61 INTRODUCTION In this the final chapter I firstly summarise the research Secondly I present
iii) formulated the objectives of the study iv) briefly reviewed the current level of
leaders experience in society and in organisations- specifically working mothers in
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
Chapter 6 - Preacutecis Implications and Recommendations
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
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) 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
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
Chapter 6 - Preacutecis Implications and Recommendations
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
Chapter 6 - Preacutecis Implications and Recommendations
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
Chapter 6 - Preacutecis Implications and Recommendations
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
Chapter 6 - Preacutecis Implications and Recommendations
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
Chapter 6 - Preacutecis Implications and Recommendations
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)
Chapter 6 - Preacutecis Implications and Recommendations
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
Chapter 6 - Preacutecis Implications and Recommendations
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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Day DV (2000) Leadership development A review in context The Leadership
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De Janasz SC Sullivan SE amp Whiting V (2003) Mentor networks and career
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Denzin NK amp Lincoln YS (2000) Introduction In NK Denzin and YS Lincoln
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Dreyer LI Le Roux EC Loots JM amp Strydom GL (2002) Fisieke aktiwiteit
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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
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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
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H (Eds) Research at grass roots A primer for the social science and human
professions (4th edn) (pp 297-306) Pretoria South Africa JL Van Schaik
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
Goleman D (1998) Working with emotional intelligence New York Bantam
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
existing leadership models Unpublished doctoral thesis University of
Johannesburg South Africa
176
Guba EG (1981) Criteria for assessing the trustworthiness of naturalistic
inquiries Educational Communication and Technology Journal 29 (2) 75-
91
Halpern DF amp Cheung FM (2008) Women at the top Powerful leaders tell us
how to combine work and family New York Wiley-Blackwell
Hammersley M amp Atkinson P (1983) Ethnography Principles in practice
London Tavistock
Harrington B amp Ladge JJ (2009) Work-life integration Present dynamics and
future directions for organizations Organizational Dynamics 38(2) 148ndash
157
Heilman ME (2001) Description and prescription How gender stereotypes
prevent womens ascent up the organizational ladder Journal of Social
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
Hochschild AR (1989) The second shift New York Avon
Hochschild AR (1997) The time bind When work becomes home and home
becomes work New York Henry Holt
Hofstede G (March 1993) Cultures and organizations Software of the mind
Administrative Science Quarterly Johnson Graduate School of
Management Cornell University 38(1) 132ndash134
Hofstede G (2001) Culturersquos consequences Comparing values behaviors
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)
Advances in global leadership Stanford JAI Press
Humphrey RH (2002) The many faces of emotional leadership Leadership
Quarterly 13 493-504
International Labour Organisation (2003) Time for equality at work Global report
under the follow-up to the ILO declaration on fundamental principles and
rights at work report International Labour Conference 91st Session
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
Jung CG (1962) Symbols of transformation An analysis of the prelude to a case
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
Kellehear A (1993) The unobtrusive researcher A guide to methods St
Leonards Australia Allen amp Unwin
Khurana R (2002) Searching for a corporate savior Princeton NJ Princeton
University Press
Kiddler T (1982) Soul of a new machine New York Avon
King Committee (2009) Corporate and commercial King report on Governance for
South Africa Retrieved from
httpswwwsaicacozaPortals0documentsPWC20SteeringPoint20Kin
gIIIpdf
Kouzes JM amp Posner BZ (1993) Credibility How leaders gain and lose it and
why people demand it San Francisco Jossey-Bass
Kram KE (1985) Mentoring at work Glenview IL Scott Foresman
Krippendorff K (1980) Content analysis An introduction to its methodology
Beverly Hills Sage
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)
Thousand Oaks CA Sage Publications
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
Mouton J amp Marais HC (1996) Basic concepts in the methodology of the social
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
httpbraingallupcom
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
Services
Oakley JG (2000) Gender-based barriers to senior management positions
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
for connection Business Horizons 36 42ndash51
Partsch KJ (1982) Fundamental principles of human rights Self-determination
equality and non-discrimination in K Vasak (Ed) The international
Dimensions of Human Rights (Paris UNESCO 1982) (pp 76-77)
Patton MQ (1987) Qualitative evaluation methods Beverly Hills Thousand
Oaks CA Sage
Patton MQ (1990) Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd edn)
Newbury Park Thousand Oaks CA Sage
Patton MW (2002) Qualitative evaluation and research methods (3rd edn)
Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks CA Sage
Petrides KV amp Furnham A (2000) Gender differences in measured and self-
estimated trait emotional intelligence Sex Roles 42 449-61
Pinfield L (1986) A field evaluation of perspectives on organizational decision
making Administrative Science Quarterly 31 365-388
Podolny JM Khurana R amp Hill-Popper M (2005) Revisiting the meaning of
leardership Research in Organizational Behavior 26 1ndash36
doi101016S0191-3085(04)26001-4
Polit DF amp Hungler BP (1999) Nursing Research Principles and Methods (6th
edn) Philadelphia New York Baltimore JB Lippincott Company
Powell GN (Ed) (1999) Handbook of gender and work Thousand Oaks Sage
Powell GN Butterfield DA amp Parent JD (2002) Gender and managerial
stereotypes Have the times changed Journal of Management 28 177ndash
193
Powell GN amp Mainiero LA (1992) Cross-currents in the river of time
Conceptualizing the complexities of womenrsquos careers Journal of
Management 18(2) 215ndash237
Potter WJ (1996) An analysis of thinking and research about qualitative
methods New Jersey Lawrence Erlbaum
Prescott S (2000) Realising the self within Seattle Washington Elfin Cove
183
Punch KF (2005) Introduction to social research ndash Quantitative amp qualitative
approaches London Sage
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
fail MIT Sloan Management Review 83ndash88
Republic of South Africa (1998) Employment Equity Act No 55 of 1998 Pretoria
Retrieved from httpwwwlabourgovzadownloadslegislationactslabour-
relationsamendmentsAmendment20-20Labour20Relations20Act
202002pdf
Republic of South Africa (1998 2002) Labour Relations Act of 1995 Retrieved
from httpwwwlabourgovzadownloadslegislationactslabour-relations
amendmentsAmendment20-20Labour20Relations20Act202002pdf
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
doi101016jleaqua200807011
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
February 2010 Johannesburg University of Johannesburg
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
Quarterly 13 643ndash671
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
Dr Mary Anne Harrop-Allin
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
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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)
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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)
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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
Photo 6 Dress rehearsal meeting - Dr Harrop-Allin and Marlize June 22 2011
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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)
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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)
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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
Addendum D ndash My Research Story
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