When most people think of leadership they think
of a person standing around giving orders to others, which is a result of their
experiences. If you asked those same
people what would happen if there were no leaders they would probably say that
there would be chaos. In his video,
Obolensky (2008) showed that the opposite might actually be true. The subjects were all asked to do the same
thing, put themselves equidistant from two people of their choosing without
saying who those people were. The group
managed to complete the task in about a minute, then they are asked how the
activity would have gone if there had been a leader. The process made me think about what it
actually means to be a leader and what a leader’s role actually is.
In our book, Obolensky (2014) stated, “the more
complex things are, the less traditional leadership on needs” (p. 101). His idea behind this was that people need to
be taught how to self-lead, a belief I agree with. I have subscribed to the style of leadership
that offers guidance and teaching rather than demands and directions, mostly
because of my teaching background. The
idea is a that the leader plays the role of teacher; they offer the background
information needed for employees to build their skills on so that they are able
to make decisions on their own especially during chaos. Obolensky (2014) touched on the Cynefin Model
when he described chaos as the unknown where people are supposed to act and
move on. In times of uncertainty and
chaos there may not be time to reach out to a leader for direction, instead,
one has to rely on what the leader has taught them. Some critics would say that if a leader were
only there to teach then they would become obsolete, to which I would say
“no”. I believe that learning is life-long
and is always occurring; therefore, there is always a need for a leader.
In the past strategy has meant having a well
laid out plan that has specific steps to be followed, today this is not always
the case. While a plan or strategy is
important it is more of a guideline than a roadmap. In order for leaders to have the ability to
guide their followers, they need some flexibility in the strategy. It seems to me the strategy should be how to
teach others to respond to chaos, this would give followers the opportunity to
learn and show the skills they have and also give leaders confidence in those
followers so they can accomplish other tasks.
There will always be strategy and chaos in business; the only part one
can control is how they handle them.
Obolensky, N. (2014). Complex adaptive leadership:
Embracing paradox and
uncertainty (2nd ed.). Farnham, England:
Gower Publishing Limited.
Obolensky, N. (2008). Who needs leaders? Retrieved April
21, 2016, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41QKeKQ2O3E
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