Developing a Paradox Mindset in Emerging Leaders: A Design Science Approach

Leaders today must navigate “contradictory yet interrelated elements that exist simultaneously and persist over time”, known as paradoxes. A paradox mindset enables leaders to embrace paradoxes constructively, reframing them from “either-or” to “both-and.” Although paradox mindset has been widely theorized, research offers limited guidance on how it can be deliberately developed within management education. This study employs a design science approach to develop and evaluate an integrated paradox mindset learning intervention (PMLI) for emerging leaders. Drawing from transformative learning theory, the intervention incorporates Socratic questioning, individual reflection, group work, and practical activities within a sequenced, multi-workshop design to support mindset development. The study contributes to paradox literature by operationalizing a theoretically-grounded and empirically evaluated approach to paradox mindset development. It further contributes to management education by offering an integrated and sequenced learning intervention, alongside transferable design insights for cultivating paradox mindset in emerging leaders. In doing so, it extends existing scholarship by demonstrating how paradox mindset can be deliberately and systematically developed within leadership education.