Discourse of Leadership

Abstract

This study aims to more fully understand leadership when it is understood as primarily discursive in nature and coconstructed by those involved in interactions in which influence emerges. More specifically, it explores the performative role of questions as speech acts. In this case, we look at how questions are employed as a key discourse type to enable professionals to construct their authority and establish leadership roles. The data consist of transcripts of decision-making meetings. A scheme for coding the question-response sequence in conversation was used to identify the form, social function, and conversational sequence of question use. The questions then were analyzed by speaker and his or her role as leader versus nonleader. While questions can result in or encourage group collaboration by opening the discussion and inviting contributions, they can also be used to direct team members, seize the floor, and influence decision making. The study contributes to the study of leadership and team decision making by looking at how questions operate as a multifunctional discourse type, and how they are used to establish influence in decision-making meetings.