Charles C. Manz
Sergio CareddaNeuhaus, M. (2020). What Is self-leadership? Models, Theory and Examples. [online] Positivepsychology.com. Available at: https://positivepsychology.com/self-leadership/ [Accessed 4 Oct. 2024].
Description:
Self-Leadership is the practice of intentionally influencing one's own thinking, feeling, and behaviour to achieve personal objectives aligned with one's values and purpose. As a formal field of study, it was pioneered by Charles C. Manz in the 1980s, drawing on concepts from self-management, self-regulation, and intrinsic motivation research.
Manz defined self-leadership as "the process of influencing oneself" — a set of behavioural and cognitive strategies through which individuals exercise control over their own performance and direction, without relying primarily on external supervision or reward.
Three Core Strategy Categories (Manz & Neck)
The foundational academic framework identifies three families of self-leadership strategies:
- Behaviour-Focused Strategies — Techniques for managing and improving behaviours that are necessary but not naturally motivating:
- Self-observation: monitoring your own behaviour to understand its patterns and triggers
- Self-goal-setting: setting specific personal standards and targets
- Self-reward: acknowledging and celebrating accomplishments
- Self-correcting feedback: identifying ineffective behaviours and correcting them without excessive self-criticism
- Self-cueing: using reminders and environmental design to trigger desired behaviours
- Natural Reward Strategies — Techniques for increasing intrinsic motivation by building enjoyment and meaning into tasks:
- Redesigning tasks to include more naturally enjoyable elements
- Focusing attention on the rewarding aspects of a task rather than its unpleasant elements
- Crafting a sense of purpose and competence around activities
- Constructive Thought Pattern Strategies — Techniques for managing internal mental states and beliefs:
- Identifying and replacing dysfunctional beliefs: challenging self-limiting assumptions
- Self-talk: replacing negative internal dialogue with constructive self-conversation
- Mental imagery: mentally rehearsing successful performance
- Mindset management: cultivating an opportunity-focused rather than obstacle-focused orientation
Origins and Evolution
Self-leadership emerged from Manz's critique of self-management models, which he saw as still externally driven (replacing supervisor control with self-applied behavioural control). True self-leadership goes further — it addresses why we pursue certain goals in the first place, engaging questions of purpose, values, and intrinsic motivation.
Over decades, the concept has been enriched by multiple practitioners and academics, leading to a diverse family of self-leadership models — including:
- The SOAR Model (Gambill & Carbonara) — focusing on Self, Others, Attitude, and Results
- The persolog® Self-Leadership Model — using personality-based strategies
- The Self-Leadership model by Andrew Bryant — centred on Intention, Self-Awareness, Self-Confidence, and Influence
- The Self-Leadership model by Sally Foley-Lewis — centred on Self-Regulation, Self-Motivation, and Self-Awareness
- The Self-Action Leadership Model (Jordan Jensen) — a values-based, existential framework
→ Positive Psychology overview of Self-Leadership
Notes:
- Self-Leadership is often positioned as the prerequisite for leading others — the idea that you cannot effectively lead a team if you cannot lead yourself. This makes it foundational to virtually all leadership development programmes.
- The field intersects significantly with Emotional Intelligence (Goleman), Positive Psychology (Seligman), and Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan).
- In the context of increasingly autonomous and remote work, Self-Leadership has grown in practical relevance — it underpins concepts like proactive behaviour, employee empowerment, and psychological ownership.
- The persolog®, Bryant, Foley-Lewis, and Self-Action Leadership models are each recorded separately in this database — this entry serves as the conceptual overview and anchor for the cluster.
- See also in this collection: SOAR Self-Leadership Model, Self-Action Leadership Model, The persolog® Self Leadership Model.
Other Sources:
Key Academic Works:
- Manz, C. C. (1986). Self-leadership: Toward an expanded theory of self-influence processes in organisations. Academy of Management Review, 11(3), 585–600.
- Manz, C. C., & Neck, C. P. (2004). Mastering Self-Leadership: Empowering Yourself for Personal Excellence (3rd ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall.
- Neck, C. P., & Houghton, J. D. (2006). Two decades of self-leadership theory and research. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21(4), 270–295.
Practitioner Resources:
- Neuhaus, M. (2020). What Is Self-Leadership? Models, Theory and Examples. Positive Psychology.
- Bryant, A., & Kazan, A. L. (2012). Self-Leadership: How to Become a More Successful, Efficient, and Effective Leader from the Inside Out. McGraw-Hill.