Henceforth, We Will Never Walk Alone: Empirical Study on the Benefits of Participatory Governance and Leadership

Abstract

Moving beyond the ‘great man’ view of the organization which had regarded leaders as all-knowing and repository of knowledge and tactics, this study empirically examines how a flexible system of management (networked approach) provides benefits for organizations in terms of decisional breakthroughs and practical problem resolution in society. The study is underpinned by the system approach to leadership and a transdisciplinary framework which, strives for a flexible management system through greater interaction between lead ers and their relevant stakeholders in organizational decision processes. Seventeen (17) cases were drawn from diverse organizational settings within public and private sectors of Ghana (Africa) to empirically demonstrate how networks in leadership profer solutions to “ill-structured” and “moderately structured” challenges that confront organizations. The study observes that wicked problems are inevitable in organizations. We conclude that eforts at building bridges between leaders and their environment are not only good for human relations per se but remain the “lifeblood” for organizational breakthroughs, especially, in situations of critical challenges that involve complex decisions. The study concludes that although leaders may be well endowed in knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), organizational issues in most cases go beyond familiar issues and from the ‘ordi nary’ to ones that are subtle, complex, extraordinary, and sophisticated in nature and in most cases requiring social capital to liaise between the organization and other actors for successful negotiations and resolutions, not ‘quick-fx solutions’.