Executives are now not only confronted with the paradoxes of our time
described in Chap. 1, but also with the inherent dilemmas of the leadership process
itself. They must accept the fact that certain divergent conditions, interests and
goals cannot be overcome and that middle ground cannot always be found. This
forces them to perform balancing acts and enter into not always easy compromises
that they have to justify to others and to themselves.
3.2.6.1 Management Dilemmas
A leader must not only be able to accommodate conflicting positions between
employees or between himself/herself and supervisors. He or she must also be
able to live in and with factual contradictions where there is no clear way out, the
so-called “management dilemmas.” The intrinsic ambiguity of leadership requires
daily compromises between alternatives that are either essential or feared – the
choice between the rock and the hard place, so to speak. At some point, every
manager will find himself or herself in one of the following 13 dilemmas (see
Neuberger 2002, pp. 342–347):
- Employees as a means or as an end
Division of labor, goals, resource constraints, market competition and ensuring
cooperation require managers to also consider staff as a means to an end or as
a cost factor, regardless of how hard they work to treat them in a fair, coopera-
tive manner. - Equal treatment or responding to the individual case
On the one hand, it is the responsibility of a leader to respect and support the
individuality and personal fulfillment and development of each employee, to
appreciate him or her as a whole person. On the other, for the organization and
work only a part of that person, specifically his or her expertise and work
performance, is relevant. Managers must walk a fine line between inhuman
egalitarianism and being accused of favoritism. - Distance or proximity
This dichotomy could also be called: objectivity or emotionality. Unapproach-
able, cool, controlled and neutral supervisors who consider themselves and
their entire environment purely rationally and objectively are not well suited to
lead others. At the same time, overly soft, emotional and compassionate leaders
do not have the necessary perseverance and authority. They can readily be
accused of irrationality and indecisiveness. - Control or autonomy
Managers need to ensure order, transparency, predictability and coordination.
These limits and targets are needed. But overly narrow rules, regulations and
job descriptions strangle creativity, enthusiasm, and self-identification. They
produce blind obedience, dependence and immaturity.
158 3 Systemic Leadership or: Designing a World That Others Want to Be Part Of