Leading questions: The end of leadership – redux

Abstract

The article proposes that patterns of dominance and deference have changed throughout human history. It further proposes that in the last half century such change has – due to culture and technology – accelerated. These fundamental shifts have not, however, had an impact on the leadership industry, which continues, erroneously, to presume that leaders are all-important, that followers are unimportant, and that context is other than central. It is concluded that leadership education and development must themselves adapt to the changing times – times in which leaders generally are losing power and influence, while followers generally are gaining.