EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP: EMBRACING ENDOGENOUS DYNAMICS

Purpose: The article introduces the kind of leadership that fosters bottom-up dynamics, empowering people, groups, teams and societies.Approach: It is documented through literature analysis and case studies.Findings: That this approach, called Empowering Leadership, can achieve success in business and, in the case of social entrepreneurship, a significant social impact. After reviewing the existing definitions of leadership, the complexity theory is delineated, with twelve core attributes defined. Next, case studies demonstrating a new kind of leadership enabling endogenous dynamics both in in the social arena as well as in business are presented and analyzed from the perspective of the complexity theory. Finally, a definition of Empowering Leadership is delineated.Implications: The presented Empowering Leadership is becoming critical in the growing world of multiplicity and unpredictability. It also enables achieving high impact though low investments. The paper is introducing ways of implementing presented Empowering Leadership in practice through building pre-conditions for the process of empowerment. The article concludes with a review of possible future areas of research.Value: The paper brings and in-depth analysis of the bottom-up approach to leadership with the premise of complexity theory, demonstrating that Empowering Leadership is focused on building preconditions for endogenous dynamics, rather than driving change from the top.

LEADERS’ PORTFOLIO: PSYCHO-SOCIAL MECHANISMS AUGMENTING CREATIVITY

Purpose: There is a consensus that creativity is one of the pivotal characteristics of a contemporary leader. There are however no publications indicating how the leader may augment own, as well as the team’s creativity. The article fills this gap, focusing on the type of creativity which is a long-lasting propensity – as opposed to one creative act usually considered in literature.Approach: The article is based on literature review and case studies analysis. After presenting cases illustrating the role of and need for creativity as a longitudinal propensity, a literature analysis follows delineating the mechanisms regulating creativity. We outline the role of brain plasticity in establishing the process of “being creative” as an enduring characteristic, as well as the ambient factors augmenting creativity.Findings: We focus on how to sustain a lasting creative state of mind (as opposed to performing single creative acts) and examine the factors that maintain the creative drive. We look at affective, cognitive and ambient mechanisms that enhance creativity. We specifically look at the role of joy (affective), distance (cognitive) and ambient factors (horizontal networks). We also review several techniques for enhancing teams’ creativity and conclude with recommendations for further studies.Implications: The article provides information useful for leaders and their teams, delineating ways of enhancing creativity.Value/Originality: The article presents a new approach to creativity as enduring phenomenon and to ways of augmenting creativity

HOW MUCH DO LEADERS SEEK TO BE INFLUENCED? THE CONCEPT OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE IN REVERSE IN REVERSE

Purpose: Traditionally, the effects of social influence have been delineated in terms of “leaders” exerting influence over “followers.” Here we propose a new concept of social influence in which the leaders are influenced and, in fact, actively seek out that influence and build  personal support networks that generate that influence.Approach: To examine the concept, we conducted both pilot (N=42) and main studies (N=113).The pilot study showed that leaders organize diverse support networks based on three major traits of the influence-givers: their competence, moral standards and creativity.Findings: The research confirmed that leaders cultivate five types of individual support networks or influence-providers: family and close friends, professional connections, colleagues and peers (mostly relating to leisure and entertainment), social engagement, and a local/neighborhood network.The research revealed several dependencies between the subjects’ occupation and their expectations from the influence-providers. We also documented that leaders seek basically two kinds of individual support: support from individuals from whom they expect low-order processed information, i.e., facts and data; (type A), and support from individuals from whom they expect high-order, processed information, i.e., opinions, advice, strategies and predictions; (type B). It also confirmed that selection of type A supporters is primarily based on competencies and type B supporters are typically selected based on moral standing and creativity.Implications: This article will empower leaders to better understand the value of their support networks, also to organize the flow of received information.Value/Originality: We are presenting an original concept of social influence in reverse, broadening the cognition of social influence in positive management

Paradox Mindset in Management: Theory and Measurement

Purpose: This article presents an overview of the constructive functions of embracing (instead of rejecting) contradictions (otherwise known as a paradox mindset or Janusian thinking). It also demonstrates the positive impact of tension resulting from the cognitive consideration of simultaneous contradictions (as opposed to the traditional conviction that such cognitive dissonance isexperienced as uncomfortable and reduced). Additionally, this article highlights the positive impact of a paradox mindset on augmenting teams’ and institutions’ creativity and performance. It also documents a method of evaluating the propensity for embracing contradictions (i.e., a paradox mindset).Design/methodology/approach: This article documents the construction and validation of an assessment tool, i.e., the Influence of Contradictions Questionnaire (ICQ), for evaluating the level of propensity for a paradox mindset.Findings: In the validation process (n = 120 Anglophonic sample), the ICQ proved to have positive psychometric parameters (discrimination power and reliability).Social implications: The ICQ can be used for scientific purposes, e.g., for comparison between segments of society or for finding possible correlations with other personality traits (e.g., empathy). It could also serve as an evaluation tool for teams’ and individuals’ levels of propensity for conceptual blending—especially when measuring the results of training in this area.Originality/value: This is a novel approach, both in the theoretical review of various manifestations of embracing contradictions, as well as in designing a comprehensive evaluation method.Keywords: contradictions, Janusian thinking, conceptual blending, creativity, embracing contradictions, divergent thinkingPaper type: Research pape

MEASURING THE PROPENSITY FOR BUILDING SOCIAL CAPITAL DEPENDING ON TIES-STRENGTH

Purpose: This paper is addressing the question what personal characteristics help a leader to build social capital. The purpose is to present the development of a questionnaire to measure leaders’ propensity for building social capital, depending on the perceived strength of bonds; it is also aimed at presenting the preliminary results of intercultural studies.Design/methodology/approach: This paper starts with a review of the theory on social capital and Granovetter’s concept of the “strength of weak ties.” Next the process of the development of the related questionnaire is presented.Findings: The developed questionnaire is a universal and reliable tool that can be used to study various social problems in different populations. The preliminary results of the questionnaire from 10 European countries suggest that the more distant the relationship is perceived the lower is the level of trust and sense of support. Moreover, data suggest that socio-economic organizations as well as those which are longer on the market obtained the highest results on the questionnaire’s scales. Social implications: In conclusion possible applications are discussed, including measuring the dynamics of change in individuals’ preparedness to build social capital, depending on the social or political context, for example, the presumable “openness” during peaceful social activities or movements.Originality/value: Social capital is commonly seen as a positive value, both in its individual and group dimensions, and several tools exist for measuring both. However, there seems to be a void and a need for a questionnaire measuring individual’s propensity to develop social capital.

Social entrepreneurship : theory and practice

There are certain kinds of people who garner enormous satisfaction from successfully taking on a "mission impossible" and, by so doing, actually manage to change the world, sometimes in surprising ways. Such individuals are rare, and when we become aware of them and their astonishing achievements, we observe that they cannot easily be pigeonholed or defined by their own circumstances, that is to say, they are the products of rural as well as urban areas; of developing as well as developed countries; of large cities as well as remote areas; they may be Gurkhas from the Himalayan Mountains or Maasais from East Africa. They may be well-known figures, such as Mohammad Yunus recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, or anonymous, unrecognized teachers from small villages. The question then becomes: If they are such a diverse group, what characteristics do they have in common, which allow us to identify them under one unifying rubric? And which of these shared attributes distinguish them from other social activists? These are the underlying questions that inform the book

Peace-Oriented Mindset and How to Measure it

This article presents the concept of a Peace-Oriented Mindset (POM), based on peace psychology and the significance of conflict-related context. It highlights the role of preventing conflicts through creating an enabling and peace-supportive milieu, facilitated by individuals with specific peace-oriented capabilities. The phenomenon of POM is analyzed, as well as delineated in the context of the current knowledge in this field. Next, the method used to construct a questionnaire measuring the POM is presented. The POM scale is verified on an N = 1074 representative sample, documenting high reliability. Factor analysis confirms the conjecture that there are three dimensions of the POM: Cognitive, performative, and doability conviction. Moreover, social norms are documented. A cross-segment comparison delivers several insights, e.g., that women have a higher POM level than men and that those who consider themselves leaders or innovators and those who are involved in social activities have a higher POM level than those who do not. The POM concept and scale are valuable resources for identifying future peacebuilders, especially from conflicted communities, as well as for training future youth leaders in the field of peacebuilding. Finally, indications for future studies are discussed, e.g., for verifying the hypothesis that individuals who score high in POM also have higher levels of empathy and compassion

Social entrepreneurship : theory and practice / Ryszard Praszkier, Andrzej Nowak.

economic&political bookfair2015Includes bibliographical references and index.xx, 228 pages :"There are certain kinds of people who garner enormous satisfaction from successfully taking on a "mission impossible" and, by so doing, actually manage to change the world, sometimes in surprising ways. Such individuals are rare, and when we become aware of them and their astonishing achievements, we observe that they cannot easily be pigeonholed or defined by their own circumstances, that is to say, they are the products of rural as well as urban areas; of developing as well as developed countries; of large cities as well as remote areas; they may be Gurkhas from the Himalayan Mountains or Maasais from East Africa. They may be well-known figures, such as Mohammad Yunus recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, or anonymous, unrecognized teachers from small villages. The question then becomes: If they are such a diverse group, what characteristics do they have in common, which allow us to identify them under one unifying rubric? And which of these shared attributes distinguish them from other social activists? These are the underlying questions that inform the book"-- Provided by publisher