The challenges of leadership go far beyond looking and sounding like a leader. Leaders know what needs to be done to succeed. In short, effective leaders understand the predicates that imply success. And when needed, they know how to enable others to step up and succeed in leadership roles as well.
Leaders know know how to create a leadership climate that empowers others in the organization to step up to lead in the manner demanded by the environment, at that place and at that moment in time.
Our research that uses ideas from complexity science has identified three function that leaders must perform effectively to organize successful action.
We call these the organizing functions of leadership:
Although all of these must be enacted simultaneously, the focus and intensity of these activities, as well as how best to do these things, varies according to the situation. Their relative strength also create differences in leadership climate depending on the work group, department or organization.
Leadership climate varies according to the needs of the organization:
- When one observes that certain specific leadership interactions that enact item 2 are occurring regularly and often within work groups, an effectiveness leadership climate is being created. This climate prizes clarity of roles, responsibilities and objectives as well as efficient use of resources and a preference for action.
- When one observes that leadership interactions that enact item 3 are occurring regularly and often, a resilience leadership climate is created. This climate prizes openness to new ideas and forming new relationships as well as collaboration and innovation.
- Finally, when one observes leadership interactions that support 1, an identity integration leadership climate is created. This climate prizes individual and collective fulfillment, trusting relationships and a sense of physical and psychological safety and belonging.
The appropriate climate enacts success in organizations: Effectiveness, Resilience, and Identity Integration, these are the predicates of success in organizational life, for all of us.
To learn more about how to measure leadership climate in your organization, contact us today!