Distributed Leadership

A leader might not be able to be all things to all people all of the time. Making sense of complex issues, providing motivating visions of the future, engaging people and aligning operations and strategy might be too much for one person to do constantly and consistently. So says Ancona et al, in the 2007 HBR article, “In Praise of the Incomplete Leader”. The solution is to focus on leadership rather than leaders and in particular to “distribute” the leadership so that complete leadership is not achieved by just one person but rather via a team.

Here’s how distributed leadership works with further implications (“et alors”):

Distributed Leadership

The starting point is for the leader to recognize that they have both strengths and weaknesses. By using the capability analysis below, leaders can then work with others who can provide the capabilities that might be missing in order to achieve a more complete leadership:

Sensemaking

·         Capable if you constantly understand changes in the business environment and interpret their ramifications for your industry and company.

·         Incapable if you feel strongly that you are always right; frequently get “blindsided” by changes in your company or industry; and feel resentful when things change.

Relating

·         Capable if you build trusting relationships balancing advocacy (explaining your viewpoints) with inquiry (listening to other viewpoints) and cultivating networks.

·         Incapable if you blame others for failed projects; feel others let you down and cannot be trusted; and frequently experience frustrating arguments with others.

Visioning

·         Capable if you create credible and compelling images of a desired future that people in the organization want to create together.

·         Incapable if you often wonder why or does it matter?; feel a lacking sense of purpose; and can’t remember the last time you felt excited about work.

Inventing

·         Capable if you create new ways of approaching tasks or overcoming seemingly insurmountable problems to turn visions into reality.

·         Incapable if you notice gaps between your firm’s aspirations and the way you organize your work; and if you find that things often revert to “business as usual”.

Et alors?

The principle is to achieve all four capabilities by distributing the leadership to others if you are incapable in one or more areas. This might be easier said than done in some firms where the principle organization is hierarchical. The authors note (with despair) that in some hierarchies, listening is not often performed because advocating your viewpoint is almost the definition of leadership in such an environment. The solution? Each leader has a choice with their subordinates, despite how they themselves are treated by their superiors. It is up to the individual to distribute the leadership…