Longitudinal effects of transitioning into a first-time leadership position on wellbeing and self-concept

Transitioning into leadership remains a distinct, common career experience that may have implications for employee health and wellbeing, yet these effects are not well understood. We draw upon role theory (role transitions and role expansion) to frame leadership as a dynamic career phenomenon with implications that change as individuals become socialized into their leadership role. This study adds clarity by focusing on changes over time and in response to the novel transition into leadership, and by exploring gender as a moderator of these relationships. We examine the impact of first-time leadership transitions on negative (tension, depression) and positive (emotional wellbeing, job satisfaction) indicators of wellbeing, and self-concept (self-esteem, locus of control). We used data collected every 1 to 2 years from 184 individuals (Youth Development Study Waves 12 through 19, Mortimer, 2011) to conduct two-level (time nested within person) discontinuous growth modeling. Results suggest taking on a leadership role is associated with tension at the time of transition, consistent with role theory and empirical data on macro role transitions. Over time, transitioning into a leadership role bolsters emotional wellbeing and self-esteem in a lasting way, consistent with role expansion propositions. Unexpectedly, men experienced a significant drop in self-esteem at the point of transition compared to women, but otherwise, there were no significant gender differences at the time of, or following, a leadership transition. We show transitioning into leadership is a time-sensitive double-edged sword, such that temporary tensions at the time of transition may pay off over following years in self-concept gains. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).