2026-05-23T13:06:08Zhttps://keep.lib.asu.edu/oai/request

oai:keep.lib.asu.edu:node-2014832025-05-12T19:35:22Zoai_pmh:alloai_pmh:repo_items

201483 https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.2.N.201483 http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ All Rights Reserved 2025 488 pages Masters Thesis Academic theses en Asmus, Kendra Kirsch, Robert Veach, Paula Williams, Sean Arizona State University Partial requirement for: M.S., Arizona State University, 2025 Field of study: Integrative Social Science Despite women comprising half of the U.S. population, they hold just over a thirdof top executive leadership positions. This statistic is even worse for coveted highpaying positions in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Therefore, examining the foundational influences on female leadership development during childhood is crucial to fully grasp this disparity. Among the many factors that may contribute to leadership emergence, parenting stands out as one that may be particularly impactful because of the significant influence parents exert during a child’s early development. While each parenting style affects children differently, the complex relationship between female leadership emergence and parenting style has long been overlooked, especially for girls during their developmental years. This oversight leaves a substantial gap in understanding how female leaders cultivate essential skills, especially concerning a parent’s role in nurturing leadership development. Through the reflective memories of female leaders, this study explores their perceptions of how parenting styles encouraged transformational leadership skills. Specifically, it aims to pinpoint whether these women perceive a connection between parenting styles and the emergence of key leadership attributes associated with inspirational motivation, individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, and idealized influence. Over two months, indepth telephone interviews were conducted with 25 contemporary female leaders to uncover insights into their leadership development and the pivotal role parental influences played in this process. Guided by Baumrind (1968) and Maccoby and Martin's (1983) four parenting style typologies—authoritative, authoritarian, neglectful/uninvolved, and permissive—this research explored how each parenting style may have influenced leadership competencies in girls. A descriptive phenomenological analysis was utilized to understand and explain the lived experiences of female leaders during their formative years of development. While transformational leadership skills were identified across all four parenting styles, stronger leadership competencies were identified in authoritative households or where at least one parent demonstrated authoritative attributes. This research provides a deeper understanding of the perceived leadership skills acquired during childhood as a direct result of parental influence. The meanings ascribed from participants’ lived experiences highlight the importance of parental messaging during early childhood development and its potential to shape female leaders. Organizational Behavior Women's Studies Female Leadership Leadership Emergence Parenting Transformational leadership “Leveraging Leadership Through Purposeful Parenting” Understanding the Perceived Relationship Between Parenting Style and Transformational Leadership Development in Girls During Their Formative Years: A Phenomenological Study