So much talk about 21st century skills and the increasingly "flat" global economy/society we're in these days. When the top Danish dairy company in the Middle East can literally be on the verge of becoming bancrupt after nearly 40 years of building their business/customer-relationships due to a few days of intense protest over the 'cartoon' furor, there is no doubt that the world is flat.
While much of the talk is about leveraging opportunities or being market-ready, there is a greater need (in my opinion) to consider the social/human impact of any organization going "flat"...and the consequences for schools are just as great. To this end, great article from the Harvard Business School entitled, "Managing Social Distance in 'Flat' Companies" (2.6.06).
Excerpt:
Leaders now need distance to establish perspective, to see the big things that may shape the future of the organization, and closeness, to know what is really going on inside their business; and they cannot rely on hierarchy to supply the former.
This movement between closeness and distance is rather like a dance, with leaders basing their movement and timing on refined situation sensing skills. It is just one of the adjustments they must constantly make and remake at the core of the leadership relationship.
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