Leadership Styles Are Changing.
Building organisational culture needs leadership. It helps firms advance and meet changing market demands.
Leadership styles and the business environment are also changing. They are distancing from the 'command and control' leadership style.
Among various leadership styles, only one gives people autonomy: the distributed leadership approach.
Distributed Leadership
The distributed leadership style is a unique one. It looks at sharing accountability and responsibilities. Responsibility is shared equally between people with the same expertise and skills.
This way of dividing leadership helps firms have emergent features. This means that a single person does not control the firm. Instead, the leadership style is fluid.
Distributed leadership promotes autonomy in innovation. This style centres using non-coercive means for team alignment.
Firms with distributed leadership have a horizontal structure. Every team member is either a leader or gets a fair chance to be one.
Those in leadership roles are simply guides. Thus, leaders do not delegate tasks to lower-level employees. They ease the shared accountability within the team.
Features of Distributed Leadership
Distributed leadership aims to create an empowering environment. Each employee does something towards fulfilling larger organisational goals. These are some features of this leadership style.
Sharing Responsibilities.
Blended leadership styles promote organisational goal fulfilment. They allow input and feedback from every team member. The team is more open to sharing new ideas and suggestions. Sharing responsibilities also aids collaboration and workflow.
Shared Power and Authority.
Teams share authority or power without shrinking its impact. Many parts of the organisation share the responsibility for achieving goals. This style also gives up command and control. Instead, it uses more democratic principles. The new strategies include:
Empowerment.
Participation.
Cooperation.
Dialogue.
Synergy.
With no locus of leadership, relationships within the team gain more importance. That means practices like mutual understanding, spontaneous collaborations, and strong group norms become more vital. Team members cover for each other's lapses. This means a higher productivity rate.
Leadership Capacity.
This refers to the collection of skills and disposition in a firm. Thus, the leadership's focus remains on building a collective achievement.
Leaders help each team member be responsible for their goal-setting. Ideas, people, and processes nurture leadership potential.
Organizational Learning.
This style makes knowledge creation possible. Responsibility for change lies in interconnectedness. Also, common knowledge is created, shared, and applied. These collaborations help all the people in a firm reap benefits together.
Ethical and Fair Climate.
Distributed leadership also takes into account the views of diverse stakeholders. The decision-making process is in synergy without any unbalanced impact. It cuts the risk of unethical or poor decisions within firms.
Democratic and Innovative Culture.
The organisation shows autonomy and democracy in knowledge sharing. There is space for shared ideas, innovation, and collaboration. Employees share their experiences and knowledge. Hence, they connect deeper with colleagues.
Engagement of Macro Community.
As a connective leadership style, it sees the environment as a network. Exchanges and reciprocation improve organisational value. The leader thus aims at interconnectedness rather than control of the macro environment.
Take the Next Big Step
Distributed leadership depends on professional collaborations. It is built on discipline and purpose. Many online courses focus on building different leadership behaviours in learners.
Distributed leadership learning is in high demand among Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs). There are several syllabi for Online CMO Programs. Imarticus Learning with IIM Raipur offers certifications for Strategic Chief Marketing Officers. It aims to empower present and future leaders.
Why Choose Imarticus?
Imarticus Learning is a premier ed-tech company with upskilling industry programs. It offers a 10-month program on Strategic Chief Marketing Officers for professionals with 5+ years of experience.
The cutting-edge training has live lectures and projects. Besides, it has masterclass sessions by CMOs. Imarticus also brings Wharton Interactive simulations for a hands-on experience, giving you industry-approved skills.
