Distributed leadership and the visibility/invisibility paradox in on-line communities
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Jameson, Jill 
ORCID: 0000-0002-9545-8078
(2011)
Distributed leadership and the visibility/invisibility paradox in on-line communities.
Human Technology, 7 (1).
pp. 49-71.
ISSN 1795-6889
Abstract
This paper analyzes the role of distributed leadership in three on-line communities, reflecting on an observed visibility/invisibility paradox in leadership within these communities. Leaders who downplay their seniority and assume a degree of invisibility, allocating discretionary powers to subordinate levels in an organizational hierarchy, may facilitate the emergence of distributed leadership. Yet, simultaneously, leader-led relations are enabled by high leadership visibility. This paradox—that leaders need to be both highly visible and also invisible, or hands-off, when the occasion requires it—was derived from prior research into e-learning communities and tested in the analysis of discussions from on-line communities using a case study pattern-matching process. The operation of both visibility and invisibility in leadership is a key issue for enabling effective collaborations in distributed leadership situations based on trust. Such collaboration fosters positive group interaction and participative decision making in a consensus facilitated through leadership distribution amongst on-line community members.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | [1] First published: May 2011. [2] Human Technology is an online only journal. [3] Published in Human Technology, Volume 7(1), May 2011 - Special Issue on Distributed Leadership & On-line Communities. Niki Lambropoulos and Marianna Vivitsou, Guest Editors. [4] Published as: Human Technology, (2011) Vol. 7(1), pp. 49–71. |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Distributed leadership; on-line communities; visibility/invisibility paradox; e-learning leadership; case study methodology; pattern-matching; leadership; ambiguity |
| Subjects: | L Education > L Education (General) Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science |
| Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: | Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Education (EDU) Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Institute for Lifecourse Development > Centre for Professional Workforce Development |
| Related URLs: | |
| Last Modified: | 17 Jan 2022 16:18 |
| URI: | http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/7547 |
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