Horizontal Leadership – Mastering Change and Complexity Gunnar Westling, Ph D, Center for Advanced Studies in Leadership at the Stockholm School of Economics
• Important Business Challenges -‐ more and more oBen found between rather than in the organizaFonal boxes?
• How to lead horizontally across organizational boundaries without a formal authority and mandate?
The Challenge
Overall, research and 2000 years of change experience suggests:
70 % of all change initiatives fail
Michael Beer and Nitin Nohria 2000
The Challenge
Johns Hopkins Rule of Change:
90% of all terminally ill patients will not make lifestyle changes necessary to save their life.
Interpersonal Mush -‐ an interac;on by two or more
people based on stories they have made up about each other that
they haven’t checked out
By necessity, horizontal interac;on and interdependencies creates interpersonal mush
How to create value out of mush?
Help each other to create interpersonal clarity = Know what my experience is, know what your
experience is, and know the difference between them
By necessity, horizontal collaborations creates interpersonal much
Experience Cube
• The informaFon you get from your senses.
• What you see and hear, mainly. • No interpretaFons, thoughts or feelings.
• SelecFve percepFon -‐ check -‐receipt.
Observa;ons • What happens in your mind • Thoughts, interpretaFons, fantasies...
• Share by describing your view, no truths
• SelecFve percepFon -‐ check -‐receipt.
• You own your reflecFons.
Thoughts
• What happens in your body • Feelings, sensaFons, reacFons • Share by describing your view, no truths
• SelecFve percepFon -‐ check -‐receipt.
• You own your feelings.
Feelings
• The needs you get in contact with • What you wish • What you want to do • What acFons you want to take
Will/wants
Challenges during the ”Good ol’ Fmes”
”I believe that this na;on should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth”
President John F. Kennedy's A Special Address to Congress On The Importance of Space May 25, 1961
Eight years later…
⇒ In the new era of exploring space, the biggest challenge is on ground rather than in space.
“In some ways it was easier to go to the moon, because we had total control,” Cabana (Astronaut) said. “We didn’t have to ask, ’What is your opinion on this? How do you want to do it? You know, we just dictated to ourselves how we are going to do it.’ But those days are gone. (O’Brien, M. “Earthly Woes Mount for InternaFonal Space StaFon” CNN.com, May 29, 2000.)
InternaFonal space staFon – cooperaFon between 15 naFons
“Ver;cal leadership” Manage a group, unit, or funcFon Defined responsibility -‐ authorizaFon Allocated resources Rou$nes + processes + problem solving
“Horizontal leadership” Manage tasks laterally across the organizaFon OBen challenges of great importance – unclear who is responsible Resource allocaFon based on negoFaFon/consent of others Sencemaking+ network + prototypes
CooperaFon and leadership across organizaFonal barriers. Is it a good idea?
• Overall, research recommends:
”Don’t do it, unless you have to”
(Huxham och Vangen, 2005)
More ”wicked” problems?
Crisis Extraordinary situa$on
”Tame”
”Wicked”
Type of problem • The problem itself appears as fragmented • The problem cannot be understood before soluFons are tried out in pracFce • SoluFons oBen create new problems • The problem can not reach its final soluFon, There is not “stop rule” • Different stakeholder have different views and ways to understand the problem
• Sound soluFons can be worked out through analysis • Couse-‐effect relaFonships hang together • It is possible to organize ways to solve the problem
• Act fast and bring more resources
Problem
Solu;on
Time
Linear ”tame” problem solving Working on ”wicked” problems
Gather data
Analyze data
Formulate solu;on
Implement solu;on
AdopFon curve Number of ”supporters”
Time
Typically expected
Typically experienced (S-‐kurva)
Source: Bresman, INSEAD
Conclusion -‐ The leadership challenge Challenges faced by organizaFons are foremost found in the hinterland between units and organizaFons (rather than falling neatly into boxes in the organizaFon ready to deal with them) It is thus as important, or more important, to understand and manage the social complexity of a problem as it is to solve the problem operaFvely/technically
Conclusion: How to lead horizontally? 1. Big enough idea or vision and yet focused enough
to create action 2. Understand links between the challenge and the
organization’s mission and competitiveness 3. Carefully map stakeholders and their interests 4. Find a sponsor (insurance in bad times) 5. To be influenced is the best method to influence
others. 6. Variation, innovation and “language games” 7. Respectful collaboration in small groups (create a
“fellowship” 8. Early, hands-on prototypes! 9. Dare to confront 10. Endurance (”S-curve”)
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