Leadership: A body without a head, a web without a spider

Liam Barrington-Bush, ConcreteSolutions.org.uk, @hackofalltradesPhoto by goatfarm53237 on Flickr, Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/goatfarm5237/

Leadership?

• Can it be learned?– In a classroom?

• Is it ‘inherent’ to some?• Is a skill?• Is a quality?• Is it an ethos?

Leadership

What does it look/feel like when it’s bad?

What does it look/feel like when it’s good?

...as our grandparents imagined it...• The Great Man Theories

• Trait theories

• Behaviourist theories

• Situational leadership

Leadershi

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The problem(s) with ‘leaders’1. They leave2. It goes to their head3. We create unrealistic expectations for them4. They are easier to blame, than ourselves5. It is harder to realise our abilities6. They breed conformity

How does leadership relate to the values of community?

‘The First Follower’Or

‘How a Crazy Dancing Man Became A Leader’

Image can be found at: http://socialreporter.com/?p=1037

David Wilcox’s organising models...

Emergence:

When a series of small,

unrelated actions, create

an outcome bigger than

any of the parts.

http://www.kovasboguta.com/uploads/4/7/9/5/4795292/egyptinfluencenetworklarge.gif

Changing the world without ‘leaders’__________For better or worse?

Red Osama image Creative Commons, Jaque Delarue

“[The] combination of shared meaning with

freedom to determine one’s actions is how

systems grow to be more effective and well-

ordered… People who are deeply connected to

a cause don’t need directives, rewards, or

leaders to tell them what to do.”

- Margaret Wheatley

What SHOULD leadership look like if...?

What will stop you from using these ideas

in the ‘real world’?

You want more???Leadership in the Age of Complexity: From Hero to HostMargaret Wheatley w/ Debbie Frieze 2010

Walk Out Walk OnMargaret Wheatley w/ Debbie Frieze 2012

Getting to Maybe: How the world is changedFrances Westley, et al. Vintage Canada 2006

...now lead the way!

Liam Barrington-Bushemail: liam@concretesolutions.org.uk

web: www.concretesolutions.org.uktwitter: @hackofalltrades

mobile: +44 (0) 7775732383