Leadership Through Belonging: Community Engagement as the Hidden Engine of Purpose-Driven Leadership
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Description
Leadership scholarship increasingly recognizes that effective leadership extends beyond individual competence to include relational, cultural, and community-based dimensions. Yet, the role of belonging as a foundational mechanism shaping leadership identity and community engagement remains underexplored. Drawing on qualitative data from a study of Lebanese women leaders in higher education, this work examines how experiences of belonging, within families, institutions, and professional communities, serve as a developmental engine for purpose-driven leadership and sustained community engagement.
Publication Date
2026
Keywords
belonging, community engagement, leadership identity, purpose-driven leadership, higher education leadership