Theory A: Preliminary Perspectives on an African Model of Leadership

During the Emperor’s hours of official functions, the Minister of the Pen always stood at hand and took down all the Emperor’s orders and instructions. Let me say that during working audiences His Majesty spoke very softly, barely moving his lips. The Minister of the Pen, standing half a step from the throne, had to bend his ear close to the Imperial lips in order to hear and write down the Imperial decisions. Furthermore, the Emperor’s words were usually unclear and ambiguous, especially when he did not want to take a definite stand on a matter that required his opinion. One had to admire the Emperor’s dexterity. When asked by a dignitary for the Imperial decision, he would not answer straight out, but would rather speak in a voice so quiet that it reached only the Minister of the Pen, who moved his ear as close as a microphone. The minister transcribed his ruler’s scant and foggy mutterings. All the rest was interpretation, and that was a matter for the minister, who passed down the decision in writing.

Postmodern Emperors

While the Emperor’s behavior can be ascribed to his traditional African upbringing, we find similar processes operating in many 21st Century organizations and governmental offices. Some leaders rely on the spoken word and resist reading any documents. Truth is recreated based on the whims of the person in power. Words that were spoken only yesterday are being retracted or denied today. As my colleague, Walt Anderson (1990) noted in the title of one of his books: “reality isn’t what it used to be.” In yet another of his books, Anderson (1995) offers an ironic title: “The Truth About Truth.” In both of these books, he speaks to the kind of processes engaged by the Emperor of Ethiopia many years before.

Like Walt Anderson (and myself), many of the so-called “postmodern” theorists of organizational life suggest that organizational culture and continuity are based in the constructed stories being told about and within the organization (Bergquist, 1993). These social constructions may or may not represent what really occurred in the organization; however, they say a great deal about what is valued in the organization, and they tend to be self-fulfilling.

Given the power of story and narrative within organizations, the role of narrator becomes critical—as was the case in the courts of Ethiopia during the reign of Halle Selassie. Who is allowed to tell the organizational story and who owns the narrative of the organization? African leaders have always been cognizant of this “postmodern” truth. This is why they insist on being active in the initiation of new adults into their community: African leaders know that the initial stories being told the initiates define the initiate’s construction of this communities’ reality. Perhaps, the content and mode of presentation, and status of the presenter regarding the initial orientation of new employees in a 21st Century organization is not a trivial matter.