Digital Leadership
4. Theoretical shift in leadership studies
Post-industrial leadership theories moved away from simplistic and cultic person-centered "great man" theories of leadership to system-based complexity of leadership theories (CLT) in the information and digital age. They offer new ways in which followers and non-followers may take more active and participative roles in leadership processes in society and organizations. Furthermore, value-based and relational leadership theories such as transformational, servant, ethical, collaborative, inclusive, distributed, shared, and adaptive seem to be more follower-centered. As a result, scholars' attention shifted from the leader as a person to leading and following as a process. This shift provides a "foundation for theories that move beyond hierarchical, individualistic, one-directional and de-contextualized notions of leadership".
Additionally, complexity leadership theorists (CLT) raise legitimate concerns about "how, in the context of bureaucratic organizing structures, can organizational leaders enable emergence of the new solutions and innovation needed to survive and thrive in today's complex world?". The answer to this question may be sought in an ancient metaphor where one attempts to withstand a new wine in an old wineskin. The "old wineskin" here represents the bureaucratic organizing structures and leader-centered theories of the twentieth century that may not sustain the "new wine," which represents the twenty-first century virtual organizations and leading-following complex processes in the digital world. Thus, in order for the leading-following interactive process to occur (the "new wine") in today's digital age, a new organizational mindset and design seems necessary (the "new wineskins") because the environmentally conscious and responsible digital generation (the "new wine") cannot fully function in corporate hierarchical structures with leader-centered leadership mindset (the "old wineskins").
Furthermore, role identity theories and research indicate that multiple or interchangeable role identities may be beneficial for positional leaders, who lead under constant demands and pressure, to be willing to share leadership with followers and adopt leader-follower multiple identities. If leaders and followers trade their leading and following roles in organizations and interchangeably lead and follow in various situations, it may minimize leadership power abuse, eliminate social identity stereotyping for followers, reduce psychological distress, and prevent physical illnesses.