Women and Men as Managers: The Importance of Disappointment

This article argues for a focus on disappointment as a key concept and socially embedded phenomenon, illustrated with reference to the experience of women and men as managers. It is shown that the importance of disappointment lies in part in its ability to focus attention on hopes and expectations, as well as on blockages, failures and defeats. It also, however, lies in its capacity to generate action, including engagement in social movement activity. It is argued that focusing on disappointment can usefully apply some of Margaret Archer's ideas on agency and the internal conversation.