Janusian Leadership: Two Profiles of Power in a Community of Practice Lisa D. Weaver & Meghan J. Pifer & Carol L. Colbeck Published online: 23 June 2009 # Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2009 Abstract This article investigates how informal positions of power emerge within a community of practice and how positions of power influence communication and understanding about key issues. Findings from a study of one community of practice reveal Janusian leadership within the group and the effects of emergent, informal power roles on group goals, adding to theoretical knowledge about small groups, academic peer groups, and communities of practice. Key words communities of practice . leadership . power . sensemaking . small groups When teaching undergraduate students, instructors often depend on their near peers as sources of knowledge about teaching and learning (Rogers 1995; Foertsch et al. 1997). Peer Innov High Educ (2009) 34:307–320 DOI 10.1007/s10755-009-9117-0 Lisa Weaver earned both her Ph.D. in Higher Education and her M.Ed. in Counselor Education from The Pennsylvania State University. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Academic Development and Counseling as well as the Director of the Haven Achievers Program at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests include undergraduate student retention, at-risk college students, teaching and learning for faculty, and organization theory in higher education. Meghan Pifer is a Ph.D. candidate in the Higher Education Program at The Pennsylvania State University. She received her Ed.M. in Higher Education Administration from Boston University. Her research interests include faculty careers, social networks, and organization theory in higher education. Carol Colbeck earned both her Ph.D. in Higher Education and her M.A. in Sociology from Stanford University. She is currently the Dean of the Graduate College of Education and Professor of Higher Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Her research investigates how social and organizational contexts shape academic work. L. D. Weaver (*) Department of Academic Development and Counseling, Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, PA, USA e-mail: lweaver@lhup.edu M. J. Pifer Higher Education Program, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA e-mail: mpifer@psu.edu C. L. Colbeck Graduate College of Education, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA e-mail: Carol.Colbeck@umb.edu