Framing the Leaderspace

A quick guide to the SPACE practice

The leadership discipline is transforming to something less controlling and more liberating. Less directive and more attractive. Less owned and more shared. Less implementing, and more experimenting. As a leader, you hold a space, rather than steer a ship. As a group member, you behave more as a co-creator and partner than as a participant and follower.

Just as leadership has its philosophy and methodology, the leaderspace has its theory and tools. Since it is a young discipline, new methods are being developed and tested. The current key element is a framing practice briefly introduced in this article.

Balance frame and freedom

In his 2018 book Alive at Work, London Business School Professor Daniel M. Cable suggests organizations find a way to balance frame and freedom. He advises leaders to create space for employees to contribute, experiment, express themselves and play to their strengths for the benefit of the organization.

Creating a leaderspace in which people have full freedom and still work within an organizational framework can sound complicated. But it is easier than you may think. What you need is the will to do it, and a process that integrates intention with reality and ability. Such a process came to me a few…