Explaining incongruities between leadership theory and practice: integrating theories of resonance, communication and systems

Abstract

PurposeLeadership scholars, practitioners and educators find themselves at a very opportune time, when their subject matter-expertise is of increasing interest across sectors, settings and levels of analysis, as leadership is hailed as both a pressing problem and a promising solution. It is also a challenging time for leadership study—a point in time when incongruities between leadership theories and the observed dynamics and outcomes of leadership in practice have been difficult to ignore. In this article we identify and discuss several problematic incongruities, explore possible reasons for these gaps and outline an integrated view of theories of resonance, communication and systems to address these discontinuities and advance our understanding of leadership theory and practice.Design/methodology/approachBuilding upon the intersection of theories of resonance, communication and systems in this conceptual article, we advance a line of renewed macro-level thinking on the topic of leadership as social influence, resulting in what we describe as leadership resonance theory.FindingsThis article advances an explanation of leadership as a phenomenon that is co-constructed through the communicative connections established between leaders and followers. These connections are mutually-defining, mutually-reinforcing and mutually-causal. Resonance, activation and cultivation are central concepts in the proposed framework, introduced to help explain dynamics and outcomes that seem unpredictable or unexplainable when focusing attention solely on a leader or followers in isolation of one another at a single moment in time.Originality/valueThis framework offers an original, nuanced and integrated way of thinking about leadership in terms of communication, social influence and systems theory, and it helps to explain gaps between the guidance provided by leadership theory and observed leadership outcomes in practice. The proposed framework can help to explain observed leader–follower behaviors, dynamics and outcomes, irrespective of whether they are seen as desirable or comfortable, whether they are necessarily aligned with extant theories or guidance on preferred practices and whether or not they align with traditional values in a personal, organizational or societal context.

Learning to Lead from a Distance: Reflexive Learning during a Pandemic

“…due to the high insecurity induced by the pandemic. Hence, the leaders' learning occurred when trying to navigate the unknown; their learning did not occur in retrospective, but during the disruption [26], or in crisis [32]. Also, the study illustrates that leaders' internal and external reflexive dialogues and negotiations with others [11,12] were focused on coping, and how to move forward and lead in a post-pandemic world, since the reflections concerned that there is no way back to what we formerly thought was normal.…”

“…Thereafter, the analysis continued with an iterative process of re-reading the themes and refining codes [50,51]. The final analytical phase was guided by a set of concepts from leadership theory, such as "doing leadership" [30], as well as learning in crisis [32], and reflexive learning [19]. By coding the respondents' narratives related to their experiences during the pandemic, both cycles of acting as well as learning from experiences and reflexive dialogues could be identified.…”

“…During the ongoing crisis, the leaders reflected on the fact that there was no way back. Hence, the study also makes a theoretical contribution by shedding light on how the leaders' way towards the new normal has been negotiated between themselves and their coworkers, in a reflexive dialogue [32,33]. Many leaders also reflected upon their own characteristics, such as need for control and lack of trust.…”

“…Instead, [26,29] argued that individuals are able to reflect "on our feet by having conversations with the situation" (29, p. 242). In [32], learning in crisis is discussed as a way of rethinking the emergent nature of learning and the ways it is established in organizations especially during disruptive times; it is argued that it is relevant to move beyond separating learning into a process occurring before, during, or after crisis. This perspective, hence, views learning in crisis as the "ongoing practicing in the midst of everyday action" [32, p. 7].…”

Identifying the Future-Ready Human Skills towards the Effectiveness of Good Governance Practices: A Conceptual Framework

“…Efficient leadership is a crucial element that impacts local publics' operation and success, the basis for building strong relationships with stakeholders and utilising social opportunities (Springer, Walkowiak & Bernaciak, 2020). Hence, leadership is the "influencing" process (i.e., the process of social influence) through which leaders and followers work together to accomplish corporate goals via transformation or change (Guo, 2018;Ruben & Gigliotti, 2021;Steffens et al, 2018).…”