When Matters are Too Important to be Left to Leaders and Better Left to Democratic control

In this chapter, we argue that it is possible to question the importance of leaders in the management and maintenance of organizations or specific aspects of organizational functioning by questioning the adequacy of leaders. Using the management and maintenance of the psycho-social work environment as an example, we point to a series of constraints which make it highly questionable to credit leaders with the will, abilities and possibilities that such a management and maintenance requires. We also argue that an exaggerated belief in leaders is particularly harmful in this context because it is a poor substitute for the management and maintenance of the psycho-social work environment offered by the active participation in a worker collective, the qualified backup (and control) of health and safety committee representatives and union membership.