ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the reasons why wicked challenges are becoming more and more common, what leaders call the "new normal." It describes the framework for identifying different kinds of leadership challenges, ranging from simple, complicated, complex and chaotic or wicked. The chapter explains the conceptual work of Snowden and Boone to discuss the implications the different kinds of challenges for public service leaders. Leaders must have the ability to make something happen under conditions of extreme uncertainty and urgency—a condition we label emergence. In fact, leadership is needed more during times of uncertainty than in times of stability: when confusion over ends and means abounds, leadership is essential. One of the less observable consequences of globalization for local leadership action is its impact on local businesses and nonprofit organizations. A final source for understanding the leadership implications of complex interdependence and highly dynamic systems is the testimony of practitioners.
