Leading smoothly: hidden dimensions of leadership

Abstract: This research aims to understand, describe and analyze the hidden dimensions of leadership that can nourish leader-follower relationships. Additionally, by analyzing empirical illustrations combined with the theories presented in the literature, we have developed a framework for leading smoothly, which can provide insights into the leadership activities that leaders and executives can benefit from. Our findings on leading smoothly emerged during our analysis and interpretation of two case studies and our literature review, and led us to concentrate on emotional and communicational dimensions of leadership. Concerning crisis and turbulent times as one of the most challenging situations for performing leadership activities, we present two case studies related to leadership approaches during crises. One of the case studies is about the leadership of BP‟s former CEO Tony Hayward during the oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, and the second case is about the leadership of the former CEO of Johnson & Johnson during the Tylenol crisis in 1982. While analyzing the cases, the emotional and communicational approaches of leaders are examined. Furthermore, these case studies facilitate the identification of the aspects that smooth leadership activities and their impacts on the leader follower relationships. Consequently, the study discusses the emotional and communicational dimensions of leadership and presents the framework for leading smoothly as a different perspective for embellishing the interaction between the leader and the follower, which can provide an understanding of the subtle ways of leading.