Thriving in Complexity: A Framework for Leadership Education

1Associate Professor, Department of Organizational Leadership Associate Dean, College of Business Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide
2Assistant Professor, Department of Organizational Leadership Chair, Department of Organizational Leadership Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide
3Associate Professor, Department of Organizational Leadership Director of Faculty Development, College of Business Embry Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide
4Assistant Professor, Department of Organizational Leadership Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide
5Associate Professor, Department of Organizational Leadership Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide
6Assistant Professor, Department of Organizational Leadership Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide

Journal of Leadership Education

ISSN: 1552-9045

Article publication date: 15 October 2017

Issue publication date: 15 October 2017

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Abstract

Technological advances, globalization, network complexity, and social complexity complicate almost every aspect of our organizations and environments. Leadership educators are challenged with developing leaders who can sense environmental cues, adapt to rapidly changing contexts, and thrive in uncertainty while adhering to their values systems. In a complex leadership context, inadequate leader responses can result in devastating organizational impacts akin to the butterfly effect from chaos theory. This paper advances a simple model for leadership education based on a program we designed to develop leaders who understand the nature of complex systems, reliably use their ethical value systems, are emotionally intelligent and resilient, and can adapt to emergent situations.

Citation

Watkins, D., Earnhardt, M., Pittenger, L., Roberts, R., Rietsema, K. and Cosman-Ross, J. (2017), "Thriving in Complexity: A Framework for Leadership Education", Journal of Leadership Education, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 148-163. https://doi.org/10.12806/V16/I4/T4

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017, The Journal of Leadership Education

License

This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/


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