leadership
viduals who shape it) is forming a gap which amplifies itself with time: • citizens who confirm -for the first time after WW II- that they are moving ahead of their political, economical and social elites. In a previous EBR article7, some factors were analysed in order to propose an explanation of this profound shift in our societies • opposing this recent development, politicians, CEOs, syndicate leaders are still behaving as nothing has moved from the status quo ante: absence of vision, futile promises, incoherence in action, the list is a long one and known to all...
The time is now...
We are caught today in a simple yet peculiar paradox: the so-called «civil society» (or «citizens», for that matter) have agreed to hand over to their political, economical and social elites8 the design of their future. At the same time, they did not receive the implied benefits of this exchange: to benefit from sound economic management in their countries, to restore their confidence in the future of themselves and of their families, to cultivate an increased awareness of the present, in short... The recent movements of disapproval in European countries (starting from Spain, then in Italy, in Greece, in France, etc.) demonstrate that social cohesion is at stake. Instead of devi-
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world” Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ate their attention from issues created from serious ill-management of public resources, as in the past, citizens have identified clearly the present situation, have analysed the various aspects of the problem and start proposing new ideas to deal with those issues... regardless of their elites. The urge for «quick wins» and for enhanced efficiency have revealed the existing «culture bunkers», where lack of exposure with the «real» issues and overprotection from risk9 gradually excluded the elites from everyday’s «smart» solutions. The active citizen who participates in a constructive way to enhance daily life, who disposes of valuable experience with «cumulative comparisons», who is fed up with incoherence between promises made and concrete actions, has reduced drastically the space for political manoeuvre. Similar to a successful company, time has come for the public sector to incorporate dynamic members of the society in all stages of the decision-making process, from the strategic choices to implementation.
Que faire?
In Ancient Greece, mythology and its
diversity of possible interpretations was used in order to establish a formal perception of the complexity of the surrounding phenomena. One of those myths, the oath made to the dark waters of Styx, had a precise function: the absolute succession of acts following one’s promise. Once pronounced10, the vow -a kind of moral bond, was compulsory for both Gods and humans alike. We may say that this mythological conception establishes the foundation of a society of law, to be respected among equals, once announced. Well, we may have walked several steps in the path of law since then, however can we establish with certainty that this fundamental relation of trust is respected in full today? In addition, can we fulfil the requirement of action («πράξις», praxis) following the promise («λόγος», logos) made to a counterpart? Thus far, our institutions have shown their capacity of response in times of growth. But in times of severe crises, where the agreed fundamentals of the social contract operate with difficulty, a wide debate and reshuffle cannot be avoided. This institutional correction may provide the bounce of new social dynamic where multiple competing logics can co-exist, co-operate and co-create. «Bottom-up» is the only way to go! In strategy, the pyramid is one of the most well-known pictograms. I have used it myself, as I have seen it to describe almost every layer-based relation
1
«Le consommateur, cet inconnu», in Le Monde -Informatique, 04/1999.
2
DID, also known as Multiple Personality Disorder (F44.8 in the ICD-10 Version:2010 of the WHO).
3
American Psychiatric Association (2000-06), Diagnostic and Statistical manual of Mental Disorders-IV, American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. pp. 526-529.
4
Naomi Klein, No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies, Knopf Canada/Picador, 1999, 490 p.
5
In all four aspects of the SMCR (Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver) Model of Communication, as created by D.K. Berlo (1960), enhanced by D.C. Barnlund (2008) with the
transactional model of communication, which introduces the simultaneous engaging of individuals in the sending and receiving messages between them. 6
Seymour Martin Lipset & Stein Rokkan, Party Systems and Voter Alignments, Free Press, 1967. The four basic cleavages for western civilisation after the Industrial Revolution
were: 1) Owner-Worker, 2) State-Church, 3) Urban-Rural, and 4) Centre-Periphery. 7
«The Fullness of Time ?», EBR No. 1/2012, pp. 30-33.
8
By political elites, we understand mainly the leaders and the administration of the political formations, including their executive arm (ministries, companies of the Public sector,
etc.). By economical elites, we consider the Boards of major companies (CEOs, CFOs, etc.), consultancies, etc. By social elites, we comprehend leaders of Trade Unions and other syndicates, pressure groups, etc. Naturally, one could always bring out an outstanding person or two and argue on the fallacies of this presentation. Unfortunately, though, exceptions do not make the rule, they are merely a reference... 9
After several scandals that blew away this «urban myth» of risk-aversion choices (BCCI, Y2K, Xerox, Enron, Freddie Mac, Merrill Lynch, Arthur Andersen, AIG, Bernard L.
Madoff’s massive Ponzi scheme, Lehman Brothers, etc.), one may observe how overrated and ill-managed was this whole concept. 10
The importance of the word is highlighted in several sacred texts of different religions
11
Grouping of enterprises, conglomerates. Centered on a core bank, the system of combined ownership between the member companies helps insulate each company from stock
market fluctuations and takeover attempts, thus enabling long-term planning in innovative projects.
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