A Theory of Leadership Meta‐Talk and the Talking‐Doing Gap

Abstract We identify managers' meta‐level talk about the positive purpose, meaning, and significance of their actions as an overlooked type of leadership behaviour and call it leadership meta‐talk. We outline why leadership meta‐talk is not necessarily truthful or deceptive, but selective and loosely coupled with leadership practice. We discuss varieties of leadership meta‐talk, namely aspirational, sub‐texting, and sensemaking meta‐talk, as well as principled, situational, formulaic, and casual meta‐talk. We show how all varieties of leadership meta‐talk draw people's attention to positive aspects of leadership practice and provide positive interpretations of it. Thus, leadership meta‐talk can positively influence attributions of leadership and portray workplaces as overly harmonious and well‐ordered, masking power imbalances and tensions and creating a quantitative and qualitative talking‐doing gap. We argue that these talking‐doing gaps are systemic rather than pathological features of the contemporary workplace because overly positive leadership meta‐talk responds to systemic pressures and opportunities for managers and provides egocentric, psycho‐relational, and public‐image benefits. In contrast, leadership practice that lives up to leadership meta‐talk is more costly, difficult, and time‐consuming than commonly assumed. Our theory reconciles attributional, behavioural, and romancing views of leadership, and offers new insights into key organizational and societal challenges, including managing healthy workplace expectations.