Leadership in Institutional Building Series
While all societies have socially evolved institutions such as class, caste, family, kinship, with deep-rooted norms, values and belief systems, modernizing societies have added a plethora of smaller organizations and institutions that are purpose-built and striving to remain relevant. Illustrative of this is the large development sector in Indian society, populated by such numerous organizations with varying sizes and forms. However, promoting institutions that sustain while remaining relevant has been the endeavour of a few institution builders. The work of some of these institution builders has been transformational in that they have innovated their styles of leadership to create new paths in institution building process. Understanding and analyzing a select institutional builders/leaders who have made a difference to their institutions has considerable relevance in development dialogue.
While leadership is claimed to be most observed and yet least understood, it continues to be an evergreen arena of debate and social enquiry. What type or styles of leadership work best and in what circumstances and contexts? In praxis, how do leaders deploy different styles of leadership? What are the sustaining features of the distinctive styles of leadership? There is no gainsaying that to the practitioner and students of leadership, the experiences of those who have made a difference to institutional building in the development sector - do offer many insights and learning.
Against this backdrop, the TRG under the Roopantaran initiative is launching a series in leadership study. For the current year, chronicling the experience and trajectory of five institution leaders in the development sector is being undertaken. These case studies would not only give an overview of the demonstrated impact of institutional builders but more importantly their insights and challenges that they have encountered and the paths they have explored towards sustainable institutional building.
|
