Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Leading with Support: The Role of Social Support for Positive and Negative Events in Leader Development

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Leader Development Deconstructed

Part of the book series: Annals of Theoretical Psychology ((AOTP,volume 15))

Abstract

Major areas of focus within past work on leader development center on aspects of one’s own identity and self-awareness, one’s ability to grow, change, and adapt to new situations, and development of the necessary skills and competencies needed to lead. There has been some discussion of the importance of social networks or relationships, but an understanding of the unique ways in which various types of social support received (and provided) within those relationships may contribute to leader development has not been fully examined. Here, I explore past work on social support to illustrate the unique ways in which support given and received for both positive and negative events may help develop leaders, as support communicates acceptance and affirmation and provides important outside perspectives.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Allen, S. J. (2008). Leader development: An exploration of sources of learning. Organization Development Journal, 26(2), 75–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Avolio, B. J., & Hannah, S. T. (2008). Developmental readiness: Accelerating leader development. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 60(4), 331–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497–529.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bennis, W., & Thomas, R. J. (2002). Crucibles of leadership. Harvard Business Review, 80(9), 39–45.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bono, J. E., & Ilies, R. (2006). Charisma, positive emotions, and mood contagion. The Leadership Quarterly, 17, 317–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyce, L. A., Zaccaro, S. J., & Wisecarver, M. Z. (2010). Propensity for self-development of leadership attributes: Understanding, predicting, and supporting performance of leader self-development. The Leadership Quarterly, 21, 159–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, S. L., Nesse, R. M., Vinokur, A. D., & Smith, D. M. (2003). Providing social support may be more beneficial than receiving it: Results from a prospective study of mortality. Psychological Science, 14(4), 320–327.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barbee, A. P., Derlega, V. J., Sherburne, S. P., & Grimshaw, A. (1998). Helpful and unhelpful forms of social support for HIV-positive individuals. In V. J. Derlega & A. P. Barbee (Eds.), HIV and social interaction (pp. 83–105). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolger, N., Zuckerman, A., & Kessler, R. C. (2000). Invisible support and adjustment to stress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(6), 953.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S. (1988). Psychosocial models of the role of social support in the etiology of physical disease. Health Psychology, 7(3), 269–297.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 310–357.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, N. L., & Feeney, B. C. (2013). Attachment and caregiving in adult close relationships: Normative processes and individual differences. Attachment & Human Development, 15(3), 241–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cutrona, C. E. (1996). The interplay of negative and supportive support behaviors in marriage. In G. R. Pierce, B. R. Sarason, & I. G. Sarason (Eds.), Handbook of social support and the family (pp. 173–194). New York: Plenum.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cannon, M. D., & Edmondson, A. C. (2005). Failing to learn and learning to fail (intelligently): How great organizations put failure to work to innovate and improve. Long Range Planning, 38(3), 299–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day, D. (2001). Leadership development: A review in context. The Leadership Quarterly, 11(4), 581–613.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day, D. V., Fleenor, J. W., Atwater, L. E., Sturm, R. E., & McKee, R. A. (2014). Advances in leader and leadership development: A review of 25 years of research and theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 25, 63–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day, D. V., & Harrison, M. M. (2007). A multilevel, identity-based approach to leadership development. Human Resource Management Review, 17, 360–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E. L., La Guardia, J. G., Moller, A. C., Scheiner, M. J., & Ryan, R. M. (2006). On the benefits of giving as well as receiving autonomy support: Mutuality in close friendships. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 313–327.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Drake, D. B. (2009). Using attachment theory in coaching leaders: The search for a coherent narrative. International Coaching Psychology Review, 4(1), 49–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, S., Mendel, R., & Nir, M. (2006). Learning from successful and failed experience: The moderating role of kind of after-event review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(3), 669–680.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fleming, R., Baum, A., Gisriel, M. M., & Gatchel, R. J. (1982). Mediating influences of social support on stress at Three Mile Island. Journal of Human Stress, 8(3), 14–23.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson, B. L., & Branigan, C. (2005). Positive emotions broaden the scope of attention and thought-action repertoires. Cognition and Emotion, 19(3), 313–332.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Gable, S. L., Gosnell, C. L., Maisel, N. C., & Strachman, A. (2012). Safely testing the alarm: Close others’ responses to personal positive events. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 103(6), 963–981.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, W. L., Avolio, B. J., Luthans, F., May, D. R., & Walumbwa, F. (2005). Can you see the real me? A self-based model of authentic leader and follower development. The Leadership Quarterly, 16, 343–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • George, B., Sims, P., McLean, A. N., & Mayer, D. (2007). Discovering your authentic leadership. Harvard Business Review, 85(2), 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goleman, D. (2004). What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review, 82(1), 82–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gosnell, C. L., & Gable, S. L. (2015). Providing partner support in good times and bad: Providers’ outcomes. Family Science, 6(1), 150–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gleason, M. E., Iida, M., Bolger, N., & Shrout, P. E. (2003). Daily supportive equity in close relationships. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(8), 1036–1045.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gosnell, C. L., & Gable, S. L. (2017). You deplete me: Impacts of providing positive and negative event support on self‐control. Personal Relationships.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, R. K., Conklin, T. A., & Allen, S. J. (2008). Individual leader development: An appreciative inquiry approach. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 10(5), 632–650.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hazler, R. J., & Denham, S. A. (2002). Social isolation of youth at risk: Conceptualizations and practical implications. Journal of Counseling & Development, 80, 403–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammond, M., Clapp-Smith, R., & Palanski, M. (2017). Beyond (just) the workplace: A theory of leader development across multiple domains. Academy of Management Review, 42(3), 481–498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ibarra, H., Snook, S., & Ramo, L.G. (2008). Identity-based leader development. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228980188_Identitybased_leader_development.

  • Ilies, R., Keeney, J., & Scott, B. A. (2011). Work-family interpersonal capitalization: Sharing positive work events at home. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 114, 115–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaul, M., & Lakey, B. (2003). Where is the support in perceived support? The role of generic relationship satisfaction and enacted support in perceived support’s relation to low distress. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 22(1), 59–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Komives, S. R., Longerbeam, S. D., Owen, J. E., Mainella, F. C., & Osteen, L. (2006). A leadership identity development model: Applications from a grounded theory. Journal of College Student Development, 47(4), 401–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larsson, G., Bartone, P. T., Bos-Bakx, M., Danielsson, E., Jelusic, L., Johansson, E., … Wachowicz, M. (2006). Leader development in natural context: A grounded theory approach to discovering how military leaders grow. Military Psychology, 18, 69–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, W., Li, Z., Ling, Y., & Cai, T. (2016). Core self-evaluations and coping styles as mediators between social support and well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 88, 35–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maisel, N. C., & Gable, S. L. (2009). The paradox of received social support: The importance of responsiveness. Psychological Science, 20(8), 928–932.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maisel, N. C., Gable, S. L., & Strachman, A. (2008). Responsive behaviors in good times and in bad. Personal Relationships, 15, 317–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCauley, C.D. (2008). Leader development: A review of research. Unpublished manuscript.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchie, S., & Gooty, J. (2005). Values, emotions, and authenticity: Will the real leader please stand up? The Leadership Quarterly, 16, 441–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Monfort, S. S., Kaczmarek, L. D., Kashdan, T. B., Drazkowski, D., Kosakowski, M., Guzik, P., … Gracanin, A. (2014). Capitalizing on the success of romantic partners: A laboratory investigation on subjective, facial, and physiological emotional processing. Personality and Individual Differences, 68, 149–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moores, L., & Popadiuk, N. (2011). Positive aspects of international student transitions: A qualitative inquiry. Journal of College Student Development, 52(3), 291–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., & Collins, N. L. (2006). Optimizing assurance: The risk regulation system in relationships. Psychological Bulletin, 132(5), 641.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Popper, M., & Amit, K. (2009). Influence of attachment style on major psychological capacities to lead. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 170(3), 244–267.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Popper, M., Mayseless, O., & Castelnovo, O. (2000). Transformational leadership and attachment. The Leadership Quarterly, 11(2), 267–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reichard, R. J., & Johnson, S. K. (2011). Leader self-development as organizational strategy. The Leadership Quarterly, 22, 33–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reis, H. T., Clark, M. S., & Holmes, J. G. (2004). Perceived partner responsiveness as an organizing construct in the study of intimacy and closeness. In Handbook of closeness and intimacy (pp. 201–225). Mahwah, New Jersey: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reis, H. T., Smith, S. M., Carmichael, C. L., Caprariello, P. A., Tsai, F., Rodrigues, A., & Maniaci, M. R. (2010). Are you happy for me? How sharing positive events with others provides personal and interpersonal benefits. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(2), 311–329.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Snook, S., Ibarra, H., & Ramo, L. (2010). Identity-based leader development. In N. Nohria & R. Khurana (Eds.), Leadership theory and practice (pp. 657–678). Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scholz, U., Stadler, G., Ochsner, S., Rackow, P., Hornung, R., & Knoll, N. (2016). Examining the relationship between daily changes in support and smoking around a self-set quit date. Health Psychology, 35(5), 514.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shrout, P. E., Herman, C. M., & Bolger, N. (2006). The costs and benefits of practical and emotional support on adjustment: A daily diary study of couples experiencing acute stress. Personal Relationships, 13(1), 115–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turan, B., Fazeli, P.L., Rapar, J.L., Mugavero, M.J., & Johnson, M.O. (2016). Social support and moment-to-moment changes in treatment self-efficacy in men living with HIV: Psychosocial moderators and clinical outcomes. Health Psychology, Advance Online Publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uchino, B. N. (2009). Understanding the links between social support and physical health: A life-span perspective with emphasis on the separability of perceived and received support. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4(3), 236–255.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Uchino, B. N., Cacioppo, J. T., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (1996). The relationship between social support and physiological processes: A review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and implications for health. Psychological Bulletin, 119(3), 488–531.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Warner, L. M., Schuz, B., Wurm, S., Ziegelmann, J. P., & Tesch-Romer, C. (2010). Giving and taking—Differential effects of providing, receiving, and anticipating emotional support on quality of life in adults with multiple illnesses. Journal of Health Psychology, 15(5), 660–670.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zaccaro, S. K. (2007). Trait-based perspectives on leadership. American Psychologist, 62, 6–16.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zaccaro, S. K., Kemp, C., & Bader, P. (2004). Leader traits and attributes. In J. Antonakis, A. T. Ciancolo, & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), The nature of leadership I (pp. 101–124). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pace University, New York, NY, USA

    Courtney L. Gosnell Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Courtney L. Gosnell Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Courtney L. Gosnell Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Matthew G. Clark

  2. College of Professional Studies, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Craig W. Gruber

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Gosnell, C.L. (2017). Leading with Support: The Role of Social Support for Positive and Negative Events in Leader Development. In: Clark, M., Gruber, C. (eds) Leader Development Deconstructed . Annals of Theoretical Psychology, vol 15. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64740-1_12

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation