ساختن پل از حاشیه: کار رهبری در سازمان های تغییر اجتماعی

Attention to the relational dimensions of leadership represents a new frontier of leadership research and is an expression of the growing scholarly interest in the conditions that foster collective action within and across boundaries. This article explores the antecedents of collaboration from the perspective of social change organizations engaged in processes of collaborative governance. Using a constructionist lens, the study illuminates the question how do social change leaders secure the connectedness needed for collaborative work to advance their organization's mission? The article draws on data from a national, multi-year, multi-modal qualitative study of social change organizations and their leaders. These organizations represent disenfranchised communities which aspire to influence policy makers and other social actors to change the conditions that affect their members' lives. Narrative analysis of transcripts from in-depth interviews in 38 organizations yielded five leadership practices that foster strong relational bonds either within organizations or across boundaries with others. The article describes how these practices nurture interdependence either by forging new connections, strengthening existing ones, or capitalizing on strong ones.

In a shared-power world, each of the individuals, groups and organizations affected by complex, intractable public problems have only partial authority to act on them and lack the power to resolve them alone (Crosby & Bryson, 2005, p. 22; O'Leary, Gerard & Bingham, 2006). Collective action is, therefore, essential, but it cannot happen without first connecting across differences. Bridging differences within a complex web of interconnected yet separate actors is not easy. Achieving a common purpose may require resolving significant conflict (O'Leary & Bingham, 2007). Yet the potential for connectedness is always present in human beings. When fostered, it can promote reciprocal relations and commitments in groups and organizations that, in turn, generate the collaboration required to achieve collective goals.

In this article we have explored leadership practices that participants in social change organizations use to cultivate connections among disparate and often divided constituencies. Our work offers three contributions to this Special Issue on Integrative Leadership. First, we bring the voices of members in the particular context of social change organizations, a context largely unrepresented in the academic leadership 9 or collaborative governance literature. Social change organizations (SCOs) have much to offer in illuminating the leadership that emerges to address intractable, messy problems. Chetkovich and Kunreuther (2006) argue that SCOs represent a key component of today's socio-political environment in the US and an important force for change. Not only that, SCOs are usually small, materially poor organizations operating in a dauntingly difficult environment. These organizations know that alliances are critical to their success. Therefore, they are excellent sites to spur thinking about the leadership that enables the connectedness required to build alliances. Further, the leadership dynamics of collaboration in the context of civil society organizations pursuing social change (and thus engaging government) can also illuminate collaborative governance arrangements.