Chapter 14: Patterns of Leadership: A Case Study of Influence Signaling in an Entrepreneurial Firm

The article describes a case study of leadership within an expansion stage, venture capital backed company over a fourteen month period. The study is unique in that it assumed a complex adaptive systems definition of leadership—as an influence signaling network that organizes cooperative interactions and decisions among autonomous agents—rather than a traditional perspective where leadership is embodied in selected individuals. A mixedmethod is used that combines qualitative and quantitative techniques to describe in detail the changing state of the organizational system. The study covers a critical period of change for the organization and ends when the CEO steps down. Leadership trends and critical concerns are identified; potential causes are described. The usefulness of the approach for both research and practice is discussed.