Pastoral power in leadership work: the relational leadership idiom in the construction industry
Journal article, 2023

Purpose Drawing on the literature on pastoral power, a term introduced by Foucault that denotes a specific form of authority based on the subordinate's open communication regarding aspirations, interests and personal concerns, having the full faith in the leader's care of the subordinate's welfare, this article report empirical material from a study of Swedish construction industry. Design/methodology/approach Leadership practices are contingent on context and situation, and over time, authoritative leadership practices have been complemented by relational leadership that increasingly emphasizes the bilateral communication between manager and subordinate. The more communicative and "soft" leadership idiom may have both benefits and incur unanticipated consequences and conditions that need to be studied on basis of empirical materials. Findings Managers in the construction industry emphasize how subordinates increasingly turn to their closest managers to address a variety of concerns. Even though managers recognizes the value of providing personalized support, there is a risk that such a leadership idiom distract both managers and subordinates, i.e. counseling activities consume too much resources, making agents less prone to fully attend to proper project goals. Originality/value To consider contemporary leadership practices as partially premised on pastoral power provides new analytical possibilities that shed light on how leadership practice needs to correspond with new demands in the corporate setting.

Leadership

Power

Pastoral power

Construction industry

Author

Alexander Styhre

University of Gothenburg

Jonas Fasth

University of Gothenburg

Martin Löwstedt

Chalmers, Technology Management and Economics, Innovation and R&D Management

Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management

17465648 (ISSN) 1746-5656 (eISSN)

Vol. 18 1 84-101

Subject Categories

Work Sciences

Social Sciences Interdisciplinary

Business Administration

Communication Studies

DOI

10.1108/QROM-10-2021-2224

More information

Latest update

7/5/2023 8