We hear much about the “democratic ideal” as if it were unreachable within the walls of the organization. Of late, apologists have begun suggesting that there is no need to worry; democracy exists; it is just that it is often hidden from view right within the requisite hierarchical structure. Top managers are sharing their leadership roles with others in the organization. This provocation will take the opposite position that hierarchy and democratic leadership are predominantly incommensurate and that closer inspection would show that hierarchical conditions largely persist and that when democratic leadership occurs, it does so only with the conditional permission of those in control. The essay goes into detail regarding plural models of leadership, shows where they fall on the hierarchy–democracy continuum, and outlines how leaderful development might be able to prepare learners for real democratic experience.

中文翻译：

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等级制度对民主的从属以及如何超越民主

我们听到很多关于“民主理想”的消息，好像它在组织的围墙内是遥不可及的。最近，辩护者开始建议不必担心。民主存在；只是它通常隐藏在必要的层次结构中。高层管理人员正在与组织中的其他人分享他们的领导角色。这种挑衅将采取相反的立场，即等级制度和民主领导在很大程度上是不相称的，仔细检查将表明等级条件在很大程度上持续存在，而当民主领导发生时，只有在控制者有条件地允许的情况下才会这样做。这篇文章详细介绍了多元化的领导模式，展示了它们在等级制度-民主连续体中的位置，