Hannes Zacher, A Life Span / Life Course Perspective on Leadership (Sociology Colloquia)

January 23, 2014, 11:15-12:30
Hannes Zacher (University of Groningen): A Life Span / Life Course Perspective on Leadership

In this talk, I will present a life span / life course model of leadership that outlines how leader and follower age as well as age-related changes in leader traits and characteristics, leader behaviors, follower attribution and identification processes, and the broader context in which leadership occurs may influence leadership effectiveness. First, I will describe how leader traits and characteristics change with age and how these developmental changes may impact on leader behaviors and, subsequently, leadership effectiveness. Second, I will review theoretical approaches that help explain how, why, and when leader age and age-related traits and characteristics, follower age, as well as leader-follower age differences may influence follower attribution and identification processes. Third, I will outline a number of boundary conditions of the effects proposed by the life span / life course model of leadership, including leader-follower relationship duration, situational characteristics, as well as the broader cultural, economic, social, and historical context. I will conclude by discussing the model�s implications for future research and organizational practice.

From the 1st of January 2014, Hannes is an associate professor in the Department of Organizational Psychology at the University of Groningen. He received his PhD in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Giessen (Germany) in 2009, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Jacobs Centre on Lifelong Learning and Institutional Development at Jacobs University Bremen (Germany) from 2009 to 2010. From 2010 to 2013, Hannes was a lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland (Australia). His research focuses on successful aging and development in the work context and other factors contributing to organizational sustainability, including innovation, entrepreneurship, and pro-environmental behaviors. His work has appeared in journals such as Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Leadership Quarterly, Psychology and Aging, and Ageing & Society.