Get your mojo working: complexity’s call for magnetic and magical leaders

Abstract

In an increasingly fragmented and complex world, the author looks for ways to create greater coherence in the way schools go about their business. This article tracks the progress of a research project over the course of a year to find out what happens when teachers are given the opportunity to have a greater say about the work they do. The author entered the research field with an idea that she hoped would create the dissonance necessary to rethink the organizational systems and reframe them using complexity science as a referent. A form of democratic governance, sociocracy, created the space for emergent leadership, the results of which will continue to evolve over time as the players find new ways of keeping the system healthy, dynamic and moving in the desired direction. This emerging leadership calls for people with ‘magical’ qualities who can work both for themselves and for the organization, both internally and externally.