Introduction
In this text, the author, Barbara Curry, examines the leadership traits of women who have taken up leadership roles and the challenges they face in their ascendancy to leadership positions. Through a dynamic approach, the book analyses the sociological, philosophical and psychological factors that define women leaders and the aspects of effective leadership.
This paper explores female leadership traits and cultural and social contexts that promote women’s ascendancy to power by reviewing, critiquing and evaluating the key concepts in Curry’s text and other literature on women’s leadership.
The Text’s Theoretical Arguments and Concepts
Through a brief account of the journeys of eight women leaders, Curry (2000) first analyses the theories of leadership and management including leadership style, trait, team, contingency, and situational. She then examines the environmental factors that foster leadership development. This forms the theoretical framework for her argument that ascend to leadership positions is a personal journey, not a change process as described by earlier theories.
Curry (2000) notes that personal beliefs, commitments, and values change during personal journeys from childhood to adulthood; past personal experiences define the present leader’s persona (Regan, &Brooks, 1995). Curry (2000) supports this argument by sharing the developmental journeys of eight female leaders, who were administrators of universities, colleges and government offices.
The Relationship between the Text’s Argument and Concepts
In this text, the author charts a new course for female leadership by demonstrating the relationships between her main argument and key leadership concepts. She criticizes traditional conceptions and theories of examining leadership as a product of trait, style and teams and provides a new perspective; leadership development as an adaptive process closely related to personal development from childhood to adulthood and maturation.
By providing selected success stories of women in leadership, Curry (2000) also links leader persona in women leaders with philosophical and sociological perspectives of these leaders. She dismisses mythical conceptions surrounding women’s leadership and portrays leadership as an interdisciplinary and holistic concept determined by behavior and emotional intelligence (Fletcher, 2001).
From the stories of the eight women, Curry (2000) identifies transcendent themes and connects them to the leader persona. She shows that personal experiences enable each person to develop his or her leadership persona and foster authentic leadership.
Critique of the Text’s Arguments
In the text, the author’s dynamic approach serves to bridge the gap between theory and proactive intervention to foster women’s leadership development. She demonstrates that through an enabling environment that fosters leadership persona, women can easily ascend to leadership roles. In this regard, in the digital age, more women can assume leadership roles in the current business structures if responsibilities and career opportunities are flexible and fair (Helgesen, 1995).
By drawing from the eight women’s leaders’ personal journeys, Curry (2000) shows that personal experiences play a role in identity achievement. Identity achievement is a crucial concept towards understanding women’s perceptions of leadership and authentic leadership (Zichy, 2000). Thus, the text contributes greatly to theory development and provides a framework for encouraging and training future women leaders.
Summary of the Text Arguments and Importance
Curry (2000) uses personal life journeys of eight female leaders to analyze the environmental factors and personality traits that foster leadership development. She also analyses the sociological, philosophical, and psychological constructs of women leaders and the development of leader personality. In this way, she portrays leadership as a process that goes hand in hand with adult development. Her approach is important for institutions that aim to encourage women employees to seek leadership positions.
Summative Evaluation of the Text
The text is a good read, particularly for students and employees. The personal journeys of the women in high administrative positions can inspire and motivate women to seek leadership roles. Also, the relationship between personal journeys and the development of leadership persona provides a new perspective of examining leadership that goes beyond the traditional approach.
References
Curry, B. (2000). Woman in power: pathway to leadership in education. New York, NY: Teacher’s College, Columbia University.
Fletcher, K. (2001). Disappearing Acts: Gender, Power, and Relational Practice at Work. New York: MIT Press.
Helgesen, S. (1995). The Female Advantage: Women’s Ways of Leadership. New York: Doubleday Currency.
Regan, B., & Brooks, G. (1995). Out of Women’s Experience: Creating Relational Leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Zichy, S. (2000). Women and the Leadership Q: Revealing the Four Paths to Influence And Power. London: McGraw-Hill.