With increasing complexity of the known world, companies and individuals struggle more and more to understand how they can take part and what their role is. This especially applies to the CEOs and Executives of the corporate industry that slowly have to acknowledge that their old models do not work as well anymore.
In this paper, the author looks at the meaning of play and how children can be powerful role models to adjust our way of doing business. A case study and personal reflection this work brings this work to culmination.
Table of Contents
A. Literature Review: Leadership & Environmental Ethics
1. Leadership
a. Status Quo Leadership & Conventional Leaders
b. Alternative Models of Leadership
i) Spiritual Leadership
ii) Adaptive Leadership
iii) Stewardship Theory of Management
2. Ethics
a. What are Ethics?
b. Hattingh’s Environmental Ethics Typology
i) Criticism of Hattingh’s typology
c. Worldview’s Typology
d. Applying the worldview Typology to (Environmental) Ethics
3. Bringing the threads together: Worldviews, Ethics & Leadership
B. Personal Case Study: Who am I? What kind of Leader do I want to be(come)?
1. Heading a Start-up that Creates Societal Change and Inspires Individual Behaviour Change
2. Learning from the “Best” – Children as Role Models for “Playful Leadership”
a. Flow – Playfulness & Creativity
b. Born as Leaders
c. Entrepreneurship & Frugal Innovation
d. Intuition – Giving voice to immersive, holistic Beings
e. Conscious Irrationality – Being aware of the Rationality Myth
f. Forgiveness & Vulnerability - “Failure is Just a Way of Learning”
g. Ecological Empathy: Biophilia & Ecological Literacy
h. Further research potential with regards to children’s leadership potential
3. “Playful Leadership” –Pitfalls & Redemption
a. Pitfalls
i) Recklessness
ii) Childishness
b. Redemption
i) Complex Systems & Adaptation
ii) Reiteration
iii) Trust
C. Playful Leadership in Practice
1. Meet “Project 90 for 2030”
2. Interview with Tina Schubert
3. Principles of Playful Leadership visible at P90
D. Conclusion
E. Annex
1. Bibliography
2. Personal Journal
3. Creative Products from within the week
a. The Throne of the Dragonfly (A Haiku-poem)
b. Who am I? (incomplete)
Research Objectives & Key Themes
The work explores a new leadership rationale, termed "Playful Leadership," which draws inspiration from children’s innate behaviors to address the complexities of modern environmental and organizational challenges. It aims to bridge the gap between conventional leadership models and the need for more adaptable, empathetic, and sustainable approaches.
- Integration of leadership theory, environmental ethics, and worldview analysis.
- Examination of children as role models for creativity, flow, and resilience.
- Critique of the "Homo Economicus" and pure rationality paradigms in leadership.
- Application of "Playful Leadership" principles in a practical organizational case study (Project 90 for 2030).
- Synthesis of biomimicry and complexity theory to inform modern management practices.
Excerpt from the Book
a. FLOW – PLAYFULNESS & CREATIVITY
Not without reason, people that are under a lot of stress, get told “Let out your inner child”. Allowing games and play into our life, we create a feeling of connection with our own childhood that is comforting and joyful. Children have a greater capacity for flow, what is commonly understood and colloquially referred to as “being in the zone”. Coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1990), it describes the phenomenon of creative potential and intrinsic drive for focus and concentration. He argues that in this moment of full focus, we are most joyful and productive at the same time. Most of the time this is experienced in artistic activity and creative ecstasies like painting, writing or playing music. It balances the elements of skill and challenge, both at high levels.
I want to argue here that it can also be felt in games, the creation of imaginary worlds and daydreaming as daily exercises of creativity. These phenomena then again appear most repeatedly in children, being thrown in an environment that embraces and encourages interpretation, as opposed to an environment that guides engagement with the objects. A television speaks very differently to a human’s sensorial, imaginative and interpretative capacities than, say, a book, or, even more illustratively, a forest.
If we take this assumption that games and imagination are convenient tools to allow flow into a daily routine, the next argument I want to make is the fact that children are more prone to experience flow. Therefore, if flow is needed, and children have proven to possess it in great amounts, we maybe should allow more of children’s attitude and behaviour into our workplaces. Organisational psychologist comes to a similar conclusion when she compares productivity, happiness and flow in children at Montessori schools, a teaching approach, originally designed for children with disabilities, that later on proved to be benefitial for children of all levels of intelligence and capacity. (Berger, 2003)
Summary of Chapters
A. Literature Review: Leadership & Environmental Ethics: Analyzes traditional leadership models and environmental ethics, identifying the need for new paradigms to handle modern complexity.
B. Personal Case Study: Who am I? What kind of Leader do I want to be(come)?: Explores the author's personal development and proposes "Playful Leadership" by leveraging children's behaviors as potential leadership ingredients.
C. Playful Leadership in Practice: Examines the organization "Project 90 for 2030" as a practical application of playful and adaptable leadership principles.
D. Conclusion: Summarizes that leaders can learn from children to transition from reactive, rigid management styles to active, resilient leadership.
E. Annex: Provides the bibliography, personal reflections, and creative artifacts produced during the study week.
Keywords
Playful Leadership, Environmental Ethics, Complexity Theory, Biomimicry, Children as Role Models, Adaptive Leadership, Stewardship, Worldviews, Intrinsic Motivation, Resilience, Sustainability, Cognitive Dissonance, Flow, Frugal Innovation, Organizational Change.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this work?
The work focuses on redefining leadership in the face of contemporary global challenges by proposing a new model called "Playful Leadership," which incorporates insights from children's natural behaviors.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The themes include leadership theory, environmental ethics, complexity science, children’s innate capabilities, and organizational psychology.
What is the primary goal of the research?
The primary goal is to sensitize leaders to the complexity of the modern world and encourage them to adopt more adaptable, ethical, and joyful leadership styles.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The author uses an interdisciplinary approach, combining literature reviews, organizational case studies, and personal reflections to develop a conceptual leadership framework.
What is discussed in the main body of the work?
The main body critiques conventional "Homo Economicus" leadership, explores specific child-like traits like flow and intuition, and presents the "Project 90 for 2030" organization as a case study.
How would you describe the key terminology?
The work is defined by concepts such as "Playful Leadership," "Complexity Ethics," and "Ecological Empathy," all aimed at creating more sustainable and human-centric organizational models.
How does the author distinguish between "childishness" and "childlikeness"?
The author argues that "childishness" implies fatuity and is detrimental to leadership, while "childlikeness" represents an authentic, positive ability to reconnect with intuition, play, and intrinsic curiosity.
Why does the author advocate for "Playful Leadership" in a business context?
The author argues that standard, fear-based, and rigid leadership models are ill-equipped for complex problems, whereas a playful approach fosters innovation, intrinsic motivation, and better environmental awareness.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Jonas Wolterstorff (Autor:in), 2015, Natural Born Leaders. Playful Leadership and Complexity Resilience, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/318242
