A cross-cultural study of the role of obstacles on resilience in leadership formation

Purpose - The paper aims to report findings from research conducted that illustrates cross-cultural differences and similarities on the role obstacles, as defined by leadership antecedents, play in the levels of resilience found in leaders. While research has demonstrated a link between obstacles and the development of resilience in leadership, previous studies have not looked at whether this link exists across cultures and what differences or factors might affect this link. Design/methodology/approach - The research provides additional evidence that the types of developmental experiences and the level of self-differentiation in the leader relates to the levels of resiliency within a leader. Furthermore, the research examines cultural differences in the findings and offers possible explanations for them. The study reflects responses from 365 participants (151 from USA, 112 from India and 102 from Germany). The study uses leadership antecedent categories, the Differentiation of Self Inventory, Short Form and the Connor Davidson Resilience Scale. Demographic information on participants included sex, age, level of education, years of leadership experience and industry. Findings - The results demonstrate that resiliency is positively correlated with both the leadership antecedents and differentiation of self. In light of the research findings, the authors highlight the relationship between resiliency and the leadership antecedents, while providing rationale for cultural differences in this relationship, and highlight the relationship between resiliency and differentiation of self, while providing rationale for cultural differences in this relationship. Research limitations/implications - The research implications include being able to determine whether a leader’s cultural identity has any effect on the development of resilience through hardships. Additionally, the research has the ability to have more generalized results, as the study looks at leaders across three distinct cultures. The study has two major limitations. First, the study was conducted with a convenient sample, which may not be a true representation across the entire culture. Second, the study only looks at three distinct cultures, which represent three of the ten major cultural clusters in the world, according to the leadership literature. Practical implications - If leadership developers can begin to understand the interplay between developmental antecedents and the development of resilience, training can be tailored more specifically, even within distinct cultures. Additionally, understanding how differing cultures develop resilience and understand hardships as a part of that development, researchers can begin to isolate other variables that contribute to the development of resilience and other desirable leadership attributes, regardless of cultural background. Originality/value - The study’s findings provide an additional argument for why obstacles and developmental experiences are a logical and necessary part of the formation process for leaders. Additionally, the study looks at the importance of the cultural dimension of an emerging leader, as it relates to the development of resilience. If hardships represent a significant role in leadership formation, then understanding this step is vital for the development of future leaders and leadership training in diverse cultural contexts. Everyone experiences some sort of hardship in life; however, effective leaders may intentionally use these obstacles as a training ground by overcoming them.