Distributed Leadership

There are lots of ways for companies to organize themselves.  This week, the Wily Manager guys discuss Distributed Leadership and why it may or may not be a good idea.  Either way, there are some things that can be applied in any setting that can be learned from a Distributed Leadership model.

Monday’s Tip:      Start with fundamentals.  Before changing your leadership model, ensure your organization value leadership: setting clear expectations, holding people accountable, and rewarding desired behaviors.

Tuesday’s Tip:       Who’s Accountable?  If you are pushing leadership away from individuals, ensure you know who is accountable.  When everyone’s accountable, no one is accountable.

Wednesday’s Tip:      Figure out how difficult decisions get made before you have make one.  Outline a process for how difficult decisions will get made if you are going to push leadership away from individuals.

Thursday’s Tip:      Push authority and accountability as deep into the hierarchy as you can.  This is a good idea regardless of whether you are moving to a Distributed Leadership model or not.

Friday’s Tip:      Move beyond “positional power”.  Figure out how existing leaders will part with power, and work with people to develop other ways to influence people that extends beyond positional power.