Transformational Leadership as a Mechanism of Subtle Control: Employees’ Perceptions on Leadership Approach
(2025) SKOM12 20251Department of Strategic Communication
- Abstract
- The blur between employee’s personal and professional lives has increased for the past few years. Organizations have used the ‘we are like family’ discourse to subtly control employee’s identities that implicitly impact the way they behave at the workplace. Transformational leadership, which is always been known for its compelling traits, can be one of the mechanisms for organizations to subtly changed employee behavior. Through their motivational discourse, inspirational figures, and experiences, it is easier for transformational leaders to make employees internalize the organization values and implicitly direct them to align. Earlier research has underscored that the paradox of this leadership style is between empowerment and dependency,... (More)
- The blur between employee’s personal and professional lives has increased for the past few years. Organizations have used the ‘we are like family’ discourse to subtly control employee’s identities that implicitly impact the way they behave at the workplace. Transformational leadership, which is always been known for its compelling traits, can be one of the mechanisms for organizations to subtly changed employee behavior. Through their motivational discourse, inspirational figures, and experiences, it is easier for transformational leaders to make employees internalize the organization values and implicitly direct them to align. Earlier research has underscored that the paradox of this leadership style is between empowerment and dependency, also adore its approach. However, not many studies focus on the outcome that indirectly impacted employee’s identity that can put employee’s well-being at stake. Therefore, this thesis aims to provide a deeper understanding and a more critical perspective of the dual dimensions of transformational leadership, between empowerment and control, by examining employees’ perspectives on how such leadership trait communicate within organizational settings. The study used semi-structured qualitative interviews with 10 employees from different department but work in the same organization. The findings indicate that the compelling communication approach of transformational leadership is both regulate employees’ identities and may lead to subtle resistance such as silent exit. It also gives both theoretical and practical contribution to organizational communication studies. To conclude, the findings also provide further critical research for a more broad and inclusive understanding. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9194956
- author
- Pramestika, Sarah LU
- supervisor
-
- Mats Heide LU
- organization
- course
- SKOM12 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Transformational leadership paradox, identity regulation, self-identity, control, thematic analysis
- language
- English
- id
- 9194956
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-23 09:48:12
- date last changed
- 2025-06-23 09:48:12
@misc{9194956,
abstract = {{The blur between employee’s personal and professional lives has increased for the past few years. Organizations have used the ‘we are like family’ discourse to subtly control employee’s identities that implicitly impact the way they behave at the workplace. Transformational leadership, which is always been known for its compelling traits, can be one of the mechanisms for organizations to subtly changed employee behavior. Through their motivational discourse, inspirational figures, and experiences, it is easier for transformational leaders to make employees internalize the organization values and implicitly direct them to align. Earlier research has underscored that the paradox of this leadership style is between empowerment and dependency, also adore its approach. However, not many studies focus on the outcome that indirectly impacted employee’s identity that can put employee’s well-being at stake. Therefore, this thesis aims to provide a deeper understanding and a more critical perspective of the dual dimensions of transformational leadership, between empowerment and control, by examining employees’ perspectives on how such leadership trait communicate within organizational settings. The study used semi-structured qualitative interviews with 10 employees from different department but work in the same organization. The findings indicate that the compelling communication approach of transformational leadership is both regulate employees’ identities and may lead to subtle resistance such as silent exit. It also gives both theoretical and practical contribution to organizational communication studies. To conclude, the findings also provide further critical research for a more broad and inclusive understanding.}},
author = {{Pramestika, Sarah}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Transformational Leadership as a Mechanism of Subtle Control: Employees’ Perceptions on Leadership Approach}},
year = {{2025}},
}