For
all of the books (thousands) written on leadership, individuals (millions) who
have participated in leadership seminars and dollars (billions) invested in
leadership development, too many leadership experts still fail to distinguish
between the practice of leadership and the exercise of bureaucratic power.
In
order to engage in a conversation about leadership, you have to assume you have
no power — that you aren’t “in charge” of anything and that you can’t sanction
those who are unwilling to do your bidding. If, given this starting point, you
can mobilize others and accomplish amazing things, then you’re a leader. If you
can’t, well then, you’re a bureaucrat.
To
gain a true leadership advantage, organizations must be filled with individuals
who understand how to maximize their own ratio of “accomplishment over
authority.” They must believe it’s possible to do something big with a little
dab of power. Think, for example, of Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, the
world’s largest compendium of knowledge. None of the thousands of individuals
who’ve contributed to Wikipedia report to Wales, and yet, as a “social
architect,” he built a platform that energized and organized an extraordinary
amount of human effort.
What,
then, are the attributes of individuals who can inspire others and multiply
their impact?
They
are seers — individuals who are living in the future,
who possess a compelling vision of “what could be.” As human beings, we’re
constantly looking forward, and we love to sign on with individuals who are
already working on “the next big thing.”
They
are contrarians — free of the shackles of conventional
wisdom and eager to help others stage a jailbreak. It’s exciting to be around
these free-spirited thinkers who liberate us from the status quo and open our
minds to new possibilities.
They
are architects — adept at building systems that elicit
contribution and facilitate collaboration. They leverage social technologies in
ways that amplify dissident voices, coalesce communities of passion and unleash
the forces of change.
They
are mentors — rather than hoarding power, they give it
away. Like Mary Parker Follett, the early 20th-century management pioneer, they
believe the primary job of a leader is to create more leaders. To this end,
they coach, tutor, challenge and encourage.
They
are connectors — with a gift for spotting the
“combinational chemistry” between ideas and individuals. They help others
achieve their dreams by connecting them with sponsors, like-minded peers, and
complementary resources.
They
are bushwhackers — they clear the trail for new ideas
and initiatives by chopping away at the undergrowth of bureaucracy. They’re
more committed to doing the right thing than to doing things right.
They
are guardians — vigilant defenders of core values and
enemies of expediency. Their unflinching commitment to a higher purpose
inspires others and encourages them to stand tall for their beliefs.
They
are citizens — true activists, their courage to
challenge the status quo comes from their abiding commitment to doing as much
good as possible for as many as possible. They are other-centered, not
self-centered.
Critically,
all these roles are rooted in the most potent and admirable human qualities —
passion, curiosity, compassion, daring, generosity, accountability and grit. These
are the qualities that attract allies and amplify accomplishments. These are
the DNA strands of 21st-century leadership. Only by strengthening them can we
fully unleash the latent leadership talents that reside in every organization.
That’s
why we have launched the Leaders Everywhere Challenge in partnership
with HBR and McKinsey & Company. Tell us what your organization is doing to
encourage leadership everywhere. How is it working to escape the limits of
top-down power structures? What is it doing to equip and energize individuals
to exercise their leadership gifts, wherever they are in the organization? How
is it nurturing the sort of leaders whom others will want to follow in a
post-bureaucratic world?
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