Project success-failure experiences and leader development: examining career transitions through role transition theory

Abstract

Drawing on Role Transition Theory, we examine the effects of project success-failure experiences on the development of leader mindsets and subsequent team performance outcomes, comparing different career transition and non-transition periods: (1) the transition from education to work, (2) the transition into a first formal leadership role, and (3) the non-transition period between these transitions. Using a decade-long field study of 132 team leaders in an East Asian fashion design company, we find that project success-failure experiences during the transition from education to work strongly predict the development of leaders’ regulatory focus mindsets. Specifically, project success fosters a promotion focus mindset, while project failure fosters a prevention focus mindset. These mindsets, in turn, predict team outcomes: a promotion focus mindset enhances team creativity, while a prevention focus mindset improves routine performance. However, project success-failure experiences during the transition into a first leadership role do not exhibit similar effects. We discuss contributions to the leader development literature.