On Leadershp: Ancona Post #8

In Praise of the Incomplete Leader by Deborah Ancona et al. from the MIT Leadership Center (originally published in the HBR, 2007). One could build an entire leadership curriculum around the findings of this group. The premise is that no one leader is complete and has all the strengths needed for an organization. Rather, the incomplete leader knows that real power exists in the organization and in diversity of talents on the team. Further, for a company to survive and thrive there are four (4) major strengths required of leadership teams: Sensemaking (understanding the current business market); Relating (building trusted relationships within the company); Visioning (communicating a clear, compelling vision of the future); and, Inventing (developing new ways to get to the bold new vision). Think of Sensemaking and Relating as characteristics at the bottom half of Maslow’s Triangle. Both of these (Sensemaking and Relating) provide the foundation for an organization and enable and motivate the people to change. Visioning and Inventing are creative and action oriented and develop the energy and capacity for companies to change.
Read this HBR article with care.