There has been a growing concern among commentators about the disconnection between
the apparent increase in the plurality of society, and the relatively limited facets
of democracy practised in the corporate work place. Specifically, models of
distributed leadership appear at odds with the dominant bureaucratic and unitary
model of organizing. In addressing the problem, this article offers a model of
Representative Leadership (RL) derived from a political institutional discourse and
suggests that in settings of contested plurality, the representation of different
organizational constituencies, by a wide range of individuals is central to
effective organizing. This model of leadership is explored in the context of data
derived from 31 senior managers in five different commercial organizations.
Observations are provided about the causal relationships between organization
context, managerial cognitions of plurality, personal interest, authority and
politics. The potential for RL behaviour to inform future discourse on democratic
governance is considered.
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