Women leaders' work-caused trauma: vulnerability, reflexivity and emotional challenges for the researcher

Abstract

PurposeThis paper advances what is known about emotional experiences and challenges when researching work-caused trauma in organisations and illustrates learning for researchers of work-related trauma. Viewing vulnerability as strength could be conceived as an oxymoron. The paper explains how vulnerability can lead to strength for researchers/participants and focuses on researcher reflexivity in relation to one interview with a woman leader in a small-scale qualitative study.Design/methodology/approachThe research protocols of the qualitative study are outlined: pre-interview briefings, participant journaling and semi-structured interviews. Researcher reflexivity, following Hibbert's (2021) four levels of reflexive practice (embodied, emotional, rational and relational), is applied to an interview with a woman leader.FindingsThe paper illustrates how research design and recognising vulnerability as strength facilitates considerable relational work and emotional experiences. Researcher reflexivity conveys impact of work-caused trauma on participants and researchers. The paper advances understandings of vulnerability as strength in practice, emotional experiences and challenges of work-caused trauma research.Research limitations/implicationsIn this paper, a single case of researcher reflexivity is considered.Practical implicationsThere are practical implications for researcher relationships with participants; demonstrating emotional awareness; responding to traumatic stories, participant distress and impact on the researcher; issues of vicarious/secondary traumatic stress; having safe psychological systems; scaffolding a process which recognises vulnerability as strength and becoming personally and methodologically vulnerable; risk of embodied and emotional impact; commitment to reflexivity and levels of reflexive practice.Originality/valueThere is lack of researcher reflexive accounts of practice when studying trauma. Few scholars suggest ways to support researchers in challenging and difficult research. There is silence in research exploring leaders' experiences of work-caused trauma. This paper provides a reflexive account in practice from a unique study of women leaders' experiences of work-caused trauma.

Guest editorial: Investigating trauma: methodological, emotional and ethical challenges for the qualitative researcher

“…This resonates with Mavin's (2022) idea that vulnerability can be a source of strength for researchers and for the research participants. While the combination of these two opposing terms might at first sight, be seen as an oxymoron, the article shows how vulnerability can be reconceptualised as strength.…”

Feminist futures in gender-in-leadership research: self-reflexive approximations to intersectional situatedness

“…This is important, considering challenges gender-in-leadership scholarship faces with postfeminist narratives that claim that feminist struggles have been overcome. In reframing the role of structures and institutions as secondary to the self, these narratives present a monolithic view that neglects existing struggles facing women leaders (Mavin andGrandy, 2018, 2019;Karmakar, 2022).…”

“…Gender-in-leadership continues to be one of the most thought-provoking terrains in management and organisation studies (MOS) and has helped us to gain insight into how gender dynamics shape leadership experiences (Eagly and Karau, 2002; Lewis et al , 2017; Elliott and Stead, 2018; Mavin, 2022). This literature has given us a solid starting point to explore important differences in the conceptualisation and praxis of leadership and address the gender question in the constructs of leadership and leader.…”