Leadership

Leadership benefits from an extensive knowledge of the complexities of the organisational and societal context, but it is also concerned with a shared journey into an unknown future. The ability to work in uncertainty with others but without the required knowledge is where Negative Capability can contribute. We align with those who believe that leadership is better understood as a process that may emerge from any individual or group of individuals, rather than necessarily requiring positional authority or outstanding ability. Leadership is a process of transformative change where individual and collective will is brought to bear in an energetic and dynamic interchange of value. From this can emerge a shared sense of purposepurposesense of purpose and meaning, which is explored further in Chapter 6 . The challenges of a practice of deliberately eschewing positive capabilities to make space for fresh ideas is explored through an extended illustration of the experience of an organisational leader facing a crisis. Through this we explore the challenges of working with ambiguity and contradiction, including the pain and suffering that sometimes has to be endured in the practice of leadership. The chapter concludes with an exploration of Foucault’s ideas on Care of the Self in leadership.