Polyarchy
Reflections
The approach of Complex
Adaptive Leadership, when considered in the light of polyarchy, recognizes various
leadership issues, such as: not letting go, working too hard and playing a bit
of a charade. Although these issues are present in most organizations, leaders
have begun to break free from of such unnecessary stressors and have started embracing
the emergence of polyarchy. Polyarchy is seen as a positive force that breaks
traditional oligarchy assumptions of knowing everything. Leaders today need to
understand that being a leader no longer requires knowing the solutions and
passing then on; it requires having the ability to listen well, in order to
spot solutions and support those who proposed them. According to Obolensky
(2010)” the ability to follow, and know when to do so, is as important as the
ability to lead” (Pg. 143). In addition,
knowing when to act is just as important as knowing when not to act. Leaders
need to recognize when to hold back and allow others take the lead.
Moreover, the assumption
of polyarchy signifies that the role of a leader in no longer about creating a
vital link between task-team-individual, it is about attending to the needs of
the task-team-Individual. A leader needs to have the technical knowledge to
accomplish the task at hand; an understanding of team dynamics and how the team
functions as a whole; and, the ability to connect with and motivate different
people. In this new found dynamic, a leader is more concerned for all members
of the organization and thus, ensures that each member obtains the skills and knowledge
required to perform day-to-day practices.
Although the use of polyarchy
differs significantly in each organization, the concept is the same. The key is
to understand that the traditional dynamic between leader and follower has
changed. Leaders today needs to start encouraging followers to take the lead and
the follower needs to learn how to lead.
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