Unobtrusive Leadership
摘要
Often leadership is not so straightforward within human groups. Some exercise leadership by shaping vision and translating this vision into action. When doing so, such unobtrusive leaders may call forth the talents of those with whom they work or collaborate. Unobtrusive leaders are often informal ones—no one appoints them to these roles, but they undertake them on their own. Although they seek to influence others, particularly in shaping vision, they do not seek power for the sake of being powerful. As Elizabeth Janeway says, these leaders hold the “powers of the weak.” They help those who otherwise face difficulty in undertaking action on their own to structure the action they wish to take. In this chapter, we learn about one such leader—Dr. Molly Fry—with whom readers meet in an earlier chapter. If you have read previous chapters, you know that Charley Hanson was integral to Fifth Street as its primary leader. He did not really operate as an administrator. Rather, as Selznick underscores, he embodied the key values the founders of the organization instilled early in the life cycle of Fifth Street. Will those values persist even in the face of Charley’s passing? How will a new leader follow his style while they set new priorities and strategies for helping Fifth Street not merely to survive but to thrive in the face of new challenges?