The Wise Leader in a Premodern Organizational Context
William Bergquist
Abstract: We live in a world that is highly complex with regard to diverse societal and organizational structures. Some are premodern, while others are modern and (during the past three decades) postmodern. These societies and organizations are led by men and women who are themselves representative of premodern, modern and postmodern models of leadership. In this article, I explore one premodern style of leadership which is based on the assumption of wisdom. The wise premodern leader is commonly found in 21st Century organizations and creates major challenges with regard to the preparation of contemporary leaders and succession planning.