How to be a Leader in a Complicated World? Coalition Creator… Movement Maker!

The industrial age is fading. Its soul-mate bureaucratic pyramids are becoming obsolete. As the new economy dawns, it is creating a new type of leader.

Fading fast is the “traditional” manager. The leader who juggled resources to a limited set of goals.

Fuelled by plummeting costs of entry, disruption and flattening business models. Instead, she must thrive in a complex world, not just a complicated one.

Traditional organizations are pyramids. The leader sits on top. Cascading downward are functional sub-divisions. Silos.

In a complex world, the sluggish cadence of bureaucracies is outpaced by their fast-moving environment. In big organizations, countless time is wasted, filtering ideas and decisions up and down the hierarchy.

Instead, dynamic organizations embrace self-regulating teams. These work horizontally. Pulling people, talents, and skills together to solve immediate and fluid problems.

In such a reality, the role of the leader is not to be a guardian of the chain of command. Instead, she must be an integrator. She is a “weaver” of teams, removing barriers to effective collaboration.

The impact ripples out beyond your organization. To have influence, to create value, a new leader must know the node points of change.

She must mobilize untapped resources outside their organization.

Being a coalition builder is essential. Coalitions are not teams. They do not subscribe to central decisions. Instead, they come together around a common interest: a movement for change.

Rarely are coalition member aligned on everything. Differences remain. The key for the leader understands where each partner is intertwined.

Where can the coalition be pushed closer? Further toward a common goal.

Coalitions and the movements they spawn, live or die, based on their participants’ willingness. The openness to embrace others with aligned but not exact interests.

As a future leader, her role is to weave the disparate groups together. Nudge them. Push forward.

Not by authority but through a reiteration of what can be achieved in marching together. The new leader finds the touch points, opening the aperture for collaboration. Steering to a greater goal.

About the Author

Simon Trevarthen is Founder and Chief Inspiration Officer of Elevate Your Greatness (EYG). EYG helps individuals, teams, and organizations unpack the secrets of success by becoming even better versions of themselves through dynamic keynotes, seminars, and workshops on innovation, inspiration and presentation excellence.