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The Dynamics of Role Modelling in the Workplace

Volume Editors: Shruti Vidyasagar and Poornima Hatti

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Background

A role model can be a powerful influence on self-identity, self-belief and visualising one's future self. Gibson (2003) finds that in a workplace setting, individuals use role models (by choosing specific attributes) throughout their career, to generate, refine and affirm their self-concept. He notes however that in the context of organisational careers, role models have received scant attention from scholars (Gibson 2004). This is in contrast to the prolific research available on other developmental relationships in the workplace, such as mentoring (Allen & Eby 2007; Ragins & Kram 2007), coaching (Megginson & Clutterbuck 2005), performance support (Coulson-Thomas 2011), and peer relationships (Kram & Isabella 1985).

In this volume, we seek to view role modelling as an independent construct, separate from the other developmental relationships in the workplace. While doing so, we use three levels of analysis: individual (follower), dyadic (follower and role model), and ecosystem (workplaces that include institutional followers and role models). We adopt a wide definition of workplace, which includes not only structured corporate entities or organisations (irrespective of size), but also semi-structured or unstructured workplaces that are found in professions such as law or medicine, or arenas such as politics, which may be individual-driven or have other special characteristics.

We attempt to explore the effect of role modelling as a process, whether it can aid in career development and provide psycho-social support-akin to mentoring (Kram 1985)-in addition to shaping identity (Gibson 2003, 2004) and providing the motivation and means to achieve goals (Lockwood & Kunda 1997), as has hitherto been understood. Do the dynamics of personal identification (Ashforth et al. 2016) result in choosing role models? Do institutional followers take the same paths as individuals in identifying role models?

We also wish to examine how role modelling differs from mentoring, while acknowledging that is well-accepted that mentors should (if they are not already) be role models (Levinson et al. 1978; Kram 1985). There is literature available on the interplay between various mentoring programmes and role models in the context of shaping organisational cultures (Kane-Urrabazo 2006). However, measuring the success of role modelling may not be possible without the follower actually articulating its impact, in contrast to evaluating organised mentorship schemes (McKimm et al. 2007). There is also a view that mentoring suits only certain kinds of organisations, such as those with long-term thinking (Jones 2011). Further, there are, for obvious reasons, hardly any studies on failed mentorship programmes-Clutterbuck (2011) ascribes failure to contextual, interpersonal or procedural causes-and there is a dearth of studies examining the tension or conflict between role modelling and mentorship programmes in an organisational setting.

We also consider special conditions of diversity in India, where gender, caste, religion and the rural–urban divide may aid or pose challenges to reaping the benefits of role modelling. Some works examine the dynamics of mentoring relationships in India (Ramaswami & Dreher 2010) and consider how women professionals find limitations in enacting these relationships (Blake-Beard 2015), but role modelling in the Indian workplace is yet to be fully explored. One study conducted in schools in India confirms that learning amongst primary school children improved if the teacher had common characteristics with the student in terms of gender, caste and class (Rawal and Kingdon 2010). Further, Beaman et al. (2012) find that a policy initiative by the Indian state that led to more women leaders raised girls' aspirations and reflected a role model effect. That gendered aspects of role modelling are under-researched is noted by Sealy & Singh (2009), who then call for greater understanding of how gender and organisational demography influence the role modelling process.

Exploratory Questions

We invite contributions from scholars and practitioners who are involved in researching the various dimensions of leadership, with a particular focus on role modelling in the framework of mentorship and diversity. Some questions that may be considered in building theoretical and methodological approaches to the topic are set out below-do note that it is an indicative, not exhaustive, list.

Follower, Role Model and Ecosystem

o   In workplaces, who seek role models and why?

o   Can organisations be followers in the role modelling context?

o   Who can be considered role models?

o   Do institutional role models exist?

o   What factors affect choice of role models? Similarities or differences? Public persona or private information? How and why are choices made across/outside workplaces and professions?

o   What is the part played by, and significance of, role models to unstructured (informally structured), unorganised workplaces / professions (law, medicine, politics, etc.)?

o   What happens when role models fail, or are ineffective, or lose sheen?

o   What happens when followers lose faith or are not successful, despite emulating a role model?

o   What are the alternatives to role modelling?

o   Can a follower aspire to be a role model, and if yes, what should she do to actualise this?

o   Could followers have expectations of role models, and if so, what could they be?

o   Does knowledge of being a role model change the role model's behaviour?

o   Is there a special responsibility on women to help other women, minorities to help minorities, and so on?

o   What is the role of law and policy, if any, in enabling effective role modelling?

Role Modelling and Mentorship

o   How are role modelling and mentorship different?

o   Can role modelling and mentorship co-exist and function effectively?

o   How should organisations approach role modelling? Can/should programmes be designed to encourage role modelling, similar to mentorship programmes?

o   Are there circumstances where one approach necessarily works better than the other? For example, with entrepreneurs.

o   Can mentorship and role modelling conflict, in terms of objectives (varied perceptions of success) or results? In what circumstances? What are effects of the tension on followers, mentors and organisations?

Special Focus on India

o   How does role modelling play out in India, where one finds extensive diversity, in terms of caste, religion, rural–urban divide, etc. in the workplace?

o   How do culture and gender–related aspects impact role modelling in Indian workplaces?

o   How does role modelling in India compare to how it works in other countries, for example, the United States, or European Union nations?

o   Does role modelling help or harm in workplaces that are individual-dominated or family-run?

o   What influence can role modelling have in specific workplaces such as courts and law firms, amongst lawyers and judges?

Submissions and Deadlines

§  You are invited to submit 300-word abstracts by 30 June 2016.

§  All submitted abstracts will be subjected to a peer review.

§  Contributors of accepted abstracts will be required to submit full chapters by 31 October 2016.  

§  Chapters should be well written, and be between 5,000 and 7,000 words in length.

§  Authors should follow Palgrave Macmillan's manuscript and styling guidelines.

§  The volume is expected to be published in 2017.

§  Please write to the editors with the abstracts, or contact them if you need further information about the submission process: Shruti Vidyasagar (shruti.vidyasagar@gmail.com) and Poornima Hatti (poornimahatti@gmail.com). 

References

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Ashforth, B.E., B.S. Schinoff and K.M. Rogers. 2016. '"I Identify with Her," "I Identify with Him": Unpacking the Dynamics of Personal Identification in Organizations', Academy of Management Review, 41(1): 28–60.

Beaman, L., E. Duflo, R. Pande and P. Topalova. 2012. 'Female Leadership Raises Aspirations and Educational Attainment for Girls: A Policy Experiment in India', Science, 335(6068): 582–586. DOI: 10.1126/science.1212382

Blake-Beard, S. 2015. 'Confronting Paradox: Exploring Mentoring Relationships as a Catalyst for Understanding the Strength and Resilience of Professional Indian Women', in P. Kumar (ed.), Unveiling Women's Leadership: Identity and Meaning of Leadership in India, pp. 25–43. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

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Levinson, D.J., C.N. Darrow, E.B. Klein, M.H. Levinson and B. McKee. 1978. The Seasons of a Man's Life. New York: Knopf.

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Rawal, S. and G. Kingdon. 2010. 'Akin to My Teacher: Does Caste, Religious or Gender Distance between Student and Teacher Matter? Some Evidence from India', Department of Quantitative Social Science Working Paper No. 10–18. Institute of Education, University of London.

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