There has never been a more pressing need to apply the principle of leadership as a team game. The challenges in our world grow daily, likewise the issues and complexity we face in the world of work and so the possibility that all the capabilities needed to navigate these ever-growing demands and complexities can be found in anyone in a leadership role is extremely unlikely.
Instead of the super-hero solo leader we need a super-hero team in which there is mutual trust, respect and regard, problems and responsibilities are shared, talents are fully used, the people best suited to the situation step up to lead, and their team mates align in support, irrespective of hierarchical position.
Of course we’ve long known this is good practice and the foundation of high performing teams, yet in the fire of day-to-day organisational life the principle of leadership as a team game is easily forgotten in the name of expediency and what’s next.
So, at whatever level we lead in an organisation it’s worth reflecting on how well we practice our team game vs our individual leader game and ensuring we adjust where we are falling short. Are we, for example, drawing on a range of views for decision making and inviting more challenging thinking? Are we encouraging the people around us to keep developing their capabilities to suit the world that is emerging?
How well do we let go control and allow others to lead where they are best suited and can add more value, and extend the trust that enables and encourages them. The shift from ‘it’s all up to me’ to ‘it’s all up to us’ is easy to verbalise but perhaps harder to enact and yet it’s surely the way forward if organisations, their people and our world are to flourish.