Leading for the Future: Background Reasearch

Solution Preview

I have selected the following articles for the purpose of the paper,
1. Leader to Leader, (2010) Winter: 45-51., Five Keys to Flourishing in Trying Times, Kim Cameron, University of Michigan
2. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 2005, Vol. 12, No. 2, We the Leaders: In Order to Form a Leaderful Organization, Joseph A. Raelin, Northeastern University

Introduction
The need and role of an organizational leader has undergone significant transformation over the past two decades. This is due to the interplay of several factors. Firstly, the breakdown of information barriers and free dissemination of information is leading to workers being increasingly knowledgeable and aware than over the previous decades, leading to the weakening of the power and respect that a leader could command over his or her subordinates. Secondly, in line with the increased knowledge, workers of the current era are more ambitious and driven towards being in a leadership role, at a much earlier stage than the workers of the earlier decades would have aspired to. Thirdly, with the advancement of technology and breakdown of global trade barriers, most industries and organizations are getting more competitive as they seek to outdo each other in product development, marketing or enhanced user experience. This requires a much more sincere and dedicated effort at leadership than has ever been the case before.

However, conventional notions of leaders and their roles continue to limit the possibilities of creative, out of the box attempts at leadership styles and place important boundary conditions on such attempts. For instance, who would be held responsible for setting targets and achieving them in case of a more diffused ...