Chapter 12: A Complexity Perspective on Leadership Development

As the field of leadership moves toward being more informed by complexity and dynamic systems theories, our thinking about leadership development is shifting, as well, from an exclusive focus on the development of individuals in positions of authority, to a broader framework on the development of leadership (Day, 2000; Day & O’Connor, 2003; Van Velsor & McCauley, 2003). If, from a complexity perspective, leadership can be emergent from the interaction and correlation of individuals and groups, then developing leadership capacity might include enhancing interactive dynamics within organizations and developing organizational cultures and systems that recognize those dynamics as a key source of leadership (Drath, 2000). This chapter explores how complexity theory can inform the practice of leadership development so that an organization’s capacity for emergent, collective leadership practices is enhanced. The leadership development methodology described here focuses on enhancing interactive system dynamics through facilitating the development of connections between individuals that produce effects not and between collectives in an organization. Three key features of the approach are discussed and a case example is used to illustrate this practice.