Leadership and Organizations: Rethinking Contemporary Challenges

At Turningpoint, we aim to help leaders better understand their environments and contexts. That’s why we funded this work from the Chair of Organizational and Work Transformation at Sciences Po. Elaborated by Jean-Louis Denis, Professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, this research explores the evolution of leadership in a constantly changing world. 

Research to better understand leadership 

Under Jean-Louis Denis’s direction, the study examines how leadership unfolds across different organizational contexts. It looks at approaches focused on individual leaders, collective forms of leadership, and emerging practices in atypical configurations such as temporary organizations, meta-organizations, and digital environments. A key element is the critical analysis of power structures and governance modes, emphasizing that leadership is not an isolated skill, but a relational practice deeply influenced by cultural, social, and organizational contexts. 

Over the past sixty years, leadership research has evolved from a focus on individual traits to a more collective, relational, and contextual perspective. Three key points emerge: 

1. Individual and collective leadership: Leadership occurs through interactions and depends on organizational context. 

1. Hybrid forms of organization: Networks, temporary structures, and virtual environments require adaptive leadership. 

1. Critical and generative approach: Integrating culture, systems, and context to rethink leadership development and practice. 

Conclusion: Toward a generative perspective on leadership 

The research invites us to rethink leadership as a dynamic, adaptive process capable of addressing contemporary challenges. It proposes a generative perspective, where leadership becomes a collective force supporting cooperation, innovation, and organizational transformation. 

Turningpoint Leadership is proud to share and support this initiative from Sciences Po, which makes a valuable contribution to understanding the evolution of leadership practices in a changing world.