{"id":1410,"date":"2021-07-06T17:02:34","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T21:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/?p=1410"},"modified":"2022-03-24T04:32:31","modified_gmt":"2022-03-24T08:32:31","slug":"how-to-achieve-distributed-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/how-to-achieve-distributed-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"How to achieve distributed leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Molly Penn and Marita Phelps<\/p>\n

To what degree is your leadership structure the result of intentional design?\u00a0 Change\u2014even forced change\u2014is good: It makes us reimagine our future, innovate and adapt, and learn new skills to thrive.\u00a0 It is difficult for many executives to emerge from the daily hustle and take a step back. One of the greatest opportunities afforded you as a leader in this post-pandemic world is the gift of starting again.<\/p>\n

Three Leadership approaches<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The design of your leadership style is one area that deserves a fresh set of eyes because it directly impacts your people, processes, and performance. Leadership style dictates how people interact, how decisions are made, how information flows, and how work gets done. Below we examine several models of leadership, particularly in the context of the culture they empower or stifle.<\/p>\n

Top-down<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Often compared to the hierarchical structure of military organizations (\u201ccommand and control\u201d), top-down design dictates that decisions are made by one or several leaders, and communication trickles down to the rest of the organization from there. Top-down organizations often have many layers and tend to be bureaucratic.<\/p>\n

Of the models, top-down is the most traditional approach seen in governments and corporations. It cultivates a culture where quick decision making is valued, and power is conveyed according to one\u2019s position in the hierarchy (\u201cpositional power\u201d).<\/p>\n

Consensus<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Perhaps the most harmonious of the three, consensus leadership values collaboration, inclusivity, and participation. Decision making is the responsibility of an entire organization, with all relevant stakeholder groups weighing in. By considering multiple points of view, consensus culture breeds mass empowerment for creativity and innovation.<\/p>\n

This approach can increase employee buy-in to the detriment of efficiency because all people have a voice in decision making. \u00a0Some complain that consensus leadership waters down decisions to the \u201clowest common denominator.\u201d\u00a0 Typically, smaller organizations adopt a consensus model, or it is an approach used when diverse stakeholders convene (for example, the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference).<\/p>\n

Distributed<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A distributed organization marries the best of both a top-down and consensus framework. It allocates decision-making power across functions and roles based on which person or group is in closest proximity to the work. This means any employee can be tapped to lead a project based on the experience and skills needed. Work is accomplished by those best fit for any given scenario, not by those with the most inflated title.<\/p>\n

It can be challenging to build this model because employees with the experience do not always have the strongest leadership or decision-making skills. But distributed leadership is the most empowering of the three leadership styles because it levels the playing field with merit based not on title, but knowledge & capability.<\/p>\n

Advice Process<\/strong><\/h4>\n

One of the most evolved forms for distributed leadership is the Advice Process, in which anyone at any level of the organization is empowered to make a decision.\u00a0 To do so, they must follow these simple steps:<\/p>\n