Is leadership the solution to the wicked problem of climate change?

Abstract

This media review piece considers the climate change emergency as an example of a Wicked Problem, a problem type which has no clear solution but requires the collective to address, if we are to save the planet. It also provides a mechanism to link the media debates about climate change to leadership. It first sets out a typology of problems and decision styles, and then explores the cultural theory of Mary Douglas as a way of understanding why we have such difficulties addressing Wicked Problems, but what we might do about them. It then proposes we need to focus beyond Leadership as a decision-making category and to consider the role of Management and Command. Finally, it focuses on several elements of the issue to understand where the blocks to action lie, and they include the nature of language, the role of time, and the recognition that ultimately no consensus is likely to emerge.

Special issue: The leadership dynamics of systems change

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This special issue invites scholars to explore the intersection of leadership and systems, specifically interrogating leadership's role in fundamental processes of change within structures, processes, and relationships. A focus on systems change connects the study of leadership to larger debates about how to grapple with grand challenges such as climate change and digitalization, as well as confronting pressing problems such as economic inequality and various forms of discrimination (Grint, 2023;Harrison, Kaesehage, & Leyshon, 2019). It also provides valuable insights into the intellectual evolution of leadership studies and brings into sharp relief key debates in the field.In the initial decades following World War II, when leadership emerged as an academic discipline, it was primarily viewed as a function within the system, often associated with motivating employees.

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Special issue: proposal for leadership: The leadership dynamics of systems change

“…This special issue invites scholars to explore the intersection of leadership and systems, specifically interrogating leadership’s role in fundamental processes of change within structures, processes, and relationships. A focus on systems change connects the study of leadership to larger debates about how to grapple with grand challenges such as climate change and digitalization, as well as confronting pressing problems such as economic inequality and various forms of discrimination (Grint, 2023; Harrison et al, 2019). It also provides valuable insights into the intellectual evolution of leadership studies and brings into sharp relief key debates in the field.…”