Highlighting the Plural: Leading Amidst Romance(s)

ABSTRACT

The current crisis makes leadership more visible and allows us to reflect on how leadership is conceived. In this essay, we consider how leadership has been represented during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in articles published in the business and general press. We show that, while images of heroic leadership are prevalent in this popular discourse – reminding us vividly of the romance of leadership – other elements, such as references to plural and decentred forms of leadership can be seen as also coexisting in this discourse, while not necessarily being explicitly acknowledged. Opting for a plural, relational and processual conception of leadership allows us to reveal these under-recognized elements. This leads us to propose that these elements are not specific to leadership in times of crises, but are always constitutive of leading in practice. We conclude by arguing that renewing understandings of leadership may require that we acknowledge simultaneously the inevitable presence of romance(s) in how we approach this phenomenon as well as its collective and relational accomplishment. Referring, in turn, to the central phenomenon as leading rather than as leadership may help us reach beyond the seductiveness of the romance(s) of leadership to capture its inherent relationality.

MAD statement

Our exploration of business press articles published early on during the COVID-19 crisis reveals that the traditional heroic model of leadership is still dominant. Yet, we also see signs of plural and decentred conceptions of leadership emerging between the lines. We suggest that changing the way we think and talk about leadership to refer more to the activity of leading may help counterbalance the romance(s) of the heroic leader. Without dismissing the need for figureheads who can help us make sense of difficult situations, we also need to acknowledge that what is done, in leadership, is always collectively done.

KEYWORDS:

• Leadership
• romance(s)
• plural leadership
• leading

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Viviane Sergi

Viviane Sergi, PhD is an Associate Professor in Management in the Department of Management at ESG UQAM in Montréal, Canada. Her research interests include process thinking, performativity, the transformation of work, leadership, and materiality. She also has a keen interest for methodological issues related to qualitative research and for the practice of academic writing.

Maria Lusiani

Maria Lusiani, PhD is an Associate Professor in Business Administration at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy. Her research deals with management and accounting practices in complex organizations, ranging from the arts field to the healthcare field, through qualitative research methodologies, including historical perspectives. She directs a Master on Arts Administration and a research centre on Management in Arts and Cultural Organizations at Ca’ Foscari.

Ann Langley

Ann Langley, PhD is Honorary Professor at HEC Montréal, Canada. Until August 2020 she held the Chair in Strategic Management in Pluralistic Settings at HEC Montréal (now retired). Her research deals with processes and practices in complex organizations with an emphasis on qualitative methods. Ann has published over 80 articles and edited 13 books. She is co-editor of Strategic Organization, and co-editor of an annual book series Perspectives on Process Organization Studies published by Oxford University Press.