A study of leadership practices in an agile development team: an approach based on power metaphors

Une étude des pratiques de leadership dans une équipe de développement agile: une approche par les métaphores du pouvoir

Marie Bia Figueiredo () and Chantal Morley ()
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Marie Bia Figueiredo: IMT-BS - TIM - Département Technologies, Information & Management - TEM - Télécom Ecole de Management - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris], LITEM - Laboratoire en Innovation, Technologies, Economie et Management (EA 7363) - UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne - Université Paris-Saclay - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris]
Chantal Morley: IMT-BS - TIM - Département Technologies, Information & Management - TEM - Télécom Ecole de Management - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris], LITEM - Laboratoire en Innovation, Technologies, Economie et Management (EA 7363) - UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne - Université Paris-Saclay - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris]

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Abstract: Leadership plays a major role in ensuring effective teamwork within agile development projects. However, team leadership practices are still under-researched, and issues of power are often overlooked. Yet the literature on agility emphasizes a number of approaches that break with the conventional pattern of a leader directing team members. The aim of this research is therefore to propose an analysis of leadership practices in agile development teams, highlighting power phenomena. The research is based on an in-depth case study of a Scrum team, combining targeted semi-structured interviews and observation, and on the use of a metaphorical lens for analysis. The analysis, which is structured around four metaphors (rhizome, panoptic, system and hero), deepens our understanding of power relations in agile development teams. The results show a combination of forms of power that contribute to the success of agile leadership. They provide a more nuanced view than the idealized image of empowerment and self-organizing teams promoted in agile literature.

Keywords: Metaphor; Power; IS development project; Leadership; Agility; Agilité; Métaphore; Pouvoir; Projet de développement SI (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Published in Systèmes d'Information et Management, 2024, 29 (2), pp.11-51. ⟨10.54695/sim.242.0011⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04924734

DOI: 10.54695/sim.242.0011

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