Women’s traumatic experiences of leadership: Case studies and hypothesized mechanisms.

Abstract

Women are increasingly moving into leadership roles, but minimal research addresses how adverse leadership experiences can lead to distress. Employing participant observation in workshops for senior women psychologists, the article describes experiences women leaders face in the workplace and strategies they use to work through these distressing experiences. Findings from participant observation qualitative research (N = 8) indicate leaders experienced a plethora of poor management behaviors, including gaslighting, belittling, and undermining. Women attempted to defend themselves politically but ultimately succumbed to leaving their positions, experiencing low selfconfidence and self-blame. For these women leaders, we propose that the context of women's visibility in leadership roles, combined with exposure to negative workplace experience, led to perceptions of both public humiliation and threats to their livelihood, reputation, and character, which amplified their experience of traumatization. We provide recommendations for clinicians, policy makers, and researchers to further understand these challenges, address these issues, and facilitate women leaders' success.