Investigating the interplay between formal and informal leaders in a shared leadership configuration: A multimodal conversation analytical study

Abstract

Leader identity has traditionally been associated with hierarchical position (formal leadership). Yet, while there is an increasing tendency to regard leadership as a collective and distributed process, very little is known about the interplay of formal and informal leadership as in situ social practice within a hierarchical context. Using video-recordings of naturally occurring workplace interaction as data and arguing that insights from applied linguistics can be profitably employed to address such a lacuna, we use multimodal conversation analysis (CA) to show how ‘doing’ leadership is not limited to the formal leader. Rather, through talk, gaze, the use of space, artefacts and so on, it is negotiated in subtle ways which allow informal leadership to emerge in conjunction, and in this case in conflict, with formal leadership. We conclude this article by discussing the wider implications of these findings to both leadership theory and methodologies used to investigate the ‘just whatness’ of leadership.

Collective dimensions of leadership: Connecting theory and method

“…The second featured article, ‘Investigating the interplay between formal and informal leaders in a shared leadership configuration: A multimodal conversation analytical study,’ is written by Dorien Van De Mieroop, Jonathan Clifton, and Avril Verhelst. In this applied linguistics study, the authors examine how formal and informal leadership social practices are played out within a specific workplace context of a presentation round at the beginning of a meeting.…”

How Shared Leadership in Entrepreneurial Teams Influences New Venture Performance: A Moderated Mediation Model

“…Shared leadership emerged as the team phenomenon wherein multiple team members undertake leadership roles and functions for achieving collective objectives (He et al, 2020; Hu et al, 2017). To make this concept visible, we offer the following important examples of shared leadership behavior: taking collective responsibility for their actions, sharing power to motivate partners in collaborative teamwork, and shaping collective activities in problem solving (Van De Mieroop et al, 2020). In this way, team leadership is not achieved by hierarchical influence from a formal hierarchical leader, but by the collective or lateral influence from multiple team members (Agarwal et al, 2020; Zhu et al, 2018).…”

Co-liderazgo en interacción: Un análisis del discurso multimodal durante una reunión de un movimiento juvenil

“…No obstante, como dice Larsson (2017), la deóntica proximal puede asimismo influenciar este proceso, dado que, al coordinar el orden del día, un presidente de una reunión ejerce su influencia sobre los procesos de la interacción que determinan acciones futuras de la organización. Entonces, ambas formas de la deóntica están vinculadas al ejercicio de la autoridad y el liderazgo (véase por ejemplo Clifton, Van De Mieroop, Sehgal, & Aneet, 2018;Van De Mieroop, 2020;Van De Mieroop et al, 2020).…”

“…Aunque hay un interés por este tipo de investigación desde un punto de vista psicológico o de la gestión, se considera generalmente la conceptualización del liderazgo como una forma de 'control mental que es individual, agentivo e incorpóreo' (Sinclair, 2005, p.390). Además de algunos estudios del liderazgo en los cuales hay un interés creciente por el análisis de artefactos (véase por ejemplo Sergi, 2016), el interés por la interacción entre los aspectos verbales y no verbales del liderazgo aumenta frecuentemente desde la perspectiva discursiva (véase Van De Mieroop, 2020;Van De Mieroop, Clifton & Verhelst, 2020). Por tanto, en este artículo examinaremos el concepto del liderazgo desde una perspectiva discursiva, integrando estas dos lagunas en nuestra pregunta de investigación.…”