Exploring leader(ship) identity development in executive education : a qualitative case study

Abstract

Leadership development is widely recognized as vital for organizational success intoday’s competitive and turbulent environment. Leadership initiatives enhanceleadership effectiveness by aligning leadership skills and leader(ship) identity through targeted interventions. In this context the concept of leader(ship) identity has gained growing attention, as it links leadership behavior to individuals’ self-perceptions as leaders. This thesis explores how Executive MBA participants describe their leader(ship) identities after completing the TUW Academy’s leadership development modules, whether they report changes in their leader(ship) identity, and which program elements they perceive as most impactful. The study adopts a qualitative case study design based on eleven semi-structured interviews conducted 6-18 months after completion. The analysis demonstrates that identity work for experienced leaders unfolds as a process of clarification, consolidation, and contextualization, sharpening perspectives on strategic focus, relational awareness, empowerment, and self-reflection. A central contribution of the study lies in identifying how program design interacts with identity work processes to enable refinement. Five clusters of impactful program elements emerged: learning environment and program design, theory as reflective stimulus, peer interaction and social learning, experiential and group-dynamic learning, and structured and informal reflection. These elements supported identity work processes such as deep reflection, dialogue, integration of conceptual input with lived experience, experimentation, and narrative and values work. Overall, the study indicates that Executive MBA programs can be understood as spaces of identity consolidation and refinement, functioning as holding environments where experienced leaders recalibrate, integrate, and strengthen their sense of self.These refinements extend beyond the program and resonate with the broader view in leadership scholarship that leader(ship) identity development is an ongoing trajectory.