Exploring Leadership Influence Behaviors in the Context of Behavior Settings

This paper discusses the concept of the behavior setting as applied to questions of structure and agency in coming to terms with the influence aspects of leadership. It suggests that the relationship between leader– follower behavior and the organizations in which they are embedded is similar to the paradoxical relationship of agency and structure in social theory. A brief discussion of agency/structure reveals that current theorizing in leadership studies may be missing a valuable opportunity for research by not including the eco-behavioral science of Roger Garlock Barker in its broader agenda. Behavior setting theory is offered as a possible framework for research in leadership studies that takes into account the nature of leadership or influence behaviors in complex environments but remains true to postmodern sensibilities related to observer relative claims about the ontological nature of reality. This is achieved by using the behavior setting as a unit of analysis that mediates the distinction between agent-inspired influence (leadership) and the effects of the surround on agency (leadership behavior). A brief case vignette taken from a medical clinic is offered to illustrate a possible approach to researching influence behavior using a behavior setting approach.