Crosby B.C., Bryson J.M. - Leadership for the Common Good (2005)(en)
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caring for themselves. A few leadership scholars focus on interorganizational leadership and policy change; examples are Jeffrey Luke (1998), Siv Vangen and Chris Huxham (Huxham and Vangen, 2000; Vangen and Huxham, 2003), and David Chrislip and Carl Larson (1994). Additionally, multiple contributions have emerged from the growing body of research into modes of organizational leadership suited to the complex, networked, fast-moving social environment of the early twenty-first century (Wheatley, 1999; Allen and Cherrey, 2000; Terry, 2001; Drath, 2001; Brown and Gioia, 2002; Gronn, 2002; Nelson, Kaboolian, and Carver, 2003). Meanwhile, scholars and practitioners continue to refine analysis of politics, public policy, social innovation, and citizenship. We attempt to bring these strands together in a comprehensive, dynamic approach that offers practical guidance for leadership, which we define as inspiring and mobilizing others to undertake collective action in pursuit of the common good.
The new Leadership for the Common Good framework emphasizes the importance of eight leadership capabilities:
1.Leadership in context: understanding the social, political, economic, and technological givens
2.Personal leadership: understanding self and others
3.Team leadership: building effective work groups
4.Organizational leadership: nurturing humane and effective organizations
5.Visionary leadership: creating and communicating shared meaning in forums
6.Political leadership: making and implementing decisions in legislative, executive, and administrative arenas
7.Ethical leadership: adjudicating disputes in court and sanctioning conduct
8.Policy entrepreneurship: coordinating leadership tasks over the course of a policy change cycle
These capabilities are rooted in a model of power, a model of policy change, and an approach to the common good. We emphasize the importance of stakeholder analysis and involvement throughout policy change efforts. Although we offer a general framework that should apply across contexts, we also recognize the need for
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specific adaptations of the framework in differing contexts—a need emphasized by a recent Harvard University Leadership Roundtable chaired by Ronald Heifetz and Philip Heyman (Pruyne, 2002).
The new edition of Leadership for the Common Good presents an overview of the complex fields of leadership and policy change, and although it gives practical guidance it does not present a simple recipe or cookbook. Instead, we seek to offer what Chris Huxham calls “handles for reflective practice” (Huxham, 2003, p. 420). We are guided by the wisdom of Albert Einstein, who said, “Things should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.”
In a very real sense this book is about planning, if planning is viewed as what Stephen Blum calls “the organization of hope” (Forester, 1989, p. 20; Baum, 1997). Planning, in other words, is what makes hope reasonable. The planning process in a sharedpower situation, however, is quite different from the process many organizational theorists have recommended. Planning in a sharedpower situation hardly ever follows a rigidly structured sequence from developing problem definitions and solutions to adopting and implementing proposals. Serious difficulties arise when people try to impose any rigidly sequential approach on a situation in which no one is in charge. Nonetheless, to be steadily effective, leaders must have an organized approach of some sort (Abramson and Lawrence, 2001). Their challenge is to instill political, technical, legal, and ethical rationality into these difficult situations; that is, they must effectively link knowledge to action (Friedmann, 1987). Therefore, we describe the kind of procedural rationality that can be used to effectively address substantive public problems, and we define the conditions and leadership actions that will support this rationality (March and Simon, 1958; Stone, 2002).
The new Leadership for the Common Good is chiefly concerned with enhancing practice; it draws on and develops theory in the service of practice. The four minicases highlighted in this book are used mainly to illustrate elements of the Leadership for the Common Good framework. At the same time, our study of the cases has enriched the framework and the guidance we offer for applying it. We have been personally involved in the African American Men Project and the Vital Aging Network as action researchers and educators. Our research on the AIDS and World Business Council cases draws mainly on secondary sources. We selected these cases
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because they involve complex public problems (AIDS, global warming, and social exclusion) that affect communities around the world, and because they involve policy entrepreneurs from business, government, and the nonprofit or voluntary sectors. If you want to update yourself on what has become a global campaign against AIDS, we suggest consulting http://www.unaids.org. Updated information about the World Business Council for Sustainable Development may be found at http://www.wbcsd.org, for the African American Men Project at http://www.aamp-mn.org, and for the Vital Aging Network at http://www.van.umn.edu.
Outline of Chapters
Part One is devoted to understanding leadership in a shared-power setting.
Chapter One introduces the idea of a shared-power world with no one in charge and contrasts two organizational forms: hierarchy and networks. In hierarchical organizations, someone or a small group is recognized as being in charge, whereas in a network of organizations and individuals many people are partly responsible for acting on important public problems and must share power if they are to find and implement effective remedies for the problems. The chapter also contrasts the rational planning model with the political policy-making model of the shared-power world and explains the importance of developing a new appreciation of public problems and potential solutions. Shared power and shared-power arrangements are defined and their causes and consequences are discussed, leading to a call for leadership for the common good. Finally, we introduce the four examples of public problem solving that are used throughout the book to illustrate our points. The campaign to eradicate AIDS highlights the need for leadership at many levels, from local to supranational. The work of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development highlights networking among business executives, and among these executives and multiple stakeholder groups to build support for environmental protection coupled with economic growth. The African American Men Project, sponsored by elected officials in Hennepin County, Minnesota, highlights collaborative leadership by public officials and community partners, and the Vital Aging case highlights a university-based
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response to a major demographic change, the “graying” of the baby boom generation.
Chapters Two, Three, and Four describe the eight key leadership capabilities in a shared-power world. Chapter Two focuses on leadership in context and on personal leadership; Chapter Three focuses on team and organizational leadership. Chapter Four explores visionary, political, and ethical leadership and the sharedpower settings associated with them (respectively, forums, arenas, and courts). The design and use of these settings affects dramatically how public issues are framed and how public policies can deal with them. We tie these settings to a holistic view of power.
Chapter Five outlines the policy change process in sharedpower settings and links the process to the common good. The process, or cycle, comprises seven phases played out as interconnected activities with shifting purposes and actors in shifting forums, arenas, and courts. Policy entrepreneurship is the label we give to the leadership work of navigating the policy change cycle.
Part Two elaborates the process of policy entrepreneurship. Chapters Six through Twelve describe in detail how to work through the policy change cycle. Each chapter describes one phase of the cycle in terms of desired outcomes; benefits; the roles of forums, arenas, and courts; and leadership guidelines, with special attention to stakeholder involvement. Chapters Six through Eight together consider the process of creating public issues, which we define as linked problems and solutions, and placing them on the public agenda. Chapter Six covers the initial agreement to do something about an undesirable condition, Chapter Seven explores the nature of public problems and presents a practical approach to formulating these problems so they can be addressed, and Chapter Eight presents effective methods for developing solutions or remedies that can ameliorate the problems. This chapter also describes how the nature of issues affects the politics of doing something about them.
Chapter Nine discusses proposal development, presents the characteristics of winning proposals, and highlights the differences between “big win” and “small win” solutions. Chapter Ten covers proposal review and adoption. This phase requires a “coupling” of change cycle elements: a recognized problem, a viable solution, a favorable political climate, reduced barriers to effective action, and
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a policy decision. Because political manipulation is involved, the chapter also covers agenda control, strategic voting, and alteration of an issue’s dimensions in order to build or break a coalition. Chapter Eleven considers the process of policy implementation, and Chapter Twelve concludes the detailed description of the policy change cycle with a discussion of policy maintenance, modification, and termination.
Chapter Twelve also includes guidelines for getting started with leadership for the common good. The book ends with five resource sections.
The new Leadership for the Common Good offers a comprehensive approach to leadership as a shared-power phenomenon that embraces many individuals, organizations, and institutions. Our basic premise is that sharing power to resolve public issues is a fortunate, rather than unfortunate, necessity because it ensures that diverse voices and needs receive attention, and that implementation of solutions is more likely to succeed. Also, and fortunately, no one can give direct orders and dictate terms in a shared-power world with any assurance of compliance, but leaders do have many effective indirect methods at their disposal.
If the world’s people are to survive and prosper, and if our children and grandchildren—and their children and grandchildren— are to enjoy the benefits of our ability to make the world better, all of us need ways to think and act more effectively in a shared-power context. We must deepen our understanding of the interrelated phenomena of power, change, and leadership.
Acknowledgments
Harlan Cleveland and Robert Terry—two men of big ideas—con- tributed greatly over the years to our understanding of leadership and power. We were privileged to work with them and receive their warm friendship and encouragement. We were deeply saddened by Bob’s death from ALS two years ago and constantly miss his ability to keep us laughing in the midst of a weighty conversation.
We began the revised version of Leadership for the Common Good during our recent sabbatical year in Glasgow, Scotland, and are grateful to all who helped make that year an amazing time of personal renewal and intellectual stimulation for us. Gayle McPherson, Malcolm Foley, David Andersen, and Deborah Andersen were often close at hand for good conversation, food, and exchange of friendship, ideas, and household tools. We also appreciate all the others who contributed to the “stair” community in our apartment building overlooking Queens Park.
Our colleagues at the University of Strathclyde were gracious hosts who tied us into professional networks, gave us a chance to test our ideas on European audiences, and put up with our endless shipments of book boxes. Special thanks to Colin Eden, Fran Ackermann, Chris Huxham, Nic Beech, Alf Hatton, George Burt, George Cairn, Phyl Johnson, Gerry Johnson, John Bothams, Jill Shepherd, Val Turner, Sharon Gribben, Peter McInnes, Shima Barakat, Paul Hibbert, and Aiden McQuade. Other colleagues in the United Kingdom—Steve Cropper, Stephen Osborne, Kate McLaughlin, Jim Bryant, Michael Barzelay—gave us helpful feedback on our ideas about leadership and the common good. Thanks, too, to old friends Sue Richards, Roger Colori, Katherine Bradley, and Richard Bradley for welcoming us again to England and their homes.
Back at the University of Minnesota, we benefited tremendously from the interest, feedback, and support of many colleagues. John
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Brandl (former Humphrey Institute dean), Sharon Anderson, Gary DeCramer, Katherine Fennelly, Donna Rae Scheffert, and Joyce Hoelting helped us think about what should be included in the revised Leadership for the Common Good. Melissa Stone, Marsha Freeman, Aijun Nie, Sharon Anderson, Julia Classen, and Karen Zentner Bacig have helped us probe more deeply into leadership and collaboration as part of our mutual work in developing the Humphrey Institute’s new Center for Leadership of Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and the Public Sector. We also appreciate the support of Dean Brian Atwood and former Associate Dean Sandra Archibald (now dean of the Evans School of Public Policy at the University of Washington) in arranging the sabbatical that enabled us to do much of the research and writing of this book. Other university colleagues who continuously keep us exploring how best to describe and teach leadership are Stuart Albert, Rosita Albert, Ragui Assaad, Iman Ghazalla, Harry Boyte, Zbigniew Bochniarz, Arthur Harkins, Susan Atwood, June Nobbe, and Karen Lokkesmoe. During our work on this book, we’ve been especially blessed by having the assistance of highly dedicated and talented research assistants: Ruth Bowman, Meredith Anderson, Aaron North, and Thompson Ivory. We are constantly stimulated and challenged by the participants in our classes and workshops, from twenty-year-old undergraduates to ninety-year-old “vital agers.”
Many people helped us learn about the cases featured in this book. We especially appreciate the time contributed by Gary Cunningham, Jan Hively, Kevin Winger, and Lawrence Gikaru.
A host of other scholars and practitioners have strongly influenced our thinking about leadership and public affairs over the years, notably Anthony Giddens, Beverly Stein, David Reimer, David Osborne, Jeffrey Luke, Robert Denhart, André Delbecq, Robert Einsweiler, Jerry Kaufman, Mark Moore, Judith Innes, Nancy Roberts, Brint Milward, Hal Rainey, Kimberly Boal, Ron Heifetz, James MacGregor Burns, James Kouzes, Barry Posner, Barbara Kellerman, and Jean Lipman-Blumen. Thank you, Jerry Hunt, for asking us to serve on the editorial board of The Leadership Quarterly, the leading scholarly journal in the field, and thus helping us to keep our fingers on the pulse of the developing field of leadership studies. We also want to single out three circles of collegiality and friendship: the Thinkle Peepers Institute (Colin Eden, Fran Ackermann, David Andersen, Charles Finn, and George
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Richardson), the Missing Page Club (Michael Winer, Michael Hopkins, Ronnie Brooks, Lonnie Helgeson, Milne Kintner, and George Dow), and Women Who Talk (Yvonne Cheek, Deb Clemmensen, Milne Kintner, and Gloria Winans).
At Jossey-Bass, Dorothy Hearst has been encouraging and supportive all along the way. Allison Brunner and Xenia Lisanevich have provided superb support, and our hats go off to our copy editor, Tom Finnegan.
Finally, we want to thank John Kee Crosby Bryson and Jessica Ah-Reum Crosby Bryson for continuing to cheer us on and for putting up with our inability to quit talking about leadership and public affairs. We treasure your insights and love.
To Jessica Ah-Reum Crosby Bryson and John Kee Crosby Bryson, whose cares and concerns for the world sustain us and prompt us to think anew