RESEARCH & WORKING PAPERS
Developing the scholarship behind Leading Without Armor™.
How do leaders respond to pressure, and what do those responses make possible for the people around them?
Rashida Saunders’ research explores this question through leadership behavior, trust, psychological safety, employee voice, accountability, and organizational learning.
Grounded in public-service experience and informed by existing scholarship, the work proposes relationships for future study.
CURRENT WORK
WORKING PAPER NO. 1
Leader Vulnerability and Officer Willingness to Admit Mistakes
Exploring Psychological Safety in Law Enforcement Organizations
Examines how leaders’ acknowledgment of their own mistakes and limitations may influence psychological safety and officers’ willingness to disclose errors. Develops one component of Leading Without Armor™ while maintaining clear expectations for accountability.
WORKING PAPER NO. 2
The Cost of Invulnerability
Defensive Leadership, Trust, and Organizational Learning
Examines how expectations of certainty and invulnerability may encourage defensive responses to feedback. Explores how protecting a leader’s image may affect employee trust, candid communication, and organizational learning.
WORKING PAPER NO. 3
Accountability Without Fear
Psychological Safety, Employee Voice, and High Standards
Examines how psychological safety and clear standards may support candid communication and responsible correction. Explores what happens after an employee raises a concern, including fair review, corrective action, and follow-through.
ABOUT THE SERIES
The Leading Without Armor™ Working Paper Series develops ideas, connects them with existing scholarship, and proposes questions for future research.
These are conceptual working papers shared for discussion and critique. They are not peer reviewed and do not report original empirical findings.
Papers may be revised as the work develops.
RESEARCH COLLABORATION
Rashida welcomes collaboration with researchers, educators, public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and leadership practitioners interested in developing and testing these ideas.
Opportunities include scholarly feedback, study design, organizational research, and leadership education.