Emergence of Leadership

<p>The second half of the twentieth century witnessed the emergence of the most complex global organizations ever known. Taking a complexity theory perspective, this book explores the key factor that sustains them: leadership.</p><p>The book examines how leadership is currently understood primarily from a systems based perspective, as an attribute of the individual, the leadership role being to articulate values, missions and visions and then persuade others to adhere to them. It argues for a new view of ethics as co-created through identity and difference, representing the end of 'business ethics' as we know it today. Areas considered include:</p><ul> <li>risk and conflict</li> <li>spontaneity and motivation.</li> </ul><p>In the past we have focused on the choices of individual leaders. In today's highly complex organizations we are now coming to understand the nature of leadership as self-organizing and, as such, closely linked to ethics. This means that we can no longer understand ethics simply as centered rational choice in planning and action. </p> 1 Introduction: how we have come to think of ourselves as victims of systems Part I Leadership and systemic self-organization: participation in systems 2 Leadership: two questions seven years apart 3 Complexity: are organizations really living systems? 4 Social interaction: viewing ourselves as autonomous individuals Part II Leadership and participative self-organization: participation in local interaction 5 The emergence of persons as selves in society 6 Leadership and ethics: emergence in everyday social interaction 7 Conclusion: articulating the ethics we are living, The perspective of systemic self-organization