Reimagining Leadership on the Commons: Shifting the Paradigm for a More Ethical, Equitable, and Just World

Commons are self-organized, self-governed, autonomous networks and organizations that function outside the state and the private sector. They are emerging around the world as people recognize that the state and private sector have increasingly closed off access to basic resources and services. People want increased power to determine their political, economic, and social lives.

Reimagining Leadership on the Commons includes leadership approaches derived from a complex, adaptive, open, whole systems perspective and a more relational, distributed, and collaborative paradigm that recognizes that rather than being individualist self-maximizers: people prefer to work together to share benefits and found a society based on ethical behavior, equality, and justice.

This is essential reading for researchers of commons, leadership practitioners, and non-profits working towards a more ethical, equitable, and just world.

Devin P. Singh, PhD, is Associate Professor of Religion at Dartmouth College as well as faculty associate in Dartmouth’s Consortium of Studies on Race, Migration, and Sexuality. He is also founder and president of Leadership Kinetics LLC which provides leadership coaching and strategic advising.

Randal Joy Thompson, PhD, is a scholar-practitioner with 40 years of professional experience in international development, serving in countries around the world. A Fellow with the institution of Social Innovation, Fielding Graduate University, her research focuses on the commons, on gender, education, evaluation, and organization development.

Kathleen A. Curran, PhD, is a scholar-practitioner with over 25 years of professional experience in Asia and practicing internationally. A Fellow with the Institute of Social Innovation, Fielding Graduate University, and principal of Intercultural Systems, she specializes in developing global leadership in mindset and capability for spanning cultural boundaries.