Gaggiotti, H. and Marre, D. (2017) The words leader/lder and their
resonances in an Italo-Latin American multinational corporation. Leadership, 13 (2). pp. 194-214. ISSN 1742-7150 Available from: http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/31300
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Thewordsleader/líderandtheirresonancesinanItalo-LatinAmerican
multinationalcorporation
HugoGaggiotti
FacultyofBusinessandLaw,UniversityoftheWestofEngland,Bristol,UK
DianaMarre
FacultyofArtsandHumanities,UniversitatAutonomadeBarcelona,Barcelona,
Spain
Abstract
Theproblemsof‘lostintranslation’arewellknown.YetsometermsofEnglish
managerialvocabulary,whichareperfectlytranslatableinotherlanguages,
remainuntranslated.OneexplanationofthisphenomenoniswhatLinguistic
anthropologycallnegativesemanticresonances.Semanticresonancesfocused
ontheissueofwhichmeaningscanorcannotbeexpressedbyasinglewordin
differentcultures.Inthispaper,basedonanorganisationalethnographyofLatin
AmericanexpatriatesworkingforanItalo-Latin-Americanmultinational
corporation(Tubworld),weanalysetheresonancesofthewordleader/lı´der
anddirector,direttore,capo,guida,coordinador,caudilloamongagroupof
expatriates;allItalian,SpanishormultilingualspeakerswhouseEnglishasa
secondlanguageintheireverydayinteractions.Thepaperexplainshowthe
differentusescontributetocreateameaningofwhataleadershouldandshould
notbe;someonewholeadswithoutleading,sometimesamanager.Theauthors,
anItaliannativespeakerwholearntSpanishduringchildhoodanduseEnglishas
hiseverydaylanguageandaSpanishnativespeaker,arguethatItalianorSpanish
speakersnotonlyavoidthewordsduceandcaudillo(thevernacularvocabulary
forleader,notinuseduetothepoliticalandculturalmeaning)butalsotheword
leader/líderitself,asitresonatetotheothertwo(violent,authoritarian,
autocratic,antidemocraticleadership)butfurthermorebecausetheword,a
lexicalloanfromEnglish,failedtoencapsulatethecomplexityofleading
multilingualorganisationslikeTubworld.
Keywords
Leadership,language,multilingualism,organisations,polyphony,lexic,semantic
resonances
Introduction
ItmayseemcontradictoryforauthorswhoarenotEnglishnativespeakersto
writeanarticleinEnglishontheresonancesofanEnglishwordinItalianand
Spanish.However,onewonders;howmuchoftheresonancesofthiswordfor
EnglishspeakersisrelatedtothemeaningItalianandSpanishspeakersgiveto
it?WhatarethelimitationsonEnglish-mediumreflectionsontheresonanceof
thewordinnon-Anglophonecontexts?Shouldanarticlelikethisalsobewritten
inItalianandSpanish?However,whatistheproblemofusingEnglishwordsin
languagesotherthanEnglishitself,inadditiontotheobviouspointofthe
dominationofthislanguageoverothers?Ifthewordswereginorrugbyitcould
bearguedthattheyrefertoEnglishobjectsandpractices,hence,thejustification
ofusingalocalvocabularyofthenativesofEnglandorEnglishnativespeakers.
ButwhathappensifItaliansandSpanishhavereplacedtheirownnative
languagewords(duce/caudillo)andtheyusetheEnglishwordleader/líder
reluctantly?Indeed,whatattractedtoustowritethisarticlewastonoticethe
reluctanceofusingleader/líder,theneedofourresearchparticipantstojustify
whattheyweretalkingabouteverytimetheyuseditandacertainsenseof
apologywhentheypronouncedit.AsItalianandSpanishspeakersweasked
ourselves:aretheresonancesofleader/lídernothelpingtomakesenseofour
organizationalworld?
Ourfirstexplorationtoelucidateonthesequestionswasinthevocabulary.Duce
andcaudillowereneverusedinatraditionalAnglo-Saxonmanagerial
organizationalcontextbeforeMussoliniandFranco,butwereappliedmostlyto
refertopoliticalandnationstateauthoritarianorganizing.Themeaningof
leaderinEnglishiscloserto‘totravel’or‘showingtheway’(pioneering),withno
clearconnotationsofauthoritarianism.However,whydoasignificantnumberof
Englishdictionariesdefineduceandcaudillopreciselyasaleader,paradoxically,
thewordthatItalianandSpanishspeakershaveborrowedfromEnglishto
replacethesewords?TakeforexampleacurrentEnglishdictionaryof
etymology:
Leader:OldEnglishlædere"onewholeads,onefirstormostprominent,
"agentnounfromlædan"…Asatitlefortheheadofanauthoritarianstate,
from1918(translatingFührer,Duce,caudillo,etc.)(Harper,2016,
emphasisadded).
OrhowEnglishdictionariesandencyclopaediasdefineduceasaleader:
Mussolini,BenitoPronunciation:/ˌmʊsəˈliːni/…;knownasIlDuce(‘the
leader’)(EnglishOxfordLivingDictionariesOnline,2016,emphasisadded).
BenitoMussolini,infullBenitoAmilcareAndreaMussolini,bynameIl
Duce(Italian:“TheLeader”)…(EncyclopaediaBritannicaOnline,2016,
emphasisadded).
OraSpanishdictionarypublishedbyEnglishpublishers
Caudillo:masculinenoun.(military)leader,chief.(CollinsSpanish
Dictionary,2009,emphasisadded).
Indeed,nonnativeEnglishspeakercolleagueshavesuggestedinconferencesand
researchforawherewediscussedthispaperthattheuseofleaderinlanguages
likeGerman,ItalianorSpanishismostlywiththeintentiontoavoidtheuseof
otherwords.
“IwasremindedofarecentconversationIhadwithaGermanmanager
aftermyseminarduringwhichIexplainedmydislikeoftheterm‘leader’
(inEnglish,notasaborrowedword).Hetoldmethattheyalwaysspeak
of‘leaders’inGerman,notbecausetheydon'tlikemanagers,butbecause
tothem‘leader’hasnothingtodowithFührer,whichobviouslyisa
forbiddenword.IwouldimaginethesamegoesforDuceandcaudillo.In
otherwords,theyaresopreoccupiedwithavoidingtheconnectionwith
Hitler,MussoliniandFranco,thattheydon'thavetimetothinkthatthere
maybeabetterwordinEnglishtobeborrowed.Ontheotherhand,as
yousay,thenativeEnglishpeopledon'thavethisassociationatall.At
anotherseminarwecametoacommonjocularsuggestionthatleaders
shouldactuallybecalled‘guides’.Obviouslysomesemanticloansare
morecomplicatedthanothers”(DF,fictitiousname,2016,personal
communication).
Wesharethesamesenseofdiscomfortbecauseoftheassociationofcertain
wordsinEnglishwiththewordsinournativetongues,butalsosuspicious
feelingsandanxietyofnotexpressingourselveswiththefullrichnessofourown
language,whatindeedusuallyhappenstonon-Englishnativespeakers(Tsai,
2014;Woodrow,2006).Wewouldsaythatthisfeelingisparticularly
emphasizedwiththosewordsinEnglishthathavereplacedwordsofournative
vocabularies.Oneofthesewordsisleader.Indeed,inthefieldnotesoneofus
producewhenworkingwithItalianandSpanishspeakingengineers,Author1
wroteinhislogaboutthisimpression:
Iamnotsure,fromoneside,ifIamusingthewordleader/líderwiththe
samemeaningwithwhichanEnglishnativespeakerusesit;fromthe
otherside,Ihavetheimpressionthattheyresonate,whenthese
Tubworld(namefictitious)expatriatesjustifywhytheyprefernotusing
them,anauthoritarian,monopolisticandpatronizingcharacter,alwaysa
man,asortofduceandcaudillo,preciselythewordsforleaderinour
originallanguages.
Indeed,leader/líderhavebeenintegratedinItalianandSpanishvocabulariesby
whatiscalledaprocessoflexicalloanorlexicalborrow(seeamongothersthe
seminalworkofHaugen,1950,andmorespecificallyforItalian,Pulcini,1994;
Robinson,2006andforSpanish,Baumgardner,1997andFairclough,2006).
ThearticleisbasedonanorganisationalethnographyofLatinAmerican
expatriatesworkingforanItalo-Latin-Americanmultinationalcorporation
(Tubworld).1WereflectonthewayTubworldexpatriatesexplaintheusesofthe
word‘leader’intheirnativelanguages(líder,Spanish;leader,Italian-thewordin
ItalianhasbeenimportedfromEnglishwiththesameform-)invarious
organizationalsituationsandjustifiedwhytheyhave,tothem,anegative
resonance.Themainargumentofthepaperisthatduceandcaudillo,now
excludedfromvernacularvocabulariesbutatsomepointreinstatedbyEnglish
dictionariesinassociationwithleader,stillpermeatedthemeaningofleaderand
líderinTubworld,butoccasionallyotherwordswereusedinsteadofleader,like
direttore,director,capo,jefe,guida.Weclaimthatthiswasparticularlyevident
duringtheorganisationalcontextofmergers,acquisitionsandtakeoversthat
affectedTubworldduringtheperiodofAuthor1fieldwork,whenpowerand
politicsplayedasubstantialroleintheorganizationallifeofthecorporation.
Thearticleunfoldsasfollows.Firstwegiveaverybriefoverviewoftheliterature
thathasaddressedquestionsofmultilingualism,monolingualismandthestudies
ofvocabularyininternationalorganisationsettings,inparticularthelargest
literatureonthesubject,theorganisationalpost-colonialapproach.Wecontinue
withthepresentationofthecase,Tubworld,andthehistorical,culturaland
politicalcontextofLatinAmericanmultinationalcorporations(MNCs).We
explainlaterhowtheword‘leader’wasintroducedandisusedinItalianand
Spanish;weproducealsoabrieflexicaldescriptionofduce(I),caudillo(S),
leader(I),líder(S),condurre(I),acaudillar(S),conducir(S),leadership(I),
liderazgo(S),dirigente(I),dirigente(S),dirigere(I),dirigir(S),direttore(I)and
director(S)andtheirresonanceswiththeexpatriatenarrativesinTubworld.We
payparticularattentiontothecontextinwhichtheyusedthesewords:meetings,
interviews,andinformalchatswhentheydiscussedinternationalization,
takeovers,mergersandacquisitionsinvolvingTubworld.Wefinishbyreflecting
ontheconsequencesoftheusesoflíder/leaderinassociationwithothernonEnglishwords,inparticularlíder(S),capo(I)andguida(I),inthecontextofthe
recentexpansionofMediterraneanandLatinAmericanMNCs.
Thegapintheliteraturetostudytheleader/shipphenomenonfroma
lexicalperspective
Thereisanacademicconsensusthatthespecifictopicsofmonolingualismand
multilingualismandtheirimplicationsforleadershiparestillanunderexplored
areaofresearch,evenaftertheattemptstostudythematthebeginningof2000s
(seeamongothersBordiaandBordia,2015;Janssensetal.,2004;Welchetal.,
2005;CharlesandMarschan-Piekkari,2002;Fredrikssonetal.,2006).Thereisa
claimthatindeedthefieldofleadershipstudiesrequiresanalternativeresearch
agendafocussedonlanguagemultiplicity(Schedlitzkietal.,2016)inorderto
includenon-Anglicizednotionsofleadership(GutheyandJackson,2011).In
theirresearchforspecificliteratureonleadershipandlanguageSchedlitzkietal.
(2016)foundastrongfocusonexploringlanguageasatoolformotivationand
persuasion,whereasonlyonearticlewasfoundintheBusinessPremier
database(Zanderetal.,2011)exploringlanguageinrelationtoleadershipand
culture.Inthesamedatabase,wefoundthatonlyJepson(2010)specifically
addressestherelationbetweenlanguage,leadershipandlexicality.
Thelackofattentiongiventothemultilingualdimensioninresearchisnot
exclusivetoleadershipstudies.Eveninstudiesthatfocusonnarrative
(Czarniawska,1997)anddiscursive(Fairhurst,2007)aspectsoforganising,the
multilingualperspectivewastraditionallyinvisible.ForNidhiSrinivas(2002)
theabsenceofresearchonothervocabulariesthanEnglishduringthe1960swas
partofastrategyofdividingWestfromEast,silencinganddiscipliningthelocal
byimposingsinglecodes,wordsandconcepts,‘hereandthere’:“Theexisting
managerialvocabularywasretained,withculturalisticexplanationsforexisting
conceptslikemotivationandleadership”(p.169).Indeed,theanalysestendedto
neglecttheusesandcoherencyofvocabulariesdifferentthanEnglishinearlier
colonialenterprises.Jepson(2011)andOttenheimer(2006)notedthatthere
havebeenattemptsinorganisationstudiestoexploretheverbaldimensionof
leadership,butnotonthemulti-lingualperspectiveandthemultiplicitiesof
vocabulariesthatconstitutesitssemanticdomain.Similarwasthecaseofthe
studiesofmultilingualismormonolingualisminbusinessstudies,whichhave
beenstudiedfromthecommunicationperspectives(see,amongothers,Lavric
andBäck,2009;Esmannet.al.,1999)butnotfromtheverbalorthesemantic.
Thediscussiononthemono-multilingualperspectiveofleadingwasalso
traditionallyoutsideofthefocusofleadershipstudies(Jepson,2010).Itseems
theNarrativeTurnonsocialresearchwasinterpretedinleadershipstudiesmore
asresearchon“culturalleadership”.Theinterestwasmoreonthewaycultural
differenceswereconstructed,asAlvessonandKärreman(2000)discussed;a
reactiontoanevidentdiscourse-exclusivemanagerialAnglo-Saxonideology.
Indeed,themoreculturalthan,strictlyspeaking,lexicosemanticapproachstill
permeatesourcurrentdiscussionsonleadership.Schedlitzkietal.(2016)found
reasonsforthistobeduetothedominanceandunreflectiveuseoftheEnglish
languageastheacademicandbusinesslinguafrancawithinthefieldof
leadershipresearch,anditsimplicationsofoverlookinglexicalmultiplicityfor
ourunderstandingofsensitiveleadershippractices.Othershavesuggestedthis
isduetothedifficultyofnativeEnglishspeakers,includingacademics,tolearn
foreignlanguages(Lamy,2003;McPakeetal.,1999;Coleman,2009,2011)and
thereforethedifficultytoinvestigatethemeaningoftheleader/shipinother
vocabularies.
Indeed,inresponsetoconcernsthatUK-bornandeducatedresearcherslack
essentialforeignlanguageskills,theBritishAcademyproducedareportin2009
(BritishAcademyfortheHumanitiesandSocialSciences,2009)whichanalysed
theeffectofthefallinmodernlanguagelearningonresearchfields,especiallyin
socialsciences.Afollow-upreport(BritishAcademyfortheHumanitiesand
SocialSciences,2011)foundthatthelackoflanguageskillslimitedresearchers
intheirabilitytoproduceresearchinlanguagesotherthanEnglishandtherefore
engageinternationallyinorwiththeirresearch,andintheircareer
opportunities.
Atsomepointinourresearchwebegantoquestionwhetherperhapsother
analysisonthelexicaldimensionofleadershipwereproducednotinEnglishbut
inItalianandSpanish.WethereforeconductedasearchwithinJ-Stor(thereis
notaspecificItaliandatabaseforscientificarticles)forItalianacademicjournals
usingthekeywordsleadership,liderazgoandlessico.Thesearchbroughtup20
and61hitsrespectively.Wewentthroughallthese81articlestoidentifythose
thatwerespecificallyfocussedonleadershipandlanguage.Wealsoranother
specificsearcheswithinthisdatabase,usingkeywordssuchassignificatoand
semantica.Allthesearchesreturned112articles,withonlytwoarticles
(Malighetti,1994;Balboni,2001)exploringleadershipinrelationto
communicationandculture.WealsoconductedasearchwithinDialnetRioja,the
SpanishSocialScienceDatabasewith9695Journalsandmorethan5million
papersforfulltextsfromacademicjournalsandJ-Storusingthekeywords
liderazgoandlingüísticaandliderazgoandléxico.Thesearchbroughtup38and
12hitsrespectively.Wewentthroughallthese50articlestoidentifythosethat
werespecificallyfocussedonleadershipandlanguage.Wealsoranotherspecific
searcheswithinthesedatabases,usingkeywordssuchassignificadoand
semántica.Allthesearchesreturned4articles,withonlythreearticles(Gonzales
Miranda,2014;Mayorgaetal.,2013;Vangehuchten,2013)exploringtherelation
betweenleadershipwithpower,thediscourseofhandbooksusedinSpainto
teachleadershipandleadershipaspartoforganizationstudies.
Schedlitzkietal.(2016)foundthatinacademicpractice,Englishbecameasortof
imposedlinguafranca,meaningtospeakandwriteinEnglishisneededinorder
tosucceedintheglobalacademiclife.Thissuggestedtousthatthelexical
perspectivecouldbemoreevidentinpost-colonialstudies2.However,wefound
thatforPrasad(2003)thediscourseoftheculturalcomplexityandits
vocabularydimensionisanepiphenomenonofthetraditionalculturalistic
approachesthatdividepeopleandphenomenainordertomakethem
comparable.Post-colonialistsremarkthatneocolonialdiscourse,hiddenwithin
therhetoricofanalways-complexglobalizationandmulti-nationality,simplifies
therichnessandcontributionsofthelocalandimposesuniformityandsimplicity
onthesymbolicrelationsofthepeoplewhoworkinanorganisation(Peltonen,
1997,1999),particularlyintheiridentityrepresentations(Leonard,2010).
Scholarshavenotedthelackofneutralityintheglobalapproach,itssimplicity
anditsone-dimensionalperspective,andsuggestthatthisperspectivewas
inheritedfromthecolonialorganisationoftheworld(Prasad,1997)intolocal
andnon-locallanguages,cultures,religionsandethnicities.However,theyhave
notproducedconcreteanalysesofhowthissimplificationisformedatthelexical
level.
Wewereinterestedalsoinstudyingtherecentexplorationsaddressingtheissue
oftherelationbetweenmultilingualism,diversityandethnicity.Theliterature
suggeststhatdifferences—constructedthroughstereotypingratherthangiven
innature—playacrucialroleindividingpeople,impedingtheiradjustmentand
creatingpseudo-culturaldifferencesandstigmatization(see,amongothers,
Vromansetal.,2013;HemmasiandDownes,2013).Wefoundagoodcorpusof
researchonlanguageandmultilingualismthathassuggestedasimilaridea:that
indeedsemanticdifferencesarewhatreallycount,buttheyareoftenoverlooked
infavourofexplanationsthatemphasizelocal/non-localdifferences,barriers
andculturaldistances.SomeauthorslikeBillig(1995)suggestedthatthe
constructionandimaginationofouridentityisarticulatedinthechoicesofour
everydayvocabulary.Thedecisiontouseoravoidusingwordsdependingon
howtheyresonate,ortousetheminaparticularwayortodepictactionsinone
wayoranother(forexample,‘tolead’or‘tofollow’,ortomanage’or‘tobe
managed’),couldhaveconsequencesonourrepresentationoftheseactions,on
ourdefinitionofourselvesassimilarordifferenttoothersandonour
interactionswithothers(DeCilliaetal.,1999).
Ourconclusionwasthatitisnotonlyinthefieldofleadershipandorganization
studiesinEnglish,ItalianandSpanishthattheresearchagendaonlanguageand
lexicalmultiplicityisinvisible,butalsoinotherapproachesthatmakeclaimtoa
morediverseandlocalapproachtoleadership,likepostcolonialstudiesand
mobilityandnomadicorganizingandexpatriation.
Acasetostudyleadershipinamultilingualcontext:TubworldandLatin
America
LatinAmericaisanoteworthyregionforthestudyofleadershipfromalexical
perspective.Ithasrepresentedafullyintegratedeconomyintheglobalmarket
ofcommoditiesforalmost200years.Between1989and2002,itwasalsooneof
thepreferreddestinationsforforeigninvestmentandMNCsrelocationand
expansion(Gaggiotti,2012).Fromthelate19thcentury,LatinAmerica
registeredfourdistinctfluctuationsintheworkforce,allofthemasaresultof
immigrationandmobility:1)1870and1913,aperiodcharacterizedbytheagroexportmodelofdevelopment,whenforeignMNCssettled,localMNCswereborn
andexpanded,andtheglobalworkforcemigratedinandoutofLatinAmerica,
mostlyfromMediterraneanEurope;2)1914to1929,aperiodofimportsubstitutionindustrialization,withastrongpresenceofaninternationalworking
forcewithItalian,Spanish,German,Lebanese,Japanese,PolishandFrenchas
theirmothertongues;3)1990to1998,aperiodofprivatizationofnational
companies;and4)2004to2008,aperiodofcontemporaryglobalmobilityand
globalcareerism(ChudnovskyandLópez,1997).Thethreephaseseachhavein
commonthehugedevelopmentofaworkforcethatinmostcaseshasthe
capacitytousemorethanonelanguage.Fowler(2002)notedthatitisindeed
verycommon,forexample,thatMexicans,ArgentineansandBrazilianswho
speakmorethanonelanguagedonotnecessarilyrecognizehavingonemother
tongue,buthaveahybridethnicityandmultiplenationalidentities.82%ofthe
expatriatemanagersofTubworldareinfactItalo-Mexicans;Italo-Argentineans,
Mexican-USAmericansorBrazil-Portugueseand92%ofthemspeaktwoor
threelanguages.AsaTubworldexpatriategraphicallyexplained:
Interviewee7:Idonotseelocalsornonlocalswhenmanagingpeople;I
seepeople.HowcanIexplain?Formeit’snotimportantifthedirector
(jefe)isSpanish,Mexican,JapaneseorGerman.Thisisnottheproblem!
Theproblemforme…Idon’tseethepersonasaforeigner…Iseethe
personasaperson;thisiswhymyrelationshipwiththispersonisvery
important.HowcanIrelatetothispersonfrommypersonalpointof
view,notbecauseIamhisorherleader(ilsuocapo).WhatcanIsay?I
mighthaveanItalianleader(capo)whoIlikeverymuchoranItalian
leader(capo)thathatesme....Thisdependsontheperson,notonthefact
thathewasborninItaly....FormeitwasnotbecauseIstartedtoworkfor
anItaliancompanythatwasacquired,right?Purchased.Infact,somany
ItaliancompaniesarenotItaliananymore....TheyareArgentinean,
German,Chinese.Itisalsoclearthatwhensomeonebuysacompanyhe
wantstoimposehiswayofworking,whichmaybecorrectornot,butit’s
his.
Indeed,thereisasenseofproudness,acraftedpreferredversionofTubworld’s
expatriateengineerstoconstructthemselves,similartootherprofessions
(KnightsandClarke,2014),asglobal,multilingualmanagers.
Methodologicalchoices
Thereisanacademicagreementthatthelexicaldimensionoforganising
practicesarestillanunderexploredareaoforganizationalresearch,ingeneral,
andleadershipresearch,inparticular.Hereweneedtomaketwoconsiderations
thathaveinfluencedourmethodologicalchoices.Primarily,wehaveconsidered
hereleadershipasasociallyconstructedphenomenon,anorganizingpractice.
Evenifweareacknowledgingthesubstantialdifferencesbetweenleadership
andmanagementstudiesandwearenotimplyingmanagementandleadership
aresynonymous,weanalyzedtheleadershipphenomenafromasemanticpoint
ofview,fromitsconstructioninthenarrativeofspeakers,andnotasapredefinedtheoreticalconcept.ProbablyduetotheinfluenceofhowItalianand
Spanishparticipantsofthisresearchjustifytheiruseoravoidance,sometimes
referringtothetermsleadership(liderar,condurre)andmanagement
(administrar,administrare)indistinctively,wepreferrednottodefineleadership
beforehand,toavoidstipulatingaprecisenotionofleaderandleadershipfrom
theliteratureinsteadoffromthefieldwork,similartowhatMarturano
(Marturanoet.al.,2005)andothers(seeforexampleAstleyandZammuto,1992;
Pondy,1978)haveattempted.
Secondly,thatweareonlytakinginspirationfromlinguistics;asanthropologists
andmanagementscholarswecannotclaimexpertiseinthatfield.Wewere
particularlyinterestedinthevocabularyasatoolofconstructingdifferent
realities,asSilverstein(2006)definesasan“entréeintounderstandingcultures”
(p.481)andwefoundinspirationforunderstandingtheparticipant’s
vocabulariesonSearle’ssemioticconstructivism(1995),Hitchings’scultural
significanceofwords(2008)andFasold’s(1984)socialusesofvocabulariesthan
inlinguisticperspectives.Indeed,weusedlanguageandvocabularyinSearle’s
sense,toserve“theintrinsicintentionalityofhumans”(1995:61),meansby
whichhumanscreatenotonlythemeaningofleadershipbutalsojustifyleading.
Westartedourworkwithanetymologicalanalysisoftheword‘leader’,its
incorporationintotheItalianandSpanishvocabulariesanditslexicalrelation
withthewordsduce,caudillo,commando,liderazgoandotherwordsoftheir
semanticdomain,scrutinizinginparticularhowEnglishdictionariesdefineduce
andcaudilloasleaders.WecontinuewiththeanalysisofAuthor1ethnographic
fieldworkatTubworld.
ThemainpartofthematerialthatweanalyseherecomesfromthetalksAuthor
1withTubworldexpatriates,butwealsodrawonhisownfieldnotes.Wedraw
onthesematerialstoconstructaseriesof“talesofthefield”(VanMaanen,1988).
Actually,thesetalesareclosertoafilm:theycontainellipses,shortframesand
flashbackstoTubworld’past.
Originallyweanalysedthetalksaccordingtonarrativeanalysis(Czarniawska,
1997,2004).Author1collecteddata,takingnotesasrecommendedby
HubermanandMiles(1994),inaniterativeway(Kostera,2007).Analysingthe
talksinchronologicalorderalsobecameawayofsignallinghischanging
knowledgeofthefield.Gradually,hestartedtofocusonthesemanticresonances
ofsomewords,expatriate’sjustificationsoftheavoidanceofmanagerial
vocabulary,mostlyinEnglish,andhowsomenon-Englishwordsgavemeaning
toexpatriateseverydayleading,inparticularjefe,director,capoanddirettore.
Fromtheperspectiveoftheanalysis,ourinterestwasinexploringthe
relationshipamongresonancesandtheidentificationofactionsthatemergedin
storiesandtestimoniesaroundcharacters,eventsandplaces.Theintentionwas
todeterminetheresonancesofleader/shipandhowtheybecameevidentnot
onlyintheexpatriates’discoursebutalsoinorganisationaldiscoursemore
generally.Wewereparticularlyinterestednotonlyinestablishinghowandwhy
theseresonanceshadconsequencesinexpatriates’‘practices’,butalsoin
determiningtheextenttowhichnon-Englishwordsforleader/ship,inparticular
nounsandverbs,wereusedwhentellingstories.Becauseoflengthrestrictions,
wequoteonlyafewexamplesoftextsasillustrationsofphenomenathat
characterizethewholecorpusofTubworldinterviewsandfieldnotes.
ThefieldworkcarriedoutbetweenMarchandAugust2005incitieshostingtwo
factories:Bergamo(Italy)andBuenosAires(Argentina)resultedin52
unstructuredinterviews—betterdescribedasethnographictalks(Fontanaand
Frey,1994)usuallywithsomekindofembeddedquestioning(Fetterman,
1989)—withexpatriatesandrepatriatedemployeesofvariousages(35-45),
gender(95%male),placesofdestination(mostofthemEuropeandSouth
America)andhierarchallevels(executiveandtechnicalmanagement),allof
whomworkedfordifferentcompaniesofthecorporation.Thetalkswere
conductedusingthelanguageschosenbytheinterviewees(Italian,Spanish,
Englishoramixofthem),recordedandfullytranscribed.3Thefieldnoteswere
producedinItalian,SpanishorEnglish,dependingonthelanguagechosenbythe
participantsfortheinteraction.Thefieldworkgeneratedatotalof362pictures,
6hoursofvideorecording,14hoursofaudiorecordingandacorpusof35,678
wordsoffieldnotes.4Outofthetotalnumberoftalks,46wereconductedonthe
company’spremisesandinthephysicalplacewheretheexpatriate/repatriated
personworkedeveryday(theemployee’soffice).Author1wasabletoshadow
26ofthemanagersheinterviewed,observingtheirworkandsocialroutines.He
wasinvited6timestoformalmeetingswiththeirteams,14lunchesand4outof
theofficeactivitiessuchasplayingfootballorthecelebrationofTubworld’
anniversaryofthedeathofthefounder,whereheobservedhowleader/líder
resonatedwhenusedintheinteractionwithworkers,friendsandevenfamily
members.
Tubworld:anethnicgroupwithamultilingualleadershipvocabulary
Tubworldisaself-defined‘globalorganisation’thatproducesandtradessteel
pipesandofferssupportservicesfortheoilandgasindustry.Thecompany,one
ofthemultinationalswithinTecpetrol,istheresultoftheexpansionofaninitial
nucleusofcompaniesandplants(sometimesacompanyincludesmorethanone
plant,butusuallyacompanyiscomposedofasingleplant)producingsteelpipes
inthreecountries(Italy,ArgentinaandMexico).Eventhoughthecorporate
discoursedoesnotestablishahierarchyofthosewhohaveledtheprocessesof
mergersandacquisitionsinTubworld,itiswellknownthatitwasTubarg
(Argentina),foundedbytheItalianengineerYTSin1954intheprovinceof
BuenosAires,thattookovertheothertwocompaniesbasedinMexicoandItaly.
Fortyyearslater,thethreecompaniesstartedacontinuousintercontinental
expansion.
Towardstheendofthe1990stheideaemergedofcreatingaglobalbrandthat
wouldcommunicatethecompany’scommitmenttoclientsinaunifiedand
standardizedway.TheconceptofTubworldasa“globalleader”emergedinthe
corporatediscourse(Catalano,2004,1).Multilingualbrochures,pamphlets,
logosandwebpageswereredesignedtocreateandpromotethenewbrand.All
theexpatriatesinterviewedreferredtothisprocessastheTubworldationofthe
company.TubworldationinthejargonofTubworldmeantrepresentinga
conglomerateproducingmorethan3milliontonsofseamlesspipesand850,000
tonsofweldedpipes,withbusinessofficesin20countriesemploying13,000
people.Alltheexpatriatesinthestudyworkedforoneoftheseindependent,yet
related,companies.
Tubworldwasdefinedintheorganizationaldiscoursebyitsmultilingual
organisationalrichnessandcomplexity.EnglishwasTubworld’slinguafranca,
andthislanguagemainlysupportedtherelationshipbetweenTubworldandits
clientsandproviders.However,Italianwasthecommonmanageriallanguage
andsubstrateofmanagerialdiscourse(theorganiserofthesymbolicworldand
organisationalrepresentations)andSpanishwasthelanguageofpower,
representedbyTubworldTubarg,whichledthetakeovers,mergersand
acquisitions.
Italian,SpanishandEnglishwordsforleader
Itisnotourintentiontoexpandonadetailedsemanticanalysisofleader/shipin
EnglishandotherlanguagessuchasItalianandSpanish.However,when
discussingthisarticlewithourreviewers,itwassuggestedthatindeedtheword
‘leader’isatabooinotherlanguagesandhadnegativeresonancesevenwhen
usedinEnglish.Itisawell-knownthatafterthedemiseofNazismthename
Führerscholewasreplacedwith”managementschool“ineveryGermanspeaking
university,evenifthewordGeschäftsführerisstillinuse(Bremen,2016).
Moreover,theword‘leadership’,paradoxically,islexicallyborrowedfromthe
GermanleitenorDutchleidenanditmeansoriginallysomethingabouttravelling
orpioneering.Leadershipas"tobeinfirstplace"isfromlate14c.andusedasa
nounisfirstrecordedc.1300.Usedastobein"thefrontorleadingplace"isfrom
1560s(ThesaurusOnline,2016).
InItalian,‘leader’(writteninthesamewayasinEnglish)isusedincolloquial
speech,ascapoorguida.ContemporaryItaliandictionariesincludethewordin
itsEnglishformwithnoconnotationofamanagerialorcorporaterole(Gabrielli,
2015).
Figure1showsdifferentdictionaries’definitionsoftheword‘leader’and
alternatewordsthataredefinedorusedtodefine‘leader’,dependingonthe
context.Italiansdonotsay,forexample,‘themoduleleader’but‘theheadofa
course’;whenacompetitorisaheadinatournamentshe/heisnot‘aleader’but
someonewhois‘aheadamongthewinners.’InItalian,itispossibletoconstruct
wordsusingcapodependingonthefunctionoftheleader,likecaposquadra
(headofthesquad),capoclasse(headoftheclass)orcapogruppo(headofthe
group).TranslatingthesewordsintoEnglishas‘leader’producesdifferent
resonances.The‘leaderofthegroup’orthe‘leaderofthemodule’suggests
someoneunique,aloneandsingular,withextremepower.
LatinAmericanresearchershavedocumentedthefirstuseofthewordlíderin
SpanishintheXIXcentury.Before1929thewordusedwascaudillo.TheSpanish
formlíderisdocumentedintheSpanishvocabularyin1929,andafterafew
yearsofbeingusedalternatelywiththeEnglishform‘leader’,wasfinally
adoptedincommonuseatthebeginningof1932.Godoy(2004)notedthatthe
wordoriginallywasusedinparticulartorefertopoliticalleadershipand,in
exceptionalcases,toreferto‘leaders’ofhorseraces.LázaroCarreterconfirmed
thatlíderwasusedfirstinSpanish“torefertosomeonewhomanagesordirects
themindandbehaviourofothers,inparticularappliedtopoliticians”(Lázaro
Carreter,1997,656).However,líderwasnotusedtorefertogeneralFranco,
rulerandsupremedictatorofSpainfrom1936to1975.Hewascalledbythe
traditionalformcaudilloandwastheonlyoneallowedtoreceivethisformof
address,muchlikeMussolini’sduce.Englishdictionariesandencyclopaedias
howeverdefinethecaudilloasaleader:
Franco,Francisco.Pronunciation:/ˈfraŋkəʊ/(1892–1975),Spanish
generalanddictator,headofstate1939–75.LeaderoftheNationalistsin
theCivilWar,in1937FrancobecameheadoftheFalangePartyand
proclaimedhimselfCaudillo(‘leader’)ofSpain(EnglishOxfordLiving
DictionariesOnline,2016).
FranciscoFranco,infullFranciscoPaulinoHermenegildoTeóduloFranco
Bahamonde,bynameElCaudillo(TheLeader)(bornDecember4,1892,
ElFerrol,Spain—diedNovember20,1975,Madrid)generalandleaderof
theNationalistforcesthatoverthrewtheSpanishdemocraticrepublicin
theSpanishCivilWar(1936–39);thereafterhewastheheadofthe
governmentofSpainuntil1973andheadofstateuntilhisdeathin1975
(EncyclopaediaBritannicaOnline,2016).
LíderwasaddedintheDiccionariodelaRealAcademiaEspañola-DRAE-
(dictionaryproduced,edited,andpublishedbytheSpanishRoyalAcademy–
RAE-)in1927.Theplurallíderesstartedtobeusedafter1936.Lideratoand
liderazgo(leadership)wereincludedasindependentvocabularyentriesin
DRAE’s1970editionandliderar(tolead)in1989.Thelastprinted(2001)and
electronic(2005)editionsofDRAEhavethefollowingvocabularyentries:líder,
liderar,liderato,liderazgo(withthenotationthatRAEpreferstheuseof
liderazgoinsteadofliderato;seeFigure1)andaddedthegenderednounlideresa
(feminineforlíder/’leader’,awordusuallyconsideredmasculine).
AlcobaandFreixas(2009)suggestthatinofficialSpanishdocumentsandinthe
press,liderar(tolead)isusedtoencompassahugespectrumofverbsthatare
partofthesamesemanticdomain,suchasencabezar(tohead),dirigir(to
manage),capitanear(toleadaship)ormandar(tocommand).Alloftheseverbs
haveaderivednouninSpanish(cabeza-head,director-director,capitán–captain,
comandante-commander),similartotheItalian(testa-head,capo-boss,capitanocaptain,comandante-commander).Liderarisafunctionderivedfromthe
positionofsomeonewhoisaheadofothers,leadingthem.
Figure1.Leader/shipinItalianandSpanishdictionaries
Jepson (2010) has noted a similarsituation for the word leader in German.“When
consulting,forexample,aGermandictionarysuchasCollinsortheOxford
Duden,itappearsthatthereareamultitudeofdifferenttranslationsforthe
Englishtermsleaderandmanager.Someoftheseoverlapandotherscontradict,
whilstotherEnglishtermssuchasfollowerandsubordinatedonothavea
perfectmatchintheGermanlanguage.Thismultitudeofpossibletranslations
andinterpretationsispartlyduetothefunctionalcharacteroftheGerman
languageastheall-embracingword‘manager’ismorespecificallydefinedwithin
theGermanlanguageintermsoftitlesthatdescribespecificpositionsand
functionsinanorganisationandhierarchy,thatis,managercaninGermanmean
bothmanagingdirector(Geschäftsführer)anddepartmenthead
(Abteilungsleiter).Further,whentranslatingsuchGermanwords,forexample,
GeschäftsführerorAbteilungsleiter,as‘manager’inEnglish,thiswillnotcapture
theentiremeaningandstatusoftheGermanwords”(p.427).
Theentiremeaningofleader/shipinEnglishisindeedimpossibletobe
reproducedbyanyoftheItaliansorSpanishwordsusedtorefertopositionsand
functionsofaleader/líder.Thenoun‘lead’inEnglish,forexample,canreferto
thecordforrestrainingorguidingadogorotherdomesticanimal(EnglishOxford
LivingDictionariesOnline,2016).TheequivalentItaliancinturepercaneor
Spanishcorreadeperrohavenotanylexicalorsemanticrelationwith
leader/líder.
TheSpanishwordfor‘leader’(líder)has,likeinEnglish,anassociatednoun
(liderazgo/’leadership’)thatiscommoninorganizationaldiscourseandthe
economicspress.ThereisnoequivalentassociatednouninItalian(commando/
‘leadership’).However,theequivalentof‘leading’(liderando)israrelyusedin
SpanishandnotusedinItalianatall.
Leader/líderinTubworld
Avoidingtheuseof‘leader/líder’
AtdifferentmomentsofthefieldworkAuthor1noticedthatTubworld
expatriatesrefertotheactionofleadersnotnecessarilyasleadership,theytried
nottousethewordsleader/líder,leadership/liderazgoandtheyusedtheword
caudillotoexpressthenegativeresonancesthatcouldemergewhenusingthe
wordlíder.
HG:DoyouthinkZTLexercisedgoodleadershipintheprocess?
Interviewee11:Well,notreallyleadershipIwouldsay;Ithinknot.He
wasagoodfacilitator;hedidthejobthathadtobedonewithout
imposing,withoutbeingauthoritarianandimposinghisideasasaleader
(sinimponersusideascomouncaudillo)....
HG:But,isitpossibletobealeader(Iusedthewordlíder)withoutbeing
authoritarian?
Interviewee11:Idon’tknow;itseemsverydifficulttome....Howcanyou
notmakedecisionsandimposeyourideasinthecontextofatakeover?
Lateron,hewroteinhisfieldnotes:
ImetwithInterviewee13forcoffee.Heexplainedtomewhatherefersto
astubworldzation:We'renotdownhere(inTubworld)undera
magnifyingglassofaleader(heusedthewordcaudillo)whoimposeshis
ideology,hiswayofdoingthings.Wehavetotaketheinitiative,be
autonomousandshowthatwecantakerisks.Ifyouarenotabletodo
that,youcan'tdevelopasamanagerinTubworld.Iaskedwhether
someoneshouldassumetheleadershiprole(roldellíder).Hereplied:
Sometimes;onlyifit’snecessary.Itshouldnottobeimposed;youneedto
taketheinitiativeandtakecalculatedrisks,eveniftheyarenotfully
alignedwiththestrategy.Aleader(líder)couldbelikeadictator,dictating
whattodo,whathastobedoneandwhatcan’tbedone.Thisisnot
consideredaprofessionalexecutivemanager(directivo)aroundhere.
Anotherparticipant,wasnotonlyreluctantofusinglíder/leaderbutalsousing
onlyonetermtoexplainactionsinpermanentchange;highlycomplextobe
explainedusingjustasingleterm:
Interviewee6:ZXCledthetakeover.
HG:Ithoughtyouhadalsoledthetakeover.
Interviewee6:No.IjustwaspartoftheteamwithZXC.Iwasinchargeof
directingoperations.
HG:Thatis,ZXCwastheleader,thecapo...?
Interviewee6:Well,hewastheManagingDirector(Direttoregenerale)
andsometimestheleader(capo).InameetingwithRDG,heexplainedto
methattheproblemsinthetakeoverinMexicowereduetoTubarg’s
projectleadersstyle(estilodeloslíderesdeproyecto),theirarrogance,
theirindiscriminateuseofthepowertheyhadasbuyers.Noleadershipis
neededthere,hesaid,butwhatisnecessaryistobesensibleandwork
withthepeople,handinhand,toexplainthestandardsofTubworld.He
explained:Goodbosses(capos),notduciwereneeded.Iaskediftheissue
wasbecauseoflackofleadershiptraining.Hereplied,Therewerevery
capablepeople,buttheytookaleadershiproleandthiscomplicated
everything.So,itwasdecidedthatotherpeoplewouldbeinchargeofthe
takeoversinEasternEuropefromthenandtheywouldalwaysbemixed
groups,notjustpeoplefromTubarg.
Nontransformasiinunduceandnonecesitasseruncaudillo(donotbecomeand
donotbealeader)
InoneofhisperiodsatTubworldTubital(Bergamo,Italy)Author1worked
extensivelywithInterviewee44whodescribedhisexperienceinthetakeoverof
Tubirom(Romania).TheyspokeinItalian.InInterviewee44words,hisgoal
whenworkinginTubirom“wasn’tbecomingaduceandgettingpeople
accustomedtofollowinghim”.Thiswasanunusualuseofduce,asthewordwas
neverusedpubliclyintheItalianbusinesssector.Asoneofthereviewersofthis
articlesuggested,eveninpopularbusinesspressthecommonwordusediscapo
(boss).Inpolitics,onthecontrary,duceiswidelyused:theformerItalianPrime
MinisterMatteoRenziwaslabelledbyalternativepressasIlducettodiRignano
(thelittleducefromRignano-Renzi'shometownnearFlorence).
ForInterviewee44,however,therewasnootherwayofleadingatakeover.The
idea,hesaid,wasforthemtolearnTubworld’sculture,totakeinitiative,to
understandTubworld’swayofworkingandtotakecalculatedrisks.Theywere
usedtoworkinthecontextofapubliccompany,wheretheywerealways
waitingtobetoldwhattodo,toreceiveorders.Theydidwhattheywereasked
todo,ratherthanwhatneededtobedone,andhisjobwas“tolead(condurre)
themsotheycanadopttheTubworldwayofworking...theyneededtobe
convincedofthatandIhadthepowertodoit”.
Indeed,inTubworld,liderarmeanstousepower.However,ithastobeavery
sophisticateduseofit,inconjunctionwithwhattheexpatriatescallthe
transmissionofideas(transmisióndeideas),inordertobeefficient.Thereisnot
asinglewordorexpressionforthis.Thefailuretotransmitideasleadsto
antagonism,theresultofacaudillopractice,asitwasexplainedbyInterviewee
30:
Interviewee30:Therearedifferentroles,tolead(liderar)andtoconvey
ideas.Ifsomeonecanintegratethetwo,Ithinkit’seasier.Ithinkthere
wasalotofpowerinvolved.Atakeoverisatakeover.Clearlywhenyou
takeoveryouhavetoassumeyouhavealotofpoweroverallthe
companystructure;powerissomethingyouneedtoknowhowtohandle.
Thereactionsyougetdependonhowyouhandleit.Iwouldnotsayitwas
afeelingagainstourpowerfullíderesinVenezuela.Butyoudon’tneedto
beacaudillo.
Leadershipandmanagement
Author1startedhisanalysisbyscrutinizingtheconversationswherethe
referencestoleader/leadership-líder/liderar-wereaddressedduringhisfirst
monthoffieldwork.Thefirstimpressionwasontheflexibilityofthevocabulary
theexpatriatesusedwhentheyexpresstheirleadershipandmanagement
experiences.
Interviewee7,aMexicanexpatriateworkinginBergamo(Italy)characterizeda
‘leaderasa‘good’managerwithtwoskills:someonewhomanageswithout
otherstakingnoteofhis/herhierarchicalpowerandsomeonewhohastechnical
capacity.Itwaspossibletobepartofaleadershipteambybeingamanager.
Interviewee7:TheleadershipteamwasFicaro,Romangoandmyself.
HG:Ficaroledthetakeover?
Interviewee7:No,Ficaroalsohadaway,averygoodwayofworkingwith
people....Hewasthemanager,butnobodyperceivedit...Hewasa
managerwithagreattechnicalabilityandbecauseofithewasalsoa
goodleader.SoIdidthesameandIputmyselfinapositionofsayingto
people:Ihavealotofexperiencewiththis.CanIhelpyou?
AnArgentinianexpatriateworkingalsoinItalyassumedthattheleaderwasa
roleassociatedwiththeconstitutionofateamtobedirected.
Interviewee10:MytriptoCanadawasforaproject,thedevelopmentofa
companythatisnotours;wesignedacontractwiththemtouseand
managethesteelfactoryandthesupplychain.
HG:YouwentasaProjectLeader?
Interviewee10:Yes,butmyrolewasnotonlytoleadbutalsotobuilda
teamanddirect,decidewhateverybodyhadtodo.
Author1wasintriguedbythiswayofreferringtoleadershipandteamsbutnot
toleadersandtomanagersinstead.Indeed,hetooksnotesreferringtothe
“importanceofbeingagoodmanagerinTubworld;thesuperlativequalitiesof
Tubworldmanagersandtheassociationstheexpatriatesmadebetweenbeinga
goodengineerandagoodmanager,butneverbetweenagoodengineeranda
goodleader”.HestartedtopayattentiontootherwordsinItalianandSpanish
thatcouldrepresentleader/shipintheconventionalway,asdifferentthan
manage/ment.Direttore/directoremergedasaninterestingword.For
Interviewee23,abilingualArgentineexpatriateinItaly,adirector,‘led’
processesandcreatedculture.
Interviewee23:HewasthedirectorofqualityofPlanar.Thenhemoved
toworkforCuttarandwastheplantmanager;hehadtoleadthewhole
takeover.Here,hesaid,wemustbuildanewculture.
InTubworld,thefactorydirectorship(direttoredeazienda–directordefábrica)is
consideredthetopmanagerialrole.Expatriatesneverrefertothemas‘leaders’,
exceptwhentheyassumeaparticularrole,forexample,conductatakeoverora
post-takeoverrestructuring.Itiscommonthatthefactorydirectorsareaskedin
facttoassumeleadershiprolesintakeovers.
Interviewee54wasanexpatriatewithexperienceintakeoversinBraziland
Italy.Hewastrilingual,Spanish,ItalianandPortuguese.Theverbsestara
cargo/encargado(tobeincharge),conducir/dirigir/condurre(tomanage)and
liderar(tolead)wereinterchangeablewithoneanotherandwereusedaspartof
aunifiedvocabularywhentellingthestoryoftheTubworldtakeovers,butnot
indistinctively.Eachofthesewordswereusedtodenotedifferentactions.Estar
acargode/wasinchargeof(takingover;buying)operatedsometimesasa
synonymfor‘tolead’butalso‘tomanage’,dependingonthephaseofthe
takeover.
Interviewee54:IwasinchargeofbuyingCSP.He(referringtotheother
manager)wasinchargeofthepurchaseteamand,whenitwasfinished,
hesaid,Well,nowyouhaveboughtit;now,youhavetomanage
(manejarla)it.
HG:Soyouled(lideraste)thetakeoverofCSPandTANO?
Interviewee54:No,IboughtCSPbutIdidn’tlead(nolideré)thetakeover;
IthappenedthatIledthetakeoverofTANOinItaly;in'94IcametoSOPA
andfromSOPA,IwasinchargeoftakingoverTANOinItaly.My
experienceinmanagingandbuyingCSPwascrucialforleadingthe
takeoverofTANO.
Whatisclearisthatanassumed(andperhapsgenerallyaccepted)ideaof
leadershiprepresentedonlybyawordfromonelanguagewasnotcommonin
Tubworld.Indeed,inadiscussionamongtwoTubworldexpatriatemanagers,the
questionwassuggestedintheseterms:
FCDwasveryemphaticwhendiscussingwithTFR.Hesaid:Thisisa
multinationalcorporationandyouneedtolead(dirigir)peoplefrom
differentbackgrounds.IfyouneedtospeakItalian,youspeakItalian.If
youneedtospeakSpanishorEnglish,youmustspeakSpanishorEnglish.
WordsandimagesofleadershipinTubworld
ItwasparticularlyinterestinghowTubworldexpatriatesrepresent,iftheyinfact
do,theimageoftheleader/líder.IntheintervewwithInterviewee48,Author1
asked:
HG:WhowouldbeaTubworldleader(líder)foryou?
Interviewee48:Idon’tknow….IthinkYTS.Hewasmorethanaleaderto
me;hewasapioneer.HecreatedTechpetrolfromscratch.Itwashewho
inventedit.Look:IhavethephotohegavemewhenIcelebratedmy30th
anniversaryatTubarg.
Indeed,inTubworldiscommontoseeapictureofYTSintheofficesofthe
engineers.YTSwasalwayswriting,working,suggesting;aniconicimageofa
manager.Thepicturehasafootnote,handwrittenbyYTS,dedicatedtothe
employer.InthecaseofInterviewee48,anengineerfromworkingatTubworld
Bergamofactory,thededicatorywasinrecognitionofInterviewee48’slong
careeratthecompany.IntervieweetoldthatYTShandedthepicturetohimina
formalact.“Thisiswhatarealcapodoes,”hesaid.Forhim,theimage,publicly
visiblebehindhisdesktoeveryonewhoenteredhisoffice,alsohelpedhim
presenthimselftootheremployeesassomeonewhohadreceivedrecognition
fromthefounderhimself.
Thesamepicturehasbeenused‘officially’bythecorporationtoillustratethe
HistoryandExpansionofTecpetrol.Thepictureispublishedunderthesubtitle
‘Founding’togetherwithotherpicturesofworkerswithafootnote:“Thefounder
wasYTS,aninnovativeengineer,managerandentrepreneur,andakeyforce
behindthedevelopmentoftheItaliansteelindustryinthe1930s”.
WheninterviewingInterviewee55anotherimageofalíder/leaderwasused.Il
capodeicapierailLeonardo(theleaderoftheleaderswasLeonardo–daVinci-)
hesaid.Indeed,LeonardodaVinciwastheinventoroftheprocessofpipe
drillingandinthemainentranceofTubworldofficesthefaceandthenameofda
Vinci,togetherwiththedrawingofhisdesignofadrillmachine,isdisplayed
(Figure2).
Figure2.FieldworkinTubworld(Bergamo,Italy)
Conclusions
Thewordsforleader/líderusedatTubworldtogetherwithotherwordsto
expresswhoisincharge,thecapo,thedirector,etc.wereusedalternately(but
notsynonymously),aselementsofausefulrhetoricthatservedexpatriatesto
giveamorecompletepictureofthecomplexactionsofleadersandmanagers
duringtakeovers:sometimesdirecting(dirigiendo)andsometimesmanaging
(mandando).ThiswassimilartowhatFasold(1994)andWardhaugh(1986)
describedashappeningwithwordsborrowedfromanotherlanguage–the
practiceofdecidingwhichwordstouseoravoiddependsonthesituationor
context.
InthecontextofthetakeoversofTubworld,thereisgoodevidencetosupport
theargumentthat‘tolead’resonatedwiththeauthoritarianuseofpoweryet
therewasaneedtodemonstratethatpowerwasnotbeingusedinan
authoritarianway.Theassociationofthewordsleader/líderwithduce/caudillo,
evenifleader/líderinfactwereborrowedfromtheEnglish,couldsuggesttheuse
ofauthoritarianpower,hencetheneedtojustifytheuseofleader/líderin
conjunctionwithotherwordswiththeintentiontominimisenegative
resonances.ThismayhavetodowiththecontextofTubworldtakeovers,in
whichmanagers(capodiazienda;directordeplanta/factorydirector)alternated
intheirroles:theyleadtheinitialphasesofthetakeover,whenpower‘needed’
tobeuseddiscretionally,followedbyphaseswhenleadingrepresentednotthe
usesofpowerbuttobeinatopmanagerialrole.Conceptually,leader/shipand
manage/mentaredifferent,astheyarerepresented,inEnglish,bytwodifferent
words,butthelimitsofthesedifferenceswereexplainedbyTubworld
expatriateswhenusingItalianandSpanish.
FortheexpatriatesofTubworld,liderar(tolead)wasalwaystolead‘something’:
atakeover,agroup,amerger,etc.,to‘do’something.Itwasnotthecharacteristic
ofsomeonewhodidnothingorwas‘merely’inspiredbyideasorinspiredideas
inothers.AtTubworld,itwasnotpossibletobealeaderpassively.Corporate
leadersweremorelikepoliticalleaders,astheusesofthewordsuggestinItalian
andSpanish.Theleaderwasafactotum,adoer.Thiscouldbesaidtobea
controversialandethicallyquestionableunderstandingofleaderandleadership,
butitshouldstillbetakenintoaccountwhenworkingwithLatinAmerican
leadersandmanagers,whoarenowmorepresentintheglobalcorporateworld.
InTubworld,Englishwasconsideredanobvious(andcompulsory)linguafranca,
apracticalandtechnicalcodenecessarytodobusiness,provideaccurate
informationtostakeandshareholdersandcustomersandproviders.However,
theorganisationalvocabularyofTubworldwasmadebywords,syntagmasand
phrasesfromthreelanguages.Intermediateandtopleadersandmanagerswere
fluentinthesethreelanguagesandusedwordsofthemconstantlytobeclearof
whattheyweretryingtosaidoravoid.Partofthesuccessingettingaccessfrom
TubworldtoconductthefieldworkwasduetotheAuthor1’scapacityofbeing
anItalian-Spanishnativespeaker,withformalprimaryandsecondaryeducation
inEnglish.
MultilingualpracticesinTubworldwerenotonlyaconsequenceofthemultiple
originsofthecorporation,butalsopartofawayoforganisingthatminimised
misunderstandingsandhelpedtodealwithorganisationalsophisticationanda
morepreciseuseofwords.FeelyandHarzing(2003)haveconcludedthatthere
isarelationbetweendamagesinorganizationalrelationshipsandlanguage
barriers.Aswesawabove,therewasaconcerninTubworldexpatriatesof
avoidinginternalcolonialismofduci/caudillosleadingwhenexpandingthrough
takeoversandacquisitions.Theriskofisolation,exclusion,patronizationandthe
formationofsubalterngroupsdescribedbytheliteraturewhenimposing
monolingualbarriersduringmergersandacquisitions(Vaaraetal.,2005;
Piekkarietal.,2005)wasminimizedinTubworldbychoosingnottodefinean
officialcompanylanguagebutthree.
TherewerephasesinTubworldtakeoversthatcreatedsituationswherebythe
negotiationofwhatwordsshouldresonatewerecrucial:leaderinthesenseof
duceandcaudilloneededalwaystobeavoided,evenattheexpenseofnotusing
thewordleaderitself.Itwasimportanttodefinenotthemeaningofthewords
butalsothecommunicationpatternswithinthegroupofTubworldexpatriates.
AleaderofTubworldneverhadtoappeartobeaggressive,authoritarian,
someonewhocouldbeassociatedtoaduceoracaudillo.Therearethese
situationswhenBalbonirefersthat“thelanguageskillsarecrucial”(Balboni,
2001,460-461).
Indeed,wedothingswithwords,andasDeCilliaet.al(1999)referred,we
decidewhatandhowwedothingsbydecidingwhichwordstousetonameour
actions.Toavoidnegativeresonances,Tubworld’sexpatriatesswitched
constantlytodifferentwords,inparticularwhenexpressingleading.Ifjust
translatedintoEnglish,itseemstheyusedleader-leadershipandmanagermanagementasiftheyweresynonymous,buttheyavoidedauthoritarian
resonancesthatthewordleadercouldproduceintheparticularcontextof
Tubworldexpansion.Tubworld’sexpatriateswereawarethattheuseofthe
vocabularyofthethreeTubworld’slanguageshelpthemtoproduceactionsand
expressleadershippolyphony,thecomplexityofthedifferentconceptionsof
authority,powerandhierarchiesthatneededtobeprofessionallyand
sophisticatedlymanaged,oftenatspecifictimesinTubworld,acommonpractice,
asBrett(2006)suggests,intheincreasinglypolyglotworldofcontemporary
organizing.
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1
All levels and names are pseudonyms.
See, among others, the seminal works of Said (1978), Fanon (1986) and Bhabha (1990, 1994) and in particular in
postcolonial organisational studies Prasad (1997, 2003).
3
The interviews were transcribed verbatim and translated into English by Author 1. We discussed the translations
with an Anglophone editor in order to produce texts with reasonable English reading standards, but trying to keep
expressions of participants in their native language, even at the expense of incurring on syntax and grammar
issues.
4
We included in the analysis elements from semantic and rhetorical analyses, but focussed in particular on the
description of the everyday world of the expatriates, and as re-produced by them, in particular in visual versions
(logos, façades of buildings, webpages). The photographs selected can be considered the evidence of the social
(Knowles and Sweetman, 2004). This means that the photographs were not documents supporting a topic, a
concept or an idea. They were images of the landscape experienced by Tubworld expatriates living their everyday
working lives: commuting to work, circulating among the towns where the factories were located, accessing their
offices and parking their cars. These images portray a part of the world experienced by everybody at Tubworld.
2