Leadership in the Midst of Transition: Reflections on Self-Reliance, Responsibility and Spirituality

Abstract

What can we learn from leadership narratives in a transition context that may inform our understanding of the challenges and choices that leaders face and the resources they draw guidance and direction from? This chapter engages with this question from a South African perspective. The first part of the chapter taps into the narratives of business leaders offering accounts of how they make sense of and navigate a landscape of societal, organizational and personal change and transition. Valuable insights are gained about how these leaders think about their role in business and society, and about the choices with which they are constantly confronted. Characteristic of these narratives is the presence of three creative tensions, namely maintaining global competitiveness in balance with domestic socioeconomic transformation; pursuing both merit and affirmative action in the workplace; and caring for personal well-being amid strenuous demands. The second part of the chapter looks at how Self-Reliance, responsibility and spirituality can be seen as important resources for leaders to draw from in transition zones. By applying these three concepts as interpretive lenses to the leadership narratives, we may arrive at conclusions about the most appropriate support systems and development programs for leaders in times of change and transition.