The case for strong leadership, especially during difficult times, is compelling. But what type of leadership is best?
One way of thinking about this question is to begin by asking what type of organisation are you trying to build? Is it an organisation where priority is given to the broad interests of the enterprise and the specific interests of its parts or is priority given to individual excellence as the key to success? Is it one that seeks common views and broad agreement so the organisation can then act with unified purpose or one that encourages a thousand blossoms to bloom? Is it one that encourages its leaders to fiercely compete or is it one that believes in the power of collective thought and action?
Essentially the choice is between two fundamental different organisational models:
An Organisation of Stars that is individual-centred and focused on recruiting and motivating the best and brightest talent in the domains and disciplines most central to business success. The main goal is to get the best performance out of the brightest people, with the rest of the organisation in a supporting role.
A Star Organisation that is group-centred and focused on recruiting, retaining and leading a cross-section of talented people in ways that produce extraordinary group performance. In a star organisation individual leadership and teamwork are important but not sufficient. A ‘star organisation’ requires Collective Leadership that is based on common understanding, shared mental models, frameworks, practices and language.
The question CIOs need to answer is whether they’re building a star organisation or an organisation of stars and which is more likely to meet the unprecedented challenges they face.
I welcome your thoughts.
David Trafford
david.trafford@formicio.com
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Formicio Insight_What Type of Leadership do IT Organisations Need Today
Tagged: Articles, Collective, Leadership
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