Changing Demands on Leadership

ABSTRACT

The sociological perspective emphasizes the context for leadership. That context has changed broadly over the last fifty years. In corporations, there has been a move from bureaucratic to more collaborative structures, which place new demands on leaders. More recently, the major contextual development has been polarization of value-orientations, most evidently in the political realm but also in many corporations. In such polarized settings, the ability to lead public conversations becomes critical. Although there are relatively few examples of such leadership in companies, and even fewer in societies, some promising examples suggest the key elements, including not only facilitation skills but also the ability to design and manage processes of engagement over time.

KEYWORDS:

• Leadership
• polarization
• conversation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

¹ My discussion of IBM is based on extensive interviews and complete transcripts of the Values Jam and World Jam discussions of 2003-4. I also rely on my research at Citibank and on companies that have gone through the “Strategic Fitness” process, on my consulting experience, and on studies done by other researchers.

² Personal interviews with company leaders, 2004.

³ This quote, like many other things, I first learned from Michael Maccoby.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Charles Heckscher

Charles Heckscher, Ph.D., is affiliated with the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University.