Saavutettavuusseloste

An inquiry into responsible leadership – II

The importance of viewing leadership as socially constructed and relational cannot be overlooked. Leadership is about the people around the leader and the relationships that they create. However, considering societal expectations, reputational leadership must be earned first – it does not come for granted.  Then, responsibility issues can come into play and be discussed without the leader to be neglected or even marginalized in his or her thoughts of and acts for responsibility. This danger is also related to what is being taught about leadership, written in research publications and business magazines, and discussed in media.

It is obvious that many businesspersons are rather cautious about how they explain responsible leadership. Therefore, open dialogue about responsible leadership and what it means is important. Not only different viewpoints can be opened, but also meanings behind slogans shared and understood. These may vary remarkably between people, companies and business cultures. Dialogue should involve all relevant stakeholders, otherwise responsible leadership may remain abstract. Another way to state this is that responsible leadership must be created among individuals through a shared language.

in practice, leaders can help constructing responsibility in various ways:  as something in which the leader is himself or herself involved; as something built through identity – like in a family over generations; as something that people share through a certain purpose; and as a vision for a wider societal good. Some constructions are likely to be more prominent than others. For a small company sharing responsibility among its personnel may be relevant, for a larger enterprise a human rights focus in its global business may contribute to responsibility.

In all constructions of responsibility the ways in which business values are put into practice are essential. A responsible leader must maintain a presence among  stakeholders and play an active role in  facilitating the values when solving problems. For this reason, although global  phenomena drive many business opportunities and changes, responsible leadership is also much a locally interpreted matter that builds on the local context.

When business values are brought to the context in which responsible leadership is applied, both visible and invisible relations must be considered. For the latter, opening of organizational boundaries and participation in social interaction is required. Social interaction to promote and construct responsible leadership is supported by sharing of experiences. This can include creation of shared understanding embedded in organizational cultures; open and wide enough communication; building of relationships and knowing people; and leadership practiced among stakeholders by sensing,  listening and discussing.

In summary, it can be claimed that the meaning built from social interaction creates responsible leadership, as opposed to any property that would be inherent in individual leaders. Vice versa, the interpretation of responsibility among people provides an opportunity for their beneficial interaction.

 

Dr. Anne Keränen, Martti Ahtisaari Institute

Anne.Keranen[at]oulu.fi

Based on an article published in Global  Responsibility, The GRLI Partner Magazine, no. 15, 2016