Understanding Distributed Leadership

Distributed Leadership is currently a popular way to organize a business.  Below we discuss:

• What is Distributed Leadership.
• The positive and negative aspects of Distributed Leadership.
• Potential Pitfalls if you’re implementing Distributed Leadership.

What is Distributed Leadership

The only thing that is generally agreed upon is that Distributed Leadership lacks a commonly understood definition.

• Also called:
• Shared Leadership
• Team Leadership
• Democratic Leadership

• Focused on moving authority away from an individual.
• Has caught on in Educational institutions – particularly in the UK.

The Positives of a Distributed Leadership Approach

There are good and bad things about any approach to organizational design.  The positives of Distributed Leadership are:

• Avoids CEO celebrities (that usually ends badly).
• Pushes authority further down a traditional organizational hierarchy.
• It can discourage command and control cultures.
• Forces positional leaders to rethink their authority, and other ways to exert authority.
• Can be more inclusive

The Negatives of a Distributed Leadership Approach

• It is likely things will move more slowly.
• It is unclear that it would work outside of academia.
• Authority is an illusion unless it is accompanied by accountability, and accountability could be illusive in an organization with Distributed Leadership.

Pitfalls to Implementing a Distributed Leadership Approach

If you or your organization has made the decision to move towards a Distributed Leadership approach, here are some things to consider:

• It is unclear how difficult decisions would get made.  Often important decisions are unpopular, or are not democratic.  For example, a business decision that may result in layoffs would be difficult to arrive at in a Distributed Leadership organization.
• Democracy is a good idea, but is never tidy.  Building consensus and majorities is hard work, so be sure this is what you want
• If everyone is accountable, no one is accountable.  Regardless of how you are organized, accountability must be clear to get anything done.  If moving towards Distributed Leadership dilutes accountability, it will fail.
• It could be hard to get current holders of power to let go.

3 Things to Remember About Distributed Leadership

1. There is no magical system of leadership that will fix all your organization’s ills.  If you already have a shortage of leadership, moving to any other organizational model will not fix it.
2. Accountability and authority should be pushed as deep into an organization as possible.  This is the most compelling reason to move to a Distributed Leadership model.
3. Some decisions will never be appropriate for a Distributed Leadership model.  Difficult or unpopular decisions cannot be arrived at democratically, and will create nothing but gridlock.

Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about Distributed Leadership (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):

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