Changing Demands on Leadership

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.