WHAT EXACTLY IS LEADERSHIP…Many organisations have an outdated view of what leadership is, and how leaders should act.Indeed, many businesses have a leadership culture whereby decisions are made behind closed doors and then strategies and resources are assigned to get the rest of the organization on board. This approach to leadership is dangerously out of touch and ineffective.
One of the best ways in which an organization can create a culture of thriving productivity, collaboration, innovation and sustainable growth, is to adapt a facilitative leadership approach.
By creating groups and having decisions made by the people within organizations, the leaders role shifts focus to become one of a skilled facilitator. The facilitating leader develops his/her skills of getting the best ideas and decisions from the team and creating a process to make that happen. This is ideal as you then have a climate of allowing and empowering staff to be critical thinkers with a vested interest in the good of the organisation. Giving people the responsibility to do their work enables trust and collaboration and a healthy and thriving organizational culture.
In complex situations, a facilitating leader should guide groups from a place of confusion, ambivalence sometimes even hostility to a place of confidence, clarity and consensus. And to do so in a gentle and positive way, without having an overbearing nature.
The outdated directive leader assumes that there is one all-knowing person capable of making and enforcing decisions. By not involving others in the process can result in wrong decisions being made for an organization. Iain Walker is the CEO of the New Democracy Foundation, a not for profit organization that seeks to change the way we do democracy by engaging citizens in juries to make real world decisions. “Facilitation and citizens juries not only increase trust in the final decision; the diversity of the jury delivers a better quality decision than any one leader could make” says Mr Walker. This principle, of course, can be directly applied to organisations. We need less leadership and more facilitation.
If you are a business manager who wants more detail on how to increase trust and quality of decision making and upskill in facilitation leadership please get in touch. Register in one of our workshops or call us on9487 4822 to find out more.