Title: Leadership & open systems
Description: I explore the role of leadership in promoting the processes of collaboration and adaptation in open system organizations. Leaders create more permeable boundaries and engage in boundary work to create open system organizations located between the extremes of closed systems and random systems. Collaboration is promoted by mediating the relationship between individual and system. Adaptation is promoted by mediating the relationship between structure and ambiguity. My study draws on the literatures of leadership, organizational design and adult development. I study two open system organizations, each having to work from the opposite ends of the autonomy vs. collectivist and structure vs. ambiguity dialectic. I compare a manufacturing company populated with socialized people engaged in more routine and low ambiguity work with a design consulting firm populated with autonomous people engaged in innovative and high ambiguity work. I interviewed 60 people and conducted participant observation at each location for four weeks. My analysis reveals two types of leadership I term: Enabling Leadership and Connecting Leadership . These leadership types take a systemic approach to maintaining an open system environment. They adjust boundaries at levels of structure, culture and people to achieve a functional middle ground between the extremes of a closed system and a random system. The choice of leadership type is contingent on employee population and type of work.

Enabling Leadership , practiced at the manufacturing company, loosens the organizational system and counter-balances the tendency of socialized people to create a closed system. The leadership and system encourage people to transition from being dependent on others to becoming more self-authoring. Collaboration is promoted by having people overcome their fear of engaging in self-directed work. Adaptation is promoted by introducing ambiguity into structured processes. Connecting Leadership , practiced at the design consulting firm, tightens the organizational system and counter-balances the tendency of autonomous people to create a random system. The leadership and system encourage people to transition from their independent self to becoming more inter-dependent with others. Collaboration is promoted by having people work through their conflicts with others and learn to connect with people. Adaptation is promoted by integrating structure into high ambiguity work.
Subjects: Leadership, Organizational behavior, Career development