Organizing into "Islands of Coherence": The Shift from Economistic to Humanistic Leadership

Organizing into "Islands of Coherence" & The Shift from Economistic to Humanistic Leadership

Since the 1970s, the strategic orientation of business has shifted from maximizing shareholder profit with little concern for negative impacts, through forms of corporate social responsibility and value-sharing with stakeholders, to understanding business as a force for social and environmental good. Similarly, leadership in business has shifted from being hierarchical, directive and performance-oriented toward being collaborative and empowering in support of innovation. However, notwithstanding these changes, shifts in strategic orientation are incremental in nature, and therefore, inadequate to support regenerative system change in the face of the contemporary polycrisis. Similarly, many valued and commonly used leadership approaches are simply adaptive to conventional economistic paradigms in business and management, thereby also inhibiting system change.

However, a radical transition is occurring in business and management around the world, as individuals and collectives from seemingly disparate sectors, roles, locations and cultures actively organize into “islands of coherence” and begin to enact a humanizing future paradigm that is “waiting to emerge.” Drawing of the research of Pirson, Scharmer, Henderson and others, this session will discuss this transition from economistic to humanistic leadership, and describe the contemplative leadership model and practices that are inspiring hope and fueling systemic change.