Political leadership, bureaucracies and business schools: A comfortable union?

Abstract

One of the central issues in reconciling pluralistic and bureaucratic forms of organizing lies in the absence of a coherent model of leadership. The intention here is to stimulate debate about the notion of political leadership as a contribution to this analysis. This approach to political leadership prioritizes the explicit acknowledgement of power relations as being central to the reconciliation of diverse interests, and to the building of moral communities in organizational settings. In developing this idea we explore the organizational context for the emergence of political leadership and consider its distinguishing features with reference to both theory and practice. Consideration is given to its utility in building moral organizational communities and how this approach to conceptualizing leadership might be furthered through business school education.