Understanding Social and Generational Identity: A Key to Effective North American Postmodern Organizational Leadership.

• In Event: 413 - Section on Organizations, Occupations and Work Refereed Roundtable Session. Table 01. Culture and Organizations
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 05. Identity

Abstract

As the culture moves further into post modernity, some would argue that it is actually "hyper-modernity," and that postmodernism is pushing people into smaller clusters and communities as the meta-narratives or grand stories are mistrusted. If this is the case and community life is utterly important to postmoderns, it is necessary to understand how people choose the groups with which they associate. Organizations no longer can depend on command and control operations of hierarchy, but are forced into the flat leadership of the heterarchy wherein employees view themselves more as partners than employees. The networked postmodern relationship must adapt to relational understanding rather than task orientation. This is especially true in understanding the nuances between Canadian and American cultures as from the superficial external observation Canada and the United States seem to blend into a Pan North-American culture. Emerging findings from a mixed methods national study of leadership, this paper provides an overview of this contrast and offers observations about its effect on leadership, concluding that understanding social identity nuances are critical to be effective in the role. Successful leadership works to understand the similarities and contrasts based on geographic, religious, and generational difference, and understands how to address its effect on organizations.

Author

• Cheryl Tokke, Queensborough Community College/CUNY