Construir a própria jornada: identidade profissional e gerenciamento de carreira das lideranças corporativas

Abstract

Constant transformations in the world of work have redefined its meaning and the challenges faced by professionals in constructing their career trajectories and professional identities. In this scenario, new ways of understanding the relationship between career, leadership, and professional identity have emerged. To illustrate these dynamics, the study also draws on metaphors from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, whose playful universe—where certainties are fluid and simple questions defy understanding—symbolizes the complexity of contemporary professional experiences. The main objective of this study was to investigate the construction of the professional identity of corporate leaders throughout the management of their careers within their organizational contexts. Guided by the psychosociological approach, this qualitative research was conducted with leaders from the private sector who worked in different segments and operated under formal or informal career management models in their organizations. The study included fifteen professionals, regardless of gender, with a minimum of five years of professional experience and at least three years in leadership positions. Only individuals who had held managerial positions—specifically titled “manager”—for at least two years were included, enabling the examination of organizational structures and career development models. All participants worked in private companies from various industries and regions of Brazil. Participant recruitment followed the “snowball sampling” technique until data saturation was reached. Data collection was carried out through three instruments: a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Free Word Association Test (FWAT), and semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed using the IRAMUTEQ software, employing the techniques of Descending Hierarchical Classification (DHC), Correspondence Factor Analysis (CFA), and Similarity Analysis, in addition to being examined through Content Analysis, as proposed by Bardin (2016).In compliance with ethical standards, the research followed the guidelines of Resolutions No. 466/12 and No. 510/16 of the Brazilian National Health Council, as well as Circular Letters No. 1/2021 and No. 2/2021 of CONEP/SECNS/MS. The results revealed that the professional identity of corporate leaders is configured as a dynamic, relational, and symbolic process, constructed through interactions between individuals and organizational contexts. Leadership was understood as a mediating practice between people, values, and results, anchored in ethics, recognition, and coherence between being and doing. Career, in turn, was perceived as a trajectory of self-management and continuous learning, in which personal development and the meaning of work gained centrality, shifting the focus from traditional hierarchical progression models to contemporary forms of development based on purpose, values, and protagonism.