“I think I can; I think I can”: A self-leadership perspective toward enhancing entrepreneur thought patterns, self-efficacy, and performance

Christopher Neck, Heidi M. Neck, Charles C. Manz, Jeffrey Godwin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

73 Scopus citations

Abstract

The concept of “Thought Self-Leadership” involves individual self-influence through cognitive strategies that focus on self-dialogue, mental imagery, beliefs and assumptions, and thought patterns. A plethora of studies from various fields including management, counseling psychology, sports psychology, education, and communication, address the effect of these Thought Self-Leadership cognitive strategies on cognitions and behaviors. This research provides consistent support for the relationship between constructive self-leadership of these cognitive processes and enhanced performance. The application of these cognitive strategies to the entrepreneurship domain, however, is sparse. We propose that the application of these principles to the entrepreneurial process offers the potential to enhance individual performance and mental states for both practicing and aspiring entrepreneurs. Propositions derived from the proposed framework are developed to serve as catalysts for empirically testing the applicability of Thought Self-Leadership to the entrepreneurship context.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)477-501
Number of pages25
JournalJournal of Managerial Psychology
Volume14
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 1999
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Cognition
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Leadership

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology
  • Applied Psychology
  • Management Science and Operations Research
  • Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

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