Two decades of self-leadership theory and research: Past developments, present trends, and future possibilities

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a thorough review of self-leadership literature past and present, including a historical overview of how the concept was created and expanded as well as a detailed look at more recent self-leadership research trends and directions. The paper also presents a theoretical and conceptual explanation and differentiation of the self-leadership concept relative to other related motivational, personality, and self-influence constructs. Design-methodology-approach Self-leadership research and related literatures of motivation, personality and self-influence are discussed and described in order to present the current state of the self-leadership body of knowledge and to suggest future directions to explore and study. Findings It is suggested that self-leadership is a normative model of self-influence that operates within the framework of more descriptive and deductive theories such as self-regulation and social cognitive theory. Research limitations-implications While self-leadership research composes an impressive body of knowledge, it is a domain of study that has been under-investigated in some aspects, both empirically and conceptually. Practical implications This paper suggests several future directions that researchers can undertake to advance self-leadership knowledge. Originality-value This paper fills a void in the organizational literature by reviewing the body of self-leadership knowledge, by stating how self-leadership is a distinctive theory in its own, and by presenting directions for future self-leadership research.