Creating Leaderful Organizations: How to Bring Out Leadership in Everyone

Citation

Edwards, N. (2003), "Creating Leaderful Organizations: How to Bring Out Leadership in Everyone", Management Decision, Vol. 41 No. 10, pp. 1089-1091. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740310509616

Our conceptions of how organizations work and what constitutes leadership are constructions of the social systems in which we live. The implication of this is that we should be very cautious about using notions of organization and leadership developed in the past without considering whether they are still valid. Joseph Raelin argues that too many of our ideas about leadership still exhibit the remnants of models based on a top down, hierarchical and heroic models, which if they were ever appropriate, have outlived their purpose. People will not defer to authority as they once did. They expect to be valued and the related issues we face are so complex that they require all the intellectual resources available to us, not those of a small elite.

Raelin’s aim in this book is to set out a new paradigm of leadership that is more appropriate to modern society and challenge some deeply embedded views of leadership. Many of the elements of this new paradigm are built on foundations drawn from a wide variety of existing sources. One of the strengths of the book is that it develops a number of interesting arguments by building on evidence and thinking as reflected in the literature. Some are derived by an engaging dialectic technique of presenting a familiar argument about leadership, deconstructing it, illustrating that it in fact fails to go far enough, or follow its own logic and then presenting a new take on it. This is a particularly enjoyable aspect of the book and also means that it critically reviews a wide range of sources. I particularly liked a trenchant attack on the idea that there is a wide and fundamental difference between managers and leaders. Raelin’s characterization of the leader in these models as aloof, brooding and a possible social misfit slightly caricatures the view for rhetorical purposes but is valid and makes an important point in an engaging and memorable way. He also challenges the idea of followership as implicitly acknowledging the pre‐eminence of a leadership figure. His implied criticism is that both these views are deficit models that define others by what they lack and, in doing so, miss the point that many different people within organizations can exercise leadership and need to do so. He also points out, with some relish, that even some of the proponents of much more modern ideas about leadership frequently fall back into ways of thinking that are infected by the idea that leaders are “out in front”. There is a slight feeling that in a few cases he may be picking more a fight than is warranted, but the result is memorable, entertaining, and does not stray from being intellectually honest.

A second interesting device that the book employs is mapping useful conceptual frameworks on to each other. For example it shows how Belbin’s team roles map on to stages in the critical leadership process, the relationship between situational leadership and team development, and how a model of conflict handling relates to models of influencing.

The first chapter presents Raelin’s version of the old model of heroic and charismatic leadership he is challenging, which he characterizes as being serial (passed from person to person), individual, controlling and dispassionate. He argues that this concept should be replaced with what he calls leaderful practice in which leadership is distributed across all members of a community. This notion of community is clearly very important to Raelin and it recurs in his analysis at a number different stages in the book. For those who are comfortable with this idea his analysis will seem natural and compelling. However, there will be those who work in one of the many organizations, where leadership is still heavily oriented toward a command and control style, who find these ideas rather difficult, unintuitive and a recipe for chaos. However, unlike many writers who are passionate about their ideas, and Raelin clearly IS, HE does not claim that this is the only solution. He stresses continually that organizations and people need to be well prepared to adopt the model he is proposing and to change their leadership practice and their relationship with subordinates. Also, unlike many authors with a strong idea he is not arguing that all ideas about leadership need to be replaced with his own, for example he explicitly states that he is not suggesting that there is no need for appropriate hierarchy or division of responsibilities.

The first part of the book sets out the case for the new paradigm, explains what it is, how it is distinctive, the challenges involved, how to develop leaderful practice and the benefits. The text is nicely illustrated with references to research, other authors and short stories and quotes from the “real world” that keep the analysis grounded. Some of the argument overlaps so there is some repetition that will help the casual browser catch up on points made elsewhere.

The second section of the book sets out the four Cs of leaderful practice which he defines as being concurrent, collective, collaborative and compassionate:

1. 1.

   1 Concurrent leadership embodies the idea that people in the group can exercise leadership at the same time as the positional leader. The first key to this is situational leadership – the ability to accurately diagnose situations and respond appropriately. The second key is the skill of facilitating the work of the group, promoting its development and growth and managing its boundaries. The power sharing implied by this idea will be challenging to many managers and staff and so the chapter puts considerable stress on the need for personal and team development.

2. 2.

   2 In the chapter on Collective leadership Raelin develops this idea and explores the implications of different people within the community being able to contribute by assuming a measure of authority for decisions based on their knowledge rather than simply their position. The key to this is developing learning as a way of life for the organization, including examining the fundamental assumptions we use from time to time – a sort of triple loop learning. This, of course, has very significant implications for the traditional model of the decisive CEO or other high level manager who “has all the answers”. Raelin is honest about the bravery required to step away from this model towards one that is based more on stewardship, on admitting what one does not know, and on asking subordinates and colleagues for help. A second key component of collective leadership is the role of positional leaders in creating meaning. This is unlike the more traditional model in which vision is created at the top and “rolled out” or “pushed down” the organization but one in which it is co‐created. There is still a clear role for positional leaders. The book, though it does not state so, clearly implies that in many ways this is a more subtle and difficult role for the leader than in the traditional model.

3. 3.

   3 Collaborative leadership again stresses non‐judgmental inquiry, reflection and the participation of all members of the community. There are three useful sections on creating change, influence and dialogue. In all these cases there is still an important role for the positional leader – but also for others. Since the underlying assumption is that these processes are taking place in a community, there is perhaps not enough consideration of those situations where there are fundamental disagreements about objectives or values. Raelin might respond (correctly, I believe) that these cases are not true communities though they are the reality of many organizations. This reminds us that creating communities is a first step toward effective leaderful organizations.

4. 4.

   4 The chapter on Compassionate leadership is strongly argued and calls for authenticity, in the social system and for a number of values and behaviors including listening, sincerity, inner peace and a joyful spirit. Whilst the prescription seems to me to be right, this is undoubtedly the most challenging section of the book. The tendency to slip back to old modes of behavior is strong and while Raelin implies that these new ways can be acquired he makes no secret of the obstacles and he continually stresses humility, reflection and learning. The book could be enhanced with more on how to develop leaderful practice. However, like Henry Mintzberg’s, writings, which are close to themes in this book, Raelin’s answer might be that the book is not a traditional MBA program.

My abiding feeling was that the type of organization that Raelin was describing would be one that most people would aspire to work in and the communities he envisages would be rich and rewarding. His prescription may not suit everyone but for my own field, healthcare and for other knowledge based enterprises, it is probably essential.

His work is polemical, optimistic and as a result perhaps does not pay quite enough attention to problems of pluralism, disputes about fundamental values, contested objectives or the potential for defectors from the values of the community to exploit the collaborative instincts of others for their own purposes. His optimism leads him to downplay these behaviors or to dismiss them as inappropriate. In his defense he does acknowledge the fact that some individuals, communities or organizations are not ready for his approach and it is likely that the type of leaderful communities he proposes would be much better able to deal with these issues than many of our current organizations.

These are minor shortcomings in what is an engaging, interesting, and well written, manifesto for a more humane and sustainable approach to how we live in organizations and communities.