The Management Guru as Organizational Witchdoctor

Abstract

This paper suggests that the work of management gurus resembles the performance of a witchdoctor. Central to the work of management gurus is the achievement of transformations of consciousness among their audiences of managers. The view of management gurus offered in this paper has three elements: (1) the key to understanding the power and impact of gurus is to see what they do as a performance; (2) that this performance is of a particular kind-that of a witchdoctor; (3) that management gurus act as the functional equivalents to witchdoctors in modern organizations. The paper argues that at the heart of the guru performance there lies a concern for, and an emphasis on, the irrational, emotional and symbolic aspects of organization. Successful gurus have always known and exploited what this article is arguing-that success depends upon the magic and mystery of the performance.