Chapter 10: Research Methods For Studying The Complexity Dynamics of Leadership

Significantly, novel leadership theory can be developed by examining the dynamics of leadership processes. Leadership dynamics are temporal patterns of leadership action and interaction which may impact group performance positively or negatively. Leadership dynamics can exist in multiple time scales—from minutes to hours to days to months. This chapter presents an integrated research methodology for studying leadership dynamics at 3 time scales: real-time observation for microscale dynamics, social network analysis for mesoscale dynamics, and event history analysis for macroscale dynamics. Examples are presented from a case study, the ASU Software Factory, where the methodology was employed.