Images
Dr. Ruby Macksine Brown is a 2014 graduate of the PhD Program in Leadership & Change at Antioch University
Above: Dr. Ruby Brown with her Dissertation Committee at her Dissertation Defense, Santa Barbara, May 2014
L to R : Dr. Elizabeth Holloway, Committee Member, Dr. Lize Booysen, Committee Member, Dr. Ruby Brown, Dr. Philomena Essed, Chair
Not Shown : Dr. Paula Kibbelaar, External Reader
Keywords
leadership development, public sector administration, Caribbean, Jamaica, public service, workplace incivility, psychology, organizational miasma, respect, dignity, humiliation, shame, biographical research, narrative thematic analysis, emotions
Document Type
Dissertation
Publication Date
2014
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine professional hurt across the public services of the Commonwealth Caribbean with a view toward creating what could probably be the first body of knowledge that will offer insights into its nature and relationship with the practice of leadership. The study also sought to explore an understanding of professional hurt that could inform the design of leadership development programs to help develop leaders who can navigate or avoid hurt. I utilized the biographical research approach to access the lived experiences of 20 public sector leaders across 9 independent Commonwealth Caribbean islands. Narrative thematic analysis data from the experiences are summarized and presented using six emergent themes, illustrated with thick narrative descriptions. The findings suggest that professional hurt is a combination of the deep hurt a leader experiences as a professional, pooled with the undermining of his/her sense of professional pride, dignity, confidence, capability, credibility, and worth as a leader. While all facets of the leaders’ hurtful and humiliating experience are sometimes stretched over a period of time, there is actually an identifiable point at which professional hurt occurs. The findings suggest that professional hurt is not necessarily a planned attempt to destroy a leader, but the result of a poorly managed complex social system. This study may thus offer some useful insights for a holistic and transformative change in the practice of public service leadership in the Caribbean. A video author introduction in MP4 format accompanies this dissertation. The electronic version of this Dissertation is at OhioLink ETDCenter, http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd
Recommended Citation
Brown, R. M. (2014). Professional Hurt: The Untold Stories. https://aura.antioch.edu/etds/132
Included in
Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons, Other International and Area Studies Commons, Public Administration Commons, Training and Development Commons
Comments
Dr. Ruby Macksine Brown
Ruby is an accomplished human resource management and leadership development professional whose experience spans the private and public sectors. Certified as a teacher and an Associate of the Canadian Institute of Bankers, Ruby holds a BSc. Degree in Management Studies and Psychology from the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica, a M.Sc. degree in Training and Human Resource Management from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom, and a Ph.D. in Leadership and Change from Antioch University, USA.
Throughout her 16 years of service to the Jamaican public sector, Ruby has served in several strategic leadership positions, including Director of Learning, Director of Human Resource Management and Communications, and her current role as Chief Executive Officer. She is committed to elevating and empowering the value of human resources and to building the management and leadership capacity of the public sector. She believes that her dissertation offers some useful insights for a holistic and transformative change in the practice of public service leadership in the Caribbean toward engendering the change Caribbean countries need to transform, develop, and grow.