Integrating work engagement in leader identity development: Proposed method and statistical validation

Abstract

Leader identity development, where the focus shifts from individual- to collective-level identity, is critical to ensure leaders’ continuous development. However, the leader development process brings with the challenge of leader burnout. This study aimed to propose and apply a method to facilitate a shift in leader identity focus by simultaneously fostering work engagement as a counter-concept to burnout. The proposed method consists of 17 frames and deepens the leader’s self-awareness. The participants in this study's experiment were in their early 20s and worked at a growing Japanese company. A previous study’s leader identity development method (i.e., the Leader Identity Development Canvas) is compared with the method proposed in this study. The participants completed pre- and post-implementation questionnaires for each method and the results were verified through statistical analysis using the level of self-concept and Utrecht work engagement scales. The results suggested that fostering work engagement may support leaders’ identity development. We found that participants’ perception of themselves as leaders led them to recognize the individual level of leader identity and may further shift their focus to the collective level. However, room remains for further consideration and it must be continuously investigated in future studies. Implications for theory and practice are finally discussed.