Leadership in Context: The Four Faces of Capitalism

Citation

Gamage, S. (2006), "Leadership in Context: The Four Faces of Capitalism", Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 18 No. 5, pp. 321-323. https://doi.org/10.1108/13665620610674999

In thoroughly comprehensible language, this book articulates different leadership styles and four faces of capitalism extracted from the evolving history of capitalism. In an era when most organizations are undergoing major changes, the book provides leaders a handle on how to approach the changes constructively and emerge as visionary leaders. The author introduces a “contextualist approach to leadership and the basic vocabulary necessary to think of leadership within the four faces or worldviews of capitalism” (p. 2). He expands, develops and applies the Pepperian contextualist view to the “contemporary study and practice of leadership” (p. 3). Worldviews are “sense making devices” in a complex and changing world context where the leaders have to lead and make decisions. “World views mix and clash in an extraordinarily intense manner in our global market” (p. 6). Leaders are those who can recognise the existence of more than one worldview in the context of their operation (polyglotism) and are able to navigate between different worldviews. They embrace more than the routine of status quo, search for alternatives in the midst of uncertainty, create adaptive learning cultures, see the invalidity of once prized cultures, don't consider one worldview as superior, and search for alternatives in the midst of uncertainty. On the contrary, managers are those who operate within one worldview. Polyglotism is grounded in contextualism.

According to Wexler, “The skilled leader is a contextualist. He or she can both read the changing stories as they hybridise and transition to skills or competencies relevant to shifts in their own leadership story” (151). The leader's vision has to be context‐specific. Tying leadership skills to specific contexts is a main feature of the contextualist approach. The book provides systematic details about how to move from model to practice by leaders who belong to different archetypes. Thus the book not only provides an approach and a conceptual model for comprehending leadership variations, clashes and hybrydities but also relevant skill sets that can be used by visionary leaders to suit their circumstances.

Wexler speaks about four instrumental faces or worldviews of capitalism used to accomplish goals. They are:

1. 1.

   the entrepreneurial worldview;

2. 2.

   the regulatory worldview;

3. 3.

   the communitarian worldview; and

4. 4.

   the network worldview.

Each of these has certain assumptions. These worldviews are “templates for action and reflection. They are archetypical stories depicting how we, relying upon leaders as winners, decision‐makers, shamans and explorers, get things done. Each provides those within it a sense of purpose and a belief that their goal‐oriented actions are embedded in an ordered cosmos” (p. 12). However, each of these “privileges certain desires and highlights specific anxieties as worthy of banishment” (p. 11). Wexler recommends the readers not to consider the four worldviews as occurring simultaneously but to associate each with a specific historical epoch. Histories of organizations or instrumental activities can be understood by using this contextual vocabulary. He says, the networks worldview predominates in the “present historical period of white‐water change, globalization, contract workers and emphasis upon innovation and knowledge creation, acquisition and transfer” (p. 16).

Using the worldviews described in Chapter 1, the author turns to four types of leaders in his articulation of leadership by configuring each into a specific story. He identifies four archetypes:

1. 1.

   buccaneer leader (embodying entrepreneurial worldview);

2. 2.

   bureaucratic leader;

3. 3.

   participative leader; and

4. 4.

   knowledge leader.

The details such as the skill sets relating to each are given in Chapters 2‐5.

In Chapter 6, a holistic model of leadership is presented. The author employs the contextualist approach to show how leaders can adapt their primary world view to those of others. He describes the skills under each leadership story or style, the factors that either strengthen or weaken these. Commenting on adaptation he writes that “Skill portfolios are aggregates of the skills required by a leader to communicate his or her leadership to potential followers, subordinates, members or participants. In developing their skill portfolios and adapting these to the pulls exerted upon them by other worldviews, the leader adapts” (p. 153). In the final chapter he explores cosmopolitan leaders as against local. The former are those who are able to reinvent themselves.

Wexler points out that “to lead requires the clear signalling of a dominant leadership story, a worldview preference and the ability to back this up with a contextually relevant skill set. This is not to say that one cannot become an effective leader with a footprint in each of the four faces of capitalism” (p. 154). The details are supplemented by a series of figures. There is also a lengthy bibliography and a useful index.

This is a professionally thorough work providing a range of ideas and suggestions as well as a new vocabulary and paradigm of thought grounded in contextualism and polyglotism for the leaders of contemporary organizations, including learning organizations, that are now operating in a changed and changing world context. It embraces innovative thinking and conceptualisations by a practitioner in the field of leadership. If unfamiliar with the subject area, the reader may find the few starting pages difficult to comprehend but can quickly absorb the language and terminology without much difficulty. By the end of chapter one, one can be equipped with the main concepts, constructs and arguments. Written in a style where there is a degree of mild repetition, the reader is made aware of the conceptual constructs within the first chapter itself. A cumulative knowledge and understanding is offered and a high degree of simplicity enters the mind of the reader so that the typology shown via worldviews and appropriate diagrams become immensely helpful for understanding leadership and organizations in a complex world. Details help current and potential leaders and even managers troubled by the complexities surrounding their contexts to steer away from age old worldviews that they thought would work to more innovative and alternative worldviews. Wexler provides useful hints for leaders to adapt, change, absorb new worldviews and hybridise. The book provides ample resources, conceptual tools, details of required skills based on interviews with 24 executives and leaders from different countries, including Australia.

Given the nature of the four faces of capitalism, four archetypical leadership stories or styles identified, the comprehensive nature of the treatment of the subject, practical examples and directions given, the book will appeal to professional leaders, managers, prospective leaders, and students of leadership and organisational studies. Most importantly it gives ample directions as to how to think beyond the box, i.e. one's preferred worldview and skill set.