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The Organizational Fool: Balancing a Leader's Hubris

INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France

This paper explores the role of the sage-fool as means of creating a counter-vailing power against the regressive forces inherent in leadership, in other words, to reinforce the leader's capacity for reality testing. After a brief review of leadership theories, some of the salient characteristics of the role of the sage-fool are reviewed, taking a historical perspective. It is subsequently demonstrated how the fool, in playing the role of mediator between leader and followers, brings to the surface certain conflictual themes and thereby allows both parties to deal with the issues at hand. In this context, the role of humor and joking relationships are examined. Finally, two case examples of the fool in an organizational setting are presented.

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