The UNTHINKABLE articles were first posted on Linked In.
I smile as I recognise that the speed of change and evolution now means that I’ve put developing this leadership model on hold for now. I am, however, leaving these 7 articles up as I feel they do illustrate core source issues and opportunities for leaders to look at in themselves prior to developing and practicing their own evolution of their leadership.
(first in a series of articles inspired by a Sep 26, 2017 Workshop for Entrepreneurial Scotland)
UNTHINKABLE – Tools for confident leaders in our age of disruption
The workshop was based on the premise that leadership as we know it will not serve us in the times we now live in. Times of rapidly accelerating change and disruption, as well as unthinkable events. Strategic planning and old school “command and control” “expert” leadership simply don’t and won’t work anymore.
The group at the workshop truly inspired me and this will be the first in a series of articles featuring the themes, content, tools and learnings captured from the workshop.
In this first article I introduce a new model for Open Leadership created for the workshop. I encourage readers to share thoughts and ideas, to collaborate. No one person has the answers to everything anymore, but I am sure that together we can evolve new models for leadership such as this nascent one !
This model has three themes, one leading on from the other. Future articles will elaborate, but this first article I will summarise the model and themes.
At the centre, it takes BRAVERY to lead in such a space of uncertainty, where the role of the leader is no longer to have the answers, but in fact to create an environment where the questions that need to be answered come forward and the answers are found within and across the organisation.
The model has three themes.
LET GO
- The starting point for leaders is to Let Go of their fears, as we cannot lead from a place of fear, we must lead from a place of confidence and trust.
- In order to let go, we must first focus on SELF-KNOWLEDGE, deeply looking into ourselves to understand our fears and drivers.
- We can then seek to become deeply aware of our ENERGY and how we show up in the world and as leaders.
- What is our ability to respond vs react ? What is our RESPONSE-ABILITY ?
OPEN LEADERSHIP
- VISION as a concept must change to a general sense of direction, subject to frequent course correction. A very different model for visionary leadership.
- COLLABORATION. Open Leadership is truly collaborative
- HUMILITY. The seven most powerful words in business “I don’t’ know, what do you think” (when delivered with confidence that the answer is within the collective).
PURPOSE
- Similar to Vision, our new world requires a simple COMPASS to follow around the higher purpose of the organisations
- As change is rapid, unpredictable and continuous, a focus on a deeply aligned CULTURE that is truly integrated into all areas of the organisation is critical
- With all of the above, the opportunity is there to find HIDDEN ASSETS in your business. They are never on the Balance Sheet, nor typically visible to those in the business. It takes a fresh perspective to see them and change direction.
This is a top line summary of the model, yet already I hope you can see why it is drawn as a continuing circle. The more each element is focussed upon, the more is unlocked around the model in every area.
In coming articles I will expand on the model and also introduce tools, tips and content that has inspired me to learn and share.
In addition, in true collaborative fashion, I love that LI allows editing of articles, so this and other articles in the series will morph and change based on your collaborative feedback !