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2 - Language Awareness and Leadership

More than a Guide to Communicating Effectively

from Part II - Language Awareness in Business and the Professions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2022

Erika Darics
Affiliation:
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands
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Summary

While the crucial role of language for leadership is generally acknowledged, there is often a perception or expectation – especially among professionals, but also among many business and organisational scholars – that language is merely a tool that can be used strategically to enhance leadership performance and effectiveness. This chapter challenges this view by outlining that language does much more than that, and that it is in fact central to the notion of leadership itself. Developing a greater awareness of the relevance of language for leadership, this chapter calls for the need to pay more attention to the language of leadership, and to engage more productively with linguistic research on leadership.

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Chapter
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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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