Encyclopedia of Leadership

1.6

LEADERSHIP: THE BOARDS OF PLAY

Inspired by Will McWhinney, Bernie Novokowsky, Doug Smith, and Jim Webber.

Leadership fads and their terminology are tossed around like so much confetti—empower-

ment, quality, reengineering, values, goals, vision, networking, strategic advantage, transfor-

mation, to mention but a few. Often, proponents of each management theory sell the value of

their own approach while pointing out deficiencies in other approaches. On occasion, a theo-

rist comes along who tries to integrate these theories into a larger model.

This tool presents such a model, a way of looking at leadership in a novel way—as a board

game (e.g., chessboard, Monopoly, or checkers game board). This model has four boards of

play, each with its own rules, customs, and stakes. Playing a board game in a social setting is

one way to learn a lot about players and leadership.

➠ The “games” leaders select depend on their worldviews and personalities. Some leaders

expect others to define the rules and get very annoyed when rules are not clear or when

they are violated; others want to define or redefine the rules to suit their needs.

➠ All leaders implicitly or explicitly select a board of play, based upon assumptions they

make about their freedom of action, ranging from accepting and playing within all the

rules (Board 1) to accepting no rules—trying to create a whole new game (Board 4).

➠ Leaders who can “play” at higher board levels necessarily have more power and influ-

ence than those at the lower levels.

18 SECTION 1 FOUNDATIONALCONCEPTS

Work within

policies—the

“rules.”

Enforce rules

established by

others.

Rules are followed.

Establish policies—

the “rules”; gain

advantage.

Set the rules for

others to follow

within established

organizational

norms.

New rules are

established and

enforced.

Motivate through

vision, values, and

purpose.

Determine the

norms—what really

matters inside the

organization.

The organization

works well within

accepted bench-

marks.

Create new standards,

strategic advantage,

and paradigms.

Invent new and

better ways of

organizing through

new purposes,

meanings, and

strategies.

A new organizational

paradigm or

benchmark is set.

Strategy of the

leader

Goal of

leadership

action

Success

measure

Boards of play 1 2 3 4

Supervision

Management

Leadership

Breakthrough

leadership