Redefine the work of leadership

“There is a need to move beyond the heroic model of leadership—because most leaders aren’t, in fact, very heroic.”

The era of the all-wise, all-powerful leader-as-decisionmaker is over. Leaders must become savvy social architects—individuals who are capable of building environments that engender extraordinary accomplishment. To make this transition from “command and control” to “motivate and mentor,” organizations need to develop leaders who are capable of building commitment and alignment without resorting to the traditional tools of bureaucratic control. The goal: an organization filled with leaders who lift everyone up.

1153 Hacks
599 Stories
31 Barriers

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Leading by letting go

Leading by letting go addresses a fundamental mismatch of traditional vertical leadership approaches with the needs of knowledge workers who tend to ignore corporate hierarchy and need autonomy to... Read more

Hack by Vlatka Hlupic on April 28, 2012 2 Comments

The truth about eco-systems and the 4V's

Do we understand the dynamics of eco-systems, are we developing the right capabilities to manage them or are we ignoring their tendency toward disruptive change? Read more

Barrier by William (Bill) Wright on March 2, 2012 0 Comments

WeOrg: The Freedom to Choose

To increase employee satisfaction, build trust and retain talent during a post-product cycle reorganization (reorg), the Microsoft Lync Test team offered its employees the freedom to choose what... Read more

Story by Dan Bean on February 3, 2012 2 Comments

Civil Servants Cut through the Red Tape and Share Government Forward

‘Why not?!’ is the motto of Open Government Places. Open Government Places allows civil servants to cut through the red tape, join forces, and share government forward. This project is called... Read more

Story by Kim Spinder on September 6, 2011 1 Comments

The WHY Code – encode and share the DNA of an organization

In the knowledge era, we still have no real way to encode and share knowledge, the DNA of a modern organization. The WHY Code is a fundamental way to unblock organizational knowledge flow, empowering... Read more

Hack by Trevor Davies on December 11, 2011 5 Comments

How to start a movement in your company - Part 3 - Unstoppable

Editor's Note: This is Part Three of a three-part story. Click here for Part One and Part Two. It was back in July 2010. I was planning a large meeting to brief sales leadership on what was... Read more

Story by David Choe on February 21, 2011 36 Comments

How Current Blokes Block 15 Million Jobs for New Era

Some say with relief that the old economy’s gone. Other’s say that new markets may never emerge. I say that leaders can invigorate wealth and open opportunities in at least 10 amazing areas. So what... Read more

Hack by Ellen Weber on September 21, 2011 4 Comments

Social Architecture (a manifesto)

This manifesto is aimed at any organizational leader or citizen interested in promoting change. In this manifesto I argue that the digital economy has shifted the point of gravity from control to co-... Read more

Hack by Luc Galoppin on February 1, 2012 19 Comments

A 21st Century Bill of Rights: Harness Social Media to Return Power to Citizens

American national government can more effectively serve the public by systematically opening its activities via social media. Politicians, bureaucrats and interest groups increasingly use social... Read more

Hack by James Strock on July 21, 2011 24 Comments

Innovation Democracy: W.L. Gore's Original Management Model

With Shirley Spence It’s hard to talk about management innovation without tipping your hat to W.L. Gore, the venerable maker of Gore-Tex and a host of other pioneering materials and products as... Read more

Story by Gary Hamel on December 29, 2010 10 Comments

Allow Capitalism to rise to its full natural potential - Infuse mastery in self, team and organizational DNA

We are at a historic and momentous socioeconomic inflection point where remarkable progress and deep crisis have converged to create an uncertain scenario. Free market capitalism has resulted in... Read more

Hack by Sudhir Chadalavada on May 13, 2012 0 Comments

Igniting Growth - Making a 'Real Difference' to Every Indian

After a period of relative under-performance from '99 to '04, In 2005 Hindustan Unilever undertook a massive 'culture-reboot' that focussed the length and breadth of the organization on making a '... Read more

Story by Stephen Remedios on May 9, 2012 1 Comments