Leadership Substance, Style and Shadow 29New leadership model
In a strict hierarchy like an army, high rank gives the pos-
sibility of leadership over those ‘below’ you, but authority
alone falls short of leadership. Authority is not sensitive
enough to context.
Managing, as already mentioned, used to be about plan-
ning and control. Top management decided what was to be
done, middle management worked out how to do it and
everyone else did as they were told. This model assumed, of
course, that top management knew what needed to be done,
that the orders had time to percolate their way down and
that, like a good army, the lower ranks would obey.
This type of management would simply not work any
more, even if we were still prepared to put up with it. Mar-
kets change fast and organizations have to react fast, so
people in every part of the business need the knowledge and
the permission to make decisions on matters that affect
them. As organizations ‘flatten out’, lines of authority start to
blur. ‘Top’ management no longer necessarily knows best.
Information gives power, not the size of your office. Only
change can be relied on.
Authority
Leadership
spaceKnowledgeExample