Exploring the perception and manifestation of informal distributed leadership behavior among adult volunteers in the Southeast Pennsylvania metro region

Abstract

This study explores informal distributed leadership behavior among adult volunteers in social organizations. The study looks at a form of leadership that prioritizes relationships, moral agency, emotions, values, and social interaction over authority or hierarchical control. This qualitative multiple-case study research applies the lens of selfless service leadership for positive social change. This lens is derived from a combined conceptual framework: Gandhian philosophy, which emphasizes selfless service and the upliftment of all; servant leadership theory, which champions serving to lead and leading to serve; and the social change model of leadership, which provides an operational architecture for promoting change. Through this lens, the study examined the lived experiences of adult volunteers in social organizations in the Southeast Pennsylvania metro region and explains the informal distributed leadership behavior they understand and practice. Volunteer participants from three social organizations were studied as three respective cases. Case A generated the themes of: esprit de corps, navigating the urban sprawl, precious cargo, and the family and self as factors in altruistic calling; Case B revealed the themes of: the social reason for volunteering, physicality, please don’t stop the music, and food security as a fundamental humanitarian right; and Case C presented the themes of: I am an Umbrella, the offering of labor, the spiritual state of mind, implicit coordination, and empathy. Cross-case analysis was also performed, aggregating data from the three cases. The cross-case findings were condensed into themes of: the enormity of commitment to service, the understanding of leadership, hierarchy, and agents of social change. These findings are discussed in relation to how they align with and extend from the existing literature on informal distributed leadership behavior among adult volunteers. Implications for practice and recommendations for future studies are also provided.