Identity work and identity regulation in managers' personal development training

Abstract

This article describes the role of personal development training in managers’ identity processes. Personal development training constitutes a local management discourse, which can influence both identity work and identity regulation processes. The study emphasizes the importance of personal life stories in understanding how managers are influenced by personal development training. The training provokes different processes of identity work and identity regulation, and managers actively work with different identity templates, both on macro and micro levels, in pursuit of their ongoing identity processes.