The Corporate Fool: Who Is The Corporate Fool?
Who is the Corporate Fool?
Not much unlike the courtroom jesters, the Corporate Fool is one who operates within the corporate system, yet is not afraid to highlight the hubris, follies and myopia of the leaders of the organization. The Corporate Fool is the reality check to every over-confident leader, a solution to gun-point problems and a divergent lens for visionary leaders.
However, just as the power that a single monarch once held, is sometimes dispersed amongst the top management of present-day organisations, so too is the role of the jester sometimes diffused over a system; a single person no longer plays the role of the Corporate Fool, but a system represents it. Such cultures have sprung up in today’s world as critics on Social Platforms …show more content…
As a leader of an organisation, one is faced with difficult decisions daily that cause stress and hazardous decision-making; a bane for innovation. Hence, Humour can be a formidable weapon against those who under other circumstances would refuse to recognise and accept the true nature of things (M. Kets de Vries, 1990). Creativity and innovation can foster in an environment free from tension, and hence humour is a great facilitator to innovation.
Humour and the corporate fool highlight a leader’s hubris. Sometimes leaders can become arrogant and over-confident in their own abilities, and they require a reality check. Even successful leaders need to stick to their visionary paths to be able to tolerate an environment of innovation and to efficiently manage knowledge. Hence, the corporate jester plays an important role in preventing Exploitation from driving out …show more content…
An internal critic needs must be one of the top echelons of the organisation, as he has to be free from incentive of personal career growth that may influence his motives. He must also have complete job security, so that he may give his suggestions without any risks. Hence, an internal critic can be one of the top leaders of the organisation, who takes on the additional responsibility of being the jester, or have the dedicated task of scrutinising the organisation from a jester’s viewpoint.
Alternatively, the critic can be an external consultant who can leverage naivety and ignorance to hit nails on appropriate heads. External consultants offer the fresh and different perspective that is needed to tackle problems with no apparent solutions. However, these external consultants may sometimes not be privy to the important secrets of the organisation and hence may not be completely
Not much unlike the courtroom jesters, the Corporate Fool is one who operates within the corporate system, yet is not afraid to highlight the hubris, follies and myopia of the leaders of the organization. The Corporate Fool is the reality check to every over-confident leader, a solution to gun-point problems and a divergent lens for visionary leaders.
However, just as the power that a single monarch once held, is sometimes dispersed amongst the top management of present-day organisations, so too is the role of the jester sometimes diffused over a system; a single person no longer plays the role of the Corporate Fool, but a system represents it. Such cultures have sprung up in today’s world as critics on Social Platforms …show more content…
As a leader of an organisation, one is faced with difficult decisions daily that cause stress and hazardous decision-making; a bane for innovation. Hence, Humour can be a formidable weapon against those who under other circumstances would refuse to recognise and accept the true nature of things (M. Kets de Vries, 1990). Creativity and innovation can foster in an environment free from tension, and hence humour is a great facilitator to innovation.
Humour and the corporate fool highlight a leader’s hubris. Sometimes leaders can become arrogant and over-confident in their own abilities, and they require a reality check. Even successful leaders need to stick to their visionary paths to be able to tolerate an environment of innovation and to efficiently manage knowledge. Hence, the corporate jester plays an important role in preventing Exploitation from driving out …show more content…
An internal critic needs must be one of the top echelons of the organisation, as he has to be free from incentive of personal career growth that may influence his motives. He must also have complete job security, so that he may give his suggestions without any risks. Hence, an internal critic can be one of the top leaders of the organisation, who takes on the additional responsibility of being the jester, or have the dedicated task of scrutinising the organisation from a jester’s viewpoint.
Alternatively, the critic can be an external consultant who can leverage naivety and ignorance to hit nails on appropriate heads. External consultants offer the fresh and different perspective that is needed to tackle problems with no apparent solutions. However, these external consultants may sometimes not be privy to the important secrets of the organisation and hence may not be completely