“Do i have the right to lead?“ identity work of emerging Russian business leaders in a leadership development programme

Through a qualitative study of 30 Russian managers and entrepreneurs who graduated from an 18-month Master of Business Administration Programme (MBA) in Moscow, Russia, the research answers two questions: (1) what does leadership mean in the Russian context as described by emerging Russian business leaders? and (2) how do these leaders develop their leadership identity within a leadership development programme? Key research findings reveal that perceptions about effective leadership in Russia are changing, presumably due to a generational shift, and that the leadership identity work in a leadership development programme is fuelled by participants' efforts to promote their leader efficacy. The thesis contributes to social identity theory, implicit leadership theory, and identity theory. Social identity theory is enriched by proposing specific characteristics of Russian leadership identity and describing the challenges emerging Russian leaders face because of conflicting leadership prototypes for self-to-leader comparison. Implicit leadership theory benefits from the evidence that perceptions about Russian leadership characteristics are changing; emerging business leaders prefer a more participative, humane oriented, transformational approach over a transactional, directive and authoritarian one. Finally, identity theory is strengthened by establishing a link between leader efficacy and leadership identity work and by proposing a process model of leader efficacy development and leadership identity work within an educational programme. The study also indicates avenues for further research.