We recently helped with a brand strategy for an organization that trains leaders across the globe. That stirred up something in me that I probably wouldn’t have thought about five years ago. What do we have to offer leaders in other parts of the world right now?
I have heard comments from the Network this month like, “No one wants to be trained,” and “We are moving from doing it ourselves to managing others.” I think these statements are a sign that we are moving towards autonomy, mastery, and purpose, the ultimate intrinsic motivation. I believe the pandemic stirred something in our collective selves that has shaken us out of the last remnants of last century’s “command and control” systems of management. I know this is probably not news to anyone. Just moving from completely in-person work to hybrid or completely virtual is a huge loss of control for many leaders.
At the same time, there will always be some control that needs to be in place. Or, in the words of one network member, “It’s like having a trust fund that’s not big enough to stop working.” As leaders, we walk a tightrope of managing through both inspiration and accountability, sometimes equal, and sometimes knowing how much of each is important for everyone we are leading. We bounce between casting a vision and encouraging others to see the vision for themselves.
I like the idea of “only going where we are invited,” as much as I like the idea of figuring out what will invite others to come along and contribute to the visioning process. For me that describes the tightrope perfectly. What does that invitation look like in your organization?