Rethinking Leadership

1. Leadership is a Socially Constructed "Moment," Not a Fixed Entity

Rather than despairing about the lack of definitional clarity however, this book differs from many texts in that it invites you to consider the very ‘indefinability’ of leadership as significant.

Beyond definitions. The book argues that leadership's elusive nature isn't a flaw but a fundamental characteristic. Instead of seeking a singular, objective definition, we should understand leadership as a socially constructed phenomenon, deeply interwoven with the specific contexts, people, and purposes from which it emerges. This perspective challenges the traditional quest for universal leadership traits or behaviors.

A "moment" of interaction. Drawing on phenomenology, leadership is best understood as a "moment" of social relations, akin to a color that cannot exist without extension. It's not a standalone "whole" but a dynamic interplay of:

• Leaders: Individuals taking on the formal or informal role.
• Followers: Those who respond to and enable the leadership.
• Context: The specific social, historical, and organizational environment.
• Purpose: The explicit or implicit goal driving collective action.
  This means leadership is always subtly different depending on these interacting "pieces."

Multiple perspectives. Just as a cube has many "sides" and "aspects" that reveal different appearances, leadership is perceived differently depending on one's viewpoint. A receptionist's view of company leadership will differ vastly from a Finance Director's, yet both are valid "aspects" of the same phenomenon. This multiplicity explains the proliferation of leadership theories, each illuminating a particular facet of its complex identity.

2. The Invisible Dimensions of Leadership Shape Its Reality

Although ubiquitous in the way we construct our experience of organizations, leadership proves to be elusive under close examination.

Beyond the visible. Leadership often "disappears" upon close scrutiny, not because it's absent, but because much of its power lies in invisible, "absent presences." These include unspoken expectations, historical narratives, and cultural norms that profoundly influence how leadership is enacted and perceived. These hidden factors make leadership difficult to study through conventional, positivistic methods.

Unseen influences. Key "absences" that shape leadership dynamics include:

• Follower expectations: Unarticulated desires and assumptions about what a leader "should" do.
• Leader self-expectations: Unconscious beliefs about the role that can lead to feelings of failure.
• Stories about leaders: Narratives that circulate, shaping perception regardless of a leader's direct control.
• Cultural norms: Deeply embedded assumptions about appropriate leadership behavior (e.g., cross-cultural differences in leadership styles).
  These forces operate below conscious awareness, making them hard to identify but potent in their impact.

"Ready-to-hand" vs. "present-at-hand." When leadership functions smoothly, it operates in a "ready-to-hand" mode, disappearing into its purpose, much like a skilled typist doesn't consciously think about each keystroke. It only becomes "present-at-hand" and visible when something goes wrong, demanding conscious examination. This suggests that studying leadership failures, like the response to Hurricane Katrina, can paradoxically reveal its essential nature by highlighting what was missing.

3. The Leader-Follower Dynamic is an Embodied, Co-Created "Flesh"

As soon as we see other seers, we no longer have before us only the look without a pupil, the plate glass of things with that feeble reflection, that phantom of ourselves they evoke by designating a place among themselves whence we see them: henceforth, through others’ eyes we are for ourselves fully visible.

Beyond separate entities. Traditional relational leadership theories often treat leaders and followers as distinct units. However, Merleau-Ponty's philosophy of "intersubjectivity" offers a radical alternative, conceptualizing the "space between" them as a dynamic force in its own right. This "middle space" is not empty but a field of mutual perception and co-creation.

The power of "reversibility." Merleau-Ponty's concept of "reversibility" means that as we perceive others, we are simultaneously perceived by them. This mutual gaze constantly shapes our self-awareness and how we enact our roles. A leader knows themselves through the followers' eyes, and followers understand themselves through the leader's perception. This constant, often unconscious, exchange forms the energetic core of the leader-follower relationship.

Leadership as "flesh." The ultimate expression of this intersubjectivity is "flesh," a primordial unity where immanence (our physical being) and transcendence (our consciousness) intertwine. "Flesh" is the elemental medium through which perception and experience spring, connecting leaders and followers in a visceral, physical, and emotional bond. This "flesh" is constantly being created and disintegrated, influenced by shared history, culture, and the immediate context, making the relationship itself a living, dynamic entity.

4. Charismatic Leadership is a "Sublime" Aesthetic Experience for Followers

The mind feels itself moved in the representation of the Sublime . . . whilst in aesthetical judgments about the Beautiful it is in restful contemplation. [The Sublime] is like an abyss in which Imagination fears to lose itself . . .

Beyond traits and behaviors. Charismatic leadership, often attributed to a leader's extraordinary qualities, is re-examined through the lens of aesthetics, particularly Kant's concept of "the sublime." This shifts the focus from the leader's actions to the follower's "felt sense" and perceptual experience. Charisma is not an inherent trait but an aesthetic judgment made by those who perceive it.

The "sublime" experience. The sublime arises when a perceiver encounters something overwhelmingly vast, powerful, or chaotic (like a crisis situation). This initially evokes feelings of threat or being overwhelmed. However, reason then steps in, reaffirming the perceiver's capacity to cope, leading to a "negative pleasure" – a thrilling sense of mastery over the immense.

• Origin in perceiver: The sublime is generated by the follower's mind, not solely by the leader.
• Overwhelming context: It often arises in times of crisis or profound change.
• Negative pleasure: It involves a mix of awe, discomfort, and renewed self-efficacy.

Charisma and self-empowerment. When a leader, like Barack Obama or John F. Kennedy, frames a situation as a profound crisis and then exhorts followers to recognize their own power to overcome it ("Yes We Can"), they evoke the sublime. This form of charisma empowers followers by awakening their agency, rather than fostering over-identification that diminishes their sense of self. This distinction helps differentiate generative charisma from its more manipulative, degenerative forms.

5. Effective Vision Emerges from Co-Created Meaning and "Fusion of Horizons"

The hermeneutic has to do with bridging the gap between the familiar world in which we stand, and the strange meaning that resists assimilation into the horizons of our world . . .

Vision as meaning-making. A leader's vision isn't simply proclaimed; its success hinges on its ability to align meaning for those involved. This process of "meaning-making" is not a one-way transmission but a complex, dialogic endeavor, where shared understanding is actively constructed between leaders and followers. Without this co-creation, visions can remain hollow pronouncements, as seen in the "Operation June 30th" case where a CEO's directive was met with cynicism.

The hermeneutic circle. Hermeneutics, the philosophy of understanding, highlights that all understanding is shaped by our "prejudices" (pre-existing understandings rooted in our "thrownness" into a specific culture and history). Meaning is achieved through the "hermeneutic circle," where understanding the parts (individual words, actions) informs the understanding of the whole (the overall vision), and vice versa. This iterative process requires constant engagement and reflection.

"Fusion of horizons." True understanding, or "fusion of horizons," occurs when individuals, through open dialogue, bridge their different perspectives and co-create new meanings that transcend their initial viewpoints. This requires:

• Openness: A willingness to genuinely listen and be changed by the other's perspective.
• Inquiry: Asking "right questions" that challenge assumptions and reveal deeper truths.
• Translation: Leaders facilitating understanding across diverse professional and cultural "language worlds."
  The Eden Project exemplifies this, where the vision of "sustainability" was collectively defined through ongoing dialogue and action, rather than being a fixed, top-down decree.

6. Leading Change Means Attending to "Becoming" and Disrupting Patterns

Fundamentally, everything stands still – the thawing wind, however, preaches to the contrary!

Change as constant flux. Process philosophy fundamentally challenges the notion of "stasis" as the natural state of organizations. Instead, reality is in perpetual "flux" or "becoming." Change is always already occurring as individuals make small adjustments in response to local conditions. This perspective reframes leadership's role from "making change happen" to "attending to becoming."

Reading emergent patterns. Effective leadership in a process-oriented world involves:

• Perceptual acuity: Identifying subtle shifts and emerging patterns in both internal and external contexts.
• Declarative power: Using one's authority (formal or informal) to articulate these patterns, amplifying local changes, and bringing collective attention to them.
• Creating disruption: Strategically introducing discontinuities to break habitual ways of seeing and acting, thereby accelerating desired shifts.
  The turnaround at JV Corporation illustrates this, where the new CEO listened to ground-level insights, declared uncomfortable truths, and disrupted existing programs to institutionalize new practices.

Beyond synoptic models. Traditional change models, like Lewin's "Unfreeze, Change, Refreeze," rely on "snapshot summaries" that fail to capture the continuous flow of change. Process thought emphasizes that "events" (like a corporate collapse or a successful turnaround) are not isolated occurrences but intensified sites where numerous historical and ongoing processes converge. Leaders don't just push organizations from "Point A" to "Point B"; they navigate and influence the continuous "passage of nature" within the organization.

7. Wise Leadership is Cultivated Through Philosophical Practices and Community

To be a really good and noble guardian of the State requires [one to] unite in himself philosophy and spirit and swiftness and strength.

Beyond ethical rules. Navigating "wicked problems"—complex dilemmas with no clear "right" answers—requires more than applying abstract ethical principles; it demands wisdom. This involves discerning the most apt ethical path in context-specific situations, balancing competing claims, and acting with prudence. The book proposes that philosophical practices can hone this capacity for wise leadership.

Phenomenological "dwelling." This practice involves:

• "Staying with": Engaging with a dilemma with open, non-judgmental attentiveness, allowing its myriad dimensions to reveal themselves.
• "Comportment": Cultivating an open, respectful orientation towards others that encourages them to reveal more of a situation.
• "Participation": Actively "getting one's hands dirty" and experiencing situations from different perspectives (e.g., a surgeon temporarily taking a porter's role).
  This deep, reciprocal engagement fosters a more grounded ethical relationship, moving beyond purely subjective responses.

Hermeneutic inquiry and aesthetic judgment. Wise leadership also benefits from:

• Hermeneutic inquiry: Learning to ask "right questions" that challenge taken-for-granted assumptions, often prompted by feelings of unease or dissonance between "parts" and "wholes" (e.g., the banking crisis's failure to see systemic risk).
• Aesthetic judgment: Developing the capacity to discern what is "beautiful" (harmonious, balanced, coherent) versus merely "pleasurable" or "ugly." This involves attending to the "yuck factor"—a visceral response that signals an ethical edge, prompting deeper review.
  These practices help leaders perceive correctly and make nuanced judgments, rather than relying solely on rigid rules or immediate gratification.

8. Followers Are Active Co-Creators, Not Passive Recipients of Leadership

The notion of the flesh of leadership implies that leaders and followers are together implicated in the enactment of leadership which successfully achieves mobilization towards desired purposes.

Mutual construction of identity. The book fundamentally challenges the notion of passive followership. Merleau-Ponty's "flesh" concept highlights that leader and follower identities are co-constructed through their intersubjective perceptions. Leaders know themselves through the gaze of their followers, and followers understand themselves through their leader. This means each party exerts significant, albeit subtle, influence over the other.

Beyond obedience. Followers are not merely recipients of a leader's vision or directives. Their active engagement, interpretation, and even dissent are integral to the leadership dynamic.

• Constructive dissent: Questioning leaders' decisions or offering alternative viewpoints is a vital follower activity that contributes to effective leadership.
• Passive dissent/aggression: Followers can subtly undermine leadership by choosing to follow their own viewpoints, demonstrating their influence.
• Collective mobilization: The success of leadership hinges on followers' willingness to mobilize towards a shared purpose, which is often negotiated rather than imposed.

Shared responsibility. Understanding leadership as a "moment" implies that all involved are responsible for its effectiveness. This means followers must discern when their expertise or perspective is needed, and either take a more explicit lead or engage as influential followers. As Barack Obama noted, the very presence and scrutiny of followers (like the press) help leaders "be at their best" by holding them accountable and demanding honesty.

9. The Aesthetic Quality of Leadership Evokes Visceral, Felt Responses

The aesthetic dimension of perception is the physically-based ‘felt sense’ we experience of other people, things, entities or our surroundings.

Beyond rational assessment. Leadership is not solely a cognitive or behavioral phenomenon; it possesses a profound aesthetic dimension that evokes immediate, visceral, and emotional responses. This "felt sense" informs our unconscious judgments about leaders and situations, often operating below the level of conscious thought. It encompasses not just the "beautiful" but also the "ugly," "comic," or "tragic" aspects of leadership.

The "yuck factor." Mary Midgley's "yuck factor" illustrates this: an intuitive, physical response to certain proposals or situations that signals an ethical boundary. Paying attention to these subtle feelings of discomfort or unease can provide crucial information for ethical deliberation, alerting us to discrepancies that rational analysis might miss. This suggests that leaders should cultivate sensitivity to their own and others' aesthetic responses.

Qualitative engagement. Attending to the aesthetic dimension means asking different questions:

• "What is the quality of the journey we want to create?"
• "What is the aesthetic impression I want to create in this circumstance?"
• "How does this collective action feel?"
  This shifts focus from purely outcome-driven thinking to the qualitative experience of leadership, including the pace, rhythm, and flow of collective activity. It encourages leaders to imbue their interventions with desired qualities, recognizing that these subtle elements profoundly impact engagement and effectiveness.

10. Our Fascination with Leadership Reveals a Deeper Cultural Need

What does leadership ‘mean’ for our culture at this point in time and what does our preoccupation with it reveal about us?

A Western preoccupation. The intense focus on "leadership" in Western cultures is not universal. Other cultures often emphasize collective activity without such a heavy reliance on individual "leaders" to "make a difference." This suggests that our fascination with leadership reveals something specific about our own socio-historic moment and cultural values, particularly our emphasis on individualism.

The burden of blame. One explanation for this preoccupation, drawing on Kenneth Burke, is that in individualistic Western cultures, there's a strong need to assign blame when things go wrong. Leaders serve as convenient figures to credit for success and, more often, to castigate for failures. This tendency to blame "lost leaders" for collective shortcomings, whether in politics or finance, perpetuates a "leader-centric" viewpoint that obscures shared responsibility.

Beyond individual heroes. The book's re-thinking of leadership as a dynamic, co-created "moment" challenges this blame-centric view. If leadership is a collective process where followers are equally implicated, then failures are also a shared responsibility. This perspective encourages a shift from seeking individual saviors to fostering collective engagement and wisdom, where all participants contribute to the "flesh" of leadership. This demands a level of attention and transparency from everyone involved, moving beyond simplistic labels of "leaders" and "followers."

Last updated: December 7, 2025