Shared Leadership Model A Key Element of Future of Work

The future of work is going to be very different than the way it is structured today. The hierarchical models are shifting as new demographics impact the way workplaces are structured.

Technological innovation is shifting the ‘how’ we work and the ‘where’ we work and allowing for greater collaboration.

Research into Generations X (those in their 30’s to early 50’s) and Generation Y  (those in the their 20’s to early 30’s) and Generation Z (those younger than 20) indicates that traditional hierarchy is not appealing anymore. Even the Zoomers (baby boomers who refuse to age and in their mid 50’s to lat 60’s) are recognizing that the top down leadership approach is losing its luster.  Why?

Well, along with the technological innovation and generational attitudes shifting there has been a shift in how ‘work’ overall is perceived. Regardless of age all of us are asking:

“What does it mean to work hard?”

“What does it look like to have a life that is rich in work satisfaction AND rich in personal life satisfaction?”

“Why does there have to be ‘one’ leader that ultimately decides everything when in fact we ALL have input and ideas that could create even greater results?”

Many younger leaders actually want to ‘share’ leadership rather than be their peers boss because they value input, diverse opinions and a variety of ideas. I have written about holocracy and companies that have embraced it. The challenge for many companies is that going from a long time traditional ‘hierarchical’ approach to a holocracy is a very long stretch.

There is a middle ground solution that bridges between the traditional models and the newer holocracy models .

That middle ground is a Shared Leadership Model TM – a model that provides the skill development and the resources to help people embrace the concept ‘that everyone is a leader’ and with that comes certain mindset, a new set of communication and decision making skills and more!

There is a journey map that companies and the people in the company must follow towards shared leadership and in my new book, “The Art of Change Leadership – Driving Transformation In a Fast Paced World” I provide insights into the components of building this journey map.

I am working with a client right now a very progressive CEO who has not been trained in traditional leadership theory rather she has learned as she has ‘done’ and she is very keen on shared leadership. She gets that you can’t just say to your people that you want them to ‘share leadership’ rather that you have to provide them with the framework, the context, the training and the road map. She is building the future workplace today!

I predict that 10 years from now all companies will be shared ownership, shared leadership, shared account abilities and more.

Right now we have to take action to build the bridge from where we are to where we know we are going to be.