Over the last couple of decades, there's been an enormous emphasis on leadership: studying leadership, dissecting leadership, learning from leaders. We've learned a lot from this…
Abstract
Over the last couple of decades, there's been an enormous emphasis on leadership: studying leadership, dissecting leadership, learning from leaders. We've learned a lot from this process, but a one‐sided emphasis on leadership as it pertains to position can be dangerous. It can set up a heroes and drones syndrome, whereby we overvalue the contribution of those at the top and, by implicit corollary, undervalue the contribution of the rest of the people in the organization. This approach can be profoundly demoralizing to the great majority of people in our organizations who will never achieve the very top rank. It's also an inappropriate approach for organizations in what Peter Drucker has defined as “the knowledge era.” In knowledge organizations, as Drucker defines them, expertise is vested very broadly throughout the organization. For an organization to thrive in this environment, it must be able to draw information, ideas, and talent from a very wide base.
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Examines the contemporary discourse on environmental sustainability,organizational change and transformational leadership in the largercontext of a shift from a dominator to a…
Abstract
Examines the contemporary discourse on environmental sustainability, organizational change and transformational leadership in the larger context of a shift from a dominator to a partnership model of social and ideological organization. Traces the historic tension between these two models, and argues that this tension is coming to a head today because at our level of technological development a dominator model is not sustainable. Analyses some of the key themes in organizational change writings that address environmental sustainability, proposing that there is an implicit subtext in much of this literature relating to conventional gender roles and relations. Suggests that, as this subtext becomes more visible, appropriate changes in policy can be more effectively made.
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A pervasive myth is that European women are not capable of assuming managerial positions in Asia, because of the ongoing exclusion of women from these positions in Asian…
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A pervasive myth is that European women are not capable of assuming managerial positions in Asia, because of the ongoing exclusion of women from these positions in Asian countries. In reality, European women are often more effective than men as managers in Asia because they frequently utilise intuitive and empathetic skills that are highly valued in that region. Research shows that women handle emotions and relationships differently than men. Women’s empathy and insight is receiving boardroom attention as companies realize that in an ever‐globalising world these skills are indispensable. Multinationals are incorporating elements of interpersonal and intercultural expertise into their workforce, but may be overlooking a key resource. Female managers have reported the biggest barriers coming from within the corporation, rather than from situations actually encountered during foreign assignments. This case study compares management styles and career strategies utilised by women internationally, and analyses the lessons to be learned from their relative failure or achievements.
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The business shelf today is dominated by two (not mutually exclusive) factors: Tom Peters and follow‐up editions of self‐dubbed classics. The Peters presence is all pervasive…
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The business shelf today is dominated by two (not mutually exclusive) factors: Tom Peters and follow‐up editions of self‐dubbed classics. The Peters presence is all pervasive: It's in forwards, thanks (in general), employees‐as‐authors (thanks for the time off), and myriad other places. As a result, we rather think it dilutes the Peters name (or in Stack Attack lexicon, the Peters positioning): How can one management consultant hold to so many diverse (and mutually exclusive) theories?
Society is entering into an era where the future essentially will be determined by people’s ability to wisely use knowledge, a precious global resource that is the embodiment of…
Abstract
Society is entering into an era where the future essentially will be determined by people’s ability to wisely use knowledge, a precious global resource that is the embodiment of human intellectual capital and technology. As people begin to expand their understanding of knowledge as an essential asset, they are realizing that in many ways the future is limited only by imagination and the ability to leverage the human mind. As knowledge increasingly becomes the key strategic resource of the future the need to develop comprehensive understanding of knowledge processes for the creation, transfer and deployment of this unique asset are becoming critical. Educational institutions and training organizations and businesses and knowledge‐based organizations in the public sector are in need of an integrative discipline for studying, researching and learning about the knowledge assets ‐ human intellectual capital and technology. An international society of knowledge professionals is proposed which can provide the necessary focus for fostering collaboration among the best minds and organizations on study, research and learning dedicated to the underlying disciplines and their integrative evolution into the emergence of Knowledge Management as a new discipline.
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Laura L. Bierema, Eunbi Sim, Weixin He and Alexandra B. Cox
The purpose of this paper is to interrogate the “double-jeopardy” in widely adopted women’s leadership development interventions aimed at “fixing” women, explore critical feminist…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to interrogate the “double-jeopardy” in widely adopted women’s leadership development interventions aimed at “fixing” women, explore critical feminist coaching (CFC) perspectives and practices and offer more equitable and just alternatives for developing women leaders.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper includes a literature review of post-feminist and critical feminist perspectives and a critical examination of coaching for women leaders from each perspective.
Findings
Postfeminist approaches in organizations are little scrutinized because of the dominant postfeminist discourse that women's subordination and oppression have been “resolved” through neoliberal, individualistic interventions, such as postfeminist coaching programs. Infusing the message of “fixing women” through emphasizing “4 C’s” – confidence, control, courage and competition – postfeminist coaching programs have been submitting women leaders to “double jeopardy.” The authors critique this postfeminist coaching paradox from a critical feminist perspective foregrounding “4 R’s” – reflecting, reforming, raising and rebuilding – promising more equitable, just development.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to describe CFC and presentation of a conceptual and practical model of the process. The authors define postfeminist coaching as the disavowal of feminist values and failure to challenge gender hegemony in the coaching process. The authors propose a model of CFC defined as the explicit embrace of feminist values and challenge of gender hegemony in the coaching process. The authors offer alternatives for developing women leaders amid paradoxical, complex, capitalist systems, with a critical lens challenging postfeminism.