In a meeting this morning I scribbled down a quick diagram to try and illustrate a point I was making around leadership, and strategic development in particular. The people I was chatting with seemed to like how it captured some key concepts in a simple way, so I'm sharing it with you.
Obviously there could be more "pros" for each end of the diagram, but for simplicity's sake I've limited it to two. At the top is "Top Down" leadership, the model of do-as-I-say and autocracy. At the bottom is the opposite, a purely democratic, consultative and consensus-driven style.
To the far left lurks "Seat of Your Pants"; a pure gut-feel style of passion and hunches, while its opposite extreme of "Analysis Paralysis" patiently crunches numbers off on the far right.
Clearly there are other variables to consider, and where you sit on each axis is based on context or the issue of the day, but I'm glad my little scribble proved a helpful model for our conversation... And what struck me was that this sort of model applies in both the charitable world as well as the for-profit world. A definite case where nothing is lost in translation!
Great diagram, Jeff. Where do you see the sweet spot? Gail
ReplyDeleteGail Severini
gseverini@symphini.com
Gail, on the vertical axis there are a few key pieces that must be top-down, but I like (in general) to have a much "engagement" as possible, so say about 60% "down" the diagram. On the horizontal axis I know we need good data and informed decisions, but time is of the essence. So about 60% to the "left".
ReplyDeleteOverall? A bit down, and a bit to the left...