Leader, It’s Time To Jump
The transition from leadership to leaderspace.
Traditional leadership is challenged. Getting people onboard, setting the course, and steering the ship safely to a determined destination has been a successful metaphor for many years. On one side, managing resources, on the other, directing people. Clear roles and responsibilities, captain and crew, leader and follower—all in good order. These days could soon be over.
Tech and the web have changed the game. New opportunities, demands, and priorities disrupt old patterns and create new conditions. We can work from anywhere and are less often in the office than we used to be.
In the early days of digitalized business and hybrid work, there were more systems to manage than people to lead. Today, we are increasingly self-led and no longer dependent on a boss or locked in an organizational grid.
New ways of leading are evolving. Fast-paced start-ups and agile companies are not enthusiastic about classical leadership. It is perceived as complicated and tedious, with too much talk and little action.
Things tend to slow down when the top guys engage in local decision-making. The future requires something less controlling and more liberating.
From Ship to Space
The leadership metaphor is linear. Its purpose is to generate value by following the project's planned route, moving from A to B as smoothly as possible. The focus is on progress, performance, and achievement.
The leader has the decision-making power. There is a logic of command and control in which tasks are delegated, not responsibilities. If nothing else is decided, the rule is to keep the course and speed. This is the world of my leadership.
The metaphor of leaderspace is circular. It is like breathing, the universal movement of in and out, contraction and expansion. Power is distributed, and everyone plays a role in sustaining the space.
Mutual trust and psychological safety characterize the atmosphere. No negative stories or hidden agendas limit the flow of information and knowledge exchange—the world of our leaderspace.
The two worlds are different. To leave leadership and jump into leaderspace is a bold move. It takes courage to replace the known with the unknown and swap the illusion of control with the thrill of participation.
The move may seem less challenging if we look at how leadership and leaderspace differ and how they can be integrated.
Leadership vs Leaderspace
Leadership is the act of influencing and directing followers. Leaderspace is the practice of containing and catalyzing collaborative work. The two disciplines can function independently or in combination.
Leadership is favored when the circumstances are predictable and familiar, when efficacy, alignment, and momentum are highly prioritized.
The call for leaderspace comes when things are complex, various skills are needed, and diverse approaches must be combined, as well as when co-learning and co-creation are the key to sustainable solutions.
Comparing leadership and leaderspace makes sense because, in the future, we need to combine them to perform and transform them to achieve the best results.
Each has its indication of use and a defined action field:
- Knowing where you are and what you want is the first step to determining which discipline to apply.
- The second step is to decide which degree of involvement, engagement, and self-organization is needed.
- The third step is to onboard or invite people. 1–2–3, and you are on the ship or in space.
Direction vs Attraction
Leadership shows the way and explains the why and what to the followers. The direction is communicated, and performance parameters are introduced to monitor the progress.
You know what success looks like, and ensure that deviations from the expected are identified and adjusted. Much leadership activity happens in goal-directed and planned projects.
Leaderspace uses the why and what to inspire collaborators to find new ways. There is no fixed direction, but an intention to frame and stage the activities.
We cannot predict what will happen as we navigate unknown territory. Success must be defined as we go along. Leaderspace is a natural part of experiments beyond.
Linear vs Circular
We are experiencing a paradigm shift. Holistic, ecological, and relativistic worldviews replace linear, mechanistic, and deterministic perspectives.
Everything is connected in complex patterns, and we are all embedded in the web of life. Both linearity and circularity are ways of thinking that we need to build prosperous societies and live happy lives.
Linear thinking is analytical, critical, and logical. Circular thinking is experimental, imaginative, and compassionate.
If you want accountability, performance, and achievement, go for linear thinking and leadership.
If you rely on engagement, inclusion, and transformation, you could consider circular thinking and leaderspace.
Owned vs Shared
While one or a few leaders own leadership, all people involved share the leaderspace.
Leadership means owning resources. As a leader, you decide what to invest in, where, and how to reward purposeful behavior. You have the right to hire and fire within a code of conduct and specific principles. Owning your leadership or giving away your power is the mantra.
In the leaderspace, people have different skills and roles, but equal rights. Sharing information and perspectives is essential in any decision-making process. Barriers to information flow are removed.
The group agrees on what is important so that when members are separated, they can make the right choices. Decision-making power is distributed similarly to knowledge and resources.
Onboarding vs Including
In the old metaphor, the ship is sailing, and the new recruits are onboarded as smoothly as possible. Typically, they are hired for their skills and placed in positions where they can be useful.
They learn how to behave and what is expected of them to become successful. Strategies are implemented, and plans are executed. They do what the leader wants.
In the new metaphor, a space is formed to welcome and include new members as they show up. The space has a center of gravity and point of departure, so we know where to start and where to return.
The group members decide what to do—how, where, and when. Through dialog, negotiation, and agreements, workflows are balanced. We do what we want.
Exploit the known vs Explore the unknown
Leadership is perfect for keeping you safe through the known. Its focus is on efficiency and return on investment. Followers are taken care of so they can be constructive and productive.
Decisions are made to avoid waste and fill gaps. By definition, there is a constant lack of resources. What is not useful and profitable will be discontinued.
Leaderspace is an option when you want to explore the unknown. Its focus is on learning and co-evolution, and collaborators take care of themselves and each other.
Decisions are made to fulfill the purpose and unfold the potential. When ideas are selected, choices are made, and actions are carried out, the sustainability of solutions and their regenerative impact are central to everyone.
Implement vs Experiment
Implementation is starting to use a plan or system. If you know where to play and how to win, you implement the strategy, make people follow the plan, and adapt to the system.
Earnings are the priority as you unfold the business potential and exploit the opportunities. You practice with tools and create impact through mastery. What you offer is effective leadership.
Experimentation is to test what is true, what works, and what emerges. Learning is the priority, as you unfold the idea's potential and explore the possibilities. You create insights and grow as humans by working with energy, story, and idea. What you aim for is a transformative leaderspace.
Control flow vs Contain flow
Leadership takes charge of ambitions, strategy, and resources. From what is desired, you find a way to reach the goal as cost-effectively as possible.
For more than a hundred years, resources have been divided into human and non-human categories. Human resources are now called people, but little has changed regarding expectations of leadership to set direction, control flow, and manage people.
In the leaderspace, the complex reality is not reduced to dos and don’ts or straight orders. Instead, you contain the sometimes chaotic flow. You continue the dialogue with an open mind, heart, and will until things settle and new learning emerges. System representation and diversity in the leaderspace make solutions easier to adapt and integrate.
The shift from leadership to leaderspace is profound. It is more than new templates and tools — a complete change of mindset and practice, from exclusive to inclusive, from dominance to resonance, from hierarchy to sociocracy.
The disciplines, however, are not opposites. They complement each other. Future leaders must know when to launch their leadership and when to open the leaderspace.
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