Leadership in transition
Microsoft Stories
“We had to create what we call ‘shared consciousness’ and that was giving everybody contextual understanding of not only the big picture, but the constantly evolving situation. We were able to connect our entire organization in real time so it could adjust and act with much greater effectiveness.”
-Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Founder, McChrystal Group
The role of the leader is changing, yet it’s more important than ever. To create adaptive organizations, leaders need to actively shape an open culture that fosters collaboration and builds trust.
The old paradigm is a leader sitting in his or her office, issuing memos to employees after sharing information with a chosen few at the top levels of an organization. The new paradigm is a leader who takes time to build a corporate culture that not only encourages, but expects, collaboration, experimentation and teamwork.
The leader is more like an orchestrator, creating an environment in which everyone’s contributions are valued, and openly celebrated. It’s about making sure employees who know how to best use that information, have it. Pushing decision making to the edges is not only faster than command and control, it also results in much more engaged employees.
