Continuing the Leadership in Democracy blog series, Don Dunoon, author and leadership development specialist, discusses collective and individual dimensions of leadership learning, development and practice.
In an earlier post, Brandon Kliewer proposed three categories of leadership learning and development for advancing the project of democracy. One aspect that I’d like to tease out is that the practice of leadership, whether in furthering democracy or seeking to make progress in any other area of change, has both collective and individual dimensions.
My aim is that readers will consider what follows as propositions to spark reflection and conversation, rather than solidly evidenced conclusions. Considering leadership learning and development, and practice, through both collective and individual lenses requires a degree of “standing back” from conventional assumptions about leadership.
After decades of preoccupation in the leadership literatures with “the leader” and such aspects as leader-follower interactions and leader capabilities and qualities, the past decade or more has seen increasing attention to leadership as a collective phenomenon. Some of the writings from this perspective, however, do not seem to acknowledge an individual component of leadership. This might reflect concerns about “re-platforming”, re-energizing conventional notions, such as to do with leaders and followers. Continue reading “Leadership learning, development and practice as both collective and individual”
