How is leadership cultivated between principal investigators and research team members? Evidence from funded research projects in the UK

Abstract This paper investigates leadership dynamics in research teams. It studies how principal investigators (PIs) and team members cultivate their relationship through the lens of leader‐member exchange theory (LMX). Thirty‐one in‐depth interviews with both PIs across 15 externally funded teams UK are analysed. The findings show that these relationships can be characterised along four influential dimensions: positional layer; informal newly identified political layer life domain. These layers balance between formal power structures, and, more broadly, go beyond specific context which a is situated work. notion constructing working proposed to stress on need for engage process balancing potential tensions. Thus, provides insights into nature within recommendations regarding design.