Cambridge Business Association
Dare to Un-Lead
Book

Dare to Un-Lead

The Art of Relational Leadership in a Fragmented World

Celine Schillinger
Figure 1 Publishing, 2022
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Editorial Rating

9

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  • Insider's Take

Recommendation

Author Céline Schillinger argues that traditional, top-down leadership now must evolve into a “collective capacity” that enables all workers to do their best and fosters cooperation and co-creation. This capacity, says Schillinger, is essential for tackling the immense challenges institutions from firms to nations face today, including global warming, threats to democracy and the fragmentation of the world. Leaders must share power, be open to changing their minds, and participate in conversational, open engagement with their employees. She acknowledges that achieving a more egalitarian workplace will require new behaviors, mindsets and skills from everyone, not only leaders.

Summary

Céline Schillinger’s love of diversity, equity and inclusiveness spurred her corporate activism.

After ten years as an entrepreneur, Céline Schillinger joined the large French pharmaceutical company, Sanofi, where she learned about the corporate world’s processes, hierarchy, and more. Today Schillinger works bring the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity to corporate life and leadership.

At Sanofi, Schillinger felt suffocated by a lack of diversity and an oppressive leadership mode, male-dominated at all levels of power. In 2010, she emailed the CEO to advocate diversity within the company. This email, which she shared with three colleagues, spread through the workforce, giving Schillinger her first real appreciation of the power of activism and networks.

She and her colleagues decided to contribute to the organization’s strategy rather than fight against it. They mobilized people across hierarchical and functional barriers and connected them with a common purpose. This group of men and women enabled diversity at Sanofi.

Until Schillinger, Sanofi had no experience with employee activism or...

About the Author

In recognition of her contributions to change in the corporate world, the French government named Céline Schillinger a Knight of the National Order of Merit. With more than 30 years of experience in corporate change, she is a consultant, frequent public speaker, and blogger who covers workplace transformation and related topics at weneedsocial.com/blog. 

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