Portraying Leader Characters through Speech Acts and Politeness Strategies in Job Interview: A Gender Perspective

Abstract

This study captured the characteristics of a good leader from speech acts and politeness strategies performed by the candidates for the commissioner of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) during the interviews and public tests from a gender perspective. This qualitative research applies a naturalist paradigm and a sociopragmatic approach. The analysis of six videos selected by purposive sampling indicates no difference in the politeness strategies used by female and male candidates, both of which used positive politeness strategies. However, female candidates are slightly different compared to the male candidates in the use of directive speech acts of asking for permission and negative politeness strategies to give deference and impersonalize speakers. Ten character dimensions observed from the candidates include drive, collaboration, humility, integrity, temperance, justice, accountability, courage, transcendence, and judgment. The female candidates show a higher prevalence of collaboration and humility, whereas male candidates have a higher prevalence of integrity and judgment.

Keywords

• leader characters
• speech acts
• politeness strategies
• gender
• job interview