Description

In this section of the Tutorial I will definethe concept of culture and show its relationship to leadership.Culture is both a dynamic phe- nomenon that surrounds us at alltimes, being constantly enacted and created by our interactionswith others and shaped by leader- ship behavior, and a set ofstructures, routines, rules, and norms that guide and constrainbehavior.

When one brings culture to the level of the organization andeven down to groups within the organiza- tion, one can see clearlyhow culture is created, embedded, evolved, and ultimatelymanipulated, and, at the same time, how culture constrains,stabilizes, and provides structure and meaning to the groupmembers. These dynamic processes of culture creation and managementare the essence of leadership and make one realize that leadershipand culture are two sides of the same coin.

Leadership has been studied in far greater detail than organiza-tional culture, leading to a frustrating diffusion of concepts andideas of what leadership is really all about, whether one is bornor made as a leader, whether one can train people to be leaders,and what characteristics successful leaders possess. I will notreview this literature, focusing instead on what I consider to beuniquely associ- ated with leadership—the creation and managementof culture.