Symbolic Leadership

Lately I've been thinking a lot about symbolic leadership. I just finished a class that had us look at organizations through a variety of frames - bureaucratic, collegial, political, cybernetic, and cultural/symbolic.

Given my interest in ethnography and cultural traditions, I'm drawn to the symbolic frame. There are several ways to see this frame in an organization. Climate or culture of the organization is one. The heros/heroines of the organization is another. Meanings of actions, how things are interpreted, is another. There are some close linkages between the symbolic frame of leadership and the political frame, which is all about power. He who sets the agenda has power; he who interprets the events for everyone else has power. (orshe. got it.)

I'm looking at a way to tie this to ethnography, because I think its an important notion for looking at organizations as cultures and how leaders operate within them. Also, I have a negative view of symbolic leadership, as emphasizing meaning over action. Roseberg's (2004) controversial article on Brown vs. Board of Education talks about how sometimes, a powerful symbol can fool people into thinking that no more action needs to be taken on a particular issue. (I only know the article was controversial because he says in the article that it was controversial. I guess this is a catch-22. I should find out more.)

I'd like to think a bit more on the positive aspects of symbolic leadership, and how leaders create organizational culture.