ABSTRACT
This chapter draws from the notion of wicked problems to identify wicked and benign organizational change issues and propose to consider such changes within a change path. To tame wicked change paths, we specifically focus on the role of integrative responsible leadership. This type of responsible leadership is considered particularly important for taming wicked change paths because it is focused on the long-term and considers multiple bottom lines. Moreover, in contrast to other leadership approaches, responsible leadership emphasizes relationships with internal and external stakeholders. It extends existing work on responsible leadership by including the notions of convergent and divergent thinking as important foundations for decision-making in handling different types of change within a wicked change path. The chapter considers potential challenges for employing an integrative responsible leadership style in taming wicked change paths and discuss ways in which these challenges can be addressed. It concludes with key lessons and reflection questions.
