The cuckoo clock syndrome: addicted to command, allergic to leadership

SummaryThis article considers the extent to which we are addicted to particular ways of configuring the world and responding in a culturally appropriate way. It suggests that the original Tame and Wicked problems typology of Rittell and Webber (1973) can be usefully expanded to provide a heuristic for explaining this addiction and then focuses upon the most common approach – an addiction to Crisis and Command. Some likely explanations for this addiction are discussed and some illustrative examples provided. It concludes that not only does our predilection for Crisis and Command undermine our attempts to address Wicked problems adequately, but also that ‘Leadership’ (defined as persuading the collective to take responsibility for collective problems) is often regarded not just as difficult and dangerous, but as ‘the enemy of the people’. We are, then, not only likely to be addicted to Command but also likely to be allergic to leadership.