Samenvatting

Power is needed to get things done in organisations. But who should have this power? Traditionally, power is exerted by managers at the top of the organisational hierarchy. This has led to a strong focus on individual performance, a call for strong leaders showing heroic management. In this technical-practical paradigm, clients hire consultants to reduce uncertainty, longing for tools and instruments that deliver clear and immediate results. With increasing complexity of issues, and increasing interdependency of stakeholders, awareness is growing of the need for more distributed power, by involving stakeholders in strategic processes. But sharing power comes with a price. Uncertainty concerning both process and outcome increases, requiring clients to overcome the psychological barrier of putting their trust in an uncertain participative process and in the consultants they hire to facilitate this process. This article reflects on the nature of this psychological barrier and on the growing practice of leaders and consultants enabling shared leadership to discover new paths into an uncertain world.