Research Basis
Research Basis
The foundations that inform the Emerging Executives Programme
The Emerging Executives Programme is designed around what established leadership research consistently shows about how professionals progress into senior roles. Our approach integrates these insights with the lived experience of senior ethnic leaders – our leadership mentors – who coach, challenge and support participants as they refine their leadership trajectory.
What the Research Shows
Across organisational psychology, leadership development and inclusion research, four themes shape progression for ethnic talent:
- Role modelling and leadership identity
Professionals advance more effectively when they see senior figures who reflect aspects of their own experience. Exposure to credible role models strengthens leadership identity and confidence. - Fluency in organisational dynamics
Progression depends on understanding how influence is built: visibility, sponsorship and the unwritten rules that shape senior decision-making. These dynamics appear across organisational-behaviour literature as determinants of leadership emergence. - Psychological safety and strategic voice
Leadership visibility requires the ability to contribute confidently in high-stakes dialogue. Research shows that psychologically safe environments enable clearer thinking, stronger participation and more consistent strategic contribution. - Sponsorship and senior advocacy
Studies across industries confirm that sponsorship – not just performance – is decisive for stepping into senior roles. Underrepresented professionals often lack structured access to this advocacy.
How We Apply These Principles
The programme translates these research insights into practice.
- 1:1 career coaching delivered by Leadership Mentors
Participants work directly with senior corporate leaders – executives, partners and managing directors – who combine organisational expertise with relevant lived experience. This supports strategic guidance, visibility-building and informed advocacy. - Workshops focused on influence and organisational navigation
Sessions explore how senior decisions are shaped, how stakeholders assess leadership potential and how influence flows across formal and informal networks. - Peer learning and exposure to established leaders
Cohort dialogue and interactions with senior leaders reinforce leadership identity and provide concrete examples of how different leadership styles operate at scale. - A psychologically safe development environment
Career coaching provides space for strategic reflection without evaluation, enabling participants to refine their leadership presence and build confidence in complex corporate settings.
What We Observe Across Cohorts
Participants report clearer next steps, stronger strategies for visibility and sponsorship, greater confidence in senior environments and broader access to opportunities. Many move into new roles within a year, and both individual and group sessions consistently receive high ratings.
Why This Matters
Leadership progression is shaped by capability, context and access. Our programme brings these elements together: evidence-informed development, senior lived experience and a community of leaders who understand both the ambition and the realities of corporate life. The result is a learning environment that strengthens leadership identity, expands strategic influence and accelerates readiness for senior roles.
Get in Touch
If you are exploring what ethnoculturally diverse leadership development could look like in your organisation, we are glad to connect. Share your details and we will follow up to discuss how our approach might align with your objectives.
Reference Notes
This section provides brief contextual notes on the main academic and practitioner sources referenced in the Research Basis of the Roots Inspire Emerging Executives Programme. Its purpose is to clarify how the cited literature underpins the programme’s framework and to ensure alignment with established research domains.
- Harvard Business Review – Sponsorship and Visibility
Relevance: Articles such as “How to Do Sponsorship Right” (2022) and “Career Sponsorship Is a Two-Way Street” (2023) analyse sponsorship as a key lever of career progression.
Alignment: The document’s phrasing (“Access to senior sponsorship is a decisive factor…”) accurately reflects this body of work. - McKinsey – Structural Retention and Advancement
Relevance: “The Great Attrition Is Making Hiring Harder—Are You Searching the Right Talent Pools?” (2022) examines barriers to advancement and the underutilisation of diverse talent pools.
Alignment: The reference to McKinsey in the text correctly captures its emphasis on structural rather than individual causes of underrepresentation. - Amy C. Edmondson – Psychological Safety
Relevance: Foundational research (Administrative Science Quarterly, 1999) and subsequent publications establish psychological safety as essential for learning and innovation.
Alignment: The summary statement in the document (“Psychological safety is essential for voice and innovation”) is consistent with Edmondson’s findings. - Albert Bandura – Social Learning and Self-Efficacy
Relevance: Bandura’s social-learning and self-efficacy theories (1977 onwards) explain how observing credible role models shapes confidence and behavioural change.
Alignment: The text’s interpretation of these mechanisms is accurate and appropriate for leadership-development contexts. - Claude Steele; Pauline Clance & Suzanne Imes – Confidence and Imposter Phenomenon
Relevance: Steele’s work on stereotype threat (1997) and Clance & Imes’s study on the imposter phenomenon (1978) describe how confidence and self-efficacy influence professional performance.
Alignment: The document’s phrasing (“…enhances confidence and leadership identity by reducing imposter-syndrome effects…”) aligns with these perspectives. - General Framing of Research Domains
Concepts such as visibility, sponsorship, informal power structures and stakeholder management are well established in organisational-behaviour and leadership literature. Their inclusion in the programme description reflects recognised research consensus rather than novel claims.
Summary
The references cited in this document are consistent with recognised academic and practitioner research. They collectively substantiate the theoretical and applied foundations of the Emerging Executives Programme in relation to established scholarship on inclusive leadership.