Kathy E. Kram

Mentoring Alternatives: The Role of Peer Relationships in Career Development

Little is known about work relationships, other than mentoring relationships, that contribute to adult and career growth. A biographical interview study of 25 relationship pairs indicated that rela...

Succession in Family Firms: The Problem of Resistance

Succession is problematic for a majority of family firms. This paper argues that resistance to succession exists across many levels in these organizations and proposes a model that highlights the multiple contributing factors.

Managing cross-gender mentoring

Abstract For many years, men have been helped to advanced in their careers by the interest and personal guidance of a mentor. Now, when women in business merit this special professional attention, problems can arise—including sexual attraction, marital disruption, and damaging gossip. These authors provide suggestions for men and women who must deal with this potentially dangerous situation.

A Review of Developmental Networks: Incorporating a Mutuality Perspective

During the past decade, mentoring research has broadened from its traditional dyadic perspective to examine the support provided by a “developmental network.” This article reviews the literature on developmental networks—groups of people who take an active interest in and action toward advancing a protégé’s career. Building on positive organizational scholarship (POS) research on high-quality connections and relationships, the authors propose that a “mutuality perspective,” or taking the viewpoints of all members of the developmental network into account, is a notable gap in developmental network research. They apply this perspective to developmental networks research and discuss implications and avenues for future inquiry. As part of their review, the authors clarify the boundaries of the developmental network construct. They also identify and discuss four research streams that encompass extant studies of developmental networks. This article extends previous reviews of the broad field of dyadic mentoring by providing the first systematic review of developmental network research.

Career Dynamics: Managing the superior/subordinate relationship

Building on research and writing in the fields of career management and mentor relationships, Baird and Kram analyze the superior-subordinate relationship as an exchange to which each party brings different needs and resources. They point out that this relationship can be productive and satisfying--both for the parties concerned and for the organization--when the needs of one party match the resources of the other. The article includes a checklist for analyzing how the superior-subordinate relationship operates as an exchange and how the resources of the parties mesh or fail to mesh. They do on to show how the superior-subordinate relationship and the needs of the parties change as each moves through individual career and life cycles. What was once a productive relationship may, in time, become unproductive, or vice versa. In any event, its dynamic nature requires that it be managed. Baird and Kram suggest five steps for managing the relationship as it moves through these changes: (1) Recognizing that the relationship is an exchange; (2) identifying clearly ones own as well as the other partys needs; (3) understanding how the subordinates and bosss needs fit together and recognizing that the relationship is likely to change; (4) understanding the constraints under which the boss operates; (5) establishing a feedback and evaluation process for continuously assessing the relationship.

High-Achieving Women at Midlife: An Exploratory Study

The first generation of women to launch professional careers in significant numbers is now entering senior management. They invented new paths amid traditional obstacles and unprecedented opportunities. In-depth interviews with 10 senior financial executives, combined with follow-up group data from a conference, were used to explore the key developmental tasks that high-achieving women have faced in these evolving circumstances. Findings broadly support Levinson’s model of development but suggest that the external conditions and internal experiences of this pioneering cohort have special characteristics. The authors outline participants’ developmental work, and the resulting rewards, of finding a life role (in their 20s), managing career-family trade-offs (in their 30s), and coming into their own (at 50 and beyond). Implications for theory, executive development practice, and further research are identified.

Promotion decisions as a diversity practice

Proposes that the promotion decision‐making process contributes to the differential advancement of women and men in organizations. Compares the actual promotions of 13 women and 16 men at a company known for its diversity practices. Finds that bosses are more hesitant to promote women and require them to demonstrate personal strength and to prove themselves extensively before they get a promotion. Men are less likely to have promotions accounted for in terms of familiarity with job responsibilities and are more likely to have a high level of comfort with the boss as a reason for promotion. Strategies for addressing these differential dynamics include assessments of current promotion practices, modifications to human resource systems to increase accountability for the advancement of women, and coaching for decision makers and sponsors of high‐potential women.

Metaphors of Identity and Professional Practice Learning From the Scholar–Practitioner

Historically, professional identity was viewed as a singular construct, and the boundary-spanning dynamics of subidentities remained unexamined. More recently, identity scholars have paved the way to consider the multiple personal and social identities that comprise an individual’s professional identity. These dynamics are exemplified by the unique challenges that scholar–practitioners regularly encounter. To deepen understanding of variations in how scholar–practitioners enact their professional identity, we interviewed young scholar–practitioners who completed their doctorates in the past 7 years, as well as seasoned scholar–practitioners with at least 20 years of experience. We elicited metaphors from the interviewees to explore the complexities of their professional identity and subidentities and the challenges that scholar–practitioners face at different stages of career development. We offer implications for the future socialization of scholar–practitioners and others in boundary-spanning roles.

Fielding hot topics in cool settings: The study of corporate ethics

This paper describes the methods used to gain access and conduct research on corporate ethics in two large corporations. To date, only a small number of social scientists have pursued such sensitive and highly intrusive field research because of substantial obstacles to gaining access and completing meaningful investigations. Detailed discussion of how we framed the study and then sold the research to the two sites points to the conclusion that the merging of science and action is both difficult and fruitful. This study highlights the need to establish appropriate balance between scholarly and applied objectives, to build collaborative relations with research participants, and to bring an interdisciplinary approach to contextually based studies of corporate ethics and deviancy.

Developmental networks at work: holding environments for leader development

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to elaborate how an adult development perspective can further the understanding of developmental networks as holding environments for developing leaders confronted with challenging experiences.Design/methodology/approach – The article utilizes constructive developmental theory (C‐D theory) to explore and address the implications of an adult development lens for leader development, especially as they confront complex leadership challenges that trigger anxiety.Findings – Theoretical propositions suggest different kinds of holding behaviors (e.g. confirmation, contradiction, and continuity) necessary for enabling growth and effectiveness for leaders located in different developmental orders.Research limitations/implications – Propositions offered can guide future researchers to explore how leaders confronted with different kinds of leadership challenges sustain responsive developmental networks over time and how the developers in the leaders network coordinate to provi...