husbandsrsquo mindsets This is a product of our cultural programming The

participants reported that these culture value dimensions influence societyrsquos

perception of women as leaders and result in gender stereotypes and ldquomasculinerdquo

women leaders who believe they have power if they deny their femininity This

spills over into organisations and the women reported gender based barriers to top

positions eg glass ceilings and glass cliffs The women responded to these

challenges with their self-empowered and changed mindsets

Further insights into the corporate environment revealed that besides culture and

gender power and politics remained primary challenges that erode the values and

ethics among leaders The participants reported on the changing cultural scene for

black South African women ndash moving more towards individualism and losing their

ldquoubunturdquo Further women in positions of power were reported to abuse their power

to stay at the top ndash creating a toxic environment often characterised by a lack of

personal leadership Networking was reported to be a critical success factor in

having access to power and decision making The women responded positively to

such challenges by recognising the importance of ethical leadership and being true

to their values The participants also recognised coaching and mentoring as being


105

essential to support and develop themselves and other women in handling societal

and organisational challenges

Working mothersrsquo challenges were mainly around finding balance in the social

construction of their life roles and trying to integrate work and personal life The

participants reported that work pressure role strain role conflict and dual careers

resulting in career and life decisions were realities for working mothers Time

management was essential but it was more important to integrate these roles with

family structures and support structures The womenrsquos assertive responses to

these challenges were noted in how they claimed their rights to motherhood as

well as being career women how they insisted on flexible arrangements and how

they chose family orientated organisations

At midlife the women reported changes in their lives that influenced their careers

This was characterised by a phase of evaluation of their life priorities and making

changes to their careers that suited their personal circumstances Some changed

careers to pursue forgotten dreams while others put top leadership positions on

hold temporarily to focus on family responsibilities or considered scaling down

The third focus of the study was personal leadership Findings related to the

spiritual mental physical and emotional wellbeing of the participants Spiritual

wellbeing was observed in the manner in which the participants anchored their

lives in religion and spirituality the self-awareness they displayed about

themselves at midlife and the meaning they find in life and in their work The

women empowered themselves through their mental wellbeing which was evident

in their definitions of success resilience perseverance and stress management

Physical wellbeing was conveyed in the manner the women included exercise and

healthy eating habits in their lifestyles to conserve their energy Finally the

participants reported on their emotional wellbeing by voicing the importance of

emotional intelligence to create stable relationships and supportive networks

Chapter 4 ndash Literature Review

106

CHAPTER 4 - LITERATURE REVIEW

41 INTRODUCTION

There are important questions regarding the role of the literature review for which

qualitative researchers need to find answers (Foucheacute Delport amp Schurink 2011)

For example ldquoWhat is the role of the literature review in qualitative research Do

we need to do a literature review to find a research question or do we avoid the

literature altogether and let the world of experience lead us directlyrdquo (Shank

2006 p116) From the literature on qualitative inquiry it is clear that different

views and approaches are found in order to deal with existing literature when

embarking upon a study (Punch 2005) Most noticeably qualitative researchers

hold that (i) the literature should be fully reviewed prior to the research (ii) while it

should be reviewed this should not form part of the research proposal and (iii) the

literature needs to be reviewed analysed and incorporated as the study

progresses especially when the data is analysed and the findings are discussed

An example of this is found in some qualitative research eg grounded theory

(ibid)

Shankrsquos (2006) views regarding literature and qualitative research are very helpful

He distinguishes two schools of thought in this regard namely (1) the ldquoignorance

is blissrdquo school and (2) the school of thought where the importance of reading

reviewing and understanding the literature on the research topic before data

collection is acknowledged Exponents of the ldquoignorance is blissrdquo school of

thought believe that qualitative researchers should treat field data on its own

terms I chose this option and did my best to set aside my predispositions

preconceptions and biases in dealing with the data and making sense of it

Following Shankrsquos (2006) literature review approach two stages can be outlined in

the study At the outset I studied the research results and theoretical concepts

that are found in the literature to ensure that what I wanted to study wasnrsquot already


107

sufficiently covered Towards the end of the data collection I returned to the

literature and reviewed it based on what I had learnt from what the research

participants shared with me as well as from my own experiences In a rather real

sense I applied what Metcalfe (2003) suggests namely using the literature review

as analogous to the testimony of expert witnesses ldquoBy seeking the counsel of

these experts then you are better informed on your topic and how to proceedrdquo

(Shank 2006 p118)

Shank (2006) correctly points out that how qualitative researchers choose to

conduct their literature review will depend not only on their topic but also on their

approach In this study I wanted to explore describe and reach an understanding

of the experiences and viewpoints of a small number of South African women

leaders

But what is the purpose of this chapter and what does it contain

In this chapter I offer abstract constructs as well as empirical findings found in

literature that are related to and can illuminate the concrete experiences and

views of the women leaders I interviewed and more particularly since these are

contained in the codes themes and categories I developed19 The review is

confined to the fields of human resources and psychology While South African

scholars have addressed the phenomenon of women leaders to a lesser degree

than their counterparts from abroad I took special care to include their work

While considerable progress toward gender equality has taken place in society in

terms of both attitude and behaviour this goal has not been completely attained

Women experience a mix of apparent advantages and disadvantages in an effort

to succeed in leadership While women are praised for having excellent leadership

skills and are advantaged with leadership styles associated with effective

performance as leaders they are disadvantaged in a male-dominated leadership

environment where people still prefer male bosses over female bosses (Eagly

2007)

19 See Chapter 3 Table 31


108

How is it that women enjoy a leadership advantage but are still disadvantaged

To answer this question I set out to study the female advantage and disadvantage

themes If both themes were to some extent accurate I wanted to establish what

the challenges were for women in leadership Eagly (2007) argues that this

paradoxical phenomenon reflects the particular conditions in a nationrsquos culture - in

an era marked by considerable change with regard to womens roles many

traditional expectations and patterns of behaviour persist

In order to address these issues in this study I first consider cultural and scholarly

definitions of good leadership and compare women and men in terms of

contemporary perspectives on leadership Then I present research pertaining to

the socio-cultural challenges women (and in particular working mothers)

experience and how prejudice affects their effectiveness as leaders Furthermore

I consider the advantages and disadvantages women experience in their careers

during midlife Finally I consider whether personal leadership plays any role in

women leadersrsquo success

42 DEFINING WOMEN LEADERS

In order to understand women in leadership one first needs to define leadership

and then establish what a good leader is In this section leadership is studied from

a number of perspectives and conceptualised in the pyramid of leadership

Further I consider the debate about women in leadership more specifically men

and women having different leadership qualities and styles Finally I look at the

changing context for women in leadership in South Africa

421 Leadership defined from the pyramid of leadership

Are women excellent leaders perhaps even better than men on average or in

some circumstances (Eagly 2007) To address these issues researchers first

have to answer the question of what good leadership is that is what behaviours

characterise effective leaders Does effective leadership consist of ldquoan act of


109

influencing othersrdquo (Groothof 2007 p45 Maxwell 2008 p25) with themes such

as ldquo(i) leadership is aimed at engaging a set of persons whether one or more

individuals teams organizations and communities (ii) leadership is about a joint

course of action enabled by the necessary wherewithal (iii) leadership intends to

bring about a collective outcome with a specific intended effect and (iv) leadership

occurs within a certain setting or contextrdquo (Groothof 2007 p45)

As situational theorists of leadership contend (Ayman 2004) the appropriateness

of particular types of leader behaviours depends on context including societal

values the culture of organisations the nature of the task and the characteristics

of followers Yet despite this situational variability leadership has historically been

depicted primarily in masculine terms and many theories of leadership have

focused mainly on stereotypically masculine qualities (Miner 1993) However

given that leaders effectiveness depends on context it is reasonable to argue that

stereotypical feminine qualities of cooperation mentoring and collaboration are

important to leadership certainly in some contexts and perhaps increasingly in

contemporary organisations (Eagly 2007)

With the study focusing on women I approach leadership from a gender neutral

perspective emphasising the following characteristics authenticity choice moral

relationships having vision trust and commitment Here I identify with the

following leadership definitions ldquohellipleadership is authentic influence that creates

valuerdquo (Cashman 2008 p24) ldquoleadership is a choice not a positionrdquo (Covey

1992 pvi) ldquohellipthe only definition of a leader is someone who has followersrdquo

(Drucker 1997 pii) and ldquoleadership is intricately connected to the ability to use

power to influence action for changerdquo (Kanyoro 2006 pi) Therefore for the

purposes of the study leadership entails

The ability to use authentic power to influence and engage

others with a joined course of action that brings change and a

collective outcome that creates value (Cashman 2008 Ciulla

2004 Drucker 1997 Groothof 2007 Kanyoro 2006 Maxwell

2008)


110

Whilst coordinating leadership definitions I identify with what Aristotle wrote

namely the secret to influencing others and being persuasive is down to the

presence of Ethos Pathos and Logos Ethos is about trust - it is the moral guiding

onersquos beliefs Pathos entails understanding and empathising with others while

Logos is the need to seek and understand others (Covey 2004) These concepts

find expression in the Pyramid of Leadership as illustrated in Figure 41

FIGURE 41 PYRAMID OF LEADERSHIP (COVEY 1998 1991)

Ethos forms the root of ethikos meaning moral or showing moral character

(Merriam-Webster online 2011) Ciulla (2004 pxv) emphasises the importance

of morals in her definition of leadership

Develop-Authentic-Awareness-Ethical -Intuition

Develop-Relationships -Communication-Coaching-Mentoring-Teams-EQ

Circle of In

fluence

Circle of C

oncern

CareerFinancial

Social

LOGOS

Professional LeadershipCompetence

PATHOS

Interpersonal LeadershipCaring

ETHOS

Personal LeadershipCharacter

SpiritualMentalPhysicalEmotional

Live ldquoInside-outrdquo

Develop-Leading Change-Leadership Style -Strategic Thinking-Leading Performance-Human Capital-Work-life Integration



Circle of In

fluence

Circle of C

oncern

CareerFinancial

Social

LOGOS


PATHOS


ETHOS






111

Leadership is not a person or a position it is a complex moral

relationship between people based on trust obligation

commitment emotion and a shared vision of the good

From a personal leadership perspective Ethos represents ldquoprinciple-centered

character-based lsquoinside-outrsquo approach to leadershiprdquo (Covey 1991 p63) The

bottom level of the pyramid is about self-mastery and leadership from the inside-

out (Cashman 2008) An inside-out approach to leadership focuses on ldquohellipvalues

principles life experience and the essence of a leaderrdquo (Cashman 2008 pp22-

23) A leader should lead from character - only then will heshe exude ldquohellipqualities

of authenticity purpose openness trust courage congruence and compassionrdquo

(Cashman 2008 p45) Character can be defined as who you are (Covey 2006)

and ldquocharacter is doing whats right when nobodys lookingrdquo (Carnegie 1964

p14)

Pathos is the Greek word for ldquoa style that has the power to evoke feelingsrdquo

(Merriam-Webster online 2011) From an interpersonal leadership perspective

Pathos represents emotional leadership servant leadership caring empathy

compassion service consideration and a team orientation (Covey 1998)

Logos is from the Greek definition ldquothe word or form which expresses thoughtrdquo

(Merriam-Webster online 2011) From a professional leadership perspective

Logos represents knowledge strategic thinking motivating and empowering

employees competence meaningful living and wisdom (Covey 1998) The top

level of the pyramid is about mastery of professional relationships managing

competence and meaning A competent leader displays a combination of

leadership styles visionary and strategic thinking leading the change leading

performance and maintaining perspective and balance (Covey 1991)

The leadership pyramid suggests leadership as a progression from personal

mastery to interpersonal mastery to professional mastery More specifically

Covey (1992) refers to personal mastery before public mastery


112

To answer the question ldquoWhat is a good leaderrdquo and whether women are better

leaders than men one needs to investigate the women in leadership debate

422 Women in leadership debate

There is a debate about the female advantage in leadership whereby ldquowomen are

more likely than men to lead in a style that is effective under contemporary

conditionsrdquo (Eagly amp Carli 2003 p807) The questions to be addressed here are

(i) whether men and women behave differently in leadership roles (ii) whether

women receive prejudiced evaluations as leaders and potential leaders and (iii)

whether leadership by women might be more effective or meet the needs of

organisations better than men (Vecchio 2002)

In order to establish whether women bring something unique to the equation we

now take a look at the qualities women leaders display the differences in

leadership styles in terms of gender and the differences between the social and

emotional intelligence of women and men

4221 Women leader qualities

We need to ask ourselves what behaviours characterise effective leaders Modern

characterisations of effective leadership have become more consonant with the

female gender role Rosener (1995) describes womenrsquos leadership as interactive

involving collaboration and empowerment of employees and menrsquos leadership as

command-and-control involving the assertion of authority and the accumulation of

power Furst and Reeves (2008) found that women listen more are more willing to

share information and are genuinely more interested in hearing others points of

view Women also use a range of communication styles that can be tailored to fit

the context - from politeness formality and indirectness to informality and

directness In a turbulent environment it is critical to listen and learn and to find out

what needs to change (Birger 2006)


113

4222 Gender differences and similarities in leadership style

Leadership researchers (eg Avolio 1999) contrasted transformational leaders to

transactional leaders who appeal to subordinatesrsquo self-interest by establishing

exchange relationships with them Transactional leadership involves managing in

the conventional sense of clarifying subordinatesrsquo responsibilities rewarding them

for meeting objectives and correcting them for failing to meet objectives

Transformational leadership entails establishing oneself as a role model by gaining

followersrsquo trust and confidence (Bass 1985 1998) By mentoring and empowering

followers such leaders help followers to develop their potential and thus to

contribute more effectively to their organisation (Eagly amp Carli 2003) In addition

researchers distinguished a laissez-faire style that is marked by an overall failure

to take responsibility for managing (Eagly amp Carli 2003)

It is important to note Eagly and Carlirsquos (2003) meta-analysis which reveals that

compared with male leaders female leaders were (a) more transformational and

(b) engage in more reward behaviours (ie exchanging rewards for followersrsquo

satisfactory performance) Male leaders were more likely than female leaders to

manifest aspects of transactional leadership active management by exception

(attending to followersrsquo mistakes and failures to meet standards) and passive

management by exception (waiting for problems to become severe before

intervening) Men were categorised on laissez-faire leadership (exhibiting

widespread absence and lack of involvement) Researchers attention to

transformational leadership reflects the cultural shift that has occurred in norms

about leadership - in many contexts the rdquopowerful manrdquo model of leadership no

longer holds and good leadership is increasingly defined in terms of the qualities of

a good coach or teacher rather than a highly authoritative person who merely tells

others what to do (Eagly 2007)

Furst and Reeves (2008) suggested a female leadership advantage in turbulent

business environments They argued that womenrsquos more transformational

leadership style their desired communication skills in decision making their

customer-focus and their self-sacrificing behaviour make women the preferred


114

candidates for top positions Examples of such dynamic women who have

followed indirect career paths were given in Furst and Reeves (2008 p376)

Merrill Lynchs Kobayashi began her career photocopying fetching tea and doing

other menial jobs as an ldquooffice ladyrdquo at a Japanese chemical company in 1981

(Nakamura 2005) and Indra Nooyi CEO of Pepsi Co was educated in India and

the United States worked for Boston Consulting Group Motorola and Asea

Brown owners before joining Pepsi (Sellers 2006)

Do women have an advantage in their more transformational leadership style

Traditionally researchers resisted any claims that women and men have different

leadership styles They argued that particular leader roles demand certain types of

leadership essentially confining men and women in the same role to behave in the

same ways (eg Nieva amp Gutek 1981 Van Engen Van der Leeden amp Willemsen

2001) This argument surely has some validity because women and men have to

meet similar requirements to gain leadership roles in the first place (Eagly 2007)

Once a leader occupies such a role the expectations associated with it shape

behaviour in particular directions These pressures toward similarity of male and

female leaders make it likely that any differences in the leadership styles of

women and men are relatively small

sect Emotional and Social Intelligence

In order for women and men to succeed at the highest levels in an organisation

both must consistently demonstrate self-confidence yet a prevailing viewpoint has

women generally lacking in self-confidence A sophisticated degree of emotional

intelligence and social intelligence has been positively correlated with outstanding

performance (Day 2000 Dulewicz 2000 Goleman 1998 2006 Goleman

Boyatzis amp McKee 2002 Humphrey 2002 Palmer Walls Burgess amp Stough

2001 Sosik amp Megerian 1999 Wong amp Law 2002) Emotional intelligence is the

capacity to understand the emotions of ourselves and others and to effectively

manage our emotions and the emotions of others (Goleman 1998) Social

intelligence is ldquobeing intelligent not just about our relationships but also in themrdquo

(Goleman 2006 p11)


115

Bilimoria and Hopkins (2007) found no differences between male leaders and

female leaders in their overall level of emotional intelligence and social intelligence

competencies (Bar-On Brown Kirkcaldy amp Thome 2000 Petrides amp Furnham

2000) and in their demonstration of other leadership behaviours (Dobbins amp Platz

1986 Karau amp Eagly 1999 Powell 1999 Vilkinas amp Cartan 1993) These results

contradict previous research reporting significant differences in levels of emotional

intelligence and social intelligence (Brackett Rivers Shiffman Lerner amp Salovey

2006 Ciarrochi Forgas amp Mayer 2001 Schutte et al 1998) Many reported

behavioural differences between male and female leaders in prior studies reflect a

stereotypical difference in the perceptions of others as measured in laboratory

situations (Lipman-Blumen 1996) as opposed to behaviour observed in a field

setting The increased use of 360-degree assessments of individual behaviour will

hopefully assist in diminishing the impact of these stereotypes (Bilimoria amp

Hopkins 2007)

In concluding the women in leadership debate the following appears to be

important (i) it seems that women are not better leaders than men but that their

female disadvantage has been minimised (Eagly 2007) (ii) womenrsquos female

gender roles of collaboration and empowerment and accompanying

communication styles are aligned with characteristics of effective leadership

(Birger 2006 Furst amp Reeves 2008) (iii) womenrsquos more transformational

leadership style is advantageous (Eagly amp Carli 2003) and (iv) there are no

differences between men and women in terms of social and emotional intelligence

(Bilimoria amp Hopkins 2007)

If women are no longer disadvantaged why are there so few women in top

management positions within organisations In order to reach some

understanding of this letrsquos take a look at the position of women in leadership

positions in South Africa


116

sect The changing context of female leadership in South Africa

In South Africa it appears that womenrsquos corporate and political leadership is on the

rise Results from the Business Womenrsquos Association of South Africa (BWASA)

Women in Leadership Census (2011) show that the number of Executive

Managers has increased steadily over the past three years from 186 in 2009 to

193 in 2010 and 216 in 2011 (see Figure 42)

FIGURE 42 NUMBER OF WOMEN IN JSE-LISTED COMPANIES AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL POSITIONS (BWASA WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP CENSUS 2011) Results for CEOs and Chairpersons do not include subsidiaries Directorships and Executive Managers

include subsidiaries

The number of directorships increased from 146 to 166 in 2010 but

decreased to 158 in 2011 (see Figure 43)

FIGURE 43 WOMEN DIRECTORS AND DIRECTORSHIP POSITIONS (BWASA WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP CENSUS 2011) Subsidiaries included since the 2009 Census N= Total directorships for each year


117

However a direct comparison of men versus women in the upper echelons of the

workforce portrays a stark reality Women are clearly in the minority amongst their

male counterparts Women hold only 44 of CEOMD positions 53 of

Chairperson positions and 158 of all directorships (see Figure 44) In rectifying

this BWA President Kunyalala Maphisa (BWASA 2010) calls for gender diversity

to become a pre-requisite for listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)

FIGURE 44 WOMEN WORKFORCE REPRESENTATION (BWASA WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP CENSUS 2011) Executive managers results on verified companies only

Thus although there is progressive social change in South Africa there are still

leaks in the promotional pipeline Therefore one needs to consider the barriers to

women achieving top positions in business more specifically what the socio-

cultural challenges of women and in particular working mothers are

43 CHALLENGES AND COPING MECHANISMS

Whilst studying the lives of ten business women I found they needed to

accommodate the sometimes conflicting demands of their roles as women

mothers and leaders Certain demands placed on women can put them in a

disadvantaged position (eg combining their motherhood roles with career

challenges) (McLellan amp Uys 2009)

In considering the challenges women face and the mechanisms they employ to

cope with these it is useful to make use of the ancient Chinese symbol Yin-Yang -


118

the negative challenges can be compared to Yin and the positive challenges to

Yang (Ebrey 1993)

The meaning of YinThe meaning of YinThe meaning of YinThe meaning of Yin----YangYangYangYang

This Symbol (Yin-Yang) represents the ancient Chinese understanding of how things

work The outer circle represents everything while the black and white shapes within

the circle represent the interaction of two energies called yin (black)

and yang (white) which cause everything to happen They are not

completely black or white just as things in life are not completely black

or white and they cannot exist without each other

While yin would be dark passive downward cold contracting and

weak yang would be bright active upward hot expanding and strong The shape of

the yin and yang sections of the symbol actually gives one a sense of the continual

movement of these two energies yin to yang and yang to yin causing everything to

happen just as things expand and contract (Ebrey 1993)

431 Societal and organisational challenges for women in

leadership in South Africa

Why do women and men display somewhat different leadership behaviours within

the limits set by their leader roles In this section I consider the influence of culture

value dimensions on gender stereotyping self-stereotyping and on leadership

behaviour To explain gender disparities in leadership I explore the societal and

organisational challenges women are faced with including gender discrimination

glass ceilings glass cliffs and racial discrimination and how women deal with

these challenges Finally I take a look at the literature on ethical challenges that

all leaders face in society and organisations


119

4311 Yin Culture value dimensions

In an attempt to understand the societal and organisational challenges that women

face one needs to appreciate the collective programming of a culture that shapes

society (Hofstede 2001) Culture can be explained as shared motives values

beliefs identities and interpretations or meanings of significant events that result

from the common experiences of the members of a society (House et al 1999)

Thus individuals express culture and its normative qualities through the values

they hold about life and the world around them (Ergenelia Goharb amp

Temirbekovac 2007)

Hofstede (1993 2001) endorsed six cultural value dimensions namely power

(equality versus inequality) collectivism (versus individualism) uncertainty

avoidance (versus tolerance) masculinity (versus femininity) temporal orientation

and indulgence (versus restraint)

In the current study power collectivism and masculinity are important and reflect

many of the challenges that women in South Africa face in management and

within organisations The power distance indicates the extent to which a society

accepts inequality in power among institutions organisations and people

(Hofstede 2001) Collectivism is related to the integration of individuals into

primary groups and also the degree to which individuals are supposed to look after

themselves or remain integrated in groups (Hofstede 2001) The masculinity

dimension is associated with dominant values (such as assertiveness the

acquisition of money and objects heroism achievement) while quality of life

cooperation relationships and group decisions are associated with the feminine

dimension Organisational cultures that are more masculine are accepting of

strong directive leaders rather than consultative considerate leaders (ibid)

Through socialisation people learn the norms rules values and beliefs of a culture

or a group (Kassin Fein amp Markus 2008) Therefore the beliefs and the norms

people hold about power distribution and masculinity is engrained in their social

conditioning and plays a role in creating gender stereotypes (Kassin et al 2011)


120

4312 Yin Gender stereotypes leader prototypes and behavioural

encoding

In general people expect and prefer that women should be communal

manifesting traits such as kindness concern for others warmth and gentleness

and that men should be agentic manifesting traits such as confidence

aggressiveness and self-direction (eg Newport 2001 Williams amp Best 1990)

Communal refers to being more group than individual orientated or collaborative

(Merriam-Webster online 2011) While agentic behaviour is typical of people that

are self-organising proactive self-reflecting and self-regulating not just as

reactive organisms shaped by environmental forces or driven by inner impulses

(Bandura 1977)

Because leaders are thought to have more agentic than communal qualities

(Powell Butterfield amp Parent 2002 Schein 2001) stereotypes about leaders

generally resemble stereotypes of men rather than those of women As a result

women are placed at a disadvantage in most leadership roles (Eagly amp Karau

2002 Heilman 2001) Although this dissimilarity between women and leaders

appears to have been decreasing over time it has not disappeared (Duehr amp

Bono 2006 Sczesny Bosak Neff amp Schyns 2004) As a result people more

easily credit men with leadership ability and more readily accept them as leaders

Because of these cultural stereotypes female leaders face a double bind (Eagly amp

Carli 2003) They are expected to be communal because of the expectations

inherent in the female gender role and also to be agentic because of the

expectations inherent in most leader roles (Eagly 2007) However because

agentic displays of confidence and assertion appear incompatible with being

communal women are vulnerable to becoming targets of prejudice In fact people

sometimes view women as lacking the stereotypical directive and assertive

qualities of good leaders - that is as not being tough enough or not taking charge

Sometimes people dislike female leaders who display these very directive and

assertive qualities because such women seem unfeminine - that is just like a man

or like an iron lady (Eagly 2007)


121

The dissimilarity between female gender stereotypes and the leader prototype

appears to bias perceiversrsquo judgments of a femalersquos ability to assume a leadership

position (Eagly amp Karau 2002 Heilman 2001) Further Lord and Maher (1991)

proposed that gender bias against female leadership behaviour is automatically

encoded without intent or effort into an observerrsquos pre-existing leader prototype

Could it be then that gender bias is encoded on a womanrsquos leadership behaviour

and that she is female first and leader second (Scott amp Brown 2006) As Lord

and Brown (2004) suggest leadership is a process of influence in which one

individual typically labelled a leader attempts to change the attitudes behaviours

or reactions of a second individual or a group of individuals typically labelled a

follower or subordinate Further these authors suggest that a leaderrsquos influence

flows through a subordinatersquos conceptualisation of the self and the other which in

turn serves to regulate a subordinatersquos action reaction thought and behaviour

This in turn suggests that because of perceiver biases and cultural conditioning

female leaders will experience substantially more difficulty in encouraging

subordinates to conceptualise them as leaders with agentic characteristics (eg

self-organising proactive self-reflecting and self-regulating) (Lord amp Brown 2004)

Thus women leadersrsquo effectiveness depends on the perceptions of their followers

and maybe also the perceptions they hold of their own leadership

4313 Yin Self-stereotyping

The challenge women face with gender stereotyping is that the deep conditioning

about gender has affected their self-esteem and the perception of their own

leadership capabilities (Oswald amp Chapleau 2010)

Multi-factorial gender identity theory (Spence 1993) argues that gender implies

both positive and negative traits of many characteristics including a personrsquos

personality cognitive skills physical appearance and role expectations In

exploratory studies on the content and structure of gender self-stereotyping

(Oswald amp Lindstedt 2006) participants were asked to generate a list of gender

stereotypes and then to rate the extent to which these stereotypes were true of

themselves (self-stereotypes) and true of women in general These studies found

that women tended to self-stereotype themselves on both positive and negative


122

feminine traits Thus women appear to be integrating both positive and negative

feminine stereotypes into their self-concept Further these findings suggest that

once a woman activates these gender-based stereotypes in herself it can result in

stereotyped task performance and preferences

While gender stereotyping affects behaviour of leadership and the perception of

leadership the real challenges for women leaders lies in the barriers that are

created as a result of gender stereotyping Other societal and organisational

challenges reported by women leaders were gender and racial discrimination

Discrimination is any distinction exclusion or preference based

on race colour sex religion political opinion national

extraction or social origin which has the effect of nullifying or

impairing equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or

occupation (International Labour Organisation (ILO) 2003)

4314 Yin Gender Discrimination

Gender inequality remains widespread and the data on this form of discrimination

is extensive Women generally earn less than men and are more likely to be

trapped in low-paid low-skilled jobs with little or no hope of advancement

(Tajgman amp Kalula 1997) Despite penetrating the middle management ranks of

many South African businesses women continue to lag far behind men in their

appointments to top leadership positions (see BWASA 2001)

Here I consider the barriers to women leadersrsquo advancement - the realities of glass

ceilings and glass cliffs - and indicate why some women break through the ceilings

and ascend to leadership positions

sect Glass ceilings

In Eagly and Carlirsquos (2003) catalyst study senior women executives consistently

pointed to gender-based stereotyping as a top barrier to their advancement A

common perception among male executives surveyed is that ldquowomen take carerdquo


123

while ldquomen take chargerdquo (Furst amp Reeves 2008) While the latter behaviours tend

to be associated with effective leadership high level positions are typically filled by

men (Oakley 2000)

In addition to gender stereotyping the management literature describes a variety

of organisation-level factors that may keep the glass ceiling in place Structural

constraints may deny women advancement opportunities For example

organisational practices and social structures (eg networking) ranging from

internal labour markets to job segregation can implicitly reserve top management

jobs for men (Goodman et al 2003) Women may be passed over for job offers or

promotions in favour of men because males who are in a position to hire are

predisposed to hiring individuals similar to themselves (Furst amp Reeves 2008)

More specifically organisations hire or promote based on the perceived ldquofitrdquo of the

candidate with existing top managers - most of whom are men (Morrison amp Von

Glinow 1990 Powell 1999) The phenomenon of rdquohomosocialrdquo reproduction also

occurs among executive search firms that limit their search of CEO candidates to

a select few of primarily male candidates who fit a traditional model of leadership

and who served as CEOs in other companies (Khurana 2002) These perceptions

in the internal labour market create a ldquotypical candidaterdquo that is artificially restricted

and culturally defined by stereotypical male traits

sect Glass cliffs

An additional hurdle that women must often overcome once they are in leadership

positions is the unknown glass cliff (Ryan amp Haslam 2005 2007 2008) This

refers to the phenomenon whereby women are more likely than men to be

appointed to leadership positions associated with increased risk of failure and

criticism because these positions are more likely to involve management of

organisational units that are in crisis Furthermore tokenism places women in

compromising situations and often makes women give up their indigenous values

in order to fit in with the men and to be acknowledged as leaders


124

Another harsh cliff that has been part of South Africa since colonial

administrations is discrimination Letrsquos take a closer look

4315 Yin Racial Discrimination

In post-apartheid South Africa inter-racial inequalities have been removed by

legislation which has enabled the upward mobility of African people (Seekings amp

Nattrass 2002) However racial identities still play a complex role in the lives of

South Africans and affect many peoplersquos state of mind

Sellers and Shelton (2003) investigated the role that dimensions of racial identity

play regarding the consequences of perceived racial discrimination among African

Americans and found a positive relationship between perceived discrimination and

subsequent perceived vs psychological distress Gee Ryan Laflamme and Holt

(2006) confirmed that self-reported racial discrimination was associated with

mental health status However it is not the characteristics of a person but other

peoplersquos perceptions of his or her cultural social or physical difference such as

colour that lead to racial discrimination (Partsch 1982) Therefore a personrsquos

perceived racial discrimination can affect her or his state of mind and his or her

mental health ndash as reported in the present study

Further the women leaders interviewed reported positive coping mechanisms in

dealing with gender stereotyping and discrimination through their access to

empowering legislation their self-empowerment and by taking up their

responsibility to support and develop other women leaders These aspects are

subsequently explored in literature


125

4316 Yang Empowerment

Here quite a few aspects are important

sect Empowering legislation

Enabling legislation in South Africa in terms of black economic empowerment and

the advancement of women has had a significant impact on addressing structural

issues and influencing corporate companies to be more gender and equity

sensitive (Burmeister 2011) These include the Labour Relations Act (1995

amended 1998 2002) Employment Equity Act (1998) and codes of good practice

on broad based Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) (2007)

The principal objective of the Employment Equity Act (1998) was to achieve equity

in the workplace by

Promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment

through the elimination of unfair discrimination and

implementing affirmative action measures to redress the

disadvantages in employment experienced by designated

groups20 in order to ensure their equitable representation in all

occupational categories and levels in the workforce (p2)

The most important proposals contained in the Bill that support empowerment of

women in the workplace are that all employers should take steps to end unfair

discrimination in their employment policies and practices and that

hellipunfair discrimination on the grounds of race gender sex

pregnancy marital status family responsibility ethnic or

social origin colour sexual orientation age disability

religion conscience belief political opinion culture

20 lsquoDesignated groupsrsquo means black people women and people with disabilities


126

language and birth against employees or job applicants be

prohibited (Employment Equity Act 1998 p2)

Further structural blocks were removed for black women when the South African

government promulgated the final codes of good practice on broad based Black

Economic Empowerment (BEE) on 9 February 2007 BEE is an integrated and

coherent socio-economic process that directly contributes to the economic

transformation of South Africa and brings about significant increases in the

number of black people that manage own and control the countryrsquos economy as

well as significant decreases in income inequalities Broad based black economic

empowerment means the economic empowerment of all black people including

women workers youth people with disabilities and people living in rural areas

through diverse but integrated socioeconomic strategies (BWASA 2011)

Despite the preceding legislation a real challenge that remains is the embedded

institutional and individual mindsets that still linger on in some areas and will take

time or active intervention from women to empower themselves to crack through

the glass ceilings and their own internal barriers

sect Self-empowerment

Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual political social or economic

strength of individuals and communities (Thomas amp Velthouse 1990) It often

involves ldquothe empoweredrdquo developing confidence in own capacities (ibid) While

social empowerment has been addressed by South Africarsquos enabling legislation

women themselves need to make the shift when it comes to selfndashesteem personal

beliefs and lifestyle issues (Burmeister 2011) The United Nations Population

Information Network (POPIN) points out that the empowerment of women has five

components namely womenrsquos sense of self-worth their right to have choices and

determine choices the right to have access to opportunities and resources their

right to have power to control their lives and their ability to influence the direction

of social change to create a more just social and economic order nationally and

internationally (POPIN 2005)


127

While legislation has officially enabled women to have a choice to have access to

opportunities to have personal power and to assert social influence women in the

present study still experienced barriers ingrained in culture and organisations such

as the glass ceiling There are many explanations as to why the glass ceiling

exists but few explanations are offered as to how women should break through it

Furst and Reeves (2008) proposed that the concept of ldquocreative destructionrdquo can

help women to attain organisational leadership positions

Creative destruction was first formulated by Schumpeter (1942) to explain the role

of entrepreneurship in a capitalist society The most important characteristic of this

dynamic is that market leaders continually destroy their previous identity and

reinvent themselves as a new enterprise Furst and Reeves (2008) suggest that

women can reinvent themselves as the preferred leaders by destroying their

previous stereotyped identities These authors summarised four competitive

actions that successful women can implement to win the battle for industry

leadership and become the ldquoQueens of the hillsrdquo namely (i) they need to be

vigilant in seeking out new opportunities in their careers and need to be willing to

try new approaches (ii) they should develop a complex set of skills and leadership

behaviours via their diverse career paths and life experiences (iii) they need to be

unpredictable and demonstrate a willingness to take risks and make decisions that

defy conventional wisdom and (iv) they should act without delay

While women can employ such techniques to empower themselves they have a

responsibility towards other women leaders to empower support and develop

each other The women leaders that I interviewed reported that they have a need

for mentoring and coaching as part of their development and I therefore explored

how women in leadership are developed in the literature


128

sect Developing women in leadership

In order for women to stand up to the current and future challenges in the

changing South African context they need to be adequately prepared Women

leaders have a responsibility to expand the collective capacity of organisations by

investing in themselves and in future women leaders (Day 2001) While

organisations have a responsibility to provide a menu of leadership development

offerings specifically tailored to womenrsquos learning and development needs for

example coaching and mentoring (Ready amp Conger 2003) women must take

control of their careers and identify individual learning agendas for their own

leadership development (Hopkins et al 2008)

Coaching may be of particular value to womenrsquos unique developmental concerns

namely connection wholeness authenticity agency and self-clarity which will

manifest over the course of a womanrsquos professional life (Ruderman amp Ohlott

2005) Further coaching can assist women at midlife to manage the challenges of

balance and authenticity (Mainiero amp Sullivan 2005) Leadership transition

coaching (Charan Drotter amp Noel 2001) can improve the smooth transition of a

promotion significantly

Diverse mentoring relationships can support women leaders by enhancing career

development (Higgins amp Kram 2001 Ragins amp Kram 2007) clarity of professional

purpose (Kram 1985) and promote personal development and learning (Van

Velsor amp Hughes 1990) Individuals who have mentors are often more satisfied

are more highly paid and have more interpersonal competence (De Janasz

Sullivan amp Whiting 2003)

Women in senior ranks are often reluctant to mentor because they feel

overburdened or that it is too risky for their careers or that they are not

adequately qualified (Ragins amp Cotton 1991) Expectations of female mentors

differ from those of male mentors in terms of the amount of nurturing and support

they are expected to offer resulting from traditional female family roles of

mothering and nurturing being applied to work settings (Parker amp Kram 1993)

Woman-to-woman mentoring relationships are also more visible than traditional


129

mentoring relationships because of token dynamics in organisations This

increased visibility creates additional pressure for senior women who see proteacutegeacute

failure as reflecting poorly on them (Ragins amp Cotton 1993)

The final societal and organisational challenges reported by women leaders were

explored in literature namely the lack of ethical behaviour in an increasingly toxic

environment and the importance of employing ethical leadership

4317 Yin Ethical challenges

Ethical behaviour always takes place in a context that is in a political environment

or in an organisation How does one sustain ethical leadership and create a

clearer organisation in a corrupt society When creating a class system at the top

in organisations it is very difficult to maintain moral and ethical leadership and the

problems arising are based on economic forces and greed (Lowman Lefkowitz

McIntyre amp Tippins 2006)

In business ethos there is constant tension between what is good for the self and

what is good for the other There is tension among values that is played out -

among individualism freedom and instrumental value andor economic efficiency

(Ciulla 2004) The challenge for ethical values lies in the mindset of the

organisation where the dark side of capitalism is trying to keep the shareholders

happy (Van Vuuren 2011) Apart from an ethics code where the company puts

values on the wall the leaders need to live it - enforce it with an iron fist (Lowman

2011) The King Committeersquos (2009) report on corporate governance (that came

into effect in South Africa on 1 March 2010) requires companies to report on their

ethical performance and place higher demands on ethical leadership

4318 Yang Ethical leadership

In leadership honesty integrity trust justice accountability transparency and

social responsibility matters (Clawson 2006 Covey 2009 Northouse 2009) This

is not to deny that evil people canrsquot bring about good things or that good people


130

canrsquot do bad things or lead the way to moral ruin Rather leadership provides a

moral compass and in the long term both personal development and the

common good are best served by a moral compass (Bass amp Steidlmeier 1999)

The ethics of leadership rest upon three pillars (i) the moral character of the

leader (ii) the ethical legitimacy of the values embedded in the leaderrsquos vision

articulation and programme which followers either embrace or reject and (iii) the

morality of the processes of social ethical choice and action that leaders and

followers engage in and collectively pursue Such ethical characteristics of

leadership have been widely acknowledged (Conger amp Kanungo 1998 Greenleaf

1977 Kouzes amp Posner 1993 Wren 1998)

How can leaders apply authentic ethical and transformational leadership in

organisations Ciulla (2004) argues that authentic empowerment entails a distinct

set of moral understandings and commitments between leaders and followers all

based on honesty Transformational leadership traces out a complicated moral

spectrum in which most leaders combine authentic as well as inauthentic

behaviour (Bass amp Steidlmeier 1999) Leaders are authentically transformational

when they increase awareness of what is right good important and beautiful

when they help to elevate followersrsquo needs for achievement and self-actualisation

when they foster in followers higher moral maturity and when they move followers

to go beyond their self-interests for the good of their group organisation or society

(Bass 1998) Thus the real role of leadership is to manage the values of an

organisation

Competing in socio-cultural and organisational challenges women leaders faced

with additional demands of motherhood reported another kaleidoscope of

challenges that influence their leadership roles (McLellan amp Uys 2009) The next

section investigates the challenges and exceptional coping capacities of working

mothers


131

432 Challenges and coping mechanisms for working mothers

In research reported in the literature working mothers reported role strain role

conflict and work-life conflict

4321 Yin Role strain and role conflict

Womenrsquos careers comprise more than work - they are embedded in womenrsquos

larger life contexts (OrsquoNeil et al 2008) Women need to apply skilful balancing to

manage their roles as mothers and executives and to ensure that the needs of all

those who depend on them are met while sustaining their own needs (McLellan amp

Uys 2009) A potential imbalance in either of these roles could lead to conflict

Franks Schurink and Fourie (2006 p18) in studying the social construction of life

roles of career-orientated women concluded ldquoWomen are prone to role conflict

stress and overload due to competing demands made by a womanrsquos different role

obligations with reference to time energy and emotional commitmentrdquo Prolonged

conflict between work and home accompanied by demands in both domains might

generate stress which can ultimately undermine a womanrsquos sense of well-being

(Allen Herbst Bruck amp Sutton 2000 Eby Casper Lockwood Bordeaux amp Brinley

2005 Frone in Mostert 2009) Women do not always make time for themselves

or exercise in their busy lives and the effect on their wellbeing is often detrimental

Dreyer Le Roux Loots and Strydom (2002) confirmed the relationship between

burnout and the health status of female executives

Demands on womenrsquos private time are increasing rdquoBeing availablerdquo after hours

has become the motto in most organisations where global teams operate during

non-working hours The work ethic is associated with increased workloads longer

working hours and greater stress (Harrington amp Ladge 2009) Work-life

boundaries have been redefined with technological advances such as the use of

BlackBerry devices personal digital assistants (PDAs) cell phones and the

Internet Technology can be viewed as both a blessing and a curse in this arena

On the one hand technical advances have expanded opportunities for employees

to utilise flexible work options most notably telecommuting On the other hand


132

technology has led to increased intrusion into peoplersquos non-work lives (Harrington

amp Ladge 2009)

Personal leadership is present in women who are aware of how they construct

their life roles and what coping mechanisms they employ to create balance

(Franks et al 2006) Personality plays a role in the type of coping mechanisms

working mothers tend to engage to integrate work and personal life to create a

sense of coherence (Herbst Coetzee amp Visser 2007)

4322 Yang Work and personal life integration

Young (2009) believes that work-life balance is a misnomer and that balance can

only be obtained for a fleeting moment but not maintained Rather work-life

integration means finding ways to blend onersquos work and onersquos life so one can

have a meaningful experience with both of them (ibid) Gender stereotyping also

occurs with respect to perceptions of womenrsquos ability to balance work and family

demands Although women constitute a growing majority of the workforce they

continue to perform most household and childcare functions (Hochschild 1989

1997)

At different points throughout their careers women have to balance their careers in

addition to their family responsibilities and often they need to make decisions

taking into account their multiple life roles (Powell amp Mainiero 1992) A priority on

family life may force women to temporarily suspend their work life a decision that

often derails their leadership attainment (Eagly amp Carli 2007 Hewlett amp Luce

2005) However some women leaders decide to pursue their careers and a family

with dual careers or reversed roles becoming their reality (Derman 2004) When

female managers decide to remain at the office they are much like their male

counterparts ldquocareer-primary motivatedrdquo rather than ldquofamily-career motivatedrdquo

(Burke amp McKeen 1993 Schwartz 1989) The problem is that women who are

committed to their careers may be viewed as being less committed if they take

advantage of flexible work arrangements and work-family policies (Rogier amp

Padgett 2004)


133

Investigating the work family and life-course fit Moen Kelly and Huang (2008)

found that having control over work time and job stressors affects onersquos predicted

life-course fit between onersquos job and home ecologies However these authors

found that demanding long job hours predicted poor fit in terms of work-family

conflict negative work-family spill-over low time adequacy and poor work

schedule fit regardless of employeesrsquo job control or control over work time

Although the assumed focal point for work-family concerns and policies is often

parents and especially mothers the concept of life-course fit broadens the focus to

include employees at all ages and life stages of both sexes Here it is important to

note that although gender did predict that women have less life-course fit between

job and home ecologies additional analyses showed no moderating effects of

gender in combination with either job or home ecologies (Moen et al 2008)

Onersquos perceptions of work-life support in a company can be influenced by

workload and managerial support Workplace demands and resources shape

employees perceptions of workndashlife support through two mechanisms namely

signalling that the organisation cares about their work-life balance and helping

them develop and conserve resources which are needed to meet the work and

non-work responsibilities (Valcour Ollier-Malaterre Matz-Costa Pitt-Catsouphes

amp Brown 2011) These authors found that higher demands (work hours and work

overload) were associated with reduced perceptions that the organisation was

supportive of workndashlife integration Resources and job security fit between

employees needs and the flexible work options available to them and supervisor

support and work group support were positively associated with perceptions of

organisational workndashlife support (ibid) Further managerial support for family

benefits is an important prerequisite for employees utilising the benefits in creating

effective workfamily integration and employee well-being (Straub 2011)

Experiencing work-life balance and a sense of coherence becomes increasingly

difficult for women in their thirties because of their involvement in the roles of

mother partner and career (Helson amp Moane 1987) Further the women leaders I

interviewed reported a shift in their perceptions of balance at midlife which I

explored in the literature


134

433 Challenges women face in midlife

In this section I investigated the challenges women face at midlife and the

influence thereof on their careers

According to Jung (1962) women devote the first part of their lives to

differentiating and defining themselves adapting to their external reality This is

referred to as the ego-development phase establishing a job family finances

achievements habits viewpoints social identity and the establishment of

ourselves as individuals (through the individuation process) (Jung in Meyer et al

2002) Helson and Moane (1987) studied womenrsquos mothering roles during these

stages and found that mothering traditionally reached a peak at age 32 while

involvement in work roles started to rise between 32 and 37 and involvement in

the role of partner remained relatively stable Traditional views on life and career

models indicated that the theme of womenrsquos thirties is generally a time of transition

(Levinson 1986) consolidation (Vailant 1989) and a struggle for independent

identity (Helson amp Moane in Papalia Sterns Feldman amp Camp 2002)

However women no longer follow traditional life or career models and women at

midlife are often faced with a challenge referred to as ldquomiddlesencerdquo - describing

mid-career individuals who were ldquoburned out bottlenecked bored or in dual

careersrdquo (Morrison Erickson amp Dychtwald 2006 p78) As a result of delayed

marriages and children these dual career families are juggling demanding jobs

and childcare later than others (Riordan 2007) This caring for others (older

children and older parents) is a crucial midlife activity referred to as generativity

(Erickson 1963)

Midlife usually starts between the ages of 35 and 50 and is the beginning of the

second half of life - psychologically and physiologically It continues until we have

resolved its issues thus it might end within a few years or it could persist into our

60rsquos (Meyer et al 2002) Midlife is not simply a chronological milestone it is a

specific psychological stage which marks the transition from ego-development to

ego-transcendence identity Ego transcendence in midlife would be characterised


135

by a person knows who you are is creative spontaneous full of vital energy and

may become more androgynous (or high in both masculine (animus)21 and

feminine (anima) characteristics) in midlife (Jung in Meyer et al 2002) Helson

and Moane (1987 pp101 - 102) confirmed that around midlife women found an

ldquoandrogynous balance of lsquomasculinersquo autonomy and lsquofemininersquo involvement in an

intimate relationship developed more self-discipline and commitment

independence confidence and coping skillsrdquo

Most theorists agree that midlife is a time for re-evaluation of life choices and an

opportunity to make changes if necessary (Erickson 1963 Levinson 1986

Schein 1978) Powell and Mainiero (1992) described the complex and interwoven

choices and constraints that women face in midlife as issues of balance

connectedness and interdependence in addition to issues of achievement and

individuation and completeness that Jung (in Meyer et al 2002) described

Gordon and Whelan-Berry (2004) observed that women at midlife often seek new

challenges at work and in personal interests One of the challenges that women

face in career advancement is not being promoted and reaching a ldquoplateaurdquo -

either structural (ie glass ceiling) or content in nature - when the job itself offers

little further challenge (Ryan amp Haslam 2008) Leibowitz Kaye and Farren (1990)

noted that the category of plateaued careers differentiates between individuals

who are

ndash productively plateaued pro-active individuals who still derived job

satisfaction from their current job

ndash partially plateaued experts who remain involved in their jobs but regard

the organisation as uninterested in them

ndash pleasantly plateaued complacent individuals who do not seek change

and enjoy their current routine and

21 The anima or animus a person possesses not only the physiological traits of both sexes (eg sex hormones) but also the psychological traits of both sexes such as the emotions attitudes and values (Meyer et al 2002 p103) He therefore postulates the anima as the female archetype that is present in every male at an unconscious level and presents feelings and emotionalism While the animus is the male archetype that is present in every female at an unconscious level and represents logic and rationality in women


136

ndash passively plateaued those who are neither interested in training nor

curious nor creative

Most working mothers interviewed in the study reported themselves as being

somewhere on the plateaued career continuum In attempting to understand why

womenrsquos careers reach a plateau at midlife one needs to take into consideration

that womenrsquos careers and life responsibilities ebb and flow according to life stage

concerns This must be factored into organisational models of successful careers

in addition to work related concerns (OrsquoNeil amp Bilimoria 2005) Powell and

Mainiero (1992) provided a framework for looking at womenrsquos careers taking into

account non-work issues subjective measures of success and the impact of

personal organisational and societal factors on womenrsquos choices

In comparison to men womenrsquos career histories were relational and their career

decisions were normally part of a larger and intricate web of interconnected

issues people and aspects that had to be considered to achieve balance

(Mainiero amp Sullivan 2005) There is a shift in career attitudes and patterns In the

past the majority of workers tended to follow a more traditional linear career path

where rewards such as increased pay and promotions were valued Today

employees are shifting to more protean career values in part due to the desire for

work-life balance at midlife Harrington and Ladge (2009) proposed the protean

career model to accommodate womenrsquos midlife stage ndash in which individuals (rather

than their employers) self-manage their careers and goals and where a greater

emphasis is placed on subjective rewards such as feeling respected and doing

work that reflects onersquos values

In the preceding sections the available literature on defining women in leadership

challenges women leaders face in society and in organisations and specific

challenges of working mothers and women reaching midlife were dealt with Next

the role personal leadership may play in how women cope with the challenges

they face is examined


137

44 PERSONAL LEADERSHIP IN COPING WITH CHALLENGES The pyramid of leadership acknowledges the interdependent nature of human

beings The essence of this pyramid can be encapsulated in three levels namely

personal leadership interpersonal leadership and professional leadership (Covey

1991 amp 1998) (see Figure 41) The pyramid provides a holistic and

multidimensional perspective on the human being incorporating eight life

dimensions The life dimensions include four internal life dimensions ndash physical

spiritual emotional and mental and four external life dimensions ndash social career

finance and ecological (Verrier amp Smith 2005)

Personal leadership encompasses the mastery of the four internal life dimensions

interpersonal leadership is about building relationships and the development of the

social life dimension and professional leadership focuses on the contribution of

onersquos career to a meaningful existence (Covey 1998) A model of the life

dimensions is offered in Figure 45 (Badenhorst amp Smith 2007)

FIGURE 45 LIFE DIMENSIONS

Senge (1990 p139) describes personal mastery as lsquolsquothe discipline of continually

clarifying and deepening our personal vision of focusing our energies of

developing patience and of seeing reality objectivelyrsquorsquo He suggests that the twin

thrusts of defining a compelling vision and of staying connected to current reality

reveal a gap It is in this gap between vision and reality that creativity resides


138

Senge (1990) refers to this as creative tension Leaders use the gap between their

current and desired state to create energy for change as illustrated in Figure 46

FIGURE 46 PERSONAL MASTERY (SENGE 1990)

With reference to Figure 46 leadership is not a position or title (as reflected

personality ethic self-image or materialism) but an outlook on life having a

personal vision being aware of onersquos authentic role and purpose in the world

Thus a person close to True North ldquoexpresses hisher purposeful inner life to

make a more powerful impact on the worldrdquo (Cashman 2008 p20) Personal

mastery is the motivation of the individual to take charge of his or her own life

ldquoPeople with a high level of personal mastery are acutely aware of their ignorance

their incompetence their growth areas and they are deeply self-confidentrdquo

(Senge in Cashman 2008 p34)

Let us now take a closer look at the four internal life dimensions ndash physical

spiritual emotional and mental - that encompass personal leadership

441 Spiritual wellbeing

Traditionally many religions have regarded spirituality as an integral aspect of

religious experience Secular spirituality emphasises humanistic qualities such as

love compassion patience tolerance forgiveness contentment responsibility

harmony and a concern for others (Lama 1999) as well as living in the present

Creativity

Existential Reality= bull Personality Ethic bull Disconnectedness bull Materialism bull Self-Image bull Where you ARE

True North = bull Personal Vision bull Authentic Self bull Values bull Where you want to BE


139

simplicity authenticity gratitude and stillness (Smith amp Louw 2007) Mohan and

Uys (2006) add that spirituality is characterised by a personal awareness an

interpersonal connection by having a relationship with a Higher Being coping with

adversity in life gaining meaning and purpose through work living an authentic

and well balanced life in a free environment having meaningful relationships and

having a belief that you can positively impact on the future All of these are

aspects of life and human experience which go beyond a purely materialist view of

the world without necessarily accepting belief in a supernatural reality or divine

being

The word ldquospiritualrdquo originated from the Latin spiritus which means ldquobreath - that

which gives life or vitality to a systemrdquo (Merriam-Webster 2011) Our spiritual self

is the inner source of Life (L) - energy that gives life to the physical body ndash through

which one has awareness of the present or now (Prescott 2000) The spiritual

dimension is regarded as the core in an individualrsquos life containing the energy

feeding the other life dimensions (Vermeulen 2007)

The characteristics of spiritual wellbeing include

(i) A sense of connectedness to onersquos deepest self to other people and to all

regarded as good Our spiritual intelligence allows us to tap into our deepest

resources (wisdom intuition and transcendental understanding) to develop our

fullest potential It is the intelligence with which we access problems related to

values purpose and meaning in life and experience the aesthetic sense and

beauty (Zohar amp Marshall 2005)

(ii) A sense of meaning and purpose ldquomeaning in life always changes but it never

ceases to behelliprdquo we can discover meaning in life in three different ways (a) by

creating a work or doing a deed (b) by experiencing something or encountering

someone and (c) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering (Frankl

2004 p114)

(iii) A state of wellbeing life energy quality of existence at peace with oneself

and good concord with the environment (Prescott 2000)


140


If the human mind is analogised as software then the brain is the hardware

(Siegel 1999) The hardware has two distinctive left and right brain hemispheres

where the left brain has preferences for analytical factual orientated logical

linear rational thinking and the right brain is more holistic subjective and intuitive

and expresses emotion (Sperry in Bester 2001) Further Bester (2001) found

similarities between the software of different learning and personality styles and

brain dominance (hardware) The mind is the aspect of intellect and

consciousness where ideas perceptions learning emotions and memory are

experienced including all unconscious cognitive processes (Bester 2001) When

the mind and brain interact it produces the collection of experiences that we

define as self-awareness (Siegel 1999)

Mindset is a fixed mental attitude of perceiving or (seeing) and thinking (online

Oxford Dictionary 2010) Mental and physical health can be determined by the

way in which people perceive the events in their lives eg pessimistic or positive

referred to as onersquos explanatory style by Karren Hafen Smith and Frandsen

(2006) An optimistic explanatory style has an internal locus of control positive

self-esteem and a fighting spirit that is protecting onersquos health (Karren et al 2006)

Dweck (2006) distinguishes between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset A

fixed mindset is based on ldquoentity theoryrdquo that views challenges as negative and

believes in fixed talents and abilities that cannot be improved while a growth

mindset is based on ldquoincremental theoryrdquo where people do not fear failure instead

they view it as a chance to improve themselves (Dweck 2006)

Mental wellbeing can be influenced by your mindset ndash your ability to control direct

and focus your mind (Dyer 2010) One way of creating wellbeing is taking

responsibility to manage the stressors in life The types of stress are stressors in

the environment (physical stress caused by temperature noise exhaustion) our

internal psychological stressors (our attitude or the way we react towards anything

that is threatening whether the threat is real or imagined) and psycho-social

stressors in our interpersonal relationships (caused by conflict or isolation) (Karren


141

et al 2006) Stress occurs when there is change in the environment that we are

forced to adapt to and the body responds with a biological and biochemical

process that can be a threat to health if experienced chronically (Karren et al

2006)

Maddi and Koshaba (2005) referred to the acuteness and chronicity of stress

Acute stress is the routine disruptive changes in circumstances that is time limited

and has clear parameters (eg job changes demands of children) Chronic

stresses are the ongoing disparities between what you want and what you get eg

a routine job with no creative capabilities All stress is not necessarily bad - the

differences in perception can cause some stress to be good (eustress) rather than

bad stress (distress) (Rosch in Karren et al 2006) Eustress is challenging

stimulating and rewarding and promotes curiosity exploration and productivity

The key to good health is to have a resilient mindset and to learn how to turn

distress into eustress They suggest finding effective ways of dealing with stress

by minimising your chronic stress doing exercise for outlet and by including

creative activities in your life (ibid)

Leadership over your personal mental capacity according to Schlebush (2000) is

to make a mind shift towards having an internal locus of control (harness your

mind power to control your stress response) think ldquoflowrdquo not flood (learn to be

more flexible and flow with events that cause stress) choose your reactions (using

your psychological brake to create time to reassess the situation before you

proceed) be optimistic (solution focused when coping with stress not emotion

focused) accept responsibility to manage yourself and your time (time is not

always the stressor it is your perception and use of time that causes stress)

spend your time wisely on the important areas of your life balance left and right

brain activity)

Furthermore Coveyrsquos (1992) first three habits resonate with mental self-mastery

Habit 1 Be proactive - take responsibility to control your environment rather than

have it control you It is about self-determination choice and the power to decide

on a response to stimulus conditions and circumstances


142

Habit 2 Begin with the end in mind - developing the habit of concentrating on

relevant activities will assist you to build a platform to avoid distractions and

become more productive and successful

Habit 3 Put first things first - manage your time and prioritise important things in

your life

443 Physical wellbeing

Leaders need to have the basic physical energy to perform - which requires

physical self-care the basics of good health good nutrition exercise deep sleep

and rest that supports our productivity (Cashman 2008) Onersquos health is to a great

extent an expression of onersquos mind because the quality of onersquos thinking

determines the quality of onersquos health therefore to a certain extent ldquohellipas you think

so shall you behelliprdquo (Dyer 2001 p74)

The brain is the link between emotions and the immune system and it explains the

brainrsquos powerful influence over the body (Karren et al 2006) Furthermore Karren

et al (2006) distinguishes between a disease-prone and a disease-resistant

personality that influences how people express emotion and their resilience to

stress (their commitment internal locus of control and how they handle

challenges) Research shows the correlation of certain personality-type behaviour

and the risk of developing coronaryartery disease (Karren et al 2006)

How does one define optimum health Holford (2009) defines health as not only

the absence of illness but also the presence of psychological health (a sharp

mind good mood and motivation) physical health (nutrition hydration exercise

sleep and breathe) and biochemical health (levels of blood sugar and cholesterol)

Your state of health is like a basin full of water Your level of health or homeostasis

fluctuates as the water level goes up or down The depth of the basin is your

health resilience and needs to be nurtured to prevent the basin ldquotippingrdquo into

disease Once you are in a diseased state it takes many more positive changes to

restore to health therefore prevention is better than cure (Holford 2009)


143

Physical health is the foundation for longevity and overall well-being Genes are

uncontrollable factors that have a significant effect on the risk of illness and our

aging process but we can choose to identify and manage lifestyle habits by

exercising regularly maintaining a reasonable body weight and healthy diet

working toward restful sleep avoiding tobacco use and consuming alcohol

moderately (Holford amp Cass 2008) Furthermore optimum nutrition and exercise

will help to keep onersquos neurotransmitters in balance and improve onersquos mood

increase onersquos energy boost onersquos IQ scores reduce stress increase mental and

physical stamina and enhance onersquos concentration and memory (Holford 2010)

444 Emotional wellbeing

ldquoEmotions provide data that assist us in making rational decisions and behaving in

adaptive waysrdquo (Caruso amp Salovey 2004 p211) To ignore emotions and view

them as irrational is to ignore an important aspect of information available to us

Managers and leaders must rely on emotions as ldquoan intuitive sounding boardrdquo

This will give them the emotional leadership to build effective teams plan and

make effective decisions motivate people communicate a vision promote change

and create effective interpersonal relations The emotional system is an intelligent

system if based on sound judgment It points emotional leaders in the right

direction and motivates them to take the right action (Caruso amp Salovey 2004)

Emotional intelligence denotes the capacity to understand and use emotional

information Salovey and Mayer (1990 p185) asked ldquoIs lsquoemotional intelligencersquo a

contradiction in termsrdquo They answer it with their initial definition of emotional

intelligence that arose in 1990

Emotional intelligence is defined as the ability to perceive

emotions accurately use emotions to enhance thinking

understand and label emotions and regulate emotions in the

self and others (Mayer amp Salovey 1990 pxi)


144

Emotional intelligence is knowing onersquos emotions managing

your emotions motivating oneself recognizing emotions in

others and handling relationships (Goleman in Ciarrochi et

al 2001 p9)

One can claim emotional wellbeing when

(i) onersquos actions are appropriate to the triggers when one learns how to use

the energy in the emotion and in the mood to find creative solutions and

apply positive thinking (Mayer Salovey Caruso amp Sitarenios 2003)

(ii) one channels onersquos emotional energy in a positive constructive direction

(Caruso amp Salovey 2004)

45 CONCLUSION

The literature review discussed the apparent advantages and disadvantages for

women in leadership and the challenges women leaders face in male dominated

environments Further we had a look at the socio-cultural challenges women face

with regard to gender ethics and power and the positive coping mechanisms of

empowerment and ethical leadership that can be employed Thereafter additional

challenges that working mothers face namely role conflict and creating work-life

integration were discussed A final challenge pertaining to the study was the

influence of midlife on womenrsquos careers Concluding the literature review was the

reflection on personal leadership and how leaders should manage the energy in

their spiritual mental emotional and physical dimensions to cope and excel in life

145

CHAPTER 5 - DISCUSSION

51 INTRODUCTION In this chapter I offer a scholarly commentary by comparing my findings with

relevant literature that is I integrate the research participantsrsquo concrete concepts

with theoretical and empirical scholarly work More specifically I relate abstract

concepts or second order constructs (Schuumltz 1962) to the research participantsrsquo

first order concepts (Schuumltz 1962)

52 THE FINDINGS INTEGRATED WITH RELEVANT LITERATURE

521 Defining women in leadership

sect THEME 1 - Women defining leadership from a feminine perspective

The research participants defined leadership from a feminine perspective by

incorporating characteristics such as authenticity passion moral relationships

trust influence and commitment Their experiences resonate with the definition of

leadership derived from various leadership authors namely that leadership is the

ability to use authentic power to influence and engage others on a joined course

of action that brings change and a collective outcome that creates value

(Cashman 2008 Ciulla 2004 Drucker 1997 Groothof 2007 Kanyoro 2006

Maxwell 2008)

In accordance with Vecchio (2002) the research participants agreed that men and

women behave differently in leadership roles They felt that women bring

something unique to the leadership equation including warmth maturity caring

empathy and the ability to listen However simultaneously they expressed their

views that men and women are more similar and both bring something to the

equation that needs to be managed as a partnership The research participants

supported scholarly views that imply that female leaders are more transformational

Chapter 5 ndash Discussion

146

and male leaders are more transactional (Eagly amp Carli 2003) While literature

advocates that women put people first by using lsquolsquoresonance-buildingrdquo leadership

styles (Goleman et al 2002) and adaptive communication styles (Furst amp Reeves

2008) the participants reported somewhat different findings in the South African

context They pointed out that some women in powerful positions do not display

significant mentoring building leadership towards other women leaders whom they

perceived as being a threat Thus one of the unexpected obstacles impeding

women leaders was power and ego driven women

Recent rather contradictory findings support the view that there are no differences

between male and female leaders with regard to emotional and social intelligence

or leadership behaviour (Bilimoria amp Hopkins 2007) However the research

participants reported that although women have made progress gender

perceptions remained unchanged and women leaders still experience prejudiced

evaluations

Overall scholars concluded that women are no better leaders than men but that

the disadvantage females experience when it comes to leadership has been

minimised (Bilimoria amp Hopkins 2007 Eagly 2007) The reason is that


becoming increasingly important to leadership in contemporary organisations

resulting in the perception that leadership by women might better meet the needs

of organisations (Eagly amp Carli 2003) The participants supported this view and

voiced an awareness of their feminine strength in their leadership approach


147

522 Challenges and coping mechanisms

5221 Societal and organisational challenges and coping

mechanisms

sect THEME 2 - Yin Gender conditioning and stereotyping

The literature confirms that gender conditioning and stereotyping are part of the

collective programming found in culture which affects the power distance and

dominant masculine values of society (Hofstede 2001) Hofstedersquos (2001) culture

value dimensions regarding power distance and masculinity and femininity reflect

the different levels at which gender conditioning is experienced by women In

South Africa the power distance is illustrated by the extent to which society

accepts inequality in power within institutions and organisations and among

people The participants confirmed a lack of access to positions of power as well

as dealing with traditional values and gender conditioning in their marriages that

make them despondent Therefore while women in society have a feminine focus

on quality of life and relationships organisations still embrace dominant masculine

values such as assertiveness achievement and the acquisition of money

The participants reported that gender conditioning affects menrsquos behaviour and

leadership expectations at work which is in line with the views of Eagly and Karau

(2002) as well as that of Heilman (2001) Scholars advise women to use

awareness and masculine behaviour to influence perceiver biases and cultural

conditioning (Lord amp Brown 2004) However the research participants pointed out

that they attained success in acting authentically feminine in their leadership roles

and were recognised for their competence This sense of self-worth is probably the

motivating factor for most women leaders to continue with careers amidst

challenges It appeared that the interviewees were not affected by self-

stereotyping as suggested by Oswald and Chapleau (2010)


148

sect THEME 3 - Yin Discrimination

The context in which women leaders operate is changing Although there is an

increase in executive managers (216) details of the participantsrsquo organisations

echoed statistics that women leaders are still in the minority in the upper echelons

of management (BWASA 2011) Further despite the Labour Relations Act (1995)

Employment Equity Act (1998) and BEE legislation (2007) which aim at protecting

women from gender discrimination the participants reported that discrimination is

deeply rooted in South African culture Although the women participating in the

study were not directly affected in their current positions they reported that men

are still very patriarchal in certain organisations they will not accept female

leadership nor appoint women managers

This is related to what is referred to in the literature as ldquolsquohomosocial reproductionrdquo

(Khurana 2002) the perceived ldquofitrdquo of the candidate with existing top managers

(Furst amp Reeves 2008 Morrison amp Von Glinow 1990 Powell 1999) the glass

ceiling (Burke amp McKeen 1993 Schwartz 1989) and glass cliffs (Ryan amp Haslam

2005 2007 2008) The women pointed to gender-based stereotyping as a top

barrier to their advancement beyond director level as identified in literature (Eagly

amp Carli 2003) Further barriers identified by the women were organisational

practices and social structures eg networking (Goodman et al 2003) and BEE

for white women leaders in South Africa Glass cliffs noted in the literature (Ryan amp

Haslam 2005 2007 2008) were not explicit in the study participantsrsquo accounts

but they did suggest that some BEE appointments were setting women up for

failure Explanations offered by the study participants relating to discriminatory

barriers were that certain jobs are ldquoindustry relatedrdquo or ldquotypical femalerdquo (eg

Finance and Administration Marketing Human Resources) Typical female

positions were justified because of a womanrsquos ability to organise and

communicate

Eight out of the ten working mother participants in the study reported having a

changed vision towards family orientation with consequences to their careers

which is confirmed by Burke and McKeen (1993) and Schwartz (1989) In the


149

literature comments are made that such decisions often result in derailment or

temporary suspension with regard to the attainment of leadership positions (Eagly

amp Carli 2007 Hewlett amp Luce 2005) These women confirmed this view and

reported that as a result the glass ceiling was no longer applicable to them

In the study the working mothers both career-primary motivated and family-

career motivated reported ldquosubtlerdquo discrimination in the use of work-family

policies unless there was managerial support for family benefits This is in line

with the views of Rogier and Padgett (2004)

Regarding racial discrimination all the participants grew up during the apartheid

era in South Africa The women of colour were affected by racial discrimination

during their education and early career years in terms of racial prejudices when

applying for study opportunities jobs promotions or company benefits Post the

1994 elections and the Labour Relations Act of 1995 (Amended 1998 2002)

conditions changed dramatically (Seekings amp Nattrass 2002) The participants

reported that apart from some cases of xenophobia against black immigrants

racial discrimination has been mostly eliminated in South African society although

it remains in the minds of racially sensitive people The women of colour who

participated in the study reported applying changed mindsets to their own and

other peoplersquos perceptions of racial discrimination and educating society through

their behaviour Literature confirms the correlation between racial identity and

perceived discrimination psychological distress and mental health status (Gee et

al 2006 Sellers amp Shelton 2003)

sect THEME 4 - Yang Empowerment

The participants reported that women leaders display empowering mindsets in

handling existential realities that is racial and gender discrimination full-time

employment and motherhood Further they reported progress in reversing gender

based stereotypes by assertively claiming their rights This is in line with the

literature confirming womenrsquos role in social change and in suggesting that women

should change their leadership behaviour (Lord amp Maher 1991) that they should


150

influence perceptions of their leadership capabilities (Lord amp Brown 2004 Oswald

amp Chapleau 2010) and reinvent their leadership identities with more aggressive

behaviour (Furst amp Reeves 2008) However the participants reported that they

believed they had enough power to change society by acting authentically in their

feminine leadership roles

sect THEME 5 - Yang Women leaders need guidance and support

Women leaders participating in the study reported that guidance and support to

ensure success in their fast tracked careers was not provided systematically

Specifically the women reported a need for coaching on personal development

and mentoring for professional development Confirmation is found in the literature

with regard to the role of coaching in transformational leadership (Ruderman amp

Ohlott 2005) and in preparing for the promotional ladder (Charan et al 2011)

The importance of mentoring in career advancement is found in the leadership

literature (Higgins amp Kram 2001 Jandeska amp Kraimer 2005 Morrison amp Von

Glinow 1990 Ragins amp Kram 2007 Ragins Townsend amp Mattia 1998)

The study participants identified a lack of female mentors in the promotional

pipeline in their organisations ndash only half of them reported having had a female

mentor during their careers Ragins and Cotton (1991 1993) relate womenrsquos

reluctance to mentor to work pressure and the risk this would pose to their

careers Having benefited from expert knowledge and guidance the women

participating in the study voiced a willingness to accept responsibility for

mentoring

sect THEME 6 - Yin Culture power and politics

The black women who took part in the study were educated according to western

values and norms and faced a tragic challenge They reported that their cultural

roots were shrinking that is they had lost some of their cultural traditions and their

children couldnrsquot speak their mother tongue In their view the black community was

moving from a collectivistic to an individualistic society and the rdquoubunturdquo


151

internalised notion that was part of black womenrsquos cultural heritage had been

replaced by pride and individualism

The participants further reported that negative forces of power and greed in the

environment were becoming increasingly toxic placing pressure on their values

and individual freedom In the literature three pillars of ethical leadership are

important in this regard (Conger amp Kanungo 1998 Greenleaf 1977 Wren 1998)

These entail

(i) The moral character of the leader (Kouzes amp Posner 1993) The

study participants reported that where personal leadership was lacking

leadersrsquo morality was crumbling

(ii) The ethical legitimacy of the values embedded in the leadersrsquo

vision articulation and programme which followers either

embrace or reject (Conger amp Kanungo 1998) The women reported

that their values were challenged in an environment where the

organisationsrsquo leaders were not living up to the ethics code on the wall

(iii) The morality of the processes of social ethical choice and action

that leaders and followers engage in and pursue collectively (Wren

1998) The accounts of the study participants indicated that networking

in the corporate environment determined who had access to (or a lack

of) power and decision making Working mothers reported that their

personal circumstances did not always accommodate social networking

Further they reported that younger generations didnrsquot play by the rules

they were competing for talent and opportunities and pursued

employment in attractive companies These findings pose challenges to

organisations with regard to offering exciting opportunities and economic

incentives while sustaining an ethical environment (Lowman 2011)


152

sect THEME 7 - Yang Values and ethics

The participants confirmed the importance of alignment between onersquos personal

values and the companyrsquos value statements The literature reiterated the role the

leader plays in holding a moral compass through ethical leadership (Bass amp

Steidlmeier 1999) The study participants reported that they expected integrity

honesty credibility and trustworthiness of an ethical leader (see Van Vuuren

2011) Those interviewees who held strong religious values said that they found it

difficult to employ ethical leadership in environments that were characterised by

unethical behaviour This tended to result in an internal moral struggle for them

which is in line with Ciulla (2004) asserting that leaders are responsible for moral

maturity and the maintenance of organisation values

522 2 Challenges and coping mechanisms for working mothers

sect THEME 8 - Yin Workndashlife reality

While a working motherrsquos anchor and priority is her family work responsibilities

demand time away from the family Career-primary orientated participants

reported that facing challenges in balancing their families with the high demands of

their careers often resulted in conflict in their relationships especially when their

jobs were viewed as less important than those of their husbands Additionally the

women experienced guilt for ldquooutsourcingrdquo their children This situation was not

better for women in half day positions as they had additional pressure to complete

work commitments in half the time The literature confirmed the role conflict

women experience (Franks et al 2006) working demands in a global

environment (Harrington amp Ladge 2009) and the exceptional coping capacities

women need to balance their dual roles as mothers and executives (McLellan amp

Uys 2009) often with very little support from their husbands (Derman 2004

Hochschild 1989 1997)


153

Another reality reported by the women was the effect of life decisions (eg having

a family) on their careers They reported plateaued careers and distress as a

result of becoming responsible for primary childcare (as noted in Derman 2004

Hochschild 1989 1997) However the study participants reported that career-life

decisions did not affect their husbandsrsquo careers (as breadwinners) but placed

pressure on their family time and pivotal relationships as found by Derman (2004)

Overall the women displayed good time management structure and planning their

lives in order to prevent potential imbalances However position and industry

determined the type of pressure and workload and it was not always possible for

them to maintain balance during peak stressful cycles at work During such times

they reported being unable to make time to sustain their needs eg exercise

which affected their wellbeing Dreyer et al (2002) stressed the importance of the

health status of female executives to ensure their wellbeing

sect THEME 9 - Yang Work-life integration

The participants regarded flexibility family structures support at home and a

family orientated corporate culture as essential ingredients in creating work-life

integration The literature confirms that having control over work time job

stressors (Moen et al 2008) and high work demands (Straub 2011) influences

the perception of organisation support Further women reported that they were

assertive in claiming their right to work while performing important motherhood

roles and made use of company family benefits The literature confirms the

importance of managerial support for women utilising family benefits (Moen et al

2008 Valcour et al 2011)


154

522 3 Challenges women face in midlife

sect THEME 10 - Womenrsquos challenges at midlife and the influence on their careers

Although the women no longer followed traditional careers and life models with

chronological milestones those aged between 35 and 45 reported facing personal

challenges that affected their whole outlook in life especially their careers They

reported midlife as a time of re-evaluating their life priorities and their career paths

The research participants responded differently to midlife in terms of career

changes Some of the women made mention of unresolved issues of achievement

and sought new opportunities or changed careers (as mentioned by Gordon amp

Whelan-Berry 2004) Other reported that their careers reached a plateau at

midlife or that they were considering scaling down over the next five years

Literature echoed that midlife is a phase when careers plateau (Leibowitz et al

1990) of self-managing careers (Harrington amp Ladge 2009) and of making the

necessary changes to careers (Erickson 1963 Levinson 1986 Schein 1978)

Further the participants reported that midlife started with a period of being

dissatisfied with life searching for spiritual meaning experiencing a change in

moods and being disorientated However after refocusing their lives they felt

filled with confidence they knew who they were and where they were going

Helson and Moane (1987) confirmed that women in midlife displayed an

ldquoandrogynous balancerdquo of their masculine and feminine energies with more self-

discipline commitment independence confidence and better coping skills

Womenrsquos experience of self-awareness and confidence at midlife is described by

Jung in Meyer et al (2002) as a process of ego transcendence

None of the participants experienced what Morrison Erickson and Dychtwald

(2006) termed ldquomiddlesencerdquo (that is mid-career individuals who were ldquoburned out

bottlenecked or boredrdquo) which is evidence of the personal leadership they

displayed in their lives

This concludes the discussion of the one focus of the study namely the research

participantsrsquo experiences and views with regard to women leadership and the


155

challenges they face Letrsquos now turn to the intervieweesrsquo experiences and views of

personal leadership


The literature states that leaders must be disciplined to clarify and deepen their

personal vision and focus their energies to transcend their egos and move into

authentic service (Cashman 2008 Senge 1990) The participants reported on

closing the gap between their personal vision of where they want to be and where

they are as referred to the space of creativity by Senge (1990) From a pyramid of

leadership perspective the women transcended from a personality ethic to an

ethos of character ethical leadership and authentic behaviour they had

interpersonal mastery in their relationships and in their professional leadership

level they created meaning through their competence Further personal

leadership was evident in the way the participants refocused their lives at midlife

and coped with their challenges It is important to note that Travis and Ryan (2004)

found that personal mastery is attained when one is able to maintain harmony and

balance in onersquos internal life dimensions which entails onersquos physical spiritual

emotional and mental wellbeing


sect THEME 11 - Women leaders hold their anchor in their spiritual wellbeing

The participants anchored their lives in their personal awareness of their

capabilities and limitations in the meaning they find in their families and careers

and in their sense of purpose Meaning in life was defined by the women in

relation to the happiness of their children husbands and family Meaning in their

work was expressed as creating more meaning for others inspiring others and

being able to follow their passion Frankl (2004) noted that meaning was created

by onersquos work and deeds and onersquos attitude towards unavoidable challenges in

life as reflected in the participantsrsquo lives This reflects Mainiero and Sullivanrsquos


156

(2005) view that working mothersrsquo lives and careers are normally part of a larger

and more intricate web of interconnected issues people and aspects that have to

be considered to achieve balance and meaning

Further the spiritual qualities observed in the womenrsquos lives were confirmed in the

literature as evident in someone who has spiritual wellbeing eg compassion a

concern for others authenticity gratitude (Lama 1999 Mohan amp Uys 2006 Smith

amp Louw 2007) personal awareness (Goleman 2002) interconnectedness

(Mainiero amp Sullivan 2005) and meaningful relationships (Mohan amp Uys 2006)


sect THEME 12 - Women leaders grow their power in mental wellbeing

The participants reported acquiring power and confidence in their knowledge

They acknowledged the importance of mental wellbeing to perform in their careers

and the responsibility to manage their stress to enable peak performance In the

literature scholarly views and research findings are found with regard to managing

stressors in onersquos environment (physical psychological and interpersonal

relationships) (Karren et al 2006) onersquos perceptions of stress (Maddi amp

Khoshaba 2005) and employing positive coping mechanisms such as exercise

and creativity The women evidenced positive coping mechanisms and excelled at

handling their stressors however during stressful periods at work they

compromised on finding time for themselves with regard to exercise and creative

outlets

Further the participants showed resilience perseverance and leadership in

handling their challenges and in their definition of success - these qualities are

aligned with what Covey (1992) and Cashman (2008) regard as important for

personal mastery

An interesting if not important finding was that the participants defined success

differently and that their perceptions of constructive coping mechanisms varied

Professional success was defined in terms of company performance career


157

growth and excellence Personal success for most participants was relational and

they reported a shift from material things and achievement in their early career to

relational aspects of husband and children in their midlife The literature supports

success based on relations and internal locus of control (Cashman 2008 Covey

1992) Part of the womenrsquos success was that their career choices matched their

self-reported temperament qualities Bester (2001) confirmed similarities between

brain dominance (temperament) and personality styles

Expressly the women excelled in constructive growth mindsets as coping

mechanisms The literature indicates that mindset manifests in onersquos thoughts

beliefs in the way one explains setbacks in onersquos life and in how onersquos beliefs

lead to action (Dweck 2006 Dyer 2010 Karren et al 2006 Schlebush 2000)


sect THEME 13 - Women leaders conserve their energy in their physical wellbeing

The participants stressed the importance of high energy levels in handling

challenges As pointed out by Cashman (2008) as well as Holford and Cass

(2008) they achieved this by adopting healthy eating habits to sustain their energy

and ensured they had adequate sleep and exercise However the women

reported that healthy habits were difficult to maintain during stressful periods and

some even reverted to destructive coping mechanisms In the literature it is noted

that temperament and personality types play a role in how people handle stress

for example disease-resistant personalities (Karren et al 2006)

It was evident that most of the women perceived stress as relative However

women in very high powered jobs reported that stress was taking its toll on their

health In two cases the participants were so focused on their jobs that they

neglected their health Most importantly the women showed responsibility in

making adjustments to their lifestyles in order to support their health In the

literature reference is made to the correlation between disease-resistant


158

personalities or type ldquoArdquo personalities and cardiovascular diseases (Karren et al

2006) stressing the importance of managing onersquos stressors


sect THEME 14 - Women leaders maintain their stability in their emotional wellbeing

The women reported the importance of emotional intelligence in decision making

networking and relationship building The participants defined emotional

intelligence as applying appropriate emotional responses to problems This is

confirmed and expanded on in the literature by including the ability to perceive

emotions accurately and to label and regulate emotions (Goleman in Ciarrochi et

al 2001 Mayer amp Salovey 1997) The women voiced an awareness of the effect

of stress on their ability to regulate their emotions An interesting finding was that

the women were committed to improving their emotional maturity in accordance

with age and experience

Apart from the foregoing the research participants didnrsquot expand on their

emotional wellbeing A possible explanation for this might be the fact that the

women were working in mostly male dominated environments where emotions

were not acknowledged However overall the women channeled their emotional

energy in a positive constructive direction (Caruso amp Salovey 2004)

53 CONCLUSION

In this chapter the findings of the study that is the ten research participantsrsquo

concrete or first order concepts were related to scholarsrsquo abstract or second order

constructs as found in the relevant literature Existing scholarly work (theoretical

and empirical) was generally in support of the womenrsquos experiences and views of

women leadership and personal leadership as contained in the 14 themes

However the participants did not fully agree with the definition of leadership and

how women should reinvent themselves as leaders as expressed in the literature

Interesting views and experiences of the interviewees which were not addressed


159

in the literature included the secrets to their success They reported that besides

personal leadership and finding meaning in their work it was having a passion for

their jobs families and for life in general that propelled them forward

At this point it is important to bear in mind that the study because of its limited

scope in the first place was intended to obtain an understanding of women

leadership and personal leadership from the everyday experiences and

perceptions of a small group of women that may be regarded as leaders in the

South African context and not to test any hypotheses in order to formulate a

theory (Myers 2009) I would like to believe that this aim was accomplished and

that the 14 themes provide some insight into the social world of the ten local

women leaders and how they employed personal leadership to overcome the

challenges they faced In my view of particular significance is that the insights

derived from the women leaders confirmed the pyramid of leadership (Covey

1991 1998) implying that it appears to be an important construct in illuminating the

experiences and views of a small group of South African women leaders

160

CHAPTER 6 - PREacuteCIS IMPLICATIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

61 INTRODUCTION In this the final chapter I firstly summarise the research Secondly I present

what I believe to be the key implications of the research findings Thirdly I

summarise noticeable shortcomings of the study and finally I offer

recommendations for further research

62 SUMMARY AND PREacuteCIS REacuteCIS

In Chapter 1 I contextualised the study and outlined the importance of studying

women leaders as well as whether they employ personal leadership to overcome

challenges they face I provided the basic framework and approach adopted for

this research mini-dissertation I i) sketched the background of women leaders in

general ii) stated the research problem and research questions to be addressed

iii) formulated the objectives of the study iv) briefly reviewed the current level of

knowledge and v) indicated the anticipated contributions of the study

The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the challenges women

leaders experience in society and in organisations- specifically working mothers in

their midlife - and how they employ personal leadership to overcome these

challenges and excel in life

In Chapter 2 I discussed my research philosophy what qualitative research

entails the key decisions I took during the research process the strategies I

employed to improve the quality of the study and how I dealt with ethical

challenges

Chapter 6 - Preacutecis Implications and Recommendations

161

In line with my ontological and epistemological positions I followed what may be

termed a modernistic oriented qualitative approach I opted for a multiple case

study strategy and recruited ten professional women leaders who resided in the

same security estate where I live The data collection methods I used were

individual face-to-face interviews and participant observation I made audio

recordings of the interviews compiled field-notes made use of digital technology

a paper trail and a computer assisted software package namely ATLASti to

organise and store the data safely In making sense of the data I (i) looked for

similarities and dissimilarities in the data to reconstruct the womenrsquos social reality

(ii) I used retroductive reasoning that is using inferences from the data to

construct or ldquoinferrdquo explanations (iii) I applied aspects of grounded theory by

generating concepts directly from the data and (iv) my data analysis process

entailed a combination of Sandiford and Seymourrsquos (2007) and Graneheim and

Lundmanrsquos (2004) approaches In reporting the data and writing the mini-

dissertation I made use of three writing styles namely the scientific tale the

realist tale and the confessional tale Finally I discussed the conceptrsquos credibility

dependability transferability and ethical concerns to present a trustworthy and

ethical study

Chapter 3 is a presentation of the findings in the form of quotations that support

arguments made with respect to the research questions as represented alongside

the governing conceptual framework introduced in Chapter 1 (Who What and

How) I discussed the findings regarding the three key foci of the study women

leadership challenges and personal leadership In this chapter I use codes

themes and categories I created to represent the women participantsrsquo concrete or

first order concepts attempting to order and interpret them on a higher logical level

(Graneheim amp Lundman 2004) Rich and varied experiences and views were

obtained from the ten research participants

Chapter 4 contains the literature review In this chapter I offer abstract constructs

as well as empirical findings found in literature that are related to and can

illuminate the concrete experiences and views of the women leaders I

interviewed and more particularly since these are contained in the codes themes


162

and categories I developed Concepts and challenges of women in leadership

were discussed alongside the research questions in an attempt to understand

Who women in leadership are and how they define themselves What the

challenges and coping mechanisms are for women in society and in organisations

generally for working mothers and for women at midlife finally to understand

How personal leadership guides them to achieve balance in their spiritual

mental physical and emotional dimensions and integrate work with life

successfully

In Chapter 5 I offer a scholarly commentary by comparing my findings with




first order concepts (Schuumltz 1962) Existing scholarly work (theoretical and

empirical) was generally in support of the womenrsquos experiences and views of


It is important to bear in mind that the study was because of its limited scope in

the first place intended to obtain an understanding of women leadership and

personal leadership from the everyday experiences and perceptions of a small

group of women that may be regarded as leaders in the South African context and

not to test any hypotheses in order to formulate a theory (Myers 2009) I

would like to believe that this aim was accomplished and that the 14 themes

provide some insight into the social world of the ten local women leaders and the

way they employed personal leadership to overcome the challenges they faced

Finally my research story makes up Addendum D This is a ldquobehind-the-scenesrdquo

account of my experiences of the study and includes particular events that

occurred in my private and work life The research journal helped me to take stock

of my biases feelings and thoughts and created awareness in me of how I may

have influenced the research It also provided me with material to share with the

reader how I constructed knowledge the research process that I followed and

played a vital role in reflexivity (Watt 2007) I drew from the journal to provide an

inside view of the study how different phases of the study were managed and


163

how as novice researcher I managed issues and tensions that arose in the

execution of the project (Watt 2007)

63 PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE RESEARCH

The following briefly outlines the most relevant findings and indicates their

importance for the everyday functioning of organisations or for leaders to improve

their performance

In terms of leadership behaviour the playing fields are more equal for women The

implication is that women can exercise influence using their authentic feminine

leadership qualities Organisations should be part of creating social change by

recognising womenrsquos communication skills customer focus complex leadership

behaviours and varied career paths as advantageous in turbulent environments

(Furst amp Reeves 2008) and by appointing ambitious women in key decision

making positions (Eagly amp Carli 2003) Many working mothers are ambitious and

committed to self-empowerment and would welcome the opportunity to be fast-

tracked in their careers based on recognition of their true worth

Further organisational change can be promoted by implementing policies on

gender and family responsibility Creating a non-gender based culture can be

achieved by investigating the leadership behaviours rewarded in individual

organisations by identifying the derailment factors and by implementing ethical

negotiation (Vanderbroeck 2010) Creating a family orientated work culture is

attained through managerial support for family benefits and making flexible work

arrangements available thereby displaying support for working mothersrsquo work-life-

integration and increasing their commitment (Derman 2004 Hochschild 1997

Moen et al 2008 Straub 2011 Valcour et al 2011)

The study highlighted various broader implications for women leaders in midlife

who have to make decisions about their leadership positioning careers and

personal life Organisations need to understand that in comparison to men


164

womenrsquos career decisions are relational and are normally part of a larger and

intricate web of interconnected issues (Mainiero amp Sullivan 2005) It can be

expected that during midlife women would re-evaluate life priorities and

achievements and consider making adjustments to careers with the emphasis

placed on subjective rewards such as feeling respected and doing work that

reflects onersquos values Here incorporating structured mentoring and coaching

programmes can assist women leaders to deepen their personal vision and focus

their energies on what they want to influence - their children and their careers

(Cashman 2008 Senge 1990)

64 CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE STUDY

641 Theoretical contribution of the study

While social scientists have explored women leaders from a number of

perspectives little has been done in respect of women leaders at midlife from a

personal leadership perspective I would like to believe that in the broader scheme

the study made a modest contribution to describe the social worlds of local

women in leadership by providing knowledge of their construction of careers

families and personal leadership at midlife

Further the insights derived from the women leaders confirmed the solid

foundation of the pyramid of leadership (Covey 1991 1998) 22implying that it

appears to be an important construct in illuminating the experiences and views of

a small group of South African women leaders The women leaders demonstrated

the progression from personal mastery to interpersonal mastery to professional

mastery

On the personal leadership level the women leaders demonstrated Ethos in terms

of their moral character ethical leadership authentic behaviour integrity and

valued centred leadership They are modelling their leadership behaviour on

22 See Chapter 4


165

strong women in leadership in the industry and are increasing their circle of

influence through an inside-out approach to life

On the second level interpersonal leadership mastery was demonstrated through

relationship building caring and their servant leadership The women leaders

mastered Pathos by accessing their feminine strengths of communication

emotional leadership and collaborating in teams

Lastly on the professional leadership level women leaders excel in creating

Logos or meaning through their competence They displayed leadership styles that

contribute to leading change and play a pivotal role in developing human capital

through motivating and empowering employees At midlife they showed wisdom

and maturity in their coping mechanisms to create meaningful living

642 Practical contribution of the study

On a practical level the study contributed to revealing the social world of a small

group of South African women leaders who are in midlife and who occupy

leadership positions in various corporate organisations I believe that first-hand

insight into the way women leaders conceive their careers family responsibilities

and leadership behaviour in midlife will provide building blocks for strategies to

facilitate the synchronisation of women leaders during midlife and provide

guidelines to business on how programmes could be developed to grow women

leaders in South Africa

Furthermore business leaders could implement the findings in their own lives to

improve their everyday functioning for example women leaders need to ensure

that they align their leadership strategy and style with their personal values and

lead by example to create a culture of authenticity (Vanderbroeck 2010)

643 Methodological contribution of the study The contributions of my study for qualitative methodology and in particular case

studies was that - by employing an explorative-descriptive study - I was able to


166

build rich descriptions of complex circumstances that were not explored in the

literature (Marshall amp Rossman 1999) The case studies accomplished the aim to

provide description (Kiddler 1982) but not to test hypothesis (Anderson 1983

Pinfield 1986) or to generate theory (Gersick 1988) The first stage of Glaser and

Straussrsquo (1967) comparative method was implemented - this involved continuous

comparison of data and theory beginning with data collection In the second

stage I focussed on the complexity of human sense-making as the situations

emerged instead of predefining dependent and independent variables (Kaplan amp

Maxwell in Myers 2009) The third stage of grounded theory research namely

theoretical coding was not applied The study did not attempt to formulate theory

through forming a hypothesis about the phenomena (Myers 2009) Rather the

study provided insights regarding the phenomena of women leaders at midlife

The study contributed to the methodology of local qualitative organisational studies

and leadership research and womenrsquos studies in particular by providing a deeper

understanding of the challenges and personal leadership of a small number of

cases which ensures high construct validity and in-depth insights into the findings

(Mouton 2001) I believe my experience of applying qualitative methodology and

case study as well as the data I obtained and the data analysis process will be

useful to a novice researcher

Further methodological contributions were made in terms of a thorough

explanation of the presentation of this study23 with specific reference to the

application of three tales (writing styles) specifically the contrast between the

scholars (of methodology and theory) (realist tale) participants (scientific tale) and

the researcher (confessional tale) (Sparkes 2002)

65 NOTICEABLE SHORTCOMINGS OF THE STUDY

I believe the shortcomings of my study lay mainly with the limited time at my

disposal to interview and otherwise collect data from the ten research participants 23 see Chapter 2


167

With the title of my study being quite broad I hadnrsquot been able to focus my

research which in turn made it very difficult to bind my case study by time place

and activity (Stake 1995) I failed to avoid the pitfall of posing too many

ideasquestions to the participants which resulted in insufficient time to study in

adequate depth any of the experiences and viewpoints they shared with me

66 ENSURING QUALITY RESEARCH

Having evaluated the case study findings from an interpretive research

perspective I believe the plausibility of the cases was improved by using multiple

sources of evidence and having a clear description of what I did and how (Myers

2009) Further the cases displayed sufficient evidence with supporting quotations

considered alternative perspectives cultural views and disagreements among the

subjects and the insights modestly contributed to knowledge

Regarding the credibility of the study choosing participants with various

experiences increased the possibility of shedding light on the research question

from a variety of aspects to contribute to a richer variation of the phenomena of

challenges women leaders face (Patton 1987) Selecting the most suitable

meaning units was a challenge I believe that the categories and themes covered

the data adequately ensuring that no relevant data was excluded The similarities

within and differences between categories were illustrated by using representative

quotations from the transcribed text (Graneheim amp Lundman 2004)

Trustworthiness was enhanced by the alterations made during analysis (Lincoln amp

Guba 1985) To facilitate transferability this study had a clear and distinct

description of culture and context selection and characteristics of participants

data collection and process of analysis The rich and vigorous presentation of the

findings together with appropriate quotations also enhanced transferability

(Graneheim amp Lundman 2004) Finally in respect of internal validity triangulation

assisted in reconstructing the social world of the research participants and I

believe the research findings match their reality (Merriam 2002)


168

67 RECOMMENDATIONS

671 Recommendation for future research Developing the potential and weaknesses of a leader one is required to

understand what their true needs are While this study provided insights regarding

the challenges coping mechanisms and personal leadership it was based on the

participantsrsquo subjective views One of the findings of the study was that peoplersquos

view of success and their perceptions of constructive coping mechanisms differ It

would be interesting to explore this further in order to understand peoplersquos specific

needs for personal leadership development For a researcher that is quantitatively

inclined a mixed methodology (Cresswell 2003) could be recommended This

would involve qualitatively exploring multiple case studies through questionnaires

followed by in-depth interviews and empirical tests on the research participants

Specific suggestions include employing empirical tests on all four internal

dimensions to measure spiritual intelligence emotional intelligence cognitive

performance mental health and physical health as well as exploring the influence

of substance use (stimulants mood altering drugs and alcohol) on coping

mechanisms and interpersonal relationships (and vice versa) Additional studies

can be conducted to explore the impact of womenrsquos personal leadership on

interpersonal leadership and to investigate the challenges for women leaders

without children

672 Recommendation for business

Recommendation to business is to be progressive in developing their leaders

(especially women leadership) in order to build contingency and depth in their

organisations The study found the pyramid of leadership to be a solid foundation

for leadership development and to live up to the promises as illustrated in Figure

41 I recommend that a leadership development programme should include

development of professional leadership (by developing their competence and

creating meaning in their jobs) interpersonal leadership (by providing mentoring

and caring for others) and personal leadership (by developing their character and


169

modelling their leadership behaviour (Covey 1991 1998) More specifically it

involves addressing the following aspects

i) Professional leadership encouraging leaders to lead the change and

performance creating work-life integration developing their leadership

styles strategic thinking and human capital

ii) Interpersonal leadership working on relationship building through

mentoring coaching and team development developing communication

skills and emotional intelligence

iii) Personal leadership stress the importance of authenticity awareness

ethics and intuition in leadership

Finally leadership development should enable leaders to increase their circle of

influence within the organisation and community It should follow an inside-out

approach that focuses on values and principles (Cashman 2008 Covey 1998)

68 CONCLUSION

This study quite unexpectedly changed my life I have learnt a lot during my twenty

monthsrsquo long journey Not only did the literature on women leadership and

personal leadership that I was exposed to broaden my personal views

substantially but I obtained many valuable insights by qualitatively studying strong

local women leaders I am convinced that personal leadership is evident in these

women who are excelling in life Having studied the social world of these

successful women their strong mindsets spiritual anchors relentless energy

passion and their emotional stability stand out as the secret to their success and

are ingrained in my mind I am inspired to return to the workforce after a nine year

sabbatical and am looking forward to the challenge that I trust I will be able to

handle expertly thanks to the Gurus

Turning to the research study and writing the mini-dissertation my supervisors

demonstrated to me the value of setting high academic standards self-discipline

and self-perseverance that will stand me in good stead going forward in life

170

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Calaacutes MB amp Smircich L (2009) Feminist perspectives on gender in

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Cashman K (2008) Leadership from the inside-out becoming a leader for life

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Charan R Drotter S amp Noel J (2001) The leadership pipeline How to build the

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Ciulla JB (2004) The ethics of leadership Belmont CA Wadsworth Publishing

Clawson JG (2006) Level three leadership Getting below the surface (4th edn)

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Coffey A amp Atkinson P (1996) Making sense of qualitative data Complementary

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Conger J amp Kanungo RN (1998) Charismatic leadership in organizations

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Covey SR (1991) Principle-centered leadership New York Summit

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Covey SR (1998) Servant-leadership from the inside out In L Spears Ed

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Covey SR (2004) The 8th habit From effectiveness to greatness New York

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Cresswell J (2007) Qualitative enquiry and research design Choosing among

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Day DV (2000) Leadership development A review in context The Leadership

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Day DV (2001) Leadership development A review in context Leadership

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De Janasz SC Sullivan SE amp Whiting V (2003) Mentor networks and career

success Lessons for turbulent times Academy of Management Executive

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Denzin NK amp Lincoln YS (Eds) (1998) Strategies of qualitative inquiry London

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Denzin NK amp Lincoln YS (2000) Introduction In NK Denzin and YS Lincoln

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Derman L (2004) Work and personal life integration A personal and professional

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Dobbins GH amp Platz SJ (1986) Sex differences in leadership How real are

they Academy of Management Review 11118-27

Dreyer LI Le Roux EC Loots JM amp Strydom GL (2002) Fisieke aktiwiteit

en uitbranding se verband met die gesondheidsstatus van vroulike

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Drucker PF (1997) The leaders of the future New visions strategies and

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Duehr EE amp Bono JE (2006) Men women and managers Are stereotypes

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Dulewicz V (2000) Emotional intelligence The key to effective corporate

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Dweck CS (2006) Mindset The new psychology of success New York Random

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Dyer WW (2001) There is a spiritual solution to every problem London

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Dyer W (2010) Excuses begone How to change lifelong self-defeating thinking

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Eagly AH (2007) Female leadership advantage and disadvantage Resolving the

contradictions Psychology of Women Quarterly 31(1) 1-12 doi

101111j1471-6402200700326

Eagly AH amp Carli LL (2003) The female leadership advantage An evaluation

of the evidence The Leadership Quarterly 14 807ndash834

doi101016jleaqua200309004

Eagly AH amp Carli LL (2007) Through the labyrinth The truth about how women

become leaders Boston Harvard Business School Publishing

Eagly AH amp Karau SJ (2002) Role congruity theory of prejudice towards

female leaders Psychological Review 109 573 ndash 598

Ebrey P (1993) Chinese civilization A sourcebook (2nd edn) New York Free

Press 77-79

Eby LT Casper WJ Lockwood A Bordeaux C amp Brinley A (2005) Work

and family research in IOOB Content analysis and review of literature

(1980 ndash 2002) Journal of Vocational Behaviour 66 124-197

Ergenelia A Goharb R amp Temirbekovac Z (2007) Transformational leadership

Its relationship to culture value dimensions International Journal of

Intercultural Relations 31 703ndash724

Erickson EH (1963) Identity Youth and crisis London Faber amp Faber

Flick U (2006) An introduction to qualitative research (3rd edn) London Sage

Fontana A amp Frey JH (2000) The interview From structured questions to

negotiated text In N K Denzin amp Y S Lincoln (eds) Handbook of

qualitative research (2nd edn) (pp 645-672) Thousand Oaks CA Sage

Foucheacute CB Delport CSL amp Schurink WJ (2011) The place of literature in

qualitative research In AS De Vos CSL Delport CB Fouche H amp Strydom

H (Eds) Research at grass roots A primer for the social science and human

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Publishers

Frankl VE (2004) Manrsquos search for meaning Johannesburg Rider

Franks K Schurink W amp Fourie L (2006) Exploring the social construction of

life roles of career-orientated women SA Journal of Industrial Psychology

32(1) 17-24

175

Furst SA amp Reeves MR (2008) Queens of the hill Creative destruction and the

emergence of executive leadership of women The Leadership Quarterly 19

372ndash384 doi101016jleaqua200803001

Gee GA Ryan A Laflamme DJ amp Holt J (2006) Self-reported discrimination

and mental health status among African descendants Mexican Americans

and other Latinos in the New Hampshire reach 2010 initiative The added

dimension of immigration American Journal of Public Health 96(10) 1821-

1828 doi102105AJPH2005080085

Gersick C (1988)Time and transition in work teams Toward a new model of

group development Academy of Management Journal 31 9-41

Glaser BG amp Strauss AL (1967) The discovery of grounded theory Strategies

for qualitative research New York Aldine

Glesne C amp Peshkin A (1992) Becoming qualitative researchers An

introduction White Plains New York Longman

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Books

Goleman D (2002) The new leaders London Time Warner Paperbacks

Goleman D (2006) Social intelligence New York Bantam Books

Goleman D Boyatzis R amp McKee A (2002) Primal leadership Realizing the

power of emotional intelligence Boston MA Harvard Business School

Press

Goodman JS Fields DL amp Blum TC (2003) Cracks in the glass ceiling In

what kinds of organizations do women make it to the top Group amp

Organization Management 28 475minus501

Gordon JR amp Whelan-Berry KS (2004) It takes two to tango An empirical

study of perceived spousepartner support for working women Women in

Management Review 19(5) 260-273

Graneheim UH amp Lundman B (2004) Qualitative content analysis in nursing

research Concepts procedures and measures to achieve trustworthiness

Nurse Education Today 24 105ndash112

Greenleaf RK (1977) Servant leadership New York Paulist Press

Groothof C (2007) The Changing environmental context and the relevancy of

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Johannesburg South Africa

176

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91

Halpern DF amp Cheung FM (2008) Women at the top Powerful leaders tell us

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Harrington B amp Ladge JJ (2009) Work-life integration Present dynamics and

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157

Heilman ME (2001) Description and prescription How gender stereotypes

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Issues 57 657ndash674

Helson R amp Moane G (1987) Personality change in women From college to

midlife Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 53 76 ndash 186

Herbst L Coetzee S amp Visser D (2007) Personality sense of coherence and

the coping of working mothers SA Journal of Industrial Psychology 33(3)

57-67

Hewlett SA amp Luce CB (2005) Off-ramps and on-ramps Keeping talented

women on the road to success Harvard Business Review March 43ndash54

Higgins MC amp Kram KE (2001) Reconceptualizing mentoring at work A

developmental network perspective Academy of Management Review 26

264ndash288

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Hochschild AR (1997) The time bind When work becomes home and home

becomes work New York Henry Holt

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Administrative Science Quarterly Johnson Graduate School of

Management Cornell University 38(1) 132ndash134

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institutions and organizations across nations Thousand Oaks CA Sage

Holford P (2009) 10 Tips of 100 healthy people Great Britain Piatkus Books

Holford P (2010) 100 Health survey 100 Health Jan 2010 Great Britain

Piatkus Books

177

Holford P amp Cass H (2008) Natural Highs Great Britain Piatkus Books

Hopkins MM OrsquoNeil DA Passarell A amp Bilimoria D (2008) Womenrsquos

leadership development Strategic practices for women and organizations

Consulting Psychology Journal Practice and Research 60(4) 348ndash365

doi101037a0014093

House RJ Hanges PJ Ruiz-Quintanilla AS Dorfman PW Javidan M

Dickson M et al (1999) Cultural influences in leadership and organization

Project GLOBE In WH Mobley MJ Gessner amp V Arnold (Eds)

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Humphrey RH (2002) The many faces of emotional leadership Leadership

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Geneva Retrieved from

httpwwwiloorgglobalWhat_we_doPublicationsILOBookstoreOrderonlin

eBookslang--endocName--

Jandeska KE amp Kraimer ML (2005) Womens perceptions of organizational

culture work attitudes and role-modeling behaviors Journal of Managerial

Issues 17 461minus478

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of schizophrenia (Vol 2 R F C Hull Trans) New York Harper amp Brothers

Jung CG (1989a) Memories dreams reflections (Rev edn C Winston amp R

Winston Trans) (A Jaffe Ed) New York Random House Inc

Kanyoro M (2006 July 16) Challenges to womens leadership Speech in honour

of YWCA of Salt Lake 100 years Retrieved from

wwwworldywcaorgcontentdownload293831101filewomen255c

Karau SJ amp Eagly AH (1999) Invited reaction gender social roles and the

emergence of leaders Human Resource Development Quarterly 10 321-7

Karren KJ Hafen BQ Smith ML amp Frandsen KJ (2006) MindBody Health

London Allyn and Bacon

Kassin S Fein S amp Markus HR (2008) Social Psychology United States

Wadsworth Cengage Learning

178

Kassin S Fein S amp Markus HR (2011) Social Psychology (8th edn) United

States Cengage Learning

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Khurana R (2002) Searching for a corporate savior Princeton NJ Princeton

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httpswwwsaicacozaPortals0documentsPWC20SteeringPoint20Kin

gIIIpdf

Kouzes JM amp Posner BZ (1993) Credibility How leaders gain and lose it and

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Kram KE (1985) Mentoring at work Glenview IL Scott Foresman

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Kvale S (2006) Dominance through interviews and dialogues Qualitative Inquiry

12(3) 480-500 Sage Publications doi 1011771077800406286235

Lama D (1999) Ethics for the new millennium New York Riverhead Books

Leibowitz ZB Kaye BL amp Farren C (1990) What to do about career gridlock

Training amp Development Journal 44(4) 28-35

doi101177089484539201900104

Levinson D (1986) A conception of adult development American Psychologist

41 3-13

Lincoln YS amp Guba EG (1985) Naturalistic Enquiry Beverly Hills C A Sage

Lipman-Blumen J (1996) The connective edge Leading in an interdependent

world San Francisco Jossey-Bass

Lofland J amp Lofland L (1984) Analysing social settings A guide to qualitative

observation and analysis Belmont CA Wadsworth Publishing Company

Lopez JA (1992) Study says women face glass walls as well as ceilings Wall

Street Journal March 3 ppB1-B8

Lord RG amp Brown DJ (2004) Leadership processes and follower self-identity

Mahwah NJ Lawrence Erlbaum

179

Lord RG amp Maher KJ (1991) Leadership and information processing Boston

Routledge

Lowman R (2011) An international perspective on leadership ethics In 1st

Conference in Leadership in Emerging Countries 18-19 August 2011

Johannesburg University of Johannesburg

Lowman RL Lefkowitz J McIntyre R amp Tippins N (2nd edn) (2006) The

ethical practice of psychology in organizations Washington DC American

Psychological Association

Lyness KS amp Thompson DE (2000) Climbing the corporate ladder Do female

and male executives follow the same route Journal of Applied Psychology

85 86 -101

Maddi SR amp Khoshaba DM (2005) Resilience at work New York Amacom

Books

Mainiero LA amp Sullivan SE (2005) Kaleidoscope careers An alternative

explanation for the opt-out revolution The Academy of Management

Executive 19(1) 106-123

Maphisa K (2010) Business Womenrsquos Association of South Africa (BWASA)

Women in Leadership Census (2011) Retrieved from

httpwwwbwasacozaCensus20202011Censusresultstabid1480Def

aultaspx

Marshall C amp Rossman GB (1999) Designing qualitative research (3rd edn)


Mason J (1996) Qualitative Researching (2nd ed) London SAGE

Mayer JD amp Salovey P (1990) Emotional Intelligence Imagination Cognition

and Personality 9 185 -211

Mayer JD amp Salovey P (1997) What is emotional intelligence Emotional

development and emotional intelligence Educational implications New

York Basic Books

Mayer JD Salovey P Caruso DR amp Sitarenios G (2003) Measuring

emotional intelligence with the MSCEIT V20 Emotion 3 97-105

Maxwell JA (1996) Qualitative research design An interactive approach

Thousand Oaks CA Sage

Maxwell J (2008) Leadership gold Lessons Irsquove learned from a lifetime of

leading Nashville Thomas Nelson

180

McLellan K amp Uys K (2009) Balancing dual roles in self-employed women An

exploratory study SA Journal of Industrial Psychology 35 (1) Art 416 10

pages doi 104102sajip V35i1416

McMillan JH amp Schumacher S (2001) Research in education A conceptual

introduction (5th edn) New York Longman

Merriam SB (2002) Qualitative Research and case study applications in

education San Francisco Jossey-Bass Publishers

Merriam-Webster online dictionary (2011) Retrieved from httpwwwmerriam-

webstercomdictionaryauthentic

Meyer W Moore C amp Viljoen H (2002) Personology Cape Town Heinemann

Miles MB amp Huberman AM (1994) Qualitative data analysis An expanded

source book (2nd edn) Thousand Oaks CA Sage

Miner JB (1993) Role motivation theories New York Routledge

Moen P Kelly E amp Huang Q (2008) Work family and life-course fit Does

control over work time matter Journal of Vocational Behavior 73 414ndash425

Mohan DL amp Uys K (2006) Towards living with meaning and purpose Spiritual

perspectives of people at work SA Journal of Industrial Psychology 32 (1)

53-59

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sciences (Revised Edn) Pretoria HSRC Printers

Morrison A amp Von Glinow MA (1990) Women and minorities in management

American Psychologist 45 200minus208

Morrison R Erickson T amp Dychtwald K (2006) Managing middlesence Harvard

Business Review 84(3) 78- 86

Morse JM Barrett M Mayan M Olson K amp Spiers J (2002 June)

Verification strategies for establishing reliability and validity in qualitative

research International Journal of Qualitative Methods 2 Retrieved from

httpwwwualbertaca~ijqm

Mostert K (2009) The balance between work and home The relationship

between work and home demands and ill health of employed females SA

Journal of Industrial Psychology 35 (1) Art 743 8 pp doi 104102 sajip

v35il743

Mouton J (2001) How to succeed in your masterrsquos amp doctoral studies - A South

African guide and resource book Pretoria Van Schaik Publishers

181

Myers MD (2009) Qualitative research in business management London Sage

Myers MD amp Newman M (2007) The qualitative interview in IS research

Examining the craft Information and Organisation 17(1) 2-26

Nakamura A (2005 20 May) From lsquooffice ladyrsquo to president Merrill Lynch Japan

president bullish on being a woman Japan Times p4

Newport F (2001 21 February) Americans see women as emotional and

affectionate men as more aggressive Gender specific stereotypes persist in

recent Gallup poll Gallup Brain Web site Retrieved from

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Nieva VG amp Gutek BA (1981) Women and work A psychological perspective

New York Praeger

Northouse PG (2009) Leadership Theory and practice [Kindle Edition] (5th

edn) Thousand Oaks California Sage Publications Inc Amazon Digital

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Understanding the scarcity of female CEOs Journal of Business Ethics 27

321minus334

OrsquoNeil DA amp Bilimoria D (2005) Womenrsquos career development phases

Idealism endurance and reinvention Career Development International

10(3) 168ndash189

OrsquoNeil DA Hopkins MM amp Bilimoria D (2008) Womenrsquos careers at the start of

the 21st century Patterns and paradoxes Journal of Business Ethics 80

727ndash743 doi101007s10551-007-9465-6

Orlikowski WJ amp Baroudi JJ (1991) Studying information technology in

organizations Research approaches and assumptions Information Systems

Research 2(1) 1-28

Oswald DL amp Lindstedt K (2006) The content and function of gender

selfstereotypes An exploratory investigation Sex Roles 54 447ndash458

Oswald DL amp Chapleau KM (2010) Selective self-stereotyping and womenrsquos

self-esteem maintenance Personality and Individual Differences 49 918ndash

922

Papalia DE Sterns HL Feldman RD amp Camp CJ (2002) Adult

development and aging New York McGraw-Hill

182

Palmer B Walls M Burgess Z amp Stough C (2001) Emotional intelligence and

effective leadership Leadership amp Organization Development Journal 22 5-

10

Parker VA amp Kram KE (1993) Women mentoring women Creating conditions

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Podolny JM Khurana R amp Hill-Popper M (2005) Revisiting the meaning of

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Polit DF amp Hungler BP (1999) Nursing Research Principles and Methods (6th

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Powell GN amp Mainiero LA (1992) Cross-currents in the river of time

Conceptualizing the complexities of womenrsquos careers Journal of

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Potter WJ (1996) An analysis of thinking and research about qualitative

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Prescott S (2000) Realising the self within Seattle Washington Elfin Cove

183

Punch KF (2005) Introduction to social research ndash Quantitative amp qualitative

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Ragins BR amp Cotton JL (1991) Easier said than done Gender differences in

perceived barriers to gaining a mentor Academy of Management Journal

34 939ndash951

Ragins BR amp Cotton JL (1993) Gender and willingness to mentor in

organizations Journal of Management 19 97ndash111

Ragins BR amp Kram K (eds) (2007) The handbook of mentoring at work

Theory research and practice Thousand Oaks CA Sage

Ragins BR amp Sundstrom E (1989) Gender and power in organisations A

longitudinal perspective Psychological Bulletin 105 51 ndash 88

Ragins BR Townsend B amp Mattia M (1998) Gender gap in the executive suite

CEOs and female executives report on breaking the glass ceiling Academy

of Management Executive 12 28minus43

Ready DA amp Conger JA (2003 Spring) Why leadership development efforts

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Republic of South Africa (1998) Employment Equity Act No 55 of 1998 Pretoria

Retrieved from httpwwwlabourgovzadownloadslegislationactslabour-

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202002pdf

Republic of South Africa (1998 2002) Labour Relations Act of 1995 Retrieved

from httpwwwlabourgovzadownloadslegislationactslabour-relations

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Riordan S (2007) Career psychology factors as antecedents of career success of

women academics in South Africa Unpublished doctoral thesis University of

Cape Town South Africa

Ritchie J amp Lewis J (2003) Qualitative research practice London Sage

Robson C (1993) Real world research A resource for social scientists and

practitioner-researchers Oxford Blackwell

Rogelberg SG (2002) Handbook of research methods in industrial and

organizational psychology Massachusetts Blackwell Publishers

Rogier SA amp Padgett MY (2004) The impact of utilizing a flexible work

schedule on the perceived career advancement potential of women Human

Resource Development Quarterly 15 89minus106

184

Rosener JB (1995) Americarsquos competitive secret Utilising women as a

management strategy New York Oxford University Press

Roulston K (2010) Considering qualitative interviewing Qualitative Research 10

199 doi 011771468794109356739

Ruderman MN amp Ohlott PJ (2005) Leading roles What coaches of women

need to know Leadership in Action 25 3ndash9

Russell GM amp Kelly NH (2002) Research as interacting dialogic processes

Implications for reflexivity Forum Qualitative Social Research 3(3)

Retrieved from httpwwwqualitative-researchnetfqs-texte3-023-

02russellkelly-ehtm

Ryan MK amp Haslam SA (2005) The glass cliff Evidence that women are

overrepresented in precarious leadership positions British Journal of

Management 16 81ndash90

Ryan MK amp Haslam SA (2007) The glass cliff Exploring the dynamics

surrounding the appointment of women in precarious leadership positions

Academy of Management Review 32 549minus572

Ryan MK amp Haslam SA (2008) The road to the glass cliff Differences in the

perceived suitability of men and women for leadership positions in

succeeding and failing organizations Leadership Quarterly 19 530ndash546


Salovey P amp Mayer JD (1990) Emotional intelligence Imagination Cognition

and Personality 9 185-211

Sandiford PJ amp Seymour D (2007) A discussion of qualitative data analysis in

hospitality research with examples from an ethnography of English public

houses Hospitality Management 26 724ndash742

Schatzman L amp Strauss AL (1973) Field research Strategies for a natural

sociology Englewood Cliffs NJ Prentice-Hall

Schein EH (1978) Career dynamics Matching individual and organizational

needs Reading MA Addison-Wesley

Schein VE (2001) A global look at psychological barriers to womens progress in

management Journal of Social Issues 57 675ndash688

Schlebush L (2000) Mindshift Stress management and your health

Pietermaritzburg University of Natal Press

185

Schram T (2006) Conceptualizing and proposing qualitative research Upper

Saddle River Pearson Education Inc

Schumpeter JA (1942) Capitalism socialism and democracy New York Harper

amp Brothers

Schurink WJ (2004a) Lecture three Considerations when choosing a qualitative

style of research study school 27-28 February 2010 Johannesburg Rand

Afrikaans University

Schurink WJ (2004b) Lecture ten Qualitative data analysis study school

February 2010 Johannesburg University of Johannesburg

Schurink WJ (2005) Lecture eleven B Grounded theory study school 27-28


Schurink WJ (2006) Qualitative Research Design ndash Part 2 study school 26

January 2006 Johannesburg University of Johannesburg

Schurink WJ (2007) Lecture twelve Qualitative research report writing Rand

Afrikaans University study school 27-28 February 2010 Johannesburg

University of Johannesburg

Schurink WJ (2009a) Qualitative research design lecture DRTP Programme

Belville South Africa

Schurink WJ (2009b) Qualitative research design as a tool for trustworthy

Research Journal of Public Administration 44(42) 803ndash823

Schutte N Malouff J Hall E Haggerty D Cooper J Golden D amp Dornheim

L (1998) Development and validation of a measure of emotional

intelligence Personality and Individual Differences 25 167-77

Schuumltz A (1962-4) Collected Papers 1-3 The Hague Martinus Nijhoff In HT

Wilson In use value and substantive rationality in the work of Marx and

Weber Journal of Classical Sociology 4(1) 5-30 London Thousand Oaks

and New Delhi SAGE Publications doi 1011771468795X04040650

Schwartz FN (1989) Management women and the new facts of life Harvard

Business Review 67(1) 65minus76

Scott KA amp Brown DJ (2006) Female first leader second Gender bias in the

encoding of leadership behavior Organizational Behavior and Human

Decision Processes 101 230ndash242

186

Sczesny S Bosak J Neff D amp Schyns B (2004) Gender stereotypes and the

attribution of leadership traits A cross-cultural comparison Sex Roles 51

631ndash645

Seekings J amp Nattrass N (2002) Class distribution and redistribution in post-

apartheid South Africa Transformation Critical Perspectives on Southern

Africa 50 1-30

Sellers P (2006 16 October) Its good to be the boss Fortune 134minus14

Sellers RM amp Shelton JN (2003 May) The role of racial identity in perceived

racial discrimination Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 84(5)

1079-1092 doi1010370022-35148451079

Senge PM (1990) The fifth discipline The art and practice of the learning

organization New York Currency Doubleday

Shank GD (2006) Qualitative research A personal skills approach (2nd edn)

Upper Saddle River NJ Pearson

Siegel DJ (1999) The developing mind How relationships and the brain interact

to shape who we are New York Guildford Press

Smith DPJ (2009) The mental life dimension The PIPL perspective Cresta

Johannesburg Minute Press

Smith DPJ amp Louw M (2007) Conceptualisation of the spiritual life dimension

A personal and professional leadership perspective SA Journal of Human

Resource Management 5 (1) 19 - 27

Sosik JJ amp Megerian L (1999) Understanding leader emotional intelligence and

performance The role of self-other agreement on transformational

leadership perceptions Group and Organization Management 24 367-90

Sparkes AC (2002) Telling tales in sport and physical activity Canada Human

Kinetics

Spence JT (1993) Gender-related traits and gender ideology Evidence for a

multifactorial theory Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 64 624ndash

635

Spradley J (1980) Participant observation Montreal Queacutebec Canada Holt

Rinehart amp Winston

Stake RE (1995) The art of case study research London Sage Publications

187

Straub C (2011) Antecedents and organizational consequences of family

supportive supervisor behavior A multilevel conceptual framework for

research Human Resource Management Review 22(1) 15-26

Strauss AL (1987) Qualitative analysis for social scientists Cambridge

Cambridge University Press

Strauss A amp Corbin J (1990) Basics of grounded theory procedures and

techniques Newbury Park Thousand Oaks CA Sage

Tajgman D amp Kalula E (1997) Analysis of the legal framework for gender

equality in employment Lesotho a case study in E Date-Bah (Ed)

Promoting gender equality at work Turning vision into reality for the twenty-

first century (pp 173-188) London and New York Zed Books Ltd

Thomas KW amp Velthouse BA (1990) Cognitive elements of empowerment An

interpretive model of intrinsic task motivation Academy of Management

Review 15 (4) 666-681

Travis JW amp Ryan RS (2004) Wellness Workbook Berkeley Celestial Arts

Valcour M Ollier-Malaterre A Matz-Costa C Pitt-Catsouphes M amp Brown M

(2011) Influences on employee perceptions of organizational work-life

support Signals and resources Journal of Vocational Behavior 79 588ndash

595

Vanderbroeck P (2010) The traps that keep women from reaching the top and

how to avoid them Journal of Management Development 29(9) 764-770

Van Engen ML Van Der Leeden R amp Willemsen TM (2001) Gender context

and leadership styles A field study Journal of Occupational and

Organizational Psychology 74 581ndash598

Van Velsor E amp Hughes MW (1990) Gender differences in the development of

managers How women managers learn from experience Greensboro NC

Center for Creative Leadership

Van Vuuren L (2011) Ethical challenges in leadership Developing ethical

leadership In 1st Conference in Leadership in Emerging Countries 18-19

August 2011 Johannesburg University of Johannesburg

Vecchio RP (2002) Leadership and gender advantage The Leadership


Vermeulen S (2007) EQ Emotional intelligence for everyone Cape Town Zebra

Press

188

Verrier D amp Smith D (2005) A personal interpersonal and professional (PIPL)

model of executive facilitation SA Journal of Human Resource

Management 3 (1) 51-60

Vilkinas T amp Cartan G (1993) Competencies of Australian women in

management Women in Management Review 8 31-5

Vinkenburg CJ van Engen ML Eagly AH amp Johannesen-Schmidt MC

(2011) An exploration of stereotypical beliefs about leadership styles Is

transformational leadership a route to womens promotion The Leadership

Quarterly 22 10ndash21 doi101016jleaqua201012003

Watt D (2007) On becoming a qualitative researcher The value of reflexivity The

Qualitative Report 12(1) 82-101 Retrieved from

httpwwwnovaedussssQRQR12-1wattpdf

Webster New World College Dictionary (2010) Cleveland Ohio Wiley Publishing

Inc

Weis L amp Fine M (2000) Speed-bumps A student-friendly guide to qualitative

research New York Teachers College Press

Williams JE amp Best DL (1990) Measuring sex stereotypes A multination study

Newbury Park CA Sage

Wong CS amp Law KS (2002) The effects of leader and follower emotional

intelligence on performance and attitude An exploratory study Leadership

Quarterly 13 243-74

Wren JT (1998) James Madison and the ethics of transformational leadership In

J Ciulla (Ed) Ethics the heart of leadership (pp 145ndash168) Westport CT

Praeger

Yin RK (1984) Case study research Design and methods Beverley Hills CA

Sage Publications

Yin RK (2003) Case study research Design and methods (3rd edn) Thousand

Oaks CA Sage Publications

Young L (2009 February 10) Work-life balance vs work-life integration

Bloomsberg Businessweek Retrieved from

httpwwwbusinessweekcomcareersworkingparentsblogarchives20090

2work-life_balance_vs_work-life_integrationhtml

Zohar D amp Marshall I (2005) Spiritual capital wealth we can live by London

Bloomsbury

189

Websites

Business Womenrsquos Association of South Africa (BWASA) Women in Leadership

Census (2011) Retrieved October 3 2011 from

httpwwwbwasacozaPortals4docshoCENSUS_Presentation_Finalpdf

and httpwwwcatalystorg

The United Nations Population Information Network (POPIN) (2005) The Worlds

Women (Statistics Division) Retrieved October 10 2011 from

httpwwwunorgpopindatahtml

190

ADDENDUM A INTERVIEW SCHEDULE Introduction Notes

1 Explain qualitative research method and the objectives of the research 2 The identity of the participants will be kept anonymous 3 Participants have the right to withdraw at any stage 4 The results of the research indicating trends and themes will be made available 5 Obtain permission to record the conversation

Field Notes Key

ON ndash Observational Notes - Facts What happened Who When Where - Context TN- Theoretical Notes - Linkconnect data additional ideas and thoughts - Emerging themes

- Patterns - Derive meaning - Interpret infer hypothesise - Develop new concepts MN ndashMethodological Notes - Reminders - Instructions - Critical questions about your role - Minimise nuisance variables PN - Personal Notes - Feelings about the research ndash doubts anxieties - Sudden leaps of understanding

Research Participants Socio-demographics Information Name of Participant Age

Metaphor Race

Current Position Length of Service and in current position

Industry Educational Level

Marital Status Partnerrsquos Employment

No of Children Ages of Children

191

Pattern 1 Womenrsquos careers comprise more than lsquoworkrsquo ndash they are embedded in womenrsquos larger life contexts (OrsquoNeil et al 2008) sectsectsectsect Tell me about your career development up to now and the challenges you had to

overcome Key information to obtain

- Career life cycle sectsectsectsect How do you measure personal and professional success sect At which phase of your career would you describe yourself sect Did you experience gender discrimination sect Did you experience racial discrimination Paradox 1 Organisational realities demand the separation of career and life sect What organisational realities have you faced as a professional woman that challenged

your career preferences and life choices sect Do you think that a successful career equals continuous full-time career engagement sect Do you think it is possible for women to meaningfully engage in their dual roles of

career and family responsibilities How have you managed it Pattern 2 Families and careers are central to womenrsquos lives sectsectsectsect What major life decisions have you made that impacted on your work What was the

influence of personal factors (eg family responsibilities) Key information to obtain

- Personal Life factors Marriage number of children daily management of life

- Career life decisions to down scale or dual careers or reversed role - Work Remuneration of work and bonuses promotion opportunities

standard of living - Companyrsquos formal and informal environment working hours discretionary

bonus equal opportunities social responsibility sectsectsectsect What was the influence of your family structure (ages and number of children) on

career advancement and success How did you overcome the challenges sectsectsectsect How do you balance your career and motherhood

Key information to obtain - Support structures at home ndash Au pair domestic help - Personal Help ndash Life coach

sectsectsectsect Does your personal life support or inhibit work and personal life integration Key information to obtain

- Husbandrsquos support sect Did children change your definition of success sect Is there anything you would change on your road to success sect Is your husbandrsquos success more important than your own Paradox 2 Families continue to be liabilities to womenrsquos career development in organisations unless there is a work-family culture sect What organisational benefits exist in your company (Parental leave reduced hours

flexible working hours alternative career paths job-sharing telecommuting) sect Would you say that your company has a work-family culture

192

sect Is your companyrsquos culture and value system aligned with your own values sect Is there managerial support for utilising work-family benefits sect Have you found that utilisation of these policies had a consequence on career

advancement Pattern 3 Womenrsquos career paths reflect a wide range and variety of patterns sect How would you describe your career path (upwardly mobile ladder-like or zigzags) sect At which stage did you experience the most challenge satisfaction and a sense of

growth sect Does you company have a global culture and how does it impact you sect Have you ever considered an entrepreneurial or consulting route Paradox 3 Organisations predominantly organise for and reward upwardly mobile career paths sect How many women in your organisation are in senior leadership positions Which

positions Key information to obtain

- Gender roles - Perception that certain job functions are allocated to women eg support

function marketing amp sales and human resources Pattern 4 Human capital and social capital are crucial factors for womenrsquos career development sect Do you believe that men and women are judged equally in the workplace Explain sect Women are proficient in building informal stronger networks particularly with other

women Have you experienced advancement to senior management levels by career support mentoring and encouragement from other women

sect Inaccessibility to informal networks can be a barrier in career advancement Have you experienced the segregated nature of organisational networks and how did it impact you

Paradox 4 Womenrsquos human and social capital augmentation has not defeated the glass ceiling sect Have you experienced the glass ceiling (access to visible work experiences and

career development opportunities) in your career and how did it impact you sect Have you experienced the glass cliff where women are over-represented in

precarious leadership positions or more likely to be appointed in leadership positions associated with increased risk of failure and criticism or in organisational units that are in crisis

Pattern 5 Leadership sect How do you define leadership sect How would you describe your leadership style sect Do you think womenrsquos leadership style differ from that of men sect What is the value of feminine qualities in a leadership style

193

Pattern 6 Personal Leadership sect How do you experience life at the moment sect Do you find time for yourself in your busy schedule sect If you look at your total well-being how would you describe your life in the following

areas physical mental emotional and spiritual sect How do you recharge yourself sect What inspires you sect How would you describe your personality or your temperament sect How do you find meaning in your work sect What are your personal development areas sect Do you have unfulfilled dreams

194

ADDENDUM B INFORMED CONSENT AGREEMENT This agreement serves to confirm that the research participant mentioned below gave her consent to participate in a qualitative study regarding women leaders and how they face the challenges in life The research participant agrees to share with the researcher her experiences and views to the best of her ability The undersigned participant understands the purpose and nature of this study and understands that her participation is voluntary and that she may withdraw from the study at any time The participant further grants permission for the data collected to be used in fulfilment of part of the requirements for the masterrsquos degree M(Phil) Personal Interpersonal and Professional Leadership including an article and any future publication(s) The data collected will be used for research purposes only The researcher undertakes neither to disclose the identity of any of the participants nor the origin of any of the statements made by any of the participants However the undersigned participant understands that in terms of the ideals of the studyrsquos methodology that the researcher is obliged to make use of verbatim statements from the transcribed taped interviews andor excerpts from solicited essays andor any other visual media (eg photographs) in order to illustrate the world of the research participants and their perspectives in the research report The participant undertakes to give a true representation of her perspectives andor her experiences I helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipthe undersigned participant agree to meet at mutually agreeable times and duration(s) or other means of communication eg by e-mail as reasonably necessary to enable the researcher to complete the study I further acknowledge that I received a copy of this agreement and that I may contact any one of the under mentioned if I have any subsequent queries

Research Participant Researcher

Cell Cell

E-Mail E-Mail

Fax Fax

Signature or Participant

Signature of Researcher

Date Place

Research supervisors

Prof Willem Schurink


195

ADDENDUM C TABLE C1 COMPARISONS OF PARTICIPANTS

Participant

(RP)

Metaphor amp

Current Position

Age

yrs

in

Working

hours

Childrenrsquos

ages

Husband

Career Life Cycle

Corporate

Culture

Networking

RP

1 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoSpi

ritrdquo

ndash

Spi

ritua

l Life

Coa

ch

35

1 S

elf

empl

oyed

12

8

Sin

gle

Par

ent

24 ndash

30

Sal

es amp

Mar

ketin

g 31

ndash 3

4 M

arke

ting

Man

ager

35 L

ife C

oach

Con

sulta

nt

Con

fere

nces

P

ublic

Tal

ks

Med

ia R

efer

rals

RP

2 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoMid

wife

rdquo ndash

Exe

cutiv

e C

oach

45+

10

Sel

f em

ploy

ed

24 2

7 1

0 M

arrie

d 25

-35

Dev

elop

men

t amp H

R C

onsu

ltant

35

-42

Dire

ctor

Bla

ck M

anag

emen

t For

um

43 ndash

45

Dire

ctor

for

Bus

ines

s C

onsu

lting

Con

sulta

nt

Con

fere

nces

P

ublic

Tal

ks

Med

ia R

efer

rals

RP

3

ldquoFlo

renc

e N

ight

inga

lerdquo

- G

ener

al M

anag

er

Cor

pora

te F

inan

ce

38

1 8

ndash 5

30

Eve

ning

s W

eeke

nds

5 2

M

D In

tern

atio

nal

On-

line

Gam

blin

g co

mpa

ny

24 ndash

26

Art

icle

s 27

ndash 3

3 A

ccou

nt M

anag

er

34 ndash

37

Man

ager

Acc

ount

ing

and

Tax

atio

n

38 G

ener

al M

anag

er C

orpo

rate

Fin

ance

Clin

ical

en

viro

nmen

t P

refe

rs to

kee

p w

ork

and

hom

e se

para

te

Mee

tings

and

C

onfe

renc

es

Mar

ketin

g ndash

Gol

f an

d di

nner

s

RP

4

ldquoIro

n W

oman

rdquo ndash

Sal

es amp

Mar

ketin

g D

irect

or

42

10

8 ndash

53

0

Wee

kend

so

cial

T

rave

l

12 1

0 C

isco

Eng

inee

r 23

ndash 2

8 S

ales

Per

son

29 ndash

31

Sal

es M

anag

er

32 ndash

42

Sal

es amp

Mar

ketin

g D

irect

or

Our

com

pany

is

fam

ily o

rient

ated

an

d su

ppor

ts

wom

en w

ith

fam

ilies

Our

MD

is

a fa

mily

man

he

has

chi

ldre

n of

his

ow

n an

d he

und

erst

ands

It

mak

es a

di

ffere

nce

Rug

by b

oxes

at

Loftu

s C

ricke

t at S

uper

S

port

Par

k G

olf a

t Ser

enge

ti

Tra

de S

how

s at

S

AT

NA

C e

n A

fric

om

Pla

ns

fam

ily li

fe a

roun

d ne

twor

king

RP

5

ldquoMur

ielrdquo

ndash P

ublic

Sec

tor

Exe

cutiv

e

47

1 8

00 ndash

19

00

Late

Nig

hts

Sun

days

24 2

0 1

0 C

A

31 -

35 R

epor

ting

to M

EC

36

- 4

0 C

OO

SE

TA

40

ndash 4

5 E

ntre

pren

eur

45 ndash

47

Pub

lic s

ecto

r E

xecu

tive

NO

FIT

V

ibey

soc

ial v

s

she

has

high

m

oral

val

ues

Con

fere

nces

tr

ade

show

s

inte

rnat

iona

l tr

avel

gol

f cy

clin

g la

te n

ight

m

eetin

gs

196

Participant

(RP)

Metaphor amp

Current Position

Age

yrs

in

Working

hours

Childrenrsquos

ages

Husband

Career Life Cycle

Corporate

Culture

Networking

RP

6

ldquoShi

rley

Val

entin

erdquo ndash

H

uman

Cap

ital

Con

sulta

nt

45

1 8

ndash 5

30

Eve

ning

s

Afte

r 21

00

15 1

3 S

ingl

e P

aren

t 28

ndash 3

8 E

ntre

pren

eur

39 -

45

Hum

an C

apita

list C

onsu

ltant

45 F

utur

e op

tions

ndash T

alen

t Man

ager

or

Con

sulti

ng

Con

sulta

nt ndash

A

sser

tive

arou

nd h

er r

ole

Con

fere

nces

gol

f

RP

7

ldquoRub

yrdquo

38

9 6

50 a

nd

try

to le

ave

at 4

30

12

3

Lect

urer

25

Sta

rted

in L

ogis

tics

29 ndash

38

Logi

stic

s M

anag

er

Fam

ily

orie

ntat

ed

Mee

tings

F

amily

act

iviti

es

RP

8

ldquoThe

Dip

lom

atrdquo

ndash

Kno

wle

dge

and

Info

rmat

ion

Spe

cial

ist

40

4 8

00 ndash

16

00

7 6

4

Atto

rney

20

ndash 2

7 E

arly

car

eer

Dip

lom

atic

ser

vice

27

ndash 3

0 In

tern

ship

IBM

30 ndash

32

Gov

ernm

ent 2

002

ndash A

gric

ultu

re

Kno

wle

dge

Man

agem

ent

2008

ndash T

axat

ion

Kno

wle

dge

Man

agem

ent

Cor

pora

te

envi

ronm

ent

- fle

xibl

e w

ork

arra

ngem

ent

Mee

tings

RP

9

ldquoFai

ry P

rince

ssrdquo

ndash

Acc

ount

s D

irect

or

40

3 8

00 ndash

16

30

10 8

C

EO

of I

T

Com

pany

22

ndash 2

7 S

ales

amp M

arke

ting

28 ndash

34

Mar

ketin

g M

anag

er

35 ndash

37

Snr

Mar

ketin

g M

anag

er

38 ndash

40

Acc

ount

s D

irect

or

Sal

es

envi

ronm

ent

- fle

xibl

e w

ork

arra

ngem

ent

Gol

f in

tern

atio

nal

trav

el l

unch

es

man

agem

ent t

rips

RP

10

ldquoFio

nardquo

- F

inan

cial

Man

ager

40

4

800

ndash

130

0 3

hour

s at

ni

ght

10 7

F

inan

cial

M

anag

er

23 ndash

27

Acc

ount

s C

lerk

28

ndash 3

1 A

ccou

nts

Man

ager

33

ndash 4

0 F

inan

cial

Man

ager

Fam

ily

orie

ntat

ed

com

pany

ndash

flexi

ble

wor

k ho

urs

Mee

tings

fam

ily

fun

days

197

ADDENDUM D - MY RESEARCH STORY

D1 INTRODUCTION

Undertaking qualitative research makes for an exciting journey but one which is

not without challenges Guided by onersquos epistemology and ontology and a broad

roadmap one embarks upon a journey during which one takes a number of steps

to unveil how people make sense of their worlds

Telling the story of onersquos research holds a number of benefits Amongst others (i)

it offers the opportunity to assess the quality of a qualitative research project (ii) it

provides information on the decisions the researcher took during the qualitative

research process that is it facilitates a ldquonatural historyrdquorsquo (Becker 1970) and (iii)

as per Schurink (personal communication June 26 2011) it serves as an ldquoaudit

trailrdquo provided the researcher continuously makes entries in his or her project

journal and diary

Therefore in this addendum I offer my research history It is important to note that

in this behind the scenes account it is impossible to separate particular events

that occurred in my private and work life from my experiences of the study

At the insistence of Prof Schurink I kept a research journal This journal helped me

to take stock of my biases feelings and thoughts and created awareness in me of

how I may have influenced the research It also provided me with material to share

with the reader how I constructed knowledge and to assist them to evaluate my

work (see for example Watt 2007) In compiling the addendum I drew from the

journal to provide an inside view of the study how different phases of the study

were managed and how as novice researcher I managed issues and tensions

that arose (Watt 2007)

Addendum D ndash My Research Story

198

D2 RESEARCH JOURNEY

My research journey started with a meeting with my supervisors Prof Willem

Schurink and Dr Mary Anne Harrop-Allin Without their help I would not have been

able to complete this journey

Photo 4 The beginning of the journey - Prof Schurink and Marlize February 18 2010

From my experience undertaking a qualitative study is not for the faint hearted My

masterrsquos research journey was full of turmoil and awakenings but also led to

personal growth In this addendum I used the confessional and elements of the

autoethnography (Sparkes 2002) to share with you what I learnt and experiences

that stood out for me

Finalising onersquos research question and research aims is not an easy task as Prof

Gert Roodt cautioned at the 2010 January School organised by the Department of

Industrial Psychology and People Management of the University of Johannesburg

There are various reasons to undertake research Choosing a suitable research

topic is typically preceded by figuring out what is intriguing in a field of study

(Denzin amp Lincoln 1998) My personal purpose for the study was as follows

hellipto explore how women specifically midlife working

mothers in senior positions handled their challenges in the

context of their social environments and how they employed


199

personal leadership to create meaningful and constructive

lives (Research Proposal Presentation September 6 2010)

While good research questions originate from a researcherrsquos values passions and

preoccupations (Russell amp Kelly 2002) these have important consequences for

how the research project is planned and carried out Maxwell (1996) for example

advises the researcher to carefully consider his or her reasons for conducting a

particular study and to be aware of the influence his or her personal motives could

have on the trustworthiness of the project

My original research question (no1) was as follows

Why do women feel their lives are not meaningful differently

put what is preventing women from feeling personal

awareness actualising their fullest potential and

experiencing spiritual well-being in their daily lives (Journal

entry February 23 2010)

Little did I know at the time the extent of unease pursuing this research question

would cause me

D21 Challenges

When one listens to or reads qualitative researchersrsquo accounts of their fieldwork

one is bound to learn that fieldwork experiences may be quite awkward and

unpleasant Often these experiences are brought about by especially the

eagerness of young inexperienced researchers to get started (Schurink personal

communication November 28 2011)

As Weis and Fine (2000) point out there are speed bumps or places in the road

that limit our speed when we are moving too fast these can throw us off course

(Weis amp Fine 2000) I also encountered speed bumps on my research journey

which slowed me down and brought me to what I call a number of cross roads


200

bull First Cross Road

At the beginning of writing my research proposal I was considering

autoethnography as research approach I was going to study a few womenrsquos

experiences of midlife crises as well as my own in order to describe how we

attach meaning to work-family matters However all of this changed during the

course of the morning of Saturday July 21 2010 We were attending a lecture by

Prof Wilhelm Jordaan on Constructs - at a just-in-time research capacity building

workshop of the Department presented for masterrsquos and doctoral students

Listening to the professor I suddenly realised that by researching my own

experiences together with that of other women I would become the knowledge

object I would be confronted by my experiences of burnout and postnatal

depression that brought my career to a halt and feelings I had at the time of life not

being meaningful Not only was I not ready for this at the time but it caused me to

question the relevance of my study for the workplace

I am not comfortable with autoethnographyhellip basically

because I donrsquot believe I have such a profound story to tell I

have an ordinary life with ordinary problems ndash where is the

business focus (Journal entry July 31 2010)

I also had a discussion with a young academic of the Department who attended

the workshop after which I came to a second realisation I was more of a

modernist than a postmodernist These discoveries had serious consequences for

my study After months of reading up on autoethnography and preparing for the

research proposal with my supervisors I was going to ldquothrow the baby out with the

bath waterrdquo and start all over These realisations left me confused for a while and I

was hesitant to discuss this with my two supervisors because I didnrsquot want to upset

them But I had a compelling reason not to expose myself with an

autoethnography and eventually I had to discuss it with them Breaking the news

to Prof Willem Schurink and Dr Mary Anne Harrop-Allin was very difficult for me to

do ndash I felt that I was disappointing them for not taking on something as exciting as

an autoethnography and that I was discarding the energy and momentum I had

built up with my supervisors at that point


201

I had the meeting with Prof and Mary Anne to break the

news that I want to change my research design They were

not impressed After months of work I changed my mind

Prof Willem was hesitant but committed to change on one

precondition ndash that I do all the reading and changing Final

proposal must be submitted on 15 OctoberhelliprsquoBloedsweet vir

lsquon weekrsquo (Journal entry Aug 25 2010)

The proposal was changed in time for the panel presentation with the title

ldquoAwareness Authenticity and Women in 30srdquo

Photo 5 Research proposal panel presentation Marlize van Wyk September 8 2010

bull Second Cross Road

After some time my research proposal was accepted by the departmental panel on

condition that the title and focus be aligned with the terrain of the Department for

Industrial Psychology and People Management For a while I struggled to find a

new title and research question Then on November 13 2010 during one of my

course examinations I found a new research question


202

Discussion with Eric Albertini (lecturer of Professional

Leadership) regarding a more businesslike focus to the

study He mentioned the global movement towards women in

leadership and we discussed women in leadership positions

in his organisation Research Question no 2 was born ldquoCan

personal leadership be employed to help women leaders

overcome challengesrdquo (Journal entry November 13 2010)

The adjusted proposal was submitted to the department with the title ldquoWomen

leaders Personal Leadership and Challengesrdquo Little did I know what a challenge

this title was going to hold in store for me

bull Third Cross Road or dead end

January 2011 saw me starting the first few interviews with a pilot group of women

leaders At this point I had the subconscious assumption that ldquoWomen do not

cope and need to employ personal leadership in their lives to overcome their

challengesrdquo Well I had a rude awakening ndash women cope brilliantly and they are

masters at personal leadership This left me with egg on my face and no research

question to answer again

I feel like I was caught with my pants down How was this

possible How did I miss this Why did I only find negative

evidence in the literature ndash which women are not coping

Could it be that my personal circumstances clouded my

vision and I was just looking for a certain theme (Journal

entry January 19 2011)


203

My supervisors assured me that this was not a problem and encouraged me

Keep your focus and do not allow anything to sidetrack you

Keep clearly in your mind what you are trying to prove Your

participants must give you ldquoevidencerdquo re your research

question (e-mail Schurink February 11 2011)

However I believed that there was no ldquoevidencerdquo for what I was looking for I felt

that my study would add no value to women who find themselves in business It

felt as though I was at a dead end with my research and needed a new angle to

approach my research participants In my mind I didnrsquot have a workable research

question and didnrsquot know what to ask the participants in follow-up interviews

Because I couldnrsquot report on progress I avoided my supervisors for a while

I have been a bit depressed and panicky over my study The

more I read the more I realised that the issue of women

work-life balance etc has been studied many times and it

felt as if all had been said Plus my research question seems

to turn out to be a lsquonull hypothesisrsquo ndash women are actually

coping extremely well with managing their careers and their

family life (Journal entry after discussion with Harrop-Allin

April 6 2011)

In hindsight at completion of the study this was quite a naive perspective As Prof

Willem said ldquohellipwe should always be very much aware of how little we know and

how much we still have to dordquo (Personal communication December 10 2011)

I analysed myself and my motivation for the study and realised that unknowingly I

did exactly what Glesne and Peskin (1992) caution researchers against ldquobe wary

of the desire to justify your own experiencerdquo (cited in Watt 2007 p94) I simply

had to get to the bottom of my issues and find a new motivation for the study

unrelated to my own experience


204

Personally I feel like a failure for opting out of the corporate

environment when I had personal problems Reading (Calas amp

Smircich 2009) made me realise it wasnrsquot me who failed it

was the system who failed me I burnt out because I lost

passion for my job and it became meaningless to me I

realised these women leaders coped because they are all

passionate about their jobs Other women like me can learn

from them and their personal leadership (Journal entry April

6 2011)

While perhaps not really another cross road a further problem I incurred was the

confusion around the content of the Personal Interpersonal and Professional

Leadership (PIPL) Programme from which I formulated my approach to leadership

and specifically personal leadership My understanding which was shared by a

number of other students was that reference to the PIPL definitions of leadership

was no longer officially recognised by the Department On 3 June I contacted Mr

Albert Wort the course co-ordinator I asked for guidance as to how to reformulate

my leadership approach and for help in finding a new inspiring research question

He referred me to Dr Anita Venter-Bosch the new co-ordinator for ldquoWomen in

Leadershiprdquo who suggested I read ldquoRevisiting the meaning of leadershiprdquo

(Podolny Khurana amp Hill-Popper 2005)

My biggest insight was that leaders have the capacity to

infuse meaning and impact performance Suddenly the

research question no 3 was very obvious to me lsquoWhat

challenges did women overcome to get where they are

todayrsquohellipThere was light at the end of the tunnel

This inner doubt created another crack in the wall with regard

to my supervisor relationships It might have appeared that I

doubted their guidance I needed to fix this by asking for

forgiveness if my actions might have shown them in a bad

light (Journal entry June 6 2011)


205

I was rather concerned about the deterioration of our student-supervisor

relationship My supervisors were upset with me for not approaching them and not

working with them on my perception of a dead end situation

Why do you keep running to lsquootherrsquo people and not your

supervisors hellip We will be able to guide you with what you

have done so far hellip You have done much so far and

nothing is ever a waste (E-mail June 8 2011)

I felt terrible and had a meeting with my supervisors and apologised for my

impulsive behaviour They voiced their concerns and reiterated that we need to

have respect for each other and be more accommodating in our relationship I

realised how my actions impacted on others and also that I am dependent on their

guidance Apologies were accepted and the sun came shining through the crack

with a ldquodress- rehearsalrdquo of the last phases of the journey



206

D22 Smoother road experiences

However fortunately not everything on the research road was challenging or

unpleasant I also cruised along at times experiencing no speed bumps (or is it

South African potholes) and finding qualitative research inspiring and meaningful

bull Starting with a clean slate

A weight was lifted off me ndash I had a clear research question

and my personal issues were out of the way I have clarified

my thinking values purposes and beliefs I now know who

my bias devil was and what her motif was With her out of the

way I am now open to explore the world of my participants

and the good data they can provide me for this study

(Journal entry June 10 2011)

Concluding that while it is neither possible nor necessary to purge oneself of

personal goals and concerns Maxwell (1996) contends that we need to have

hellipa quality of awareness in which we do not suppress our

primary experience nor do we allow ourselves to be swept

away and overwhelmed by it rather we raise it to

consciousness and use it as part of the enquiry process (as

cited in Watt 2007 p94)

Reflecting on the research while making entries in my research journal enabled

me to clarify my research purpose and why I believe it was worthwhile studying

women leaders During the journal writing process questions also emerged which

forced me to think more deeply about what I wished to accomplish with the study

I want to know their secrets for success I want to warn and

guide future women leaders on how to face the challenges

and grow through them (Journal entry July 16 2011)


207

But having more clarity about my research didnrsquot mean that everything was going

to be plain sailing for the remainder of the journey Qualitative research is much

too involved for a rookie like me to be sorted out after having negotiated a few

potholes

bull Being swamped by the data

Finally the research was in full swing However I soon realised that I was engulfed

by data The study grew much larger than I anticipated since discoveries took me

on different paths The participants snowballed as additional themes were

identified ie glass ceilings racial discrimination values and power When I finally

found saturation I was snowed under with data At this point my biggest challenge

was to distance myself from it to differentiate between important and interesting

but irrelevant data

bull Challenge to stay aloof during data collection

According to Watt (2007) a researcher must be cognisant of the state of hisher

ongoing relationship with participants and how this might be influencing the

outcomes of the study I was painfully aware of these concerns surrounding the

practice of qualitative research

How do you bite your lip and not judge or influence the

participants What if you do not agree with their definition of

success or if you think they do not have leadership in their

personal coping mechanisms How can you tell them if they

do not have awareness of imbalances and they report a

perfect picture in the interviews or avoid the issues I am

determined not to misrepresent my participants ndash it is about

their stories and experienceshellip and they are interesting

(Journal entry July 7 2011)

This of course also resulted in my struggling to stay true to my philosophical

stance namely that there is a reality out there which can be unveiled by applying


208

qualitative methods I learnt that it is a fine art to identify patterns and themes after

having scrutinised the various participantsrsquo stories and to relate these to the

literature I would like to believe that in the end I managed to reconstruct the

womenrsquos worlds by integrating their concrete concepts with abstract constructs

bull Issues related to interviewing

There are various critiques and concerns about the use of interview data for

research purposes Therefore I carefully considered how ldquoqualityrdquo might be

demonstrated in the overall design the generation of data and reporting of my

study (Roulston 2010) I evaluated the quality and concerns of my interviews

against some of the ldquobest practicesrdquo frequently recommended in methodological

literature

One of the benefits the researcher has is that he or she has an interpretation

monopoly Kvale (2006 p485) states ldquoThe research interviewer as the lsquobig

interpreterrsquo maintains exclusive privilege to interpret and report what the

interviewee really meant and to frame what an interviewee says in hisher own

theoretical schemesrdquo He (Kvale 2006) continues by pointing out that to some

degree the qualitative interview is a one-way dialogue or ldquoinstrumental

conversationrdquo

Each interview was an instrument that provided me with descriptions narratives

and texts which I interpreted and reported according to my research interests My

project and knowledge interest set the agenda and ruled the way the

conversations took place This placed a great deal of responsibility on my

competence as interviewer I needed to decide on the format of the interview the

time allocated the topics and questions covered probing when experiences and

viewpoints were unclear and concluding the interview This however was also a

growth experience for me


209

The power asymmetry of the research interview need not be as one sided as

depicted above as the interviewees and interviewers may also have

countermeasures (Fontana amp Frey 2000) I experienced that my participants had

counter control eg they could choose not to answer or deflect a question talking

about something else or merely tell me what they believed I wanted to hear

Some interviewees would even start to question me I agree with Fontana and

Frey (2000 p646) that ldquothe interview is not a neutral tool for gathering data but

active interactions between two or more people leading to negotiated contextually

based resultsrdquo

My experience of this negotiated knowledge creation was as follows

It was very stimulating to see how the participants formulated

leadership definitions and concepts into their own words with

the added wisdom of their business experience (Journal entry

July 7 2010)

A strategy I used to reduce research dominance over the research participants

was to give transcripts of their taped interviews and my interpretations of their

accounts back to them for validation (ldquomember checksrdquo) On the issue of member

checking I decided to have them done on the interview transcriptions and not on

my interpretation This was in line with the suggestions of Morse Barret Mayan

Olson and Spiers (2002) who argue that verification must take place during the

research process so that it can shape it they believe that if this is done after the

analysis has been completed it could be a threat to validity Furthermore I found

that there were limitations to the participantsrsquo competence to address specific

theoretical interpretations and I felt that as researcher it was my responsibility to

have the final say on what to report on and what interpretations to offer in the

dissertation

The second round of interviews were more structured since I started

reconstructing the intervieweesrsquo reality by formulating my understanding of their

definition of success what their work meant to them and shared abstract

constructs I found in the literature that was relevant


210

I asked them to reflect on the meaning of work for them and

got such rich answers It is amazing how each interview

provides a foundation of detail that helps to illuminate the

next interview I understand why ongoing interpretation is

necessary (Journal entry July 16 2011)

bull Difficulty in focusing and prioritising follow-up questions

I was unable to avoid the interview pitfall (which I later found out is quite common

in qualitative research) the illusiveness of research focus and the tendency to

derive too many questions I found it very difficult to prioritise questions derived

from the womenrsquos accounts and eventually realised that with the title of my study

being quite broad I hadnrsquot been able to focus my research This in turn made it

very difficult for me to bind my case study by time place and activity (Stake

1995) As qualitative researcher I was obliged to reconstruct my participantsrsquo

social reality from what they shared with me during the interviews The problem

was that I posed too many ideasquestions to them which resulted in me not

having the time to study in sufficient depth any of the experiences and viewpoints

they shared with me (Personal communication Schurink December 11 2011)

sect Literature review

There have been diverse opinions amongst qualitative researchers with regard to

the usage of scholarly literature and in particular when it should be used in the

course of the qualitative research process It seems that while the majority of

qualitative researchers currently believe that the literature should be studied after

one has been exposed to the world of onersquos research participants there is still a

difference of opinion as to how broad the literature should be There are for

example quite a number of qualitative researchers who believe that the insights

one obtains from the collected data should be used as guidelines when pursuing

scholarly work (Personal communication Schurink December 10 2011)


211

After my initial anxiety about having a ldquonull hypothesisrdquo I felt the study lacked

context This led me to embark upon a rather broad literature review covering

different scholarships to explore further what the state of the art on women leaders

was I did a comprehensive literature review and I applied what I derived from the

literature in the follow-up interviews to investigate the challenges the women

shared with me As the participants illuminated more challenges the literature

review expanded to include issues I did not anticipate such as values ethical

leadership and power distribution In hindsight it would appear that the literature

review was too broad and included aspects that were not directly related to the

study

bull Capturing and storing data

The Schatzman and Strauss (1973) model as adapted by Schurink (2006) was

tremendously helpful in constructing the field notes especially the codes for

Observational notes (ON) Theoretical notes (TN) Methodological notes (MN) and

Personal notes (PN) Simultaneously I made mind maps of the conversations on

the field notes as well as the non-verbal communication between myself and the

participants and details of the physical circumstances where the interviews took

place

During one instance I accidently left the MP3 on ldquopauserdquo with the result that the

interview with the participant was not recorded I used the field notes and mind

maps to reconstruct the interview immediately after the event and when I checked

it with the women she felt that it accurately reflected her most important

experiences and perceptions

Transcribing the interviews was very time consuming I needed to allocate enough

time for transcription I was overwhelmed by the amount of data and the time this

took

Transcribing took much longer than I anticipated (1 hour for

every 10 minute of interview time) I will think carefully what I


212

want to ask in the final interview I need to ask for exactly

what I want (Journal entry July 7 2011)

bull Data analysis

Although the analysis took place intermittently throughout the course of the

research there was an intensive data analysis phase after data saturation was

achieved As Watt (2007 p95) writes ldquoa study is shaped and reshaped as it

proceeds and data is gradually transformed into findingsrdquo

As I previously pointed out upon completion of the interviews the data was

voluminous The challenge I faced was to meaningfully reduce and display the

data in order to draw conclusions In this respect ATLASti was a lifesaving

discovery it helped me to organise the data to break it up into manageable units

to synthesise it by viewing the data from multiple dimensions and by searching for

new patterns in old data Using the participantsrsquo voices through quotes allowed for

broad description and ensured that data supported my interpretation in every

finding

bull Writing the mini-dissertation

Writing qualitatively forces the researcher into an intensive kind of analysis

(Spradley 1980) Writing this qualitative mini-dissertation was the most difficult

thing I have ever done in my academic life During this phase time management

and 100 commitment was of vital importance It absorbed my entire life for

months on end I severely underestimated the complexity of putting the whole

study together which resulted in the completion of the mini-dissertation taking a

significant period of time


213

During the writing phase I found many processes bottlenecking

Time is ticking and I am not delivering fast enough ndash

qualitative research is not a quick fix solution ndash you must

have an appropriate level of detail to make sure your case is

comprehensive (Journal entry July 20 2011)

After a while I lost perspective

The study is dragging me by the tail I live on coffee and

cannot see things objectively anymore Everything seems

important and interesting I know it is too complex reading at

the moment - I need to take a break to look at it objectively

again (Journal entry October 28 2011)

I canrsquot believe I am still not finished It is Christmas day and I

am on my family holiday but I am working from three in the

mornings not to disturb the family Thank you Sandy (my

language editor) for your support and help during this time

(Journal entry December 25 2011)

Managing qualitative research with family life is a challenge

and I struggled to submit my work for examination on time

(Journal entry January 10 2012)

D23 Personal and family challenges

I donrsquot think anyone knows what they are letting themselves in for when they

embark upon a qualitative study It is definitely not easier than doing a quantitative

study At the end of an eighteen month lectured masters course in PPL I thought

completing the dissertation would be a breeze Boy was I in for a surprise Patton

(2002 p32) warns that qualitative research is ldquotime consuming intimate and

intenserdquo Glesne and Peshkin (1992 p173) most certainly didnrsquot exaggerate


214

when they stated that ldquohellipqualitative exploring demands near total absorptionrdquo

and ldquoqualitative researchers find their lives consumed by their work and they seek

understanding and connectionshellip (with peers and supervisors)rdquo

The qualitative research journey would not have been possible without the expert

guidance of my supervisors Prof Willem Schurink and Dr Mary Anne Harrop-Allin

I need to acknowledge the most important people that

enabled me to deliver this research report Thanks to your

personal time allocated for very important meetings we had

to discuss and strategise the way forward It guided my

progress and your expert guidance on qualitative research

steered the quality and standard of my mini-dissertation

More importantly I want to express my appreciation for the

time you set aside towards the end to assist me with writing

the mini-dissertation (Email to supervisors December 11

2011)

The challenging part of the student-supervisor relationship was being able to

understand and accommodate our different temperaments and work schedules as

one of my supervisors highlighted in one of our initial meetings

We have to respect each otherrsquos different ego temperament

and self-esteem The basis of the relationship must be

respectful of the other personrsquos circumstances The

responsibility lies with you Marlize to manage the momentum

(Mary Anne Minutes of meeting January 14 2011)

With my rather sanguine temperament the qualitative research process was a big

challenge By mid-year I changed what I regarded as my unconventional

energetic way and became more goal and detail orientated in order to complete

the dissertation


215

It must have been quite frustrating for my supervisors to work with this changed

me At times when my time management got out of hand I became impatient

irritable and moody due to the lack of time to finish as a result of family

responsibilities and social gatherings I struggled to complete activities as

anticipated in my project plan this was partly due to my underestimation of the

intensity of the study and my personal circumstances that placed strain on my

emotional and physical energy

My personal challenge is to stay true to my own personal

leadership by exercising and eating for energy to sustain me

in the next few months I need to stay calm and focused I

wouldnrsquot say that I am balanced or sane all the time (Journal

entry July 20 2011)

Irsquom trying to analyse where I lost track of time The last few

months were extremely challenging ndash trying to please my

husband (who lost patience with a household that is out of control

and a wife who sits in front of the computer the whole time)

studying full-time with the children for their exams (Grade 4 and

Grade 6) - while entertaining a four year old Then when everyone

is in bed I had to work on my study The strain left me without

creativity or a sense of humour (Journal entry December 11

2011)

This study would not have been possible without the support of my

accommodating husband Wessel and my children Wessel (jnr) Elizabeth and

Benjamin Thank you for allowing me to do this important work


216

Photo 7 Van Wyk family on Christmas Day 2010

D24 Lessons learned

Conducting a qualitative inquiry demands major commitment of time and energy

(Watt 2007) Journaling has helped a great deal in my understanding of qualitative

research and assisted in linking literature methodology and practice Through the

continuous reflection I gained insight into the complexity of qualitative research and

a great deal of respect for master practitioners of such research like my

supervisors Prof Willem Schurink and Dr Mary Anne Harrop-Allin

Finally the study affected my personal life more profoundly than I anticipated More

specifically undertaking in-depth research - of which the findings confirmed that

women are coping well in managing their careers - inspired me The personal

leadership in the womenrsquos coping mechanisms has been an example to me and

has motivated me to return to the corporate environment after a nine year break

D3 ADRESSING COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS OF EXAMINERS

The feedback meeting with my supervisors sounded like a

symphony orchestra to my ears I couldnrsquot believe the beautiful

comments the examiners made and I was filled with deep


217

satisfaction that the study achieved its objectives authentically

(Journal entry 27 February 2012)

I offer excerpts from the examinersrsquo reports that I acknowledged and appreciated EXAMINER 1

Regarding the topic problem statement aims and research objective Examiner 1

found the study ldquohellipthoroughly planned and well structuredrdquo as well as ldquohellip relevant

and addresses a contemporary area of leadership research in a unique mannerrdquo

The theory as applied to the literature review ldquohellipallowed her to weave a golden

thread throughout her whole dissertation enhancing ease of reading and

emphasising her findings in line with her initial objectiverdquo Regarding research

design and methodology ldquohellipthis modernistic qualitative study was consistently

presented in a manner that consistently confirms the trustworthiness of this

studyrdquo Furthermore ldquohellipvarious strategies were effectively employed to enhance

the credibility of the study ndash this should provide guidance to other

researchersstudents in planning and executing research of high qualityrdquo Finally

regarding data analysis and interpretation ldquohellipthe rigour of the research findings is

evident in the comprehensive clear and systematic presentation thereofrdquo ldquohellipan

audit trail emphasises the authenticity and credibility of the findingsrdquo ldquohellipthe

results were well grounded in the datardquo and ldquohellipsucceeded in letting the research

participantsrsquo voices be heardhellip (that) reflects the value and significance of truthful

qualitative research exploring the true life experiences of peoplerdquo

EXAMINER 2

Examiner 2 commended me for the huge amount of work to produce ldquohellipthis

outstanding mini-dissertationrdquo Regarding the contextualisation of the research

Examiner 2 commented that the title is actual and applicable to organisations in

South Africa Further the conceptual framework of the research questions and

interpretations of these ldquohellippresented the reader with a clear direction as to her

own conceptualisation of the notion of leadership and women in leadership

positions She also explains the ldquowhatrdquo and the ldquohowrdquo regarding challenges for

women leadersrdquo


218

Regarding the Research Design ldquohellip the approach chosen was appropriate and

the justification provided was satisfactory hellipincluding the data recording and

quality control which I found excellentrdquo Further ldquohellip the ease of applying the

theories and models to the research that was done support the rationale for this

researchrdquo In this regard I want to say thank you to Prof Willem Schurink for the

mentoring and guidance The Literature Review ldquohellipdraws on a useful literature

base and is successfully developedrdquo ldquohellipthere is an excellent flow between the

various subsectionshellip the candidate clearly demonstrated her ability to synthesize

the literature to identify the development approaches and theories to support her

motivation for her studyrdquo Chapter 5 (Discussion) has ldquohellipsuccessfully developed

into a chronological flow of eventshellip she discusses her findings and integrates it

with literaturerdquo and ldquohellipensures the meaningful contribution of this study to the

body of knowledge not only in the Leadership but in the HR fieldrdquo Chapter 7

ldquohelliprounds-off the originality of an excellent study and links it with the theories

models and concepts mentioned earlier It also confirms the contribution of this

study to the subject of personal and professional leadershiprdquo

In response to an explicit request from Examiner 2 I have moved ldquoMy research

storyrdquo to Addendum B to achieve ease of flow The technical quality style and

format ldquohellipis of outstanding high quality and academically acceptable The mini-

dissertation is almost flawless and the student should be commendedrdquo This is

thanks to my language editor Sandy Meyer and Prof Schurinkrsquos eagle eye

I am deeply thankful for the appreciation that my supervisors and examiners

displayed for the quality and true contribution of this study I have a dream of

conducting workshops with women leaders in South Africa based on this work to

make sure the message gets to the women at the forefront of business who are

creating the foundation for the next generation of leaders


219

D4 CONCLUSION

I agree with Watt (2007) that looking back at onersquos struggles and obstacles during

the execution of a qualitative project leads to a deeper understanding of the

research process and the vital role of reflexivity By analysing my journal entries I

was able to reveal how I managed each phase of the study and how as an

inexperienced researcher I managed the issues and tensions that arose (Watt

2007) Looking back at my research made me realise that I made meaningful

connections between theory and practice I also learnt that a qualitative project

actually has no end It is a never-ending journey every time one returns to it onersquos

reflections lead to new insights and one discovers more and more - also about

oneself

i

DEDICATION

ANDRE AND BETS PRINSLOO

Photo 1 My mother and father whom I love and respect deeply February 2012

ldquoThank you for believing in me and for your supportrdquo

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS








iii




connected









iv

My academic support






























work

v













vi


vii

ABSTRACT

















dimensions




careers and lives








viii
























women leaders








ix


















x

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication i

Acknowledgements ii

Affidavit vi

Abstract vii

Table of Contents x


List of Tables xiii



11 INTRODUCTION 1

12 BACKGROUND 1



15 OBJECTIVES 7






18 CONCLUSION 9


21 INTRODUCTION 10


221 Ontology 10

222 Epistemology 11





241 Case study 13

xi





252 Sampling 18











27 CONCLUSION 44


31 INTRODUCTION 45



34 FINDINGS 51




35 CONCLUSION 104


41 INTRODUCTION 106








xii






45 CONCLUSION 144


51 INTRODUCTION 145





53 CONCLUSION 158


61 INTRODUCTION 160












68 CONCLUSION 169

xiii


ADDENDA






5



35


36



37




116





LIST OF TABLES





46

xiv

LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS





196



205


1


11 INTRODUCTION






12 BACKGROUND





















2

















Bilimoria 2008)















3














2009)
















4









5





W

HO

W

HAT

HO

W

ldquoWho

are wom

enlead

ers

rdquoldquoW

hat a

re th

e ch

alleng

es and

cop

ing

mec

hanism

srdquo

ldquoHow

are wom

en lead

ersrsquo

lives

directed

by pe

rson

al

lead

ersh

iprdquo

Define

Working Mothers

Spiritual Wellbeing

Mental Wellbeing

Physical Wellbeing




Emotional Wellbeing

Category



midlife










6













arrangements




















7

15 OBJECTIVES







objectives





experience


their careers



dimensions





following value


8










careers in midlife

















9










10


21 INTRODUCTION















221 Ontology










11


human mind)













to deal with

222 Epistemology













12





























13



2002)















241 Case study









14






















Type Definition




1995)

Instrumental




Multiple

case studies




15

Type Definition



Collective or

comparative





(Yin 2003)























midlife


16























collection methods






Shaping hypothesis















17


Huberman 1994)1





















18

252 Sampling






their experiences























19


























forthcoming


20




























21













More specifically







22


















Cha

pter

2 ndash

Res

earc

h D

esig

n

23


Participant

(RP)

Metaphor

Race

Age

Industry

Current position

Current

years in

position

Educational

Level

Sam

pling

technique

and date

interviewed

Interview

1 Interview 2

RP

1 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoSpi

ritrdquo

Whi

te

34

Cor

pora

te

Spi

ritua

l Life

Coa

ch

(Mar

ketin

g M

anag

er b

efor

e ca

reer

cha

nge)

1 M

aste

rs in

C

oach

ing

(UC

T)

Pur

posi

ve

19 J

an

2011

28

Jan

201

1

RP

2 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoMid

wife

rdquo B

lack

45

+ G

over

nmen

t an

d

Cor

pora

te

Exe

cutiv

e C

oach

C

onsu

ltant

M

anag

emen

t amp

Hum

an R

esou

rces

D

evel

opm

ent (

2002

-

pres

ent)

D

irect

or B

lack

M

anag

emen

t F

orum

10

BC

om I

nd

Psy

c (H

ons

(RA

U)

Sno

wba

ll 18

Aug

201

1 19

Aug

20

11

RP

3 ldquoF

lore

nce

Nig

htin

gale

rdquo W

hite

38

F

inan

cial

S

ervi

ces

Mot

or

Man

ufac

turin

g

Man

ager

A

ccou

ntin

g an

d T

axat

ion

1

B C

om C

A

(UP

) P

urpo

sive

23

Feb

20

11

15 J

un 2

011

RP

4

ldquoIro

n W

oman

rdquo W

hite

40

T

ele-

co

mm

unic

atio

n S

ales

amp M

arke

ting

Dire

ctor

10

B

Com

M

arke

ting

Pur

posi

ve

7 Ju

l 20

11

RP

5

ldquoMur

ielrdquo

Bla

ck

45

Info

rmat

ion

Tec

hnol

ogy

Pub

lic S

ecto

r E

xecu

tive

1

B C

om

Info

rmat

ion

Sys

tem

s

Sno

wba

ll 24

Aug

20

11

RP

6

ldquoShi

rley

Val

entin

erdquo

Col

oure

d 45

E

ngin

eerin

g H

uman

Cap

ital

Con

sulta

nt

1 B

Com

In

dust

Psy

ch

(UN

ISA

) P

urpo

sive

7

Jul

2011

Cha

pter

2 ndash

Res

earc

h D

esig

n

24

Par

ticip

ant

(RP

) M

etap

hor5

Rac

e A

ge

Indu

stry

C

urre

nt p

ositi

on

Cu r

rent

ye

ars

in

posi

tion

Edu

catio

nal

Leve

l

Sam

plin

g te

chni

que

and

date

in

terv

iew

ed

Inte

rvie

w

1 In

terv

iew

2

RP

7 ldquoR

ubyrdquo

In

dian

Tel

e-

com

mun

icat

ions

Lo

gist

ics

Man

ager

9

Logi

stic

s S

now

ball

17 A

ug

2011

RP

8 ldquoT

he

Dip

lom

atrdquo

Bla

ck

40

SA

RS

K

now

ledg

e an

d In

form

atio

n S

peci

alis

t 4

MC

om In

f S

yste

m (

UP

) S

now

ball

24 A

ug

2011

RP

9

ldquoFai

ry

Prin

cess

rdquo W

hite

40

In

form

atio

n T

echn

olog

y A

ccou

nts

Dire

ctor

3

BA

dmin

D

iplo

ma

Pur

posi

ve

25 F

eb

2011

RP

10

ldquoFio

nardquo

(Shr

ekrsquos

) W

hite

40

T

ele-

co

mm

unic

atio

ns

Fin

anci

al M

anag

er

4 B

Com

Acc

(H

ons)

RA

U

Pur

posi

ve

25 F

eb

2011

5 M

etap

horic

pse

udon

yms

are

incl

uded

in Chapter 3


25



observation

























26






























27














participants






257 Data management


sect Field notes




8 See Addendum A


28



























9 See Addendum D


29










258 Storing of data





















30



the audit trail

259 Data analysis






726)











developing theories








31





















1990 p23)





32




























33




















34



(2007 p96)












35















36







codes in a theme


37







38














39



























40





2510 Report writing














research story)









15 See Addendum C


41






















(Schurink 2009b)






42


















2004)















43








observation









worlds





study








44






27 CONCLUSION





45


31 INTRODUCTION










1996)












questions


46














Definition

Women in

leadersh

ip




Challen

ges an

d co

ping

mech

anism










Networking



47



















Spiritual wellbeing

Perso

nal lead

ership





Mental wellbeing






Recharge Ego


Physical wellbeing




Emotional wellbeing


48











are today





















49




































50














consulting firm













51

34 FINDINGS



























52


of leadership

















RP2_Midwife_232]










53


caring and empathy




RP5_Muriel_527]


















women leaders







54



RP2_Midwife_247]














55





midlife


women


them













56











Princess_916]





















57



























58

























59













Woman_481]










Valentine_658]


60













company benefits





Valentine_61]


discrimination





RP5_Muriel_58]


61










[P7 RP7_Ruby_762]















62







Valentine_642]







RP5_Muriel_59]






RP7_Ruby_750]


63



everyone














RP7_Ruby_748]








64


























65



























66




opportunities








Nightingale_321]

















67




























68







RP2_Midwife_229]








RP5_Muriel_517]








these levels






RP5_Muriel_525]


69




contributions






RP2_Midwife_244]



















70









RP5_Muriel_545]





Woman_179]
















71












RP5_Muriel_573]










Nightingale_346]





72


















73











careers










RP5_Muriel_523]







74
















Diplomat_814]

sect Role strain













75






RP6_Shirley_64]






Nightingale_316]









term






Diplomat_835]


76






























77









sect Dual Career



















78







Diplomat_827]




10_Fiona_119]










79














Nightingale_331]







RP10_1_Fiona_1110]








RP7_Ruby_757]


80



point of maturity





RP7_Ruby_757]





Woman_43]










81

sect Single parents











RP1_Spirit_128]









RP7_Ruby_751]






82




















Valentine_ 623]









83




simultaneously






RP5_Muriel_564]










Valentine_619]








84







priorities








RP2_Midwife_23]










RP5_Muriel_516]


85





Princess_103]














RP10_Fiona_1133]



Diplomat_828]





86










be














87



















excellence







88


from their jobs


RP5_Muriel_548]


women





















89



ndash Authenticity









Valentine_641]

ndash Wisdom





Nightingale_354]

ndash Intuition




90

ndash Passion




RP7_Ruby_756]





RP1_Spirit_129]

ndash Not judging




ndash Life lessons




ndash Gratitude


RP7_Ruby_721]

ndash Synchronicity




91

ndash Connectedness




RP1_Spirit_132]




ndash Giving back





RP10_Muriel_134]

ndash Respect





ndash Creativity




RP10_Fiona_113]




92














RP5_Muriel_5 60]





93


success








RP7_Ruby_735]



they so wished














94



ndash Perseverance







RP4_Iron Woman_49]




Valentine_62]












95








sect Temperament




RP1_Spirit_150]




Nightingale_34]













96























RP4_Iron Woman_417]






97


RP7_Ruby_752]

























98



sect Recharge















egocentric





99
















10_Fiona_131]






Nightingale_153]




100







RP5_Muriel_562]














101















RP7_Ruby_739]


102





emotions















[P7 RP7_Ruby_724]



7_Ruby_724]


103












104

35 CONCLUSION






























105





























106


41 INTRODUCTION














(ibid)













107







(Shank 2006 p118)





leaders
















2007)



108





























109






























2008)


110













Circle of In

fluence

Circle of C

oncern

CareerFinancial

Social

LOGOS


PATHOS


ETHOS







Circle of In

fluence

Circle of C

oncern

CareerFinancial

Social

LOGOS


PATHOS


ETHOS






111













p14)

















112




























113
































114






























(Goleman 2006 p11)


115














Hopkins 2007)















116













117





















118


Yang (Ebrey 1993)
























119









Temirbekovac 2007)






















120


encoding









(Bandura 1977)





















121

































122
























sect Glass ceilings





123



men (Oakley 2000)

















sect Glass cliffs










124
























125











in the workplace by
















126































127



























128
































129





























130






















organisation





mothers


131































132


amp Ladge 2009)














1997)













Padgett 2004)


133

































134























(Erickson 1963)








135




















who are









136






























137





















138




















Creativity




139









being


















2004 p114)




140
































141




2006)






















brain activity)






142





your life

























143





























144




al 2001 p9)







45 CONCLUSION











145

















Maxwell 2008)









146














evaluations










147



mechanisms

























148



























communicate





149































150






















mentoring








151







These entail





















152




























153

























154































155


personal leadership



























156





















outlets




personal mastery





157





























158



















53 CONCLUSION










159
















160


RECOMMENDATIONS




















challenges


161


















ethical study















162








successfully

























163






their performance























164























mastery




22 See Chapter 4


165




























166





























167






























168

67 RECOMMENDATIONS


















without children











169














68 CONCLUSION















170

LIST OF REFERENCES


















1107-18


Free Press







Guilford Press





Chicago IL USA

171







Development 27(1) 13-35 DOI 10110802621710810840749
























Routledge



172


Today 29 (5) 31




269) London Sage


and Schuster


















and Schuster



New York John Wiley


Simon and Schuster




173









17 78ndash91


Sage



Sage
















House


Thorsons



174



101111j1471-6402200700326









Press 77-79
















Publishers




32(1) 17-24

175








1828 doi102105AJPH2005080085








Books





Press














176



91




London Tavistock



157








57-67





264ndash288











Piatkus Books

177





doi101037a0014093





























178






University Press





gIIIpdf





Beverly Hills Sage






doi101177089484539201900104


41 3-13










179


Routledge









85 86 -101


Books



Executive 19(1) 106-123




aultaspx








York Basic Books







180


















53-59














v35il743



181









httpbraingallupcom


New York Praeger



Services



321minus334



10(3) 168ndash189



727ndash743 doi101007s10551-007-9465-6



Research 2(1) 1-28





922



182



10







Oaks CA Sage











doi101016S0191-3085(04)26001-4






193







183





34 939ndash951















202002pdf















184




199 doi 011771468794109356739






02russellkelly-ehtm
























185




amp Brothers





























186



631ndash645



Africa 50 1-30




1079-1092 doi1010370022-35148451079
















Kinetics



635




187














Review 15 (4) 666-681





595















Press

188














Inc







Quarterly 13 243-74



Praeger


Sage Publications








Bloomsbury

189

Websites








190



Field Notes Key




Metaphor Race





191
















192













193



194



Cell Cell

E-Mail E-Mail

Fax Fax



Date Place




195


Participant

(RP)

Metaphor amp

Current Position

Age

yrs

in

Working

hours

Childrenrsquos

ages

Husband

Career Life Cycle

Corporate

Culture

Networking

RP

1 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoSpi

ritrdquo

ndash

Spi

ritua

l Life

Coa

ch

35

1 S

elf

empl

oyed

12

8

Sin

gle

Par

ent

24 ndash

30

Sal

es amp

Mar

ketin

g 31

ndash 3

4 M

arke

ting

Man

ager

35 L

ife C

oach

Con

sulta

nt

Con

fere

nces

P

ublic

Tal

ks

Med

ia R

efer

rals

RP

2 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoMid

wife

rdquo ndash

Exe

cutiv

e C

oach

45+

10

Sel

f em

ploy

ed

24 2

7 1

0 M

arrie

d 25

-35

Dev

elop

men

t amp H

R C

onsu

ltant

35

-42

Dire

ctor

Bla

ck M

anag

emen

t For

um

43 ndash

45

Dire

ctor

for

Bus

ines

s C

onsu

lting

Con

sulta

nt

Con

fere

nces

P

ublic

Tal

ks

Med

ia R

efer

rals

RP

3

ldquoFlo

renc

e N

ight

inga

lerdquo

- G

ener

al M

anag

er

Cor

pora

te F

inan

ce

38

1 8

ndash 5

30

Eve

ning

s W

eeke

nds

5 2

M

D In

tern

atio

nal

On-

line

Gam

blin

g co

mpa

ny

24 ndash

26

Art

icle

s 27

ndash 3

3 A

ccou

nt M

anag

er

34 ndash

37

Man

ager

Acc

ount

ing

and

Tax

atio

n

38 G

ener

al M

anag

er C

orpo

rate

Fin

ance

Clin

ical

en

viro

nmen

t P

refe

rs to

kee

p w

ork

and

hom

e se

para

te

Mee

tings

and

C

onfe

renc

es

Mar

ketin

g ndash

Gol

f an

d di

nner

s

RP

4

ldquoIro

n W

oman

rdquo ndash

Sal

es amp

Mar

ketin

g D

irect

or

42

10

8 ndash

53

0

Wee

kend

so

cial

T

rave

l

12 1

0 C

isco

Eng

inee

r 23

ndash 2

8 S

ales

Per

son

29 ndash

31

Sal

es M

anag

er

32 ndash

42

Sal

es amp

Mar

ketin

g D

irect

or

Our

com

pany

is

fam

ily o

rient

ated

an

d su

ppor

ts

wom

en w

ith

fam

ilies

Our

MD

is

a fa

mily

man

he

has

chi

ldre

n of

his

ow

n an

d he

und

erst

ands

It

mak

es a

di

ffere

nce

Rug

by b

oxes

at

Loftu

s C

ricke

t at S

uper

S

port

Par

k G

olf a

t Ser

enge

ti

Tra

de S

how

s at

S

AT

NA

C e

n A

fric

om

Pla

ns

fam

ily li

fe a

roun

d ne

twor

king

RP

5

ldquoMur

ielrdquo

ndash P

ublic

Sec

tor

Exe

cutiv

e

47

1 8

00 ndash

19

00

Late

Nig

hts

Sun

days

24 2

0 1

0 C

A

31 -

35 R

epor

ting

to M

EC

36

- 4

0 C

OO

SE

TA

40

ndash 4

5 E

ntre

pren

eur

45 ndash

47

Pub

lic s

ecto

r E

xecu

tive

NO

FIT

V

ibey

soc

ial v

s

she

has

high

m

oral

val

ues

Con

fere

nces

tr

ade

show

s

inte

rnat

iona

l tr

avel

gol

f cy

clin

g la

te n

ight

m

eetin

gs

196

Participant

(RP)

Metaphor amp

Current Position

Age

yrs

in

Working

hours

Childrenrsquos

ages

Husband

Career Life Cycle

Corporate

Culture

Networking

RP

6

ldquoShi

rley

Val

entin

erdquo ndash

H

uman

Cap

ital

Con

sulta

nt

45

1 8

ndash 5

30

Eve

ning

s

Afte

r 21

00

15 1

3 S

ingl

e P

aren

t 28

ndash 3

8 E

ntre

pren

eur

39 -

45

Hum

an C

apita

list C

onsu

ltant

45 F

utur

e op

tions

ndash T

alen

t Man

ager

or

Con

sulti

ng

Con

sulta

nt ndash

A

sser

tive

arou

nd h

er r

ole

Con

fere

nces

gol

f

RP

7

ldquoRub

yrdquo

38

9 6

50 a

nd

try

to le

ave

at 4

30

12

3

Lect

urer

25

Sta

rted

in L

ogis

tics

29 ndash

38

Logi

stic

s M

anag

er

Fam

ily

orie

ntat

ed

Mee

tings

F

amily

act

iviti

es

RP

8

ldquoThe

Dip

lom

atrdquo

ndash

Kno

wle

dge

and

Info

rmat

ion

Spe

cial

ist

40

4 8

00 ndash

16

00

7 6

4

Atto

rney

20

ndash 2

7 E

arly

car

eer

Dip

lom

atic

ser

vice

27

ndash 3

0 In

tern

ship

IBM

30 ndash

32

Gov

ernm

ent 2

002

ndash A

gric

ultu

re

Kno

wle

dge

Man

agem

ent

2008

ndash T

axat

ion

Kno

wle

dge

Man

agem

ent

Cor

pora

te

envi

ronm

ent

- fle

xibl

e w

ork

arra

ngem

ent

Mee

tings

RP

9

ldquoFai

ry P

rince

ssrdquo

ndash

Acc

ount

s D

irect

or

40

3 8

00 ndash

16

30

10 8

C

EO

of I

T

Com

pany

22

ndash 2

7 S

ales

amp M

arke

ting

28 ndash

34

Mar

ketin

g M

anag

er

35 ndash

37

Snr

Mar

ketin

g M

anag

er

38 ndash

40

Acc

ount

s D

irect

or

Sal

es

envi

ronm

ent

- fle

xibl

e w

ork

arra

ngem

ent

Gol

f in

tern

atio

nal

trav

el l

unch

es

man

agem

ent t

rips

RP

10

ldquoFio

nardquo

- F

inan

cial

Man

ager

40

4

800

ndash

130

0 3

hour

s at

ni

ght

10 7

F

inan

cial

M

anag

er

23 ndash

27

Acc

ount

s C

lerk

28

ndash 3

1 A

ccou

nts

Man

ager

33

ndash 4

0 F

inan

cial

Man

ager

Fam

ily

orie

ntat

ed

com

pany

ndash

flexi

ble

wor

k ho

urs

Mee

tings

fam

ily

fun

days

197


D1 INTRODUCTION











journal and diary













198

D2 RESEARCH JOURNEY




















199
















would cause me

D21 Challenges











200

































201


















202

























203



















April 6 2011)










204









6 2011)























205
















206




























207




potholes








but irrelevant data


















208











literature







conversationrdquo










209









based resultsrdquo





July 7 2010)












dissertation






210





























211










study








place








took




212



bull Data analysis












finding










213




























214















2011)












the dissertation


215












entry July 20 2011)









2011)





216


D24 Lessons learned

















217





















EXAMINER 2








women leadersrdquo


218




























219

D4 CONCLUSION










oneself

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS








iii




connected









iv

My academic support






























work

v













vi


vii

ABSTRACT

















dimensions




careers and lives








viii
























women leaders








ix


















x

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication i

Acknowledgements ii

Affidavit vi

Abstract vii

Table of Contents x


List of Tables xiii



11 INTRODUCTION 1

12 BACKGROUND 1



15 OBJECTIVES 7






18 CONCLUSION 9


21 INTRODUCTION 10


221 Ontology 10

222 Epistemology 11





241 Case study 13

xi





252 Sampling 18











27 CONCLUSION 44


31 INTRODUCTION 45



34 FINDINGS 51




35 CONCLUSION 104


41 INTRODUCTION 106








xii






45 CONCLUSION 144


51 INTRODUCTION 145





53 CONCLUSION 158


61 INTRODUCTION 160












68 CONCLUSION 169

xiii


ADDENDA






5



35


36



37




116





LIST OF TABLES





46

xiv

LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS





196



205


1


11 INTRODUCTION






12 BACKGROUND





















2

















Bilimoria 2008)















3














2009)
















4









5





W

HO

W

HAT

HO

W

ldquoWho

are wom

enlead

ers

rdquoldquoW

hat a

re th

e ch

alleng

es and

cop

ing

mec

hanism

srdquo

ldquoHow

are wom

en lead

ersrsquo

lives

directed

by pe

rson

al

lead

ersh

iprdquo

Define

Working Mothers

Spiritual Wellbeing

Mental Wellbeing

Physical Wellbeing




Emotional Wellbeing

Category



midlife










6













arrangements




















7

15 OBJECTIVES







objectives





experience


their careers



dimensions





following value


8










careers in midlife

















9










10


21 INTRODUCTION















221 Ontology










11


human mind)













to deal with

222 Epistemology













12





























13



2002)















241 Case study









14






















Type Definition




1995)

Instrumental




Multiple

case studies




15

Type Definition



Collective or

comparative





(Yin 2003)























midlife


16























collection methods






Shaping hypothesis















17


Huberman 1994)1





















18

252 Sampling






their experiences























19


























forthcoming


20




























21













More specifically







22


















Cha

pter

2 ndash

Res

earc

h D

esig

n

23


Participant

(RP)

Metaphor

Race

Age

Industry

Current position

Current

years in

position

Educational

Level

Sam

pling

technique

and date

interviewed

Interview

1 Interview 2

RP

1 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoSpi

ritrdquo

Whi

te

34

Cor

pora

te

Spi

ritua

l Life

Coa

ch

(Mar

ketin

g M

anag

er b

efor

e ca

reer

cha

nge)

1 M

aste

rs in

C

oach

ing

(UC

T)

Pur

posi

ve

19 J

an

2011

28

Jan

201

1

RP

2 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoMid

wife

rdquo B

lack

45

+ G

over

nmen

t an

d

Cor

pora

te

Exe

cutiv

e C

oach

C

onsu

ltant

M

anag

emen

t amp

Hum

an R

esou

rces

D

evel

opm

ent (

2002

-

pres

ent)

D

irect

or B

lack

M

anag

emen

t F

orum

10

BC

om I

nd

Psy

c (H

ons

(RA

U)

Sno

wba

ll 18

Aug

201

1 19

Aug

20

11

RP

3 ldquoF

lore

nce

Nig

htin

gale

rdquo W

hite

38

F

inan

cial

S

ervi

ces

Mot

or

Man

ufac

turin

g

Man

ager

A

ccou

ntin

g an

d T

axat

ion

1

B C

om C

A

(UP

) P

urpo

sive

23

Feb

20

11

15 J

un 2

011

RP

4

ldquoIro

n W

oman

rdquo W

hite

40

T

ele-

co

mm

unic

atio

n S

ales

amp M

arke

ting

Dire

ctor

10

B

Com

M

arke

ting

Pur

posi

ve

7 Ju

l 20

11

RP

5

ldquoMur

ielrdquo

Bla

ck

45

Info

rmat

ion

Tec

hnol

ogy

Pub

lic S

ecto

r E

xecu

tive

1

B C

om

Info

rmat

ion

Sys

tem

s

Sno

wba

ll 24

Aug

20

11

RP

6

ldquoShi

rley

Val

entin

erdquo

Col

oure

d 45

E

ngin

eerin

g H

uman

Cap

ital

Con

sulta

nt

1 B

Com

In

dust

Psy

ch

(UN

ISA

) P

urpo

sive

7

Jul

2011

Cha

pter

2 ndash

Res

earc

h D

esig

n

24

Par

ticip

ant

(RP

) M

etap

hor5

Rac

e A

ge

Indu

stry

C

urre

nt p

ositi

on

Cu r

rent

ye

ars

in

posi

tion

Edu

catio

nal

Leve

l

Sam

plin

g te

chni

que

and

date

in

terv

iew

ed

Inte

rvie

w

1 In

terv

iew

2

RP

7 ldquoR

ubyrdquo

In

dian

Tel

e-

com

mun

icat

ions

Lo

gist

ics

Man

ager

9

Logi

stic

s S

now

ball

17 A

ug

2011

RP

8 ldquoT

he

Dip

lom

atrdquo

Bla

ck

40

SA

RS

K

now

ledg

e an

d In

form

atio

n S

peci

alis

t 4

MC

om In

f S

yste

m (

UP

) S

now

ball

24 A

ug

2011

RP

9

ldquoFai

ry

Prin

cess

rdquo W

hite

40

In

form

atio

n T

echn

olog

y A

ccou

nts

Dire

ctor

3

BA

dmin

D

iplo

ma

Pur

posi

ve

25 F

eb

2011

RP

10

ldquoFio

nardquo

(Shr

ekrsquos

) W

hite

40

T

ele-

co

mm

unic

atio

ns

Fin

anci

al M

anag

er

4 B

Com

Acc

(H

ons)

RA

U

Pur

posi

ve

25 F

eb

2011

5 M

etap

horic

pse

udon

yms

are

incl

uded

in Chapter 3


25



observation

























26






























27














participants






257 Data management


sect Field notes




8 See Addendum A


28



























9 See Addendum D


29










258 Storing of data





















30



the audit trail

259 Data analysis






726)











developing theories








31





















1990 p23)





32




























33




















34



(2007 p96)












35















36







codes in a theme


37







38














39



























40





2510 Report writing














research story)









15 See Addendum C


41






















(Schurink 2009b)






42


















2004)















43








observation









worlds





study








44






27 CONCLUSION





45


31 INTRODUCTION










1996)












questions


46














Definition

Women in

leadersh

ip




Challen

ges an

d co

ping

mech

anism










Networking



47



















Spiritual wellbeing

Perso

nal lead

ership





Mental wellbeing






Recharge Ego


Physical wellbeing




Emotional wellbeing


48











are today





















49




































50














consulting firm













51

34 FINDINGS



























52


of leadership

















RP2_Midwife_232]










53


caring and empathy




RP5_Muriel_527]


















women leaders







54



RP2_Midwife_247]














55





midlife


women


them













56











Princess_916]





















57



























58

























59













Woman_481]










Valentine_658]


60













company benefits





Valentine_61]


discrimination





RP5_Muriel_58]


61










[P7 RP7_Ruby_762]















62







Valentine_642]







RP5_Muriel_59]






RP7_Ruby_750]


63



everyone














RP7_Ruby_748]








64


























65



























66




opportunities








Nightingale_321]

















67




























68







RP2_Midwife_229]








RP5_Muriel_517]








these levels






RP5_Muriel_525]


69




contributions






RP2_Midwife_244]



















70









RP5_Muriel_545]





Woman_179]
















71












RP5_Muriel_573]










Nightingale_346]





72


















73











careers










RP5_Muriel_523]







74
















Diplomat_814]

sect Role strain













75






RP6_Shirley_64]






Nightingale_316]









term






Diplomat_835]


76






























77









sect Dual Career



















78







Diplomat_827]




10_Fiona_119]










79














Nightingale_331]







RP10_1_Fiona_1110]








RP7_Ruby_757]


80



point of maturity





RP7_Ruby_757]





Woman_43]










81

sect Single parents











RP1_Spirit_128]









RP7_Ruby_751]






82




















Valentine_ 623]









83




simultaneously






RP5_Muriel_564]










Valentine_619]








84







priorities








RP2_Midwife_23]










RP5_Muriel_516]


85





Princess_103]














RP10_Fiona_1133]



Diplomat_828]





86










be














87



















excellence







88


from their jobs


RP5_Muriel_548]


women





















89



ndash Authenticity









Valentine_641]

ndash Wisdom





Nightingale_354]

ndash Intuition




90

ndash Passion




RP7_Ruby_756]





RP1_Spirit_129]

ndash Not judging




ndash Life lessons




ndash Gratitude


RP7_Ruby_721]

ndash Synchronicity




91

ndash Connectedness




RP1_Spirit_132]




ndash Giving back





RP10_Muriel_134]

ndash Respect





ndash Creativity




RP10_Fiona_113]




92














RP5_Muriel_5 60]





93


success








RP7_Ruby_735]



they so wished














94



ndash Perseverance







RP4_Iron Woman_49]




Valentine_62]












95








sect Temperament




RP1_Spirit_150]




Nightingale_34]













96























RP4_Iron Woman_417]






97


RP7_Ruby_752]

























98



sect Recharge















egocentric





99
















10_Fiona_131]






Nightingale_153]




100







RP5_Muriel_562]














101















RP7_Ruby_739]


102





emotions















[P7 RP7_Ruby_724]



7_Ruby_724]


103












104

35 CONCLUSION






























105





























106


41 INTRODUCTION














(ibid)













107







(Shank 2006 p118)





leaders
















2007)



108





























109






























2008)


110













Circle of In

fluence

Circle of C

oncern

CareerFinancial

Social

LOGOS


PATHOS


ETHOS







Circle of In

fluence

Circle of C

oncern

CareerFinancial

Social

LOGOS


PATHOS


ETHOS






111













p14)

















112




























113
































114






























(Goleman 2006 p11)


115














Hopkins 2007)















116













117





















118


Yang (Ebrey 1993)
























119









Temirbekovac 2007)






















120


encoding









(Bandura 1977)





















121

































122
























sect Glass ceilings





123



men (Oakley 2000)

















sect Glass cliffs










124
























125











in the workplace by
















126































127



























128
































129





























130






















organisation





mothers


131































132


amp Ladge 2009)














1997)













Padgett 2004)


133

































134























(Erickson 1963)








135




















who are









136






























137





















138




















Creativity




139









being


















2004 p114)




140
































141




2006)






















brain activity)






142





your life

























143





























144




al 2001 p9)







45 CONCLUSION











145

















Maxwell 2008)









146














evaluations










147



mechanisms

























148



























communicate





149































150






















mentoring








151







These entail





















152




























153

























154































155


personal leadership



























156





















outlets




personal mastery





157





























158



















53 CONCLUSION










159
















160


RECOMMENDATIONS




















challenges


161


















ethical study















162








successfully

























163






their performance























164























mastery




22 See Chapter 4


165




























166





























167






























168

67 RECOMMENDATIONS


















without children











169














68 CONCLUSION















170

LIST OF REFERENCES


















1107-18


Free Press







Guilford Press





Chicago IL USA

171







Development 27(1) 13-35 DOI 10110802621710810840749
























Routledge



172


Today 29 (5) 31




269) London Sage


and Schuster


















and Schuster



New York John Wiley


Simon and Schuster




173









17 78ndash91


Sage



Sage
















House


Thorsons



174



101111j1471-6402200700326









Press 77-79
















Publishers




32(1) 17-24

175








1828 doi102105AJPH2005080085








Books





Press














176



91




London Tavistock



157








57-67





264ndash288











Piatkus Books

177





doi101037a0014093





























178






University Press





gIIIpdf





Beverly Hills Sage






doi101177089484539201900104


41 3-13










179


Routledge









85 86 -101


Books



Executive 19(1) 106-123




aultaspx








York Basic Books







180


















53-59














v35il743



181









httpbraingallupcom


New York Praeger



Services



321minus334



10(3) 168ndash189



727ndash743 doi101007s10551-007-9465-6



Research 2(1) 1-28





922



182



10







Oaks CA Sage











doi101016S0191-3085(04)26001-4






193







183





34 939ndash951















202002pdf















184




199 doi 011771468794109356739






02russellkelly-ehtm
























185




amp Brothers





























186



631ndash645



Africa 50 1-30




1079-1092 doi1010370022-35148451079
















Kinetics



635




187














Review 15 (4) 666-681





595















Press

188














Inc







Quarterly 13 243-74



Praeger


Sage Publications








Bloomsbury

189

Websites








190



Field Notes Key




Metaphor Race





191
















192













193



194



Cell Cell

E-Mail E-Mail

Fax Fax



Date Place




195


Participant

(RP)

Metaphor amp

Current Position

Age

yrs

in

Working

hours

Childrenrsquos

ages

Husband

Career Life Cycle

Corporate

Culture

Networking

RP

1 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoSpi

ritrdquo

ndash

Spi

ritua

l Life

Coa

ch

35

1 S

elf

empl

oyed

12

8

Sin

gle

Par

ent

24 ndash

30

Sal

es amp

Mar

ketin

g 31

ndash 3

4 M

arke

ting

Man

ager

35 L

ife C

oach

Con

sulta

nt

Con

fere

nces

P

ublic

Tal

ks

Med

ia R

efer

rals

RP

2 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoMid

wife

rdquo ndash

Exe

cutiv

e C

oach

45+

10

Sel

f em

ploy

ed

24 2

7 1

0 M

arrie

d 25

-35

Dev

elop

men

t amp H

R C

onsu

ltant

35

-42

Dire

ctor

Bla

ck M

anag

emen

t For

um

43 ndash

45

Dire

ctor

for

Bus

ines

s C

onsu

lting

Con

sulta

nt

Con

fere

nces

P

ublic

Tal

ks

Med

ia R

efer

rals

RP

3

ldquoFlo

renc

e N

ight

inga

lerdquo

- G

ener

al M

anag

er

Cor

pora

te F

inan

ce

38

1 8

ndash 5

30

Eve

ning

s W

eeke

nds

5 2

M

D In

tern

atio

nal

On-

line

Gam

blin

g co

mpa

ny

24 ndash

26

Art

icle

s 27

ndash 3

3 A

ccou

nt M

anag

er

34 ndash

37

Man

ager

Acc

ount

ing

and

Tax

atio

n

38 G

ener

al M

anag

er C

orpo

rate

Fin

ance

Clin

ical

en

viro

nmen

t P

refe

rs to

kee

p w

ork

and

hom

e se

para

te

Mee

tings

and

C

onfe

renc

es

Mar

ketin

g ndash

Gol

f an

d di

nner

s

RP

4

ldquoIro

n W

oman

rdquo ndash

Sal

es amp

Mar

ketin

g D

irect

or

42

10

8 ndash

53

0

Wee

kend

so

cial

T

rave

l

12 1

0 C

isco

Eng

inee

r 23

ndash 2

8 S

ales

Per

son

29 ndash

31

Sal

es M

anag

er

32 ndash

42

Sal

es amp

Mar

ketin

g D

irect

or

Our

com

pany

is

fam

ily o

rient

ated

an

d su

ppor

ts

wom

en w

ith

fam

ilies

Our

MD

is

a fa

mily

man

he

has

chi

ldre

n of

his

ow

n an

d he

und

erst

ands

It

mak

es a

di

ffere

nce

Rug

by b

oxes

at

Loftu

s C

ricke

t at S

uper

S

port

Par

k G

olf a

t Ser

enge

ti

Tra

de S

how

s at

S

AT

NA

C e

n A

fric

om

Pla

ns

fam

ily li

fe a

roun

d ne

twor

king

RP

5

ldquoMur

ielrdquo

ndash P

ublic

Sec

tor

Exe

cutiv

e

47

1 8

00 ndash

19

00

Late

Nig

hts

Sun

days

24 2

0 1

0 C

A

31 -

35 R

epor

ting

to M

EC

36

- 4

0 C

OO

SE

TA

40

ndash 4

5 E

ntre

pren

eur

45 ndash

47

Pub

lic s

ecto

r E

xecu

tive

NO

FIT

V

ibey

soc

ial v

s

she

has

high

m

oral

val

ues

Con

fere

nces

tr

ade

show

s

inte

rnat

iona

l tr

avel

gol

f cy

clin

g la

te n

ight

m

eetin

gs

196

Participant

(RP)

Metaphor amp

Current Position

Age

yrs

in

Working

hours

Childrenrsquos

ages

Husband

Career Life Cycle

Corporate

Culture

Networking

RP

6

ldquoShi

rley

Val

entin

erdquo ndash

H

uman

Cap

ital

Con

sulta

nt

45

1 8

ndash 5

30

Eve

ning

s

Afte

r 21

00

15 1

3 S

ingl

e P

aren

t 28

ndash 3

8 E

ntre

pren

eur

39 -

45

Hum

an C

apita

list C

onsu

ltant

45 F

utur

e op

tions

ndash T

alen

t Man

ager

or

Con

sulti

ng

Con

sulta

nt ndash

A

sser

tive

arou

nd h

er r

ole

Con

fere

nces

gol

f

RP

7

ldquoRub

yrdquo

38

9 6

50 a

nd

try

to le

ave

at 4

30

12

3

Lect

urer

25

Sta

rted

in L

ogis

tics

29 ndash

38

Logi

stic

s M

anag

er

Fam

ily

orie

ntat

ed

Mee

tings

F

amily

act

iviti

es

RP

8

ldquoThe

Dip

lom

atrdquo

ndash

Kno

wle

dge

and

Info

rmat

ion

Spe

cial

ist

40

4 8

00 ndash

16

00

7 6

4

Atto

rney

20

ndash 2

7 E

arly

car

eer

Dip

lom

atic

ser

vice

27

ndash 3

0 In

tern

ship

IBM

30 ndash

32

Gov

ernm

ent 2

002

ndash A

gric

ultu

re

Kno

wle

dge

Man

agem

ent

2008

ndash T

axat

ion

Kno

wle

dge

Man

agem

ent

Cor

pora

te

envi

ronm

ent

- fle

xibl

e w

ork

arra

ngem

ent

Mee

tings

RP

9

ldquoFai

ry P

rince

ssrdquo

ndash

Acc

ount

s D

irect

or

40

3 8

00 ndash

16

30

10 8

C

EO

of I

T

Com

pany

22

ndash 2

7 S

ales

amp M

arke

ting

28 ndash

34

Mar

ketin

g M

anag

er

35 ndash

37

Snr

Mar

ketin

g M

anag

er

38 ndash

40

Acc

ount

s D

irect

or

Sal

es

envi

ronm

ent

- fle

xibl

e w

ork

arra

ngem

ent

Gol

f in

tern

atio

nal

trav

el l

unch

es

man

agem

ent t

rips

RP

10

ldquoFio

nardquo

- F

inan

cial

Man

ager

40

4

800

ndash

130

0 3

hour

s at

ni

ght

10 7

F

inan

cial

M

anag

er

23 ndash

27

Acc

ount

s C

lerk

28

ndash 3

1 A

ccou

nts

Man

ager

33

ndash 4

0 F

inan

cial

Man

ager

Fam

ily

orie

ntat

ed

com

pany

ndash

flexi

ble

wor

k ho

urs

Mee

tings

fam

ily

fun

days

197


D1 INTRODUCTION











journal and diary













198

D2 RESEARCH JOURNEY




















199
















would cause me

D21 Challenges











200

































201


















202

























203



















April 6 2011)










204









6 2011)























205
















206




























207




potholes








but irrelevant data


















208











literature







conversationrdquo










209









based resultsrdquo





July 7 2010)












dissertation






210





























211










study








place








took




212



bull Data analysis












finding










213




























214















2011)












the dissertation


215












entry July 20 2011)









2011)





216


D24 Lessons learned

















217





















EXAMINER 2








women leadersrdquo


218




























219

D4 CONCLUSION










oneself

iii




connected









iv

My academic support






























work

v













vi


vii

ABSTRACT

















dimensions




careers and lives








viii
























women leaders








ix


















x

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication i

Acknowledgements ii

Affidavit vi

Abstract vii

Table of Contents x


List of Tables xiii



11 INTRODUCTION 1

12 BACKGROUND 1



15 OBJECTIVES 7






18 CONCLUSION 9


21 INTRODUCTION 10


221 Ontology 10

222 Epistemology 11





241 Case study 13

xi





252 Sampling 18











27 CONCLUSION 44


31 INTRODUCTION 45



34 FINDINGS 51




35 CONCLUSION 104


41 INTRODUCTION 106








xii






45 CONCLUSION 144


51 INTRODUCTION 145





53 CONCLUSION 158


61 INTRODUCTION 160












68 CONCLUSION 169

xiii


ADDENDA






5



35


36



37




116





LIST OF TABLES





46

xiv

LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS





196



205


1


11 INTRODUCTION






12 BACKGROUND





















2

















Bilimoria 2008)















3














2009)
















4









5





W

HO

W

HAT

HO

W

ldquoWho

are wom

enlead

ers

rdquoldquoW

hat a

re th

e ch

alleng

es and

cop

ing

mec

hanism

srdquo

ldquoHow

are wom

en lead

ersrsquo

lives

directed

by pe

rson

al

lead

ersh

iprdquo

Define

Working Mothers

Spiritual Wellbeing

Mental Wellbeing

Physical Wellbeing




Emotional Wellbeing

Category



midlife










6













arrangements




















7

15 OBJECTIVES







objectives





experience


their careers



dimensions





following value


8










careers in midlife

















9










10


21 INTRODUCTION















221 Ontology










11


human mind)













to deal with

222 Epistemology













12





























13



2002)















241 Case study









14






















Type Definition




1995)

Instrumental




Multiple

case studies




15

Type Definition



Collective or

comparative





(Yin 2003)























midlife


16























collection methods






Shaping hypothesis















17


Huberman 1994)1





















18

252 Sampling






their experiences























19


























forthcoming


20




























21













More specifically







22


















Cha

pter

2 ndash

Res

earc

h D

esig

n

23


Participant

(RP)

Metaphor

Race

Age

Industry

Current position

Current

years in

position

Educational

Level

Sam

pling

technique

and date

interviewed

Interview

1 Interview 2

RP

1 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoSpi

ritrdquo

Whi

te

34

Cor

pora

te

Spi

ritua

l Life

Coa

ch

(Mar

ketin

g M

anag

er b

efor

e ca

reer

cha

nge)

1 M

aste

rs in

C

oach

ing

(UC

T)

Pur

posi

ve

19 J

an

2011

28

Jan

201

1

RP

2 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoMid

wife

rdquo B

lack

45

+ G

over

nmen

t an

d

Cor

pora

te

Exe

cutiv

e C

oach

C

onsu

ltant

M

anag

emen

t amp

Hum

an R

esou

rces

D

evel

opm

ent (

2002

-

pres

ent)

D

irect

or B

lack

M

anag

emen

t F

orum

10

BC

om I

nd

Psy

c (H

ons

(RA

U)

Sno

wba

ll 18

Aug

201

1 19

Aug

20

11

RP

3 ldquoF

lore

nce

Nig

htin

gale

rdquo W

hite

38

F

inan

cial

S

ervi

ces

Mot

or

Man

ufac

turin

g

Man

ager

A

ccou

ntin

g an

d T

axat

ion

1

B C

om C

A

(UP

) P

urpo

sive

23

Feb

20

11

15 J

un 2

011

RP

4

ldquoIro

n W

oman

rdquo W

hite

40

T

ele-

co

mm

unic

atio

n S

ales

amp M

arke

ting

Dire

ctor

10

B

Com

M

arke

ting

Pur

posi

ve

7 Ju

l 20

11

RP

5

ldquoMur

ielrdquo

Bla

ck

45

Info

rmat

ion

Tec

hnol

ogy

Pub

lic S

ecto

r E

xecu

tive

1

B C

om

Info

rmat

ion

Sys

tem

s

Sno

wba

ll 24

Aug

20

11

RP

6

ldquoShi

rley

Val

entin

erdquo

Col

oure

d 45

E

ngin

eerin

g H

uman

Cap

ital

Con

sulta

nt

1 B

Com

In

dust

Psy

ch

(UN

ISA

) P

urpo

sive

7

Jul

2011

Cha

pter

2 ndash

Res

earc

h D

esig

n

24

Par

ticip

ant

(RP

) M

etap

hor5

Rac

e A

ge

Indu

stry

C

urre

nt p

ositi

on

Cu r

rent

ye

ars

in

posi

tion

Edu

catio

nal

Leve

l

Sam

plin

g te

chni

que

and

date

in

terv

iew

ed

Inte

rvie

w

1 In

terv

iew

2

RP

7 ldquoR

ubyrdquo

In

dian

Tel

e-

com

mun

icat

ions

Lo

gist

ics

Man

ager

9

Logi

stic

s S

now

ball

17 A

ug

2011

RP

8 ldquoT

he

Dip

lom

atrdquo

Bla

ck

40

SA

RS

K

now

ledg

e an

d In

form

atio

n S

peci

alis

t 4

MC

om In

f S

yste

m (

UP

) S

now

ball

24 A

ug

2011

RP

9

ldquoFai

ry

Prin

cess

rdquo W

hite

40

In

form

atio

n T

echn

olog

y A

ccou

nts

Dire

ctor

3

BA

dmin

D

iplo

ma

Pur

posi

ve

25 F

eb

2011

RP

10

ldquoFio

nardquo

(Shr

ekrsquos

) W

hite

40

T

ele-

co

mm

unic

atio

ns

Fin

anci

al M

anag

er

4 B

Com

Acc

(H

ons)

RA

U

Pur

posi

ve

25 F

eb

2011

5 M

etap

horic

pse

udon

yms

are

incl

uded

in Chapter 3


25



observation

























26






























27














participants






257 Data management


sect Field notes




8 See Addendum A


28



























9 See Addendum D


29










258 Storing of data





















30



the audit trail

259 Data analysis






726)











developing theories








31





















1990 p23)





32




























33




















34



(2007 p96)












35















36







codes in a theme


37







38














39



























40





2510 Report writing














research story)









15 See Addendum C


41






















(Schurink 2009b)






42


















2004)















43








observation









worlds





study








44






27 CONCLUSION





45


31 INTRODUCTION










1996)












questions


46














Definition

Women in

leadersh

ip




Challen

ges an

d co

ping

mech

anism










Networking



47



















Spiritual wellbeing

Perso

nal lead

ership





Mental wellbeing






Recharge Ego


Physical wellbeing




Emotional wellbeing


48











are today





















49




































50














consulting firm













51

34 FINDINGS



























52


of leadership

















RP2_Midwife_232]










53


caring and empathy




RP5_Muriel_527]


















women leaders







54



RP2_Midwife_247]














55





midlife


women


them













56











Princess_916]





















57



























58

























59













Woman_481]










Valentine_658]


60













company benefits





Valentine_61]


discrimination





RP5_Muriel_58]


61










[P7 RP7_Ruby_762]















62







Valentine_642]







RP5_Muriel_59]






RP7_Ruby_750]


63



everyone














RP7_Ruby_748]








64


























65



























66




opportunities








Nightingale_321]

















67




























68







RP2_Midwife_229]








RP5_Muriel_517]








these levels






RP5_Muriel_525]


69




contributions






RP2_Midwife_244]



















70









RP5_Muriel_545]





Woman_179]
















71












RP5_Muriel_573]










Nightingale_346]





72


















73











careers










RP5_Muriel_523]







74
















Diplomat_814]

sect Role strain













75






RP6_Shirley_64]






Nightingale_316]









term






Diplomat_835]


76






























77









sect Dual Career



















78







Diplomat_827]




10_Fiona_119]










79














Nightingale_331]







RP10_1_Fiona_1110]








RP7_Ruby_757]


80



point of maturity





RP7_Ruby_757]





Woman_43]










81

sect Single parents











RP1_Spirit_128]









RP7_Ruby_751]






82




















Valentine_ 623]









83




simultaneously






RP5_Muriel_564]










Valentine_619]








84







priorities








RP2_Midwife_23]










RP5_Muriel_516]


85





Princess_103]














RP10_Fiona_1133]



Diplomat_828]





86










be














87



















excellence







88


from their jobs


RP5_Muriel_548]


women





















89



ndash Authenticity









Valentine_641]

ndash Wisdom





Nightingale_354]

ndash Intuition




90

ndash Passion




RP7_Ruby_756]





RP1_Spirit_129]

ndash Not judging




ndash Life lessons




ndash Gratitude


RP7_Ruby_721]

ndash Synchronicity




91

ndash Connectedness




RP1_Spirit_132]




ndash Giving back





RP10_Muriel_134]

ndash Respect





ndash Creativity




RP10_Fiona_113]




92














RP5_Muriel_5 60]





93


success








RP7_Ruby_735]



they so wished














94



ndash Perseverance







RP4_Iron Woman_49]




Valentine_62]












95








sect Temperament




RP1_Spirit_150]




Nightingale_34]













96























RP4_Iron Woman_417]






97


RP7_Ruby_752]

























98



sect Recharge















egocentric





99
















10_Fiona_131]






Nightingale_153]




100







RP5_Muriel_562]














101















RP7_Ruby_739]


102





emotions















[P7 RP7_Ruby_724]



7_Ruby_724]


103












104

35 CONCLUSION






























105





























106


41 INTRODUCTION














(ibid)













107







(Shank 2006 p118)





leaders
















2007)



108





























109






























2008)


110













Circle of In

fluence

Circle of C

oncern

CareerFinancial

Social

LOGOS


PATHOS


ETHOS







Circle of In

fluence

Circle of C

oncern

CareerFinancial

Social

LOGOS


PATHOS


ETHOS






111













p14)

















112




























113
































114






























(Goleman 2006 p11)


115














Hopkins 2007)















116













117





















118


Yang (Ebrey 1993)
























119









Temirbekovac 2007)






















120


encoding









(Bandura 1977)





















121

































122
























sect Glass ceilings





123



men (Oakley 2000)

















sect Glass cliffs










124
























125











in the workplace by
















126































127



























128
































129





























130






















organisation





mothers


131































132


amp Ladge 2009)














1997)













Padgett 2004)


133

































134























(Erickson 1963)








135




















who are









136






























137





















138




















Creativity




139









being


















2004 p114)




140
































141




2006)






















brain activity)






142





your life

























143





























144




al 2001 p9)







45 CONCLUSION











145

















Maxwell 2008)









146














evaluations










147



mechanisms

























148



























communicate





149































150






















mentoring








151







These entail





















152




























153

























154































155


personal leadership



























156





















outlets




personal mastery





157





























158



















53 CONCLUSION










159
















160


RECOMMENDATIONS




















challenges


161


















ethical study















162








successfully

























163






their performance























164























mastery




22 See Chapter 4


165




























166





























167






























168

67 RECOMMENDATIONS


















without children











169














68 CONCLUSION















170

LIST OF REFERENCES


















1107-18


Free Press







Guilford Press





Chicago IL USA

171







Development 27(1) 13-35 DOI 10110802621710810840749
























Routledge



172


Today 29 (5) 31




269) London Sage


and Schuster


















and Schuster



New York John Wiley


Simon and Schuster




173









17 78ndash91


Sage



Sage
















House


Thorsons



174



101111j1471-6402200700326









Press 77-79
















Publishers




32(1) 17-24

175








1828 doi102105AJPH2005080085








Books





Press














176



91




London Tavistock



157








57-67





264ndash288











Piatkus Books

177





doi101037a0014093





























178






University Press





gIIIpdf





Beverly Hills Sage






doi101177089484539201900104


41 3-13










179


Routledge









85 86 -101


Books



Executive 19(1) 106-123




aultaspx








York Basic Books







180


















53-59














v35il743



181









httpbraingallupcom


New York Praeger



Services



321minus334



10(3) 168ndash189



727ndash743 doi101007s10551-007-9465-6



Research 2(1) 1-28





922



182



10







Oaks CA Sage











doi101016S0191-3085(04)26001-4






193







183





34 939ndash951















202002pdf















184




199 doi 011771468794109356739






02russellkelly-ehtm
























185




amp Brothers





























186



631ndash645



Africa 50 1-30




1079-1092 doi1010370022-35148451079
















Kinetics



635




187














Review 15 (4) 666-681





595















Press

188














Inc







Quarterly 13 243-74



Praeger


Sage Publications








Bloomsbury

189

Websites








190



Field Notes Key




Metaphor Race





191
















192













193



194



Cell Cell

E-Mail E-Mail

Fax Fax



Date Place




195


Participant

(RP)

Metaphor amp

Current Position

Age

yrs

in

Working

hours

Childrenrsquos

ages

Husband

Career Life Cycle

Corporate

Culture

Networking

RP

1 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoSpi

ritrdquo

ndash

Spi

ritua

l Life

Coa

ch

35

1 S

elf

empl

oyed

12

8

Sin

gle

Par

ent

24 ndash

30

Sal

es amp

Mar

ketin

g 31

ndash 3

4 M

arke

ting

Man

ager

35 L

ife C

oach

Con

sulta

nt

Con

fere

nces

P

ublic

Tal

ks

Med

ia R

efer

rals

RP

2 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoMid

wife

rdquo ndash

Exe

cutiv

e C

oach

45+

10

Sel

f em

ploy

ed

24 2

7 1

0 M

arrie

d 25

-35

Dev

elop

men

t amp H

R C

onsu

ltant

35

-42

Dire

ctor

Bla

ck M

anag

emen

t For

um

43 ndash

45

Dire

ctor

for

Bus

ines

s C

onsu

lting

Con

sulta

nt

Con

fere

nces

P

ublic

Tal

ks

Med

ia R

efer

rals

RP

3

ldquoFlo

renc

e N

ight

inga

lerdquo

- G

ener

al M

anag

er

Cor

pora

te F

inan

ce

38

1 8

ndash 5

30

Eve

ning

s W

eeke

nds

5 2

M

D In

tern

atio

nal

On-

line

Gam

blin

g co

mpa

ny

24 ndash

26

Art

icle

s 27

ndash 3

3 A

ccou

nt M

anag

er

34 ndash

37

Man

ager

Acc

ount

ing

and

Tax

atio

n

38 G

ener

al M

anag

er C

orpo

rate

Fin

ance

Clin

ical

en

viro

nmen

t P

refe

rs to

kee

p w

ork

and

hom

e se

para

te

Mee

tings

and

C

onfe

renc

es

Mar

ketin

g ndash

Gol

f an

d di

nner

s

RP

4

ldquoIro

n W

oman

rdquo ndash

Sal

es amp

Mar

ketin

g D

irect

or

42

10

8 ndash

53

0

Wee

kend

so

cial

T

rave

l

12 1

0 C

isco

Eng

inee

r 23

ndash 2

8 S

ales

Per

son

29 ndash

31

Sal

es M

anag

er

32 ndash

42

Sal

es amp

Mar

ketin

g D

irect

or

Our

com

pany

is

fam

ily o

rient

ated

an

d su

ppor

ts

wom

en w

ith

fam

ilies

Our

MD

is

a fa

mily

man

he

has

chi

ldre

n of

his

ow

n an

d he

und

erst

ands

It

mak

es a

di

ffere

nce

Rug

by b

oxes

at

Loftu

s C

ricke

t at S

uper

S

port

Par

k G

olf a

t Ser

enge

ti

Tra

de S

how

s at

S

AT

NA

C e

n A

fric

om

Pla

ns

fam

ily li

fe a

roun

d ne

twor

king

RP

5

ldquoMur

ielrdquo

ndash P

ublic

Sec

tor

Exe

cutiv

e

47

1 8

00 ndash

19

00

Late

Nig

hts

Sun

days

24 2

0 1

0 C

A

31 -

35 R

epor

ting

to M

EC

36

- 4

0 C

OO

SE

TA

40

ndash 4

5 E

ntre

pren

eur

45 ndash

47

Pub

lic s

ecto

r E

xecu

tive

NO

FIT

V

ibey

soc

ial v

s

she

has

high

m

oral

val

ues

Con

fere

nces

tr

ade

show

s

inte

rnat

iona

l tr

avel

gol

f cy

clin

g la

te n

ight

m

eetin

gs

196

Participant

(RP)

Metaphor amp

Current Position

Age

yrs

in

Working

hours

Childrenrsquos

ages

Husband

Career Life Cycle

Corporate

Culture

Networking

RP

6

ldquoShi

rley

Val

entin

erdquo ndash

H

uman

Cap

ital

Con

sulta

nt

45

1 8

ndash 5

30

Eve

ning

s

Afte

r 21

00

15 1

3 S

ingl

e P

aren

t 28

ndash 3

8 E

ntre

pren

eur

39 -

45

Hum

an C

apita

list C

onsu

ltant

45 F

utur

e op

tions

ndash T

alen

t Man

ager

or

Con

sulti

ng

Con

sulta

nt ndash

A

sser

tive

arou

nd h

er r

ole

Con

fere

nces

gol

f

RP

7

ldquoRub

yrdquo

38

9 6

50 a

nd

try

to le

ave

at 4

30

12

3

Lect

urer

25

Sta

rted

in L

ogis

tics

29 ndash

38

Logi

stic

s M

anag

er

Fam

ily

orie

ntat

ed

Mee

tings

F

amily

act

iviti

es

RP

8

ldquoThe

Dip

lom

atrdquo

ndash

Kno

wle

dge

and

Info

rmat

ion

Spe

cial

ist

40

4 8

00 ndash

16

00

7 6

4

Atto

rney

20

ndash 2

7 E

arly

car

eer

Dip

lom

atic

ser

vice

27

ndash 3

0 In

tern

ship

IBM

30 ndash

32

Gov

ernm

ent 2

002

ndash A

gric

ultu

re

Kno

wle

dge

Man

agem

ent

2008

ndash T

axat

ion

Kno

wle

dge

Man

agem

ent

Cor

pora

te

envi

ronm

ent

- fle

xibl

e w

ork

arra

ngem

ent

Mee

tings

RP

9

ldquoFai

ry P

rince

ssrdquo

ndash

Acc

ount

s D

irect

or

40

3 8

00 ndash

16

30

10 8

C

EO

of I

T

Com

pany

22

ndash 2

7 S

ales

amp M

arke

ting

28 ndash

34

Mar

ketin

g M

anag

er

35 ndash

37

Snr

Mar

ketin

g M

anag

er

38 ndash

40

Acc

ount

s D

irect

or

Sal

es

envi

ronm

ent

- fle

xibl

e w

ork

arra

ngem

ent

Gol

f in

tern

atio

nal

trav

el l

unch

es

man

agem

ent t

rips

RP

10

ldquoFio

nardquo

- F

inan

cial

Man

ager

40

4

800

ndash

130

0 3

hour

s at

ni

ght

10 7

F

inan

cial

M

anag

er

23 ndash

27

Acc

ount

s C

lerk

28

ndash 3

1 A

ccou

nts

Man

ager

33

ndash 4

0 F

inan

cial

Man

ager

Fam

ily

orie

ntat

ed

com

pany

ndash

flexi

ble

wor

k ho

urs

Mee

tings

fam

ily

fun

days

197


D1 INTRODUCTION











journal and diary













198

D2 RESEARCH JOURNEY




















199
















would cause me

D21 Challenges











200

































201


















202

























203



















April 6 2011)










204









6 2011)























205
















206




























207




potholes








but irrelevant data


















208











literature







conversationrdquo










209









based resultsrdquo





July 7 2010)












dissertation






210





























211










study








place








took




212



bull Data analysis












finding










213




























214















2011)












the dissertation


215












entry July 20 2011)









2011)





216


D24 Lessons learned

















217





















EXAMINER 2








women leadersrdquo


218




























219

D4 CONCLUSION










oneself

iv

My academic support






























work

v













vi


vii

ABSTRACT

















dimensions




careers and lives








viii
























women leaders








ix


















x

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication i

Acknowledgements ii

Affidavit vi

Abstract vii

Table of Contents x


List of Tables xiii



11 INTRODUCTION 1

12 BACKGROUND 1



15 OBJECTIVES 7






18 CONCLUSION 9


21 INTRODUCTION 10


221 Ontology 10

222 Epistemology 11





241 Case study 13

xi





252 Sampling 18











27 CONCLUSION 44


31 INTRODUCTION 45



34 FINDINGS 51




35 CONCLUSION 104


41 INTRODUCTION 106








xii






45 CONCLUSION 144


51 INTRODUCTION 145





53 CONCLUSION 158


61 INTRODUCTION 160












68 CONCLUSION 169

xiii


ADDENDA






5



35


36



37




116





LIST OF TABLES





46

xiv

LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS





196



205


1


11 INTRODUCTION






12 BACKGROUND





















2

















Bilimoria 2008)















3














2009)
















4









5





W

HO

W

HAT

HO

W

ldquoWho

are wom

enlead

ers

rdquoldquoW

hat a

re th

e ch

alleng

es and

cop

ing

mec

hanism

srdquo

ldquoHow

are wom

en lead

ersrsquo

lives

directed

by pe

rson

al

lead

ersh

iprdquo

Define

Working Mothers

Spiritual Wellbeing

Mental Wellbeing

Physical Wellbeing




Emotional Wellbeing

Category



midlife










6













arrangements




















7

15 OBJECTIVES







objectives





experience


their careers



dimensions





following value


8










careers in midlife

















9










10


21 INTRODUCTION















221 Ontology










11


human mind)













to deal with

222 Epistemology













12





























13



2002)















241 Case study









14






















Type Definition




1995)

Instrumental




Multiple

case studies




15

Type Definition



Collective or

comparative





(Yin 2003)























midlife


16























collection methods






Shaping hypothesis















17


Huberman 1994)1





















18

252 Sampling






their experiences























19


























forthcoming


20




























21













More specifically







22


















Cha

pter

2 ndash

Res

earc

h D

esig

n

23


Participant

(RP)

Metaphor

Race

Age

Industry

Current position

Current

years in

position

Educational

Level

Sam

pling

technique

and date

interviewed

Interview

1 Interview 2

RP

1 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoSpi

ritrdquo

Whi

te

34

Cor

pora

te

Spi

ritua

l Life

Coa

ch

(Mar

ketin

g M

anag

er b

efor

e ca

reer

cha

nge)

1 M

aste

rs in

C

oach

ing

(UC

T)

Pur

posi

ve

19 J

an

2011

28

Jan

201

1

RP

2 (I

nfor

man

t)

ldquoMid

wife

rdquo B

lack

45

+ G

over

nmen

t an

d

Cor

pora

te

Exe

cutiv

e C

oach

C

onsu

ltant

M

anag

emen

t amp

Hum

an R

esou

rces

D

evel

opm

ent (

2002

-

pres

ent)

D

irect

or B

lack

M

anag

emen

t F

orum

10

BC

om I

nd

Psy

c (H

ons

(RA

U)

Sno

wba

ll 18

Aug

201

1 19

Aug

20

11

RP

3 ldquoF

lore

nce

Nig

htin

gale

rdquo W

hite

38

F

inan

cial

S

ervi

ces

Mot

or

Man

ufac

turin

g

Man

ager

A

ccou

ntin

g an

d T

axat

ion

1

B C

om C

A

(UP

) P

urpo

sive

23

Feb

20

11

15 J

un 2

011

RP

4

ldquoIro

n W

oman

rdquo W

hite

40

T

ele-

co

mm

unic

atio

n S

ales

amp M

arke

ting

Dire

ctor

10

B

Com

M

arke

ting

Pur

posi

ve

7 Ju

l 20

11

RP

5

ldquoMur

ielrdquo

Bla

ck

45

Info

rmat

ion

Tec

hnol

ogy

Pub

lic S

ecto

r E

xecu

tive

1

B C

om

Info

rmat

ion

Sys

tem

s

Sno

wba

ll 24

Aug

20

11

RP

6

ldquoShi

rley

Val

entin

erdquo

Col

oure

d 45

E

ngin

eerin

g H

uman

Cap

ital

Con

sulta

nt

1 B

Com

In

dust

Psy

ch

(UN

ISA

) P

urpo

sive

7

Jul

2011

Cha

pter

2 ndash

Res

earc

h D

esig

n

24

Par

ticip

ant

(RP

) M

etap

hor5

Rac

e A

ge

Indu

stry

C

urre

nt p

ositi

on

Cu r

rent

ye

ars

in

posi

tion

Edu

catio

nal

Leve

l

Sam

plin

g te

chni

que

and

date

in

terv

iew

ed

Inte

rvie

w

1 In

terv

iew

2

RP

7 ldquoR

ubyrdquo

In

dian

Tel

e-

com

mun

icat

ions

Lo

gist

ics

Man

ager

9

Logi

stic

s S

now

ball

17 A

ug

2011

RP

8 ldquoT

he

Dip

lom

atrdquo

Bla

ck

40

SA

RS

K

now

ledg

e an

d In

form

atio

n S

peci

alis

t 4

MC

om In

f S

yste

m (

UP

) S

now

ball

24 A

ug

2011

RP

9

ldquoFai

ry

Prin

cess

rdquo W

hite

40

In

form

atio

n T

echn

olog

y A

ccou

nts

Dire

ctor

3

BA

dmin

D

iplo

ma

Pur

posi

ve

25 F

eb

2011

RP

10

ldquoFio

nardquo

(Shr

ekrsquos

) W

hite

40

T

ele-

co

mm

unic

atio

ns

Fin

anci

al M

anag

er

4 B

Com

Acc

(H

ons)

RA

U

Pur

posi

ve

25 F

eb

2011

5 M

etap

horic

pse

udon

yms

are

incl

uded

in Chapter 3


25



observation

























26






























27














participants






257 Data management


sect Field notes




8 See Addendum A


28



























9 See Addendum D


29










258 Storing of data





















30



the audit trail

259 Data analysis






726)











developing theories








31





















1990 p23)





32




























33




















34



(2007 p96)












35















36







codes in a theme


37







38














39



























40





2510 Report writing














research story)









15 See Addendum C


41






















(Schurink 2009b)






42


















2004)















43








observation









worlds





study








44






27 CONCLUSION





45


31 INTRODUCTION










1996)












questions


46














Definition

Women in

leadersh

ip




Challen

ges an

d co

ping

mech

anism










Networking



47



















Spiritual wellbeing

Perso

nal lead

ership





Mental wellbeing






Recharge Ego


Physical wellbeing




Emotional wellbeing


48











are today





















49




































50














consulting firm













51

34 FINDINGS



























52


of leadership

















RP2_Midwife_232]










53


caring and empathy




RP5_Muriel_527]


















women leaders







54



RP2_Midwife_247]














55





midlife


women


them













56











Princess_916]





















57



























58

























59













Woman_481]










Valentine_658]


60













company benefits





Valentine_61]


discrimination





RP5_Muriel_58]


61










[P7 RP7_Ruby_762]















62







Valentine_642]







RP5_Muriel_59]






RP7_Ruby_750]


63



everyone














RP7_Ruby_748]








64


























65



























66




opportunities








Nightingale_321]

















67




























68







RP2_Midwife_229]








RP5_Muriel_517]








these levels






RP5_Muriel_525]


69




contributions






RP2_Midwife_244]



















70









RP5_Muriel_545]





Woman_179]
















71












RP5_Muriel_573]










Nightingale_346]





72


















73











careers










RP5_Muriel_523]







74
















Diplomat_814]

sect Role strain













75






RP6_Shirley_64]






Nightingale_316]









term






Diplomat_835]


76






























77









sect Dual Career



















78







Diplomat_827]




10_Fiona_119]










79














Nightingale_331]







RP10_1_Fiona_1110]








RP7_Ruby_757]


80



point of maturity





RP7_Ruby_757]





Woman_43]










81

sect Single parents











RP1_Spirit_128]









RP7_Ruby_751]






82




















Valentine_ 623]









83




simultaneously






RP5_Muriel_564]










Valentine_619]








84







priorities








RP2_Midwife_23]










RP5_Muriel_516]


85





Princess_103]














RP10_Fiona_1133]



Diplomat_828]





86










be














87



















excellence







88


from their jobs


RP5_Muriel_548]


women





















89



ndash Authenticity









Valentine_641]

ndash Wisdom





Nightingale_354]

ndash Intuition




90

ndash Passion




RP7_Ruby_756]





RP1_Spirit_129]

ndash Not judging




ndash Life lessons




ndash Gratitude


RP7_Ruby_721]

ndash Synchronicity




91

ndash Connectedness




RP1_Spirit_132]




ndash Giving back





RP10_Muriel_134]

ndash Respect





ndash Creativity




RP10_Fiona_113]




92














RP5_Muriel_5 60]





93


success








RP7_Ruby_735]



they so wished














94



ndash Perseverance







RP4_Iron Woman_49]




Valentine_62]












95








sect Temperament




RP1_Spirit_150]




Nightingale_34]













96























RP4_Iron Woman_417]






97


RP7_Ruby_752]

























98



sect Recharge















egocentric





99
















10_Fiona_131]






Nightingale_153]




100







RP5_Muriel_562]














101















RP7_Ruby_739]


102





emotions















[P7 RP7_Ruby_724]



7_Ruby_724]


103












104

35 CONCLUSION






























105





























106


41 INTRODUCTION














(ibid)













107







(Shank 2006 p118)





leaders
















2007)



108





























109






























2008)


110













Circle of In

fluence

Circle of C

oncern

CareerFinancial

Social

LOGOS


PATHOS


ETHOS







Circle of In

fluence

Circle of C

oncern

CareerFinancial

Social

LOGOS


PATHOS


ETHOS






111













p14)

















112




























113
































114






























(Goleman 2006 p11)


115














Hopkins 2007)















116













117





















118


Yang (Ebrey 1993)
























119









Temirbekovac 2007)






















120


encoding









(Bandura 1977)





















121

































122
























sect Glass ceilings





123



men (Oakley 2000)

















sect Glass cliffs










124
























125











in the workplace by
















126































127



























128
































129





























130






















organisation





mothers


131































132


amp Ladge 2009)














1997)













Padgett 2004)


133

































134























(Erickson 1963)








135




















who are









136






























137





















138




















Creativity




139









being


















2004 p114)




140
































141




2006)






















brain activity)






142





your life

























143





























144




al 2001 p9)







45 CONCLUSION











145

















Maxwell 2008)









146














evaluations










147



mechanisms

























148



























communicate





149































150






















mentoring








151







These entail





















152




























153

























154































155


personal leadership



























156





















outlets




personal mastery





157





























158



















53 CONCLUSION










159
















160


RECOMMENDATIONS




















challenges


161


















ethical study















162








successfully

























163






their performance























164























mastery




22 See Chapter 4


165




























166





























167






























168

67 RECOMMENDATIONS


















without children











169














68 CONCLUSION















170

LIST OF REFERENCES


















1107-18


Free Press







Guilford Press





Chicago IL USA

171







Development 27(1) 13-35 DOI 10110802621710810840749
























Routledge



172


Today 29 (5) 31




269) London Sage


and Schuster


















and Schuster



New York John Wiley


Simon and Schuster




173









17 78ndash91


Sage



Sage
















House


Thorsons



174



101111j1471-6402200700326









Press 77-79
















Publishers




32(1) 17-24

175








1828 doi102105AJPH2005080085








Books





Press














176



91




London Tavistock



157








57-67





264ndash288











Piatkus Books

177





doi101037a0014093





























178






University Press





gIIIpdf





Beverly Hills Sage






doi101177089484539201900104


41 3-13










179


Routledge









85 86 -101


Books



Executive 19(1) 106-123




aultaspx








York Basic Books







180


















53-59














v35il743



181









httpbraingallupcom


New York Praeger



Services



321minus334



10(3) 168ndash189



727ndash743 doi101007s10551-007-9465-6



Research 2(1) 1-28





922



182



10







Oaks CA Sage











doi101016S0191-3085(04)26001-4






193







183





34 939ndash951















202002pdf















184




199 doi 011771468794109356739






02russellkelly-ehtm
























185




amp Brothers





























186



631ndash645



Africa 50 1-30




1079-1092 doi1010370022-35148451079
















Kinetics



635




187














Review 15 (4) 666-681





595















Press

188














Inc







Quarterly 13 243-74



Praeger


Sage Publications








Bloomsbury

189

Websites








190



Field Notes Key




Metaphor Race





191
















192













193



194



Cell Cell

E-Mail E-Mail

Fax Fax



Date Place




195


Participant

(RP)

Metaphor amp

Current Position

Age

yrs

in

Working

hours

Childrenrsquos

ages

Husband

Career Life Cycle

Corporate

Culture

Networking

RP

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man

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ldquoSpi

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Spi

ritua

l Life

Coa

ch

35

1 S

elf

empl

oyed

12

8

Sin

gle

Par

ent

24 ndash

30

Sal

es amp

Mar

ketin

g 31

ndash 3

4 M

arke

ting

Man

ager

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ife C

oach

Con

sulta

nt

Con

fere

nces

P

ublic

Tal

ks

Med

ia R

efer

rals

RP

2 (I

nfor

man

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wife

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Exe

cutiv

e C

oach

45+

10

Sel

f em

ploy

ed

24 2

7 1

0 M

arrie

d 25

-35

Dev

elop

men

t amp H

R C

onsu

ltant

35

-42

Dire

ctor

Bla

ck M

anag

emen

t For

um

43 ndash

45

Dire

ctor

for

Bus

ines

s C

onsu

lting

Con

sulta

nt

Con

fere

nces

P

ublic

Tal

ks

Med

ia R

efer

rals

RP

3

ldquoFlo

renc

e N

ight

inga

lerdquo

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ener

al M

anag

er

Cor

pora

te F

inan

ce

38

1 8

ndash 5

30

Eve

ning

s W

eeke

nds

5 2

M

D In

tern

atio

nal

On-

line

Gam

blin

g co

mpa

ny

24 ndash

26

Art

icle

s 27

ndash 3

3 A

ccou

nt M

anag

er

34 ndash

37

Man

ager

Acc

ount

ing

and

Tax

atio

n

38 G

ener

al M

anag

er C

orpo

rate

Fin

ance

Clin

ical

en

viro

nmen

t P

refe

rs to

kee

p w

ork

and

hom

e se

para

te

Mee

tings

and

C

onfe

renc

es

Mar

ketin

g ndash

Gol

f an

d di

nner

s

RP

4

ldquoIro

n W

oman

rdquo ndash

Sal

es amp

Mar

ketin

g D

irect

or

42

10

8 ndash

53

0

Wee

kend

so

cial

T

rave

l

12 1

0 C

isco

Eng

inee

r 23

ndash 2

8 S

ales

Per

son

29 ndash

31

Sal

es M

anag

er

32 ndash

42

Sal

es amp

Mar

ketin

g D

irect

or

Our

com

pany

is

fam

ily o

rient

ated

an

d su

ppor

ts

wom

en w

ith

fam

ilies

Our

MD

is

a fa

mily

man

he

has

chi

ldre

n of

his

ow

n an

d he

und

erst

ands

It

mak

es a

di

ffere

nce

Rug

by b

oxes

at

Loftu

s C

ricke

t at S

uper

S

port

Par

k G

olf a

t Ser

enge

ti

Tra

de S

how

s at

S

AT

NA

C e

n A

fric

om

Pla

ns

fam

ily li

fe a

roun

d ne

twor

king

RP

5

ldquoMur

ielrdquo

ndash P

ublic

Sec

tor

Exe

cutiv

e

47

1 8

00 ndash

19

00

Late

Nig

hts

Sun

days

24 2

0 1

0 C

A

31 -

35 R

epor

ting

to M

EC

36

- 4

0 C

OO

SE

TA

40

ndash 4

5 E

ntre

pren

eur

45 ndash

47

Pub

lic s

ecto

r E

xecu

tive

NO

FIT

V

ibey

soc

ial v

s

she

has

high

m

oral

val

ues

Con

fere

nces

tr

ade

show

s

inte

rnat

iona

l tr

avel

gol

f cy

clin

g la

te n

ight

m

eetin

gs

196

Participant

(RP)

Metaphor amp

Current Position

Age

yrs

in

Working

hours

Childrenrsquos

ages

Husband

Career Life Cycle

Corporate

Culture

Networking

RP

6

ldquoShi

rley

Val

entin

erdquo ndash

H

uman

Cap

ital

Con

sulta

nt

45

1 8

ndash 5

30

Eve

ning

s

Afte

r 21

00

15 1

3 S

ingl

e P

aren

t 28

ndash 3

8 E

ntre

pren

eur

39 -

45

Hum

an C

apita

list C

onsu

ltant

45 F

utur

e op

tions

ndash T

alen

t Man

ager

or

Con

sulti

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Con

sulta

nt ndash

A

sser

tive

arou

nd h

er r

ole

Con

fere

nces

gol

f

RP

7

ldquoRub

yrdquo

38

9 6

50 a

nd

try

to le

ave

at 4

30

12

3

Lect

urer

25

Sta

rted

in L

ogis

tics

29 ndash

38

Logi

stic

s M

anag

er

Fam

ily

orie

ntat

ed

Mee

tings

F

amily

act

iviti

es

RP

8

ldquoThe

Dip

lom

atrdquo

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Kno

wle

dge

and

Info

rmat

ion

Spe

cial

ist

40

4 8

00 ndash

16

00

7 6

4

Atto

rney

20

ndash 2

7 E

arly

car

eer

Dip

lom

atic

ser

vice

27

ndash 3

0 In

tern

ship

IBM

30 ndash

32

Gov

ernm

ent 2

002

ndash A

gric

ultu

re

Kno

wle

dge

Man

agem

ent

2008

ndash T

axat

ion

Kno

wle

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Man

agem

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Cor

pora

te

envi

ronm

ent

- fle

xibl

e w

ork

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Mee

tings

RP

9

ldquoFai

ry P

rince

ssrdquo

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Acc

ount

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irect

or

40

3 8

00 ndash

16

30

10 8

C

EO

of I

T

Com

pany

22

ndash 2

7 S

ales

amp M

arke

ting

28 ndash

34

Mar

ketin

g M

anag

er

35 ndash

37

Snr

Mar

ketin

g M

anag

er

38 ndash

40

Acc

ount

s D

irect

or

Sal

es

envi

ronm

ent

- fle

xibl

e w

ork

arra

ngem

ent

Gol

f in

tern

atio

nal

trav

el l

unch

es

man

agem

ent t

rips

RP

10

ldquoFio

nardquo

- F

inan

cial

Man

ager

40

4

800

ndash

130

0 3

hour

s at

ni

ght

10 7

F

inan

cial

M

anag

er

23 ndash

27

Acc

ount

s C

lerk

28

ndash 3

1 A

ccou

nts

Man

ager

33

ndash 4

0 F

inan

cial

Man

ager

Fam

ily

orie

ntat

ed

com

pany

ndash

flexi

ble

wor

k ho

urs

Mee

tings

fam

ily

fun

days

197


D1 INTRODUCTION











journal and diary













198

D2 RESEARCH JOURNEY




















199
















would cause me

D21 Challenges











200

































201


















202

























203



















April 6 2011)










204









6 2011)























205
















206




























207




potholes








but irrelevant data


















208











literature







conversationrdquo










209









based resultsrdquo





July 7 2010)












dissertation






210





























211










study








place








took




212



bull Data analysis












finding










213




























214















2011)












the dissertation


215












entry July 20 2011)









2011)





216


D24 Lessons learned

















217





















EXAMINER 2








women leadersrdquo


218




























219

D4 CONCLUSION










oneself

women leaders, personal leadership and challenges

Documents