Rol, I'd like to chime in on this question because I find it intriguing.
Rol Fessenden wrote:
> Whenever I read one of those business books about some organization that
> has succeeded beyond anyone's dreams, it is almost inevitably a story
> about a person who created the context. That is a component of leadership
> -- creating the context -- that appears to be practiced by the
> owner-operator of the business, and in my experience, it is the most
> important task of leadership.
I want to challenge your assumption here (and, believe me, it's an
assumption that I've shared with you). Let's assume--just for the sake of
learning--that creating the context is not a component of leadership.
Let's call it "entrepreneurship" or "creativity" or "creating a vision."
The question relates to a start-up business. The purpose of a business is
to create wealth (again, a simplistic version here, for the sake of
learning). People are attracted to the vision, creativity,
entrepreneurship, energy, hope and passion of the owner-operator. These
"stakeholders" (which includes partners, employees, investors, suppliers,
etc), buy into the vision and organize themselves around the purpose
(creating wealth) within the context created by the entrepreneur. It is
this vision and purpose which emerges as the focal point around which each
of these people are organized. Each may emerge as a "point" person (a
leader) for different needs (raising capital, or setting up
production)--or the entrepreneur may accomplish this alone in a very small
operation.
So, who has been "led" at this point. The entrepreneur has been led by
her dream to initiate actions to develop the dream into reality. The
"context" of the vision has led others into partnering with the
entrepreneur (who is now the guardian of the purpose). It is the
relationship of the entrepreneur to her dream--and the relationship of the
stakeholders to the dream through the entrepreneur--than personifies this
person as a leader. The personal attributes of our dreamer then are
quantified and qualified and become lauded as leadership traits.
and then Rick added:
> [Host's Note: So... The question seems to be what is the role, importance,
> and method of operation of leadership in a learning organization? In a
> learning organization, leadership would not be hierarchical, not
> support bureaucracy, and not be imposed unilaterally. So, what would it
> look like? ...Rick]
leadership has never been hierarchical--only management and the wielding
of authority and control has been hierarchical. Leadership has always
depended on the clear-sightedness of purpose, the communication of that
purpose and the degree to which partners (or followers) organized
themselves around that purpose.
Mastery is critical to the development of clear-sight; the understanding
of purpose; the knowledge and skills for furthering that purpose. To
become a master involves the endless months and years of experience,
practice, failure, learning, growth and understanding. Vision is a
critical element of mastery. Mastery is where the capacity for power is
developed and sustained. Even in situations where very young people have
dreamed large dreams and led organizations or businesses, they had
mastered the necessary skills to arrive at the point where they were able
to see their vision clearly.
In a learning organization, (which relies on the development of personal
mastery (the capacity for power); relationship skills (teaming and
partnering); and the understanding of systemic functions), the
organizational vision is always in sight, constantly in review, and the
members organize themselves around the purpose to produce the services, or
products, or relationships relevant to their vision. If we know what our
business is, and how we each relate to one another and to the purpose of
our business, it is much easier for each individual to contribute
effectively to the overall operation.
And for this all to work, there must be many people willing to "speak when
the spirit moves them," to act authentically, to exercise their power for
the good of the organization--and others must be ready to listen--and all
must be ready to learn.
Integrating management into this process may be the singlemost difficult
activity.
Or so it seems to me tonight.
regards,
Doc
-- "Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them." - Dion BourcicaultThresholds--developing critical skills for living organizations Richard C. "Doc" Holloway Olympia, WA ICQ# 10849650 Please visit our new website, still at <http://www.thresholds.com/> <mailto:learnshops@thresholds.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>