(Un)Leading Through the Populist Crisis

The Power of Agency, Networks and Community

Can we, as leadership and collective performance professionals, afford to ignore the tumultuous political context that surrounds us?

Against social fragmentation, resentment and anxiety, what can work and organizations do?

The rise of populism and the specter of what some call "end-times fascism" (as powerfully detailed by Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor in The Guardian) directly impacts the environments we shape and the people we serve. These are not abstract political issues; they are forces that profoundly affect individual well-being and organizational effectiveness.

The current crisis is deep, urgent and multi-faceted. We are grappling with social unease, economic instability, seismic technological disruption, and the looming threat of ecological collapse. Some of us struggle with the loss of prestige attached to our culture and the evolution of structuring social references. It's no wonder that so many individuals feel diminished, disposable, and harbor resentment. This pain, at its core, stems from a perceived loss of personal agency.

Corine Pelluchon is a French philosopher and author who writes about ethics and moral and political philosophy and whose latest book is La démocratie sans emprise ou la puissance du féminin (2025) (Democracy Without Domination or The Power of the Feminine). In a recent interview, she talks about this pervasive sense of powerlessness: "in a world like ours, everyone has the feeling of being a little lost, powerless". She goes on by reminding how far-right populism thrives by exploiting this unease – offering a false sense of power, and preventing people from facing up to the difficulties in constructive ways.

A core strategy of the far-right, Pelluchon reminds, consists of fueling social unease by diverting people's attention from the search for the causes of problems, towards the designation of “culprits”. This manipulation was brilliantly analyzed long ago already by people like Adorno (studying the characteristics and appeal of authoritarianism), by Löwenthal and Guterman (on the fascist and antisemitic discourse in the US in the 1940s) or Hannah Arendt. No doubt it is still being studied today on the basis of what is strikingly unfolding before our eyes in the United States.

Blaming culprits is an easy way to deal with complexity, by denying it. Scapegoats often include marginalized groups, such as immigrants, who embody the downward mobility that people fear, but also "elites," including people who care for a more complex discourse.

This way, people can vent their violence and find comfort in what feels like solutions. "To unload one's aggressiveness towards other people makes it possible to find temporary certainty and to commute one's powerlessness into omnipotence, one's anxiety of decline into the feeling that one is superior to others and that one is in control". This is a manipulative strategy, a "narcissistic welding" that preys on our vulnerabilities.

Unaddressed narcissistic wounds, whether individual or collective (nationalism is a collective narcissism, a delusion of many) lead to violence.

I have long been convinced that one of the sources of the problem – this perception of powerlessness – lies in the workplace itself.

All too often, people are treated as disposable cogs in a machine, constrained by rigid processes, automation, fragmentation, bad bosses and a pervasive lack of trust. When Pelluchon observes that people today feel "small, unworthy, replaceable, superfluous", I can’t help but think of the workplace; as a cause, but also as a possible solution.

Indeed, the populist response of anger and domination is not the answer but a more life-affirming workplace might be.

As Klein and Taylor eloquently state, "we counter their apocalyptic narratives with a far better story about how to survive the hard times ahead without leaving anyone behind. [...] A story not of end times, but of better times; not of separation and supremacy, but of interdependence and belonging; not of escaping, but staying put and staying faithful to the troubled earthly reality in which we are enmeshed and bound."

Echoing this sentiment, Pelluchon reminds us that "a humanist project that responds to people's aspirations can be accepted if we work to repair the terrain and recreate the desire to live together".

So, how do we translate these powerful ideas into practical action?

This is precisely what I explored in my book, Dare to Un-Lead. It's about fostering Agency, Networks, and Community.

• Agency: How do we restore a sense of agency in the workplace? The answer lies in creating more creative freedom, not less. Freedom breeds innovation, accountability and ownership. We can move away from command-and-control, dehumanizing structures and empower individuals to contribute their ideas and develop their skills.  

• Networks: How do we dismantle relationships of domination and submission at work and replace them with egalitarian, connective networks? We can break down silos, foster collaboration across departments and levels, and create environments where ideas flow freely. This means embracing flatter structures, promoting open communication, and valuing diverse perspectives.

• Community: How do we cultivate a desire for people to work together across their differences? This goes beyond standard notions of "shared purpose" and "belonging." In the spirit of "willful togetherness" and “corporate activism” that I've discussed many times before, we can foster a sense of shared responsibility, mutual support and common enjoyment. Creating a truly inclusive environment (not token DEI) is a strategic advantage. Also, as Pelluchon argues, overcoming narcissism is essential for being capable of love and capable of living in a democracy. This requires “a psychic maturity that allows us to accept our vulnerability” and that we are not in control of everything.

  Dare to un-lead!

Current times demand urgent and concrete answers to our social, economic, political and ecological crises.

My work, at a small scale, is a contribution. Through projects and partnerships like EngageForward, we strive to put these principles into action.

Dare to Un-Lead is full of stories and concrete examples. I’ll write more about my newest work as soon as I can make time.

Ultimately, the challenge before us is huge. I would love to know: How do you, as a leader, consultant, or executive, counter the populist discourse that, in Pelluchon's words, "poisons and leads to a paranoid relationship with the world"?

What is your response to the rise of destructive populism?

How are you actively building a future where agency, networks, and community prevail?