Browsing by Author "Chatiya Nantham, Rhema Roja"

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    Experiences of women of colour who were third culture kids or internationally mobile youth : an exploratory study of implications for global leadership development : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2023) Chatiya Nantham, Rhema Roja
    Global leadership development programmes (GLDPs) are typically focussed on competency development and teaching culturally appropriate etiquette, but, adapting to new contexts often involves challenges to people’s sense of self, addressing an area which is known as identity work. Learning from people who encountered such challenges early in life could assist in developing global leaders by offering insights into the kinds of identity work strategies needed to deal with their offshore posting, and to ensure that identity work processes are designed into such programmes. To address these aims, this study draws on the lived experiences of nine women of colour who lived outside their home country as children or adolescents, a cohort known as Third Culture Kids (TCKs), to identify various identity-related issues they encountered and the lessons these experiences offer for global leadership development. As such, this interdisciplinary study draws on and contributes to literatures related to TCKs and Adult TCKs (ATCKs), global leadership development, and identity work for leadership development. This qualitative study comprised a series of workshops designed specifically to foster identity work amongst the participants. The data was collected via virtual focus group discussions. The study adopted a combination of participatory and emancipatory action research approaches, underpinned by a social constructionist epistemology and is theoretically informed by Critical Race Feminism, anti-racist feminisms, and identity theory as key influences. These decisions reflect the aim of centring attention on a cohort routinely understudied in the TCK, global leadership development and leadership development literatures, namely women of colour. The findings were thematically analysed via an inductive approach to identify the experiences and identity work strategies of participants as TCKs in response to the racist-sexist prejudices they encountered, their implicit leadership theories and their approach to leadership, showing how the focus group process was itself a vehicle for doing identity work in relationship to their leader identities. I identify the lessons that can be drawn from TCKs, and from the methods used in this study, to inform the deployment of identity work in GLDPs. From these findings, I develop frameworks explaining the identity work processes experienced by TCKs and how they internalised their leadership identity via the methods used in my study and build models for GLDPs from these insights.
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    Third culture young women: Understanding their life experiences and leadership perspectives : A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Business Studies (Management) at Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) Chatiya Nantham, Rhema Roja
    Globalisation influences how leadership is understood and practiced and impacts on culturally diverse interactions in New Zealand communities. Examining leadership and intersecting diversity with regards to culture, gender and age could provide a richer understanding of how identity impacts on leadership. Youth are increasingly growing up in multicultural communities, giving rise to a phenomenon widely referred to as Third Culture Kids (TCKs) – adolescents who grow up in cultures outside of their home culture. To date there is no research on the leadership perspectives and development needs of TCKs, and although there are programmes and studies focusing on leadership development for young women, very few of these initiatives focus on culturally diverse young women. This research focused on examining the diverse lifeworlds of third culture young women to appreciate how their intersecting experiences and perspectives influenced their leadership understanding. Using an interpretive phenomenological approach, four third culture young women, selected from a leadership programme for Year 13 (16 year old) young women, were interviewed and asked questions that explored their experiences and perspectives regarding being third culture individuals, young women, and leaders. The responses were analysed using a modified version of Ashworth’s (2003) phenomenological framework to reveal that diverse young women have an awareness of the gendered expectations that society constructs, have an ability to navigate cultural differences, and are able to strategize how to interact with various social groups as a result of their diverse life experiences and intersecting identities. Ultimately, their core values, life experiences, and diverse perspectives as culturally distinct adolescent women shape their leadership understanding and practice. This study concludes that third culture young women are embodying values, perspectives, skills and strategies that suggest their potential as emerging leaders in their communities and future aspirations aligned with their leadership purpose of achieving personal success and helping others. In conclusion there is a need for greater application from academics and practitioners of intersectionality into leadership studies and practice. Recommendations were made with regards to leadership research and development programmes in the future and how these can explore the leadership potential of young, culturally diverse women like young TCK women.