Abstract
This chapter analyzes discursive leadership in first-time leadership and introduces a scale that was developed to measure discursive leadership abilities based on seven distinct dimensions: overall effectiveness, tools used, guidance, modulating, empowerment, non-verbal cues, and climate and bonding. The scale was developed and pilot-tested at a private business school in Puebla, Mexico, based on followers' perceptions. Theory on discursive leadership was analyzed as a form of organizational communication and as a process between leaders and followers. An overview of the state of research in the field of business and management, specifically basic constructs, fundamental notions, and elements are presented, as well as new lines of research in the area.
TopBackground
First-Time Leadership
First-time leadership has been randomly analyzed on literature, and there has been a lack of research on first-time leadership (Tughra, 2018). It has been suggested that entering a new leadership position might be daunting (Maliakkal, 2018). Examples of this type of leadership can be found in formal educational settings, especially for outdoor adults' leadership experiences (Enoksen & Lynch, 2017), politics, and new parties (Bolleyer & Bytzek, 2016).
According to Hill (2003), many first-time managers fail to transition to their new identities. First-time management involves an identity shift; first-time leaders have to learn many new things in various areas, including getting to know the organizational culture and the organization’s cultural codes.
For first time leaders in a new organization, it is necessary to learn about communicating and
cooperating with various people within the organization and finding the right way to communicate through discourse, to become credible, since credibility is the foundation of leadership (Simons, 2015). This is part of the leader's assimilation process, an approach to increase the speed in which a new leader and his/her team can function effectively together (Boyd, 2013).
It takes consistent effort and clear communication to keep everyone on the same page (Simons, 2015).
First-time leadership positions can be daunting because first-time leaders are challenged to claim a leader identity they did not have before and obtain that leader identity by their first-ever followers (Maliakkal, 2020). In the situation that is being presented, it was challenging for the leaders to determine the right discourse to make his messages go across the new followers and to lead in a way in which he could be able to integrate those initially rejected his position, eliminating possible outbreaks of hostility among followers.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Leadership: A process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent.
Scale: Research instrument that uses ways to categorize answers.
Discourse: Communication in speech or writing.
First-Time Leadership: Occupying a leadership position for the first time, under specific conditions.
Responsible Leadership: An approximation to the leader's ethics and organizational social responsibility.
Discursive Activities: Dialogue, the talk.
Discursive Leadership: A tool for effective leadership based on interactions with others. It is a process of meaning management, grounded by the accomplishment of tasks.
Discursive Competence: The ability to knowledgeably craft and share a message that is meaningful, engaging, and compelling through discursive performances.
Pilot Test: Small study to test research protocols, data collection instruments, and other research techniques in preparation for a more extensive study.