Leading the Leaderless

Traditional business structures are shifting (albeit at a snail’s pace… but I digress, that’s another article entirely). Organizations are becoming increasingly flat, chains of command blurred, and reporting, collaboration and operational structures more dynamic and ad-hoc. As organizations strive to develop more open and creative working environments, the traditional shackles of hierarchical management are being loosened and are changing the way that we work.

This is a great thing, right? Creativity is up, problem-solving is being done with new perspectives, employees are happier and you don’t have to pay as many pointless middle-managers ridiculous sums of money to play corporate babysitter. However, in some scenarios, the absence of leadership can be exceptionally trying and erect sizeable walls to productivity.

There are countless situations in which we find ourselves in groups without formal leadership: cross-functional work teams, volunteering, non-profits, academic groups and even friendship circles. While creativity and collaboration may improve without a formal leader present, sometimes you simply need to get shit done. Leadership isn’t a bad thing – when done with empathy, fairness and a view to greater objectives, it can help improve productivity while still keeping everyone happy. We’ve all been in a two-hour long meeting with peers that has resulted in no good ideas and no action items; sometimes you just need someone to step up and take charge.

So in the increasing absence of formal leadership, how can you take control of a group without the authority to do so? Leading peers is perhaps one of the most difficult things to do (even moreso than leading up, since we all know how easy it is to manipulate your boss) because it requires for individuals to swallow their pride and accept the authority of another individual. The most important thing you can do in any group situation when jockeying for power is to read the people around you. Ultimately, it will be the personalities (and egos) of those in the group that determine how best to take leadership of a group.

That said, here are eight tactics to try and some words of caution when you do so.

Lead by Example: A classic tale of “put up or shut up,” this tactic is more passive and employed simply by setting the tone of what needs to get done. People will inherently flock to your hard work, dedication and energy. Think of yourself as the crazy sergeant who leads the charge over the hill into a hail of gunfire.

Caution: You may end up doing all the work.

The Visionary: People want to be inspired and if you can create a vision behind which a group can rally, you can take control as their guiding foreseer. You must be bold, charismatic, inspired and unwavering in your belief of the path you set forth. Rising above mere leadership, your group must believe that you have patent on an ability to create and execute on the perfect plan.

Caution: There is a chance that you will inspire and start a cult. (If this is your thing,check out this article)

Claim It: A bold and risky maneuver, you can identify the challenges of the current state of ambiguous leadership and offer to step up for the betterment of the group. Much like claiming “dibs” this leadership tactic is flimsily held together merely by the fact that you identified the issue and got there first.

Caution: By formalizing the position you have become the future scapegoat.

Resident Expert: By claiming knowledge of a situation, technology, process or anything else relevant to the group’s task at hand, you immediately position yourself as a voice of expertise in the group whose knowledge is not to be challenged. Somehow, that small bit of knowledge has turned you into an authority on everything and anything pertaining to the subject and whether you like it or not, you’re in charge.

Caution: You’d better know what you’re talking about.

Default: The two greatest words in the English language. If you ever find yourself among a group of exceptionally passive peers, you won’t need to rally leadership support so much as simply be the first one to open their mouth.

Caution: Be prepared for hours of micro-managing hopeless drones.

Manipulate: If you are dead-set on leading a group, then don’t let morality get in your way; lie, cheat, blackmail and force your way into a position of sullied power. Hold whatever personal power you can over individuals and use intimidation and mob tactics to keep the others under thumb. For inspiration, catch up on your viewing of Game of Thrones.

Caution: Your soul could be damned to hell for all eternity.

‘First Mate’: A tactic that could be tied to any of those above, this is an approach for keeping would-be leaders in check. Those who grow jealous of your authority and power can be kept close by giving them false co/sub leadership titles. These positions, pulled out of thin air, may be all the responsibility and distraction needed to keep your challengers at bay.

Caution: Mutiny. That is all.

Follow: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Sometimes it is crucial to realize when there is a bigger dog in the room who simply wants it more. For the benefit of the group and your sanity, the best thing you can do is step back and let someone else take the reins.

Caution: That other guy could be a real moron.

Forget Your Passion, Find Your Challenge!

“Be passionate about your job and you’ll never work another day in your life.”

I call bullshit. Sure, this quote gives us that Hallmark warm and fuzzy feeling way down in the sub-cockles of our heart (which by the way, the word “cockles” is nothing more than an incorrect latin translation of the word chocleae, which referred to ventricles… go warm your ventricles, people), however, there is a very harsh reality that this quote ignores.  If everyone in the world followed this quote to the letter, we would have a ridiculous number of rock stars, hoards of mediocre professional athletes, and such a high demand for accountants that they would be the highest paid individuals in the world.  My point it is that sometimes, it isn’t possible to follow your heart.

When I was 18, I was an optimistic farm boy, preparing myself to leave the small town and enter the city for University.  I had gotten into a number of schools and was torn between two very different paths: engineering or music. I still recall a conversation with my Aunt, the conclusion of which told me that music would always be there for me no matter what, but engineering wasn’t really something that people did as a hobby.  “Besides,” my Aunt concluded, “if you pursue music as a career, it becomes work, and you can never really love work.”

While I may disagree with my Aunt on that last point, that conversation was quite possibly one of the most important defining moments of my young life. The difficulty was, had I followed my passion and pursued a career in music, I would probably end up among the huge statistic of struggling artists who barely make ends meet working shift jobs at cafes and pubs, trying to chase a dream that has less than a prayer’s chance of coming to fruition. The issue here was a problem of demand; there simply wasn’t enough of it to justify another guy like me trying to play music for a living.

This isn’t to say that one shouldn’t be passionate about their work, however, don’t feel as though you have to be so narrow-sighted in the pursuit of your goals so as to ignore the opportunities around you and find a way to achieve both passion and success.  I, for example, have made a damned good life for myself as an engineer turned businessman. This has afforded me the luxury of playing in a band during my free time to satisfy my need for music. Win-win, right?

You may still be wondering if this means that work must therefore be a monotonous drudgery until the day we retire with our only respite being the hobbies we pursue in our leisure time.  Foolish earthling, give your head a shake. Research into human motivation has shown that there are a number of factors that drive our work habits (particularly things like mastery, autonomy and purpose). I would argue that in order to enjoy your work on an ongoing basis, you need to find a job that challenges you.  We humans seem to be addicted to the positive feelings of accomplishment and few things give that junkie’s fix like overcoming a big challenge.  There is a certain element of pride and strength in the knowledge of overcoming a meaningful problem though independently learning and applying new knowledge and skills.  For me, this problem solving high is only slightly less enjoyable than the feeling I get from being on stage with a guitar and a captive (albeit slightly alcohol-fueled and inhibition-lowered) audience.

All that said, if you wake up every morning knowing - absolutely KNOWING - that you will one day be the greatest ballerina that ever lived… by all means, follow your passion.  However, for the rest of us who have our doubts, a good challenge can be a great substitute for passion and something that I for one, can get passionate about.

Why Bother?

Why do we get out of bed in the morning?  Other than the obvious typical answers – to pay rent, to stock up on vitamin D, to allow bedsores to subside – I, and many others like me, seldom take the time to really think this question through.  If I’m being completely honest, I don’t think I had a very good answer to this question until this week and even now, I’d say I’m in early stages of evolution on my true motivations.

It all started with a meeting on Wednesday.  I sat for coffee with a fascinating individual who was perpetually asking the question, “why?”  We talked about career opportunities and when I spoke of the jobs I was interested, he repeated his question, “why?” After tripping over my words a few times, I eventually settled on the fact that I like to solve problems.  Once again, his persistence remained with the simple question, “why?” At that point, amid early morning frustration and confusion, I contemplated Godwin-esque rebuttals to shut the man up: I was genetically wired that way, my sisters dressed me up as a girl when young, video games had raised a child demanding simple yet immediate satisfaction… ok, I didn’t really know.

So what makes you tick?  Why do you do the things you do?  Why do you enjoy your hobbies? Why do you go to work each day? Do you even have a good answer to these questions?

I didn’t.  However, this meeting pointed me to someone who could help.  It was the work of SimonSinek that would ask the right questions and get me thinking about what I was really doing (everyone loves a good TED talk).  His work can be summarized quite simply as identifying 3 layers of our daily lives.  ‘What’ is the actual actions and things that we do.  My ‘what’ tends to involve things like using technology, writing, creating music and communicating.  ‘How’ looks a level higher in terms of how we accomplish our goals.  I use my ‘Whats’ to be a problem solver.  However, the ‘Why’ is the question that few people (including myself) get to.  In fact, as Sinek points out, ‘Why’ is where we should begin.

It took me a while, but after thinking through all of the things I’ve done over the years and major decisions I’ve made that have led me to where I am, I realized that I like making people happy.  My ‘Why’ is the enrichment of other’s lives.  While I have typical ways of accomplishing this goal, it really doesn’t matter ‘How’ or ‘What’ I do to get there.

Think about the things you do.  Think about what makes you happy.  Think about your job.  Think about your hobbies.  Think about the relationships you maintain.  Behind each and every one of these things, there is a motivation.  What’s your why?