Leadership and Self-Managing Systems
Charles Ehin, Ph.D.
World Business Academy Viewpoint, March 24, 2005
“True” Leadership is SituationalLeadership is a key “dynamic” of any well-functioning venture, especially when an organization depends heavily upon the generation and application of new knowledge or intellectual capital. A dynamic phenomenon, it emerges under all sorts of settings and, therefore, is unavoidable just like the continuous development of informal networks in any social group.
Most people, however, fail to distinguish between shared or situational leadership and hierarchical position power. The dissimilarities are significant. Appointed roles in organizations controlled from the top-down attain their power and status through resource holding power. On the other hand, emergent leaders earn their relative standing by means of social attention holding potential.
Position power is founded on coercion, no matter how benevolent, and demands compliance from subordinates in following orders. “True” leadership is situational and based on talent, expertise, and the demands of a particular circumstance. Hence, it is reliant on the commitment of followers to a common goal. As one can see, the differences are substantial…
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