In 1964 Bob Dylan released a prophetic song titled The Times They are a-Changin.
Obolensky describes the leadership charade well in his book Complex Adaptive Leadership. It looks something like this... the leaders at the top acting like they have all the answers and their omniscient vision will lead the company to the promise land while those on the front lines complain around the water cooler that the top has no idea which way they are steering. The solution to this age old problem is a paradox of complexity and simplicity wrapped around communication and understanding of the roles each "level" plays in the grand scheme of things. I will touch on this a little later.
First, let's identify a few reasons this shift in leadership is occurring. Bob Dylan had it right when he said the times are changing. In today's world fast is steady and slow is dead. Organizations, large and small, need to be fluid to compete. This means that in order to work effectively towards a common goal people at the top need to know what is going on at the bottom. Now, I am not insinuating that the CEO needs to know how to do the job of the line operator, but they need to know how the basic processes work. Conversely, The front line worker does not need to know how the CFO manages the money, but they should understand how their work contributes to the bottom line.
Currently I am stationed on one of the Navy's most impressive floating platforms ever conceived... the aircraft carrier. In essence, this floating city is capable of delivering air superiority to the far reaches of the globe at a moments notice. The pieces in motion to make this ship function are mind blowing to say the least, and we have established a pretty good system that ensures the harmonious operation of our ship. It takes team work. The captain is overall in charge of the entire ship. However, I would not expect the skipper to be able to run the reactor or coordinate the supply lines for an underway replenishment anymore than I would expect a deck-seaman to oversee flight ops. We do expect the captain to be in tune to our needs and general understanding of what each department needs to carry out their mission effectively. This takes an incredible amount of communication up and down the chain of command. And this is how we answer our nation's call at the drop of a hat anytime... anywhere.
Solutions to problems typically come from those who face the issues creating the problem. If the security department onboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower needs second-chance vests to increase their survivability in the event of a gun fight they would send that request up the chain. With approval of such a request we would expect our top leaders to provide these vests to the men and women standing posts. Problem solved. If the top tier commanders feel like we need to add additional security measures to tighten up the ship's force protection then they pass that down the chain and we (at the bottom) make it happen. They let us know the mission, we let them know what we need, and that is how we maneuver through our ever changing strategic events that make up a Navy Day.
This is what I was talking about earlier... the old leadership charade dissolves when people know their places within an organization, communicate their needs up and down the chain of command, and work together to implement solutions to the problems we encounter along the way. Leadership is now more about listening and responding than forcing and telling. This change in leadership dynamics also dictates the strategy of leadership within an organization. Find out what works and make it happen. That is the new role of strategic leadership in this ever a-changin world.
JP
"Come gather 'round people wherever you roam. And admit that the waters around you have grown. And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone. If your time to you is worth savin' then you better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone. For the times they are a-changin."The times are most definitely changing, and so is the concept of leadership. The old hierarchical approach to running a business is slow and outdated in today's fast paced and well connected world. The speed at which business moves must equal the speed of change within an organization for it to remain viable in a chosen market. But, how does change become effected? It comes through communication. It comes by the top leadership communicating the mission down the chain and the bottom communicating up what they need to make it happen. Business is now a two-way street.
Obolensky describes the leadership charade well in his book Complex Adaptive Leadership. It looks something like this... the leaders at the top acting like they have all the answers and their omniscient vision will lead the company to the promise land while those on the front lines complain around the water cooler that the top has no idea which way they are steering. The solution to this age old problem is a paradox of complexity and simplicity wrapped around communication and understanding of the roles each "level" plays in the grand scheme of things. I will touch on this a little later.
First, let's identify a few reasons this shift in leadership is occurring. Bob Dylan had it right when he said the times are changing. In today's world fast is steady and slow is dead. Organizations, large and small, need to be fluid to compete. This means that in order to work effectively towards a common goal people at the top need to know what is going on at the bottom. Now, I am not insinuating that the CEO needs to know how to do the job of the line operator, but they need to know how the basic processes work. Conversely, The front line worker does not need to know how the CFO manages the money, but they should understand how their work contributes to the bottom line.
Currently I am stationed on one of the Navy's most impressive floating platforms ever conceived... the aircraft carrier. In essence, this floating city is capable of delivering air superiority to the far reaches of the globe at a moments notice. The pieces in motion to make this ship function are mind blowing to say the least, and we have established a pretty good system that ensures the harmonious operation of our ship. It takes team work. The captain is overall in charge of the entire ship. However, I would not expect the skipper to be able to run the reactor or coordinate the supply lines for an underway replenishment anymore than I would expect a deck-seaman to oversee flight ops. We do expect the captain to be in tune to our needs and general understanding of what each department needs to carry out their mission effectively. This takes an incredible amount of communication up and down the chain of command. And this is how we answer our nation's call at the drop of a hat anytime... anywhere.
Solutions to problems typically come from those who face the issues creating the problem. If the security department onboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower needs second-chance vests to increase their survivability in the event of a gun fight they would send that request up the chain. With approval of such a request we would expect our top leaders to provide these vests to the men and women standing posts. Problem solved. If the top tier commanders feel like we need to add additional security measures to tighten up the ship's force protection then they pass that down the chain and we (at the bottom) make it happen. They let us know the mission, we let them know what we need, and that is how we maneuver through our ever changing strategic events that make up a Navy Day.
This is what I was talking about earlier... the old leadership charade dissolves when people know their places within an organization, communicate their needs up and down the chain of command, and work together to implement solutions to the problems we encounter along the way. Leadership is now more about listening and responding than forcing and telling. This change in leadership dynamics also dictates the strategy of leadership within an organization. Find out what works and make it happen. That is the new role of strategic leadership in this ever a-changin world.
JP
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