Leadership to Match A New Era: Democratizing Society Through Emancipatory Learning

Abstract

Leadership models operative during the industrial era were concerned primarily with the development of products. With recent dramatic societal changes, leaders have been forced to shift their focus from products to services. Given this change, many leaders are struggling to identify new directions for effective leadership. Because the goals of democracy cannot be separated from emerging critical needs of the 21 st century, this article will examine the use of a transformative learning theory to facilitate movement toward a social model of leadership. This article also identifies the importance of the role of "followers" as co-participants in a leadership praxis.

Leaders are challenged to explore ways to democratize society as a necessary condition for leader effectiveness. Because Americans are currently living through the most rapid change ever experienced in society, new levels of consciousness are needed to explore new definitions of success and progress. The Transformational Learning model is emancipatory for leaders, followers, organizations, and society at large. This critical pedagogical approach is capable of shifting values that are no longer valid. This process is facilitated through the "affective domain" of learning. Issues presented in this article support the need for leaders to respond to societal needs through their personal use of this learning process. The transformative model is entrusted to leaders who are committed to helping to shape the world toward more humanistic goals.