Race, Gender, and Leadership: Re-envisioning Organizational Leadership From the Perspectives of African American Women Executives

150 Pages·2005·6.98 MB·English

by  Patricia Sue Parker

Race, Gender, and Leadership
Re-Envisioning Organizational Leadership
From the Perspectives of African
American Women Executives
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Race, Gender, and Leadership
Re-Envisioning Organizational
Leadership From the Perspectives of African
American Women Executives
Patricia S. Parker, PhD
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS
2005 Mahwah, New Jersey London
Copyright © 2005 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in
any form, by photostat, microform, retrieval system, or any
other means, without prior written permission of the pub-
lisher.
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers
10 Industrial Avenue
Mahwah, New Jersey 07430
Cover design by Sean Trane Sciarrone
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Parker, Patricia Sue, 1958-
Race, gender, and leadership : re-envisioning organizational leadership
from the perspectives of African American women executives / Patricia S.
Parker.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8058-4919-x (c.: alk. Paper)
1. African American women executives. 2. African American women in
the professions. 3. Leadership in women—United States. I. Title.
HD6054.4.U6P37 2004
303.3'4'082—dc22 2004043265
CIP
Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on
acid-free paper, and their bindings are chosen for strength and
durability.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21
To my son
Patrick Benjamin Anderson
In memory of my parents
Alice Walker Parker and Pardie Parker
and
In honor of the
African American women whose lives
provide the inspiration for this book
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Preface IX
Introduction: Re-Envisioning Leadership xi
in the Postindustrial Era
Part I: The Need for Race* and Gender-Inclusive Visions
of Leadership in the Postindustrial Era
1 Visions of Leadership in Traditional (White Masculine) 3
and (White) Feminine Leadership Approaches:
A Review and Critique
2 A Meaning-Centered Approach to Leadership 20
in the Postindustrial Era: A Critical Feminist Perspective
Part II: African American Women: An Untapped Source
of Leadership Knowledge
3 The Seeds of a Tradition of Leadership: Resisting Discourses 33
of "Black Women as Fallen Womanhood/Black Women
as 'Natural' Laborers" During U.S.-Institutionalized Slavery
4 Forging a Tradition of Leadership: Resisting Discourses 44
of "Black Women as Marginal Workers" From Legal
Emancipation Through the Civil Rights Movement
vii
viii CONTENTS
Part III: African American Women Executives and 21st-Century
Organizational Leadership: Deconstructing "Masculine"
and "Feminine" Leadership, Embracing Duality
in Leadership Practice
5 Re-Envisioning Instrumentality as Collaboration 65
6 Embracing Duality in Leadership Practice: Re-Envisioning 72
Control as Empowerment and Community Building
7 Organizational Leadership Communication in the 21st 88
Century: Toward Inclusive Leadership Theory, Research,
and Practice
Appendix A: Interview Protocols 94
References 100
Author Index 111
Subject Index 115
Preface
Much has been written about a model of leadership that emphasizes women's
values and experiences that is in some ways distinct from male models of leader-
ship. This book redirects the focus to a view of leadership as a multicultural phe-
nomenon that moves beyond dualistic notions of "masculine" and "feminine"
leadership, and focuses more specifically on leadership as the management of
meaning, including the meanings of the notion of organizational leader. Spe-
cifically, this book takes up the charge put forth by cutting edge leadership
scholars to envision new forms of leadership for the 21st century (see Avolio &
Bass, 2002; Greenleaf, 1977; Rost, 1991; Wheatley, 1992).
The focus is on leadership traditions revealed in the history of Black women
in America and exemplified in the leadership approaches of 15 African Ameri-
can women executives who came of age during the civil rights and feminist
movements of the 1960s and 1970s, and climbed to the top of major U.S. organi-
zations. This volume advances a vision of organizational leadership that chal-
lenges traditional masculine and feminine notions of leadership development
and practice, providing insights for organizational leadership in the era of
postindustrialization and globalization. Additionally, by placing African Ameri-
can women at the center of analysis, this book provides insights into the ways in
which race and gender structure key leadership processes in today's diverse and
changing workplace.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The work for this book could not have been completed without the support of
many people. First I want to thank my colleagues at The University of North
iX