Organizational Order and Chaos
Organizations are all about the interplay between reason and irrationality, order and chaos.vi At one level, there is orderliness in the enactment of effective leadership. The contextual leadership theorists, such as Hershey and Blanchard, define specific criteria regarding group and individual maturation of subordinates or the nature of tasks being performed when determining appropriate leadership styles. At another level, there is nothing but chaos and unpredictability.
Appropriate styles of leadership and, more importantly, the effectiveness of a specific leader can neither be predicted nor fully understood after the fact. The characterization of any phenomenon in an organization, such as worker morale, is often influenced more by the nature of the measuring procedure or tool being used than by the phenomenon itself.vii Similarly, in the assessment of leadership effectiveness, the relative success of a leader is often determined less by the leader being studied than by the level at which the analysis of leadership is being conducted and by the nature of the effectiveness criteria being used. Certain criteria and certain levels of analysis produce clear conclusions about the nature of effective leadership; other criteria and levels of analysis produce either contradictory conclusions or a muddle of images and impressions about effective leadership.
At one level, the behavior of virtually any leader is understandable and even predictable. At another level, the behavior of this same leader is inexplicable and unpredictable. At the global level, for example, we can examine the behavior of one of our past archenemies, Saddam Hussein. Saddam is described, understandably, as a mad man, who is willing to sacrifice his people and his country for a vision of regional domination that is neither appropriate nor achievable. His behavior exemplifies chaotic, irrational leadership.
Furthermore, American vigilance and weaponry make considerable sense. Yet, as one examines the life of Saddam and the history of his country and region, many of his dreams begin to make some sense. Conversely, the strategies that are formulated and actions that are taken by the American government begin to seem more chaotic and inappropriate. It is not unusual for one part or level of a system to begin to look increasingly chaotic or arbitrary precisely at the point when another part or level of the system becomes clearer and more purposeful.
