The power of why.
Being critical has often carried a negative connotation. However, the role of the critic is not to reject, but to challenge and question what is presented, refusing to take information or proposed solutions at face value.
Critical theory expands on this by critiquing societal structures—political, economic, and cultural—encouraging leaders to challenge dominant narratives about who can lead and how leadership should operate.
In leadership education, critical theory plays a vital role in dismantling harmful practices and replacing them with more democratic and empowering systems that promote justice and equity. But identifying and criticizing unjust systems isn't enough. Leaders must create opportunities for reflection, encouraging personal growth and shifts in perspective based on diverse beliefs and experiences.
Patrice Émery Lumumba. Image source: Getty Images
We are currently witnessing a global movement calling for the rejection of oppressive and unjust systems. Yet, critical and transformative theories are often dismissed as fringe or labeled as radical and rebellious. Leaders who challenge the status quo and confront the oppressive nature of our socio-economic systems are frequently seen as threats—figures like Nelson Mandela, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Patrice Lumumba come to mind.
Interestingly, while we often cheer for rebels in fiction—Star Wars, for example—we tend to silence them in reality, treating those who push for transformative change as threats rather than heroes.
By combining critical theory with transformative theory, leadership can promote deep systemic change while fostering both personal and collective transformation.