Distributed Leadership: Need some examples of it in action, please

There's not enough info to really make a great recommendation but I'll take a shot with what you posted.

From what you stated above I would be very cautious in moving to distributed leadership. The comment that really was pointed was "... reluctant to take ownership." Distributed leadership is based on the idea that everyone is an expert and ownership is in the collective. The concept can't work well if there are duplicates of expertise, which is why it works well in academia. Every professor has their own field of study and can be their own expert. In business it's hard to make this work unless there is a small, specialized team.

Not knowing your exact business situation here's what I might suggest. Get a project manager; someone who can manage multiple teams and doesn't really have any tasks to perform on their own. Assign members to the various projects based on their skills with the PM being in charge. Each team member will still be the "expert" on the team with a chance to take some ownership but you still have one person running the show and making sure every task is completed on time and to the specified quality.

Of course there are many variables to take into account like the type of business, variety of skills, office layout and dynamics, and even available payroll. Post some more information and we'll keep looking at it.

Bizzy

Hi David. Just posted this example of Distributed Leadership here . Hope it helps. Also, check out the Northern Leadership Academy, who promote Distributed Leadership. A few NLA people are members of The Hub, so we can ask them if they know of any practitioners of Distributed Leadership. I'll give a couple of them a nudge and see what they say.

Hi there,

Just moving in to the group and will have to revisit later when I have more time. I kind of like to jump in when I see an opportunity- so here I go.

A perfect example of distributed leadership in both theory and practice can be found in the Marine Corps- they refer to this component of their doctrine as Command and Control. Architect's article is an exellent example of the distributed methodology in a business context. I agree with all the points- if you can establish that from the beginning of your business, then great.

Take those models and try to apply them in a context such as you have described in the thread header here and you will quickly learn it is easier said than done.

My example is from a healthcare setting. I took charge of a medical group that could be described in the same scenario as you have mentioned. I find a problem in associating individuals into positions of leadership when they are unwilling and not proficient in leadership skills. It was an optimal model for the business so I did institute it. However, my leadership held it together. I would rate the leadership of the constituent team as quite poor. Nonetheless, I put it on them- responsibilities/ accountabilities- I coached them through failures and made a point to them, if they didn't like it/ wanted their interests represented, then they would necessarily have to stand up for themselves.

Some did and I was able to leave that organization with an established "naturally" distributed leadership system. I recently corresponded with a third party contact that frequents the business who mentioned the infrastructure is still reflecting the professional model I established. I would classify it as a successful implementation of "control". However, in terms of living up to the potential of the model I would have to rate it at less than 10% effective- good enough for them but far below my own standards for leadership. I attribute this to a lack of proactive "command" or top down leadership. Settling for sufficient is certainly not within my standards for organizational leadership. However, I will admit it is practical enough to institute- even modestly- for the sheer bottom line cost-benefit.

Leadership is a dynamic skill set that, in my opinion, is best defined by results that speak for themselves. In the "soft" civilian segment, my recommendation is to avoid promoting the concept/ terminology of "leadership" where it is unwanted and unsupportable by the constituents. I rather agree with the suggestion of having a project manager to facilitate the interrelationships/ infrastructure and see who steps up to lead given the opportunities/ incentives. Then it is a matter of decision-making from the executive leaders. Either accept what you have to work with or replace the suboptimal leaders with people willing to support and drive the model forward.

Best,

Anthony Reardon
CEO/ Imagineer
Nascent Dynamics ( ) Modern Business for the Modern Environment