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of the organization and thereby enables it to stay on course in stormy weather is important.
Emotions, intuition, values and moral issues are emphasized to a much greater
degree than they were in the other paradigms. Also, in this paradigm, the leader is
thought to be a completely different person from the manager. However, this approach
still tends to be based on the idea of relatively simple Newtonian causality between the
leader and the behavior and organizational performance of followers. In addition, these
leaders tend to be seen in ‘heroic’ terms. 120
7.7.2 The Organic Paradigm
In the late 1990s, an Organic paradigm (which we could designate ‘post heroic’) became
increasingly influential. This paradigm is characterized by the idea that leadership
– interpreted as interactions of reciprocal influence among people – is central, rather
than the leader as a person. Leadership is understood to be distributed across the whole
organization and not bound to specific positions and roles. Members of an organization
participate in the process of leadership in different ways and at different times, and most
decisions are mutual or group decisions. This can be compared to a jazz band in which
members take turns in initiating and improvising. Leadership, then, is not necessarily
vested in particular individuals, although people might assume leadership roles for a
particular purpose. For example, the role of the formal leader may be that of “gathering
the ‘players’ together, providing the stage, setting the tempo, developing a structure for
distributed leadership, and providing appropriate accompaniment to ensure the growth
of collective efficacy.” 121 Other possible roles for leaders in an Organic organization
include those of a teacher (for example, someone teaching juniors how to lead), a mentor
(who functions as a coach, counselor, evaluator and promoter), or a steward or servant
(this primarily refers to someone who is not focused on power or position, but on
serving both the followers and the mission of the organization). 122
In the Organic paradigm, authority and power reside in the collectivity of the organization.
Power is not concentrated at the top but distributed among the members. In
this way, the commitment, accountability and responsibility of members increases. In
addition, a diversity of opinions is valued and multiple perspectives can be heard on an
issue. Reaching decisions, however, often requires extensive communication and negotiation.
Organic organizations may be more political than traditional enterprises, because
they rely heavily on referent and expertise power. An additional leadership role
comes to the fore here: “Part of a leader’s role is dealing with conflicting interest groups
120
Avery, Understanding Leadership, 99.
121
Paul M. Newton, “Leadership Lessons From Jazz Improvisation,” International Journal of Leadership in
Education 7, no. 1 (March 2004), 97.
122
Avery, Understanding Leadership, 130-131.