Dilemmas in Integral Noetic Leadership
Our basic dilemma in integral noetic leadership may lie in a disparity between what we believe to be right and desirable relative to empathetic leading-managing and what we actually do in practice, in other words, the values we espouse in contrast to the values we actually express in our behavior.
That leads to additional dilemmas expressed as a series of questions:
How participative can I be?
How directive must I be?
How non-directive can I be?
In turn, we face a series of double-binds:
We have a tradition of competition BUT we want to be empathetic, understanding, and cooperative
We are under pressure to achieve our objectives with efficient use of our human resources BUT we believe all points of view must be heard, often perceived as inefficient and costly
We are pushed for time BUT we want participative decision making and this often takes considerable time
We see opportunities for quick results in autocratic one-person decisions BUT we believe shared responsibility elicits more team creativity, makes for joint ownership, fosters longer lasting solutions; and is more enriching educationally
We know teamwork is essential to achieving the qualitative and quantitative results we want BUT we believe some degree of autonomy is essential for individual motivation, transformation and development
A viable way to transcend and manage these double-binds is through choosing an empathetic pattern of leadership according to the situation one is in. An overview of three major options is attached. Note that a fourth option with countless applications is available through dynamically blending the three outlined.
The dilemmas introduced in this article are now discussed in more detail in Integral Leader-Follower Relationships: Options in 4-D which has been published in the emagazine Integral Leadership Review. It can be read free of charge at http://www.integralleadershipreview.com/archives/2006_10_johnston.html Type Johnston in the Search box and hit the Search button. Once there, my article will be at the top of the list.
©Copyright 1979; Rev.2006 - Robert Wayne Johnston
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