And what is the connection between leadership Widespread, Employee Engagement, organizational and speed ?
Widespread Leadership is a combination of circumstances that occur in an organization:
- Employees are encouraged to take initiatives and decisions;
- mistakes are not punished;
- employees have an overview of the organization and activities ;
- employees have access to important information; know what happens, what needs to be done and they do.
The following results:
- the organization is fast, agile, adaptable and flexible;
- people organize themselves and realize what they are working;
- the partnership works very well;
- interpersonal relationships are very rewarding;
- people feel responsible towards each other.
Now think of an organization in which:
- bureaucracy dominates the activities;
- leaders take away autonomy to employees by preventing their access to needed information;
- i leaders “tell people what to do”, with much detail;
- everyone is looking for the culprit who committed the error;
Read now two interesting examples, taken from real life and in a moment, we are ready to summarize some lessons we are learning.
1.Margaret Wheatley, in one of the articles collected in his book “Finding our Way” talks about American soldiers in the Iraqi desert. Use technologies advanced data transmission, and information allow everyone to be fully aware of what happens on the battlefield.
The communication flows freely without bottlenecks; what gives power and autonomy to each soldier and makes it able to make decisions and act within a clear tactical or strategic goal.
It is’ rather interesting to note that individual decisions that arise in this context are consistent so amazing, as if they were the result of a “central brain” that conceives.
It is’ possible that the officers who lead these soldiers may feel displaced, in a context in which their role is changing so drastically. Certainly, these soldiers, under these conditions, show a strong ability to embody a’collective intelligence leading collective action Fast and organized.
2. During a workshop with a group of leaders and employees at different levels of organization, I asked the participants to reflect, and then share, experiences and examples of organizations that work well.
Two people have described the construction and preparation of the wagon for the parade of their Carnival City . They said they are very fast to complete the work; continue to make changes invent the chariot most beautiful and original; have fun while they work though that is hard work.
In the subsequent conversation were looking for recurring patterns that describe organizations working. I wondered why the team that works on the wagon is an example of such an efficient organization. They said: “… Well we have fun together … We all know what to do, continually talking, and we really have a leader who tells us what we should do to every detail.”
What are the elements that unite the American soldiers who act in a manner consistent, and collectively intelligent, desert, Italian and employees who enjoy as they build a beautiful and fun carnival floats for the parade?
Lessons for Leaders:
1. Do not tell people “what to do”, and waive the “command and control”. This could be a topic for a very long conversation. For now, let us realize that we command and check the most, the more we create the need and reliance on command and control organization; we take the initiative and more, autonomy and “intelligence” employees. Obviously, the employees know the strategic and operational objectives and act in the direction set.
2. Share information and objectives. Make sure that work activities are important parts of a larger organizational framework. The best way to share information is to have”conversations”, how's work going, going on in the organization through formal and informal. In leaders must be involved and allow that debate really free. The conversations are formal meetings. These meetings may have different structure and organization according to the purpose and argument. For example, a meeting that will deliver a Strategic Plan that will be applied and it works, can be organized according to the guidelines of the Future Search, which will be discussed separately.
3. Be aware of the informal networks within the organization. Too often the leaders of the organization moving boxes here and there without any understanding of the complex network of relationships that allows the completion of work. In addition, put people into boxes (dell’organigramma) and move them here and there in the organization, means treating people as objects, or machines. All this, usually creates strong resistance collaborators, even when there would be no.
4. Recognize the diversity of ideas and allow, reviews, styles. It is not required to agree on everything. When everyone agrees on something, leaders should be cautious, because the agreement can not be real. People pretend to agree because they are not encouraged with adequate energy to express points of view “several”. But in reality they will not support initiatives that do not feel good, intelligent and effective. Encourage energy and courage with the expression of diverse ideas. These ideas are real, Leaders and to you, should know.
Photo credit: Soldiersmediacenter
Growing Organizations in LINKEDIN
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello,
excellent article.
I report about the book
Leaderless
From the Internet to Al Qaeda: the secret power of networked organizations
O. Brafman, R. A. Beckstrom
D. De Masi
Hello Andrea,
thanks. The book is interesting. Rather than being "without leaders" we ask more and more
as is" a leader, even more than how it behaves;
those leaders should be and how they interact with each other.
It is' may discover the need for a large number of leaders …
I agree with your point of view.
I also believe we can better understand how "is" a leader, as it has developed its own leadership, so as to have a "metro staff" effective in this matter so important as subjective.
I look forward to the prox post.
cordiality
andrea
Andrea, I am still with you in this regard.
I like to talk about "Leadership Introspective" that is the focus of much of my work. It is about our ability to be conscious to ourselves and to others in pressure situations.
Evidently, first, there is a need to "build" Leadership is a concept that really works.
Indeed, There are a variety of leadership models, also valid, However, that theory remains. In reality, organizations, when under pressure, prevailing model of "I tell you what to do … and see that you keep an eye on" – command and control.
This destroys the motivation, and now no longer even need to make short-term results. In the medium to long term because the exodus of employees at all levels.
So, developed and shared a concept of leadership that works for us, and the additional, we want to be able to understand how our "way of being" affect our behavior – our actions.
I would not promote my work,
, but what I have found it useful to do during the workshops is to build experiences that lead each of the leaders to "discover" to as "is" in complicated situations. This leads to changes in sound theoretical ideas into effective practical behavior.
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