{"id":2632,"date":"2020-02-27T11:11:23","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T10:11:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/?p=2632"},"modified":"2020-07-31T13:06:26","modified_gmt":"2020-07-31T11:06:26","slug":"the-ecosystem-leader-by-steve-forbes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/the-ecosystem-leader-by-steve-forbes\/","title":{"rendered":"The ecosystem leader <\/br>by Steve Forbes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/11GPDF19_Forbes_purpose_FINAL-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2634\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/11GPDF19_Forbes_purpose_FINAL-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/11GPDF19_Forbes_purpose_FINAL-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/11GPDF19_Forbes_purpose_FINAL-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/11GPDF19_Forbes_purpose_FINAL-830x434.jpg 830w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/11GPDF19_Forbes_purpose_FINAL-230x120.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/11GPDF19_Forbes_purpose_FINAL-350x183.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/11GPDF19_Forbes_purpose_FINAL-480x251.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/11GPDF19_Forbes_purpose_FINAL.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Leadership as an area of study is still in its early beginnings.\nLeaders are grappling with the change from the siloed, hierarchical management\nstyles best suited in an industrial era. We now face the challenge of a new\nshift towards a model where no single individual has formal control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This shift will require business to break down boundaries between\norganisations. It will force competitors to become collaborators, and create an\nenvironment where team members can become more transient and distributed. All\nwhilst seeking a higher purpose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote style=\"width: 55%; color: #000000; background: #ffffff; float: left; margin: 0 0 0 1px;\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\" data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor=\"\" data-darkreader-inline-bgimage=\"\"><h2><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\"><strong>Drucker Forum 2019<\/strong><\/span><\/h2><div class=\"sidebar-contents\">\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">This article is one in the \u201cshape the debate\u201d series relating to the 11th Global Peter Drucker Forum, under the theme \u201cThe Power of Ecosystems\u201d taking place on November 21 &amp; 22, 2019 in Vienna, Austria.\n<br><strong>#GPDF19 #ecosystems<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>How do you demonstrate leadership in an ecosystem, when it is harder\nthan ever already? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This was the subject of the panel at GDPF2020, titled: Ecosystems\nLeadership. New Scope, New Skills<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Led by Mary Meaney, Senior Partner at McKinsey &amp; Company, the\npanel held a fascinating conversation covering topics such as trust-based\nleadership, the importance of purpose, and creating a culture of curiosity,\nlearning, and collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meaney summed up the current environment for many leaders in her\nintro to the session, asserting, \u2018The pace of change will never again be this\nslow.\u2019 A recent McKinsey Global Study found 80% of leaders operating most of\nthe time in a reactive state of mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To prosper, leaders needed to shift their mindsets:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>From reactive to creative <\/li><li>From command and control to\ntrust and empowerment <\/li><li>From certainty to discovery <\/li><li>From scarcity to abundance. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The new game<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Leadership in an ecosystem world requires a fundamental shift in\nthinking,\u2019 said panellist Peter Oswald. \u2018You can\u2019t really lead an ecosystem, as\nit consists of many autonomous parts\u2019, each of which potentially having a\ndifferent purpose, goal, organisation structure and incentives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oswald called the new approach \u2018Collaborationship\u2019. To display\ncollaborationship, he suggested three key focus areas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Building trust between\nstakeholders <\/li><li>Building shared purpose <\/li><li>Building empowerment. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cross-Boundary\nTeaming<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Amy Edmondson argued that there is a difference between trying to\ndemonstrate leadership <em>of<\/em> the\necosystem, as opposed to demonstrating leadership <em>in<\/em> the ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The boundaries between organisations will become more fluid. As\nworking together on complex goals increases, cross-organisation teaming will\nbecome the norm. This change will bring a new and complex set of problems to\nsolve, challenging leaders to become fluent in a set of behaviours that rarely\ncome naturally. When things break down \u2013 and in complex ecosystems they often\nwill \u2013 Edmonson warns against making the \u2018fundamental attribution error\u2019, blaming\nindividuals for outcomes that may be due to the system or situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a leader, it is so important to create space for others to do\ngreat work. To create an environment of psychological safety for all members of\nthe ecosystem, leaders will need to model the behaviours of curiosity and\nhumility, being willing to view things from another\u2019s perspective and to take\nan interpersonal risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The new\nmetrics for leadership<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the key principles of leadership in an ecosystem world will\nbe our ability to develop organisations which unite through a higher purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Raj Sisodia, a founding member of the Conscious Capitalism movement,\nbelieves we need to rethink the fundamental questions of business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The modern organisation will need to move beyond the \u2018we need to\nmake money for shareholders\u2019 of old, and seek to serve a higher purpose,\nsomething that aligns with the real problems and challenges that we face in the\nworld and creates value for all stakeholders<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the same way, leaders in the past were measured on their results,\nefficiency and outcomes. The measure of future leaders will be to generate\nvalue for stakeholders as a whole and create a positive impact on customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cultures in the past were predominantly rooted in performance-based\nincentives and metrics, and these days it\u2019s much more about trust and\nauthenticity, and genuinely caring for human beings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Modern leadership will need to adapt accordingly. Leadership in the ecosystem\nwill need to show the collective what is possible, create a uniting vision, and\nmotivate the collective to get the project over the line. But it must be able\nto do so with genuine care for the individuals involved. As Sisodia put it: \u2018You\ncannot be a selfish person and lead, because you will use other people to\nachieve your personal goals. That\u2019s the definition of a tyrant, that is not a\nleader.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A new balance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Traditional leadership styles will need to soften from the\ntough-minded, results-driven environments of the past. Instead, we need to\nfocus on creating environments and collaborations which balance growth with\nhappiness and joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kim Dabbs lives this through her role at Steelcase, delivering the\ncompany promise in the communities where they live and work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kim suggested that leadership was the ability to look through a lens\nof understanding and shared humanity. \u2018People are beautiful abundant beings who\nwant to give back. They want a higher purpose\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>INSEAD Associate Professor Jennifer Petriglieri believes we need to\nlower the bar for leadership and make leaders human again. We don\u2019t always have\nto chase the big noble goal. Sometimes it can be just about making your local\nenvironment a happier and better place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Leadership for the\nnew world<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018The system we have created has self-selected the current group of\nleaders who focus on numbers. We are now moving into a more purpose-led world\nwhich requires new forms of leadership,\u2019 noted Sisodia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leaders need to go beyond work and seek to understand the\nmotivations of the individual outside the office as well. We need to find ways\nto switch off. Our performance management systems will also need to change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a situation where 70% of professionals are in a relationship\nwhere both individuals work, it is inappropriate for leaders to expect\nthemselves and others to commit themselves 100% to their work. It creates\nunnecessary stress and unbalances relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ecosystem world will challenge leaders\nin ways we haven\u2019t thought of yet. There is great potential to improve how we\ndo business which benefits the collective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oswald closed out the session with a challenge for us all. \u2018Leadership\nis bringing out the greatness in others. We\u2019re moving more and more into a\nnarcissistic world, and we need to focus less on what we\u2019ve done, and more on\nwhat we\u2019ve enabled.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the Author:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.steveforbes.com.au\/\"><strong><em>Steve Forbes<\/em><\/strong><\/a><em> is a facilitator, leadership coach and trainer. He is the author of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.steveforbes.com.au\/creating-customer-value\">Creating Customer Value<\/a>\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em> This article is one in the Drucker Forum <strong>\u201cshape the debate\u201d<\/strong> series relating to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/home\/\">11th Global Peter Drucker Forum<\/a>, under the theme \u201cThe Power of Ecosystems\u201d, taking place on November 21-22, 2019 in Vienna, Austria <strong>#GPDF19 #ecosystems<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\"> #GPDFrapporteur <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leadership as an area of study is still in its early beginnings. Leaders are grappling with the change from the siloed, hierarchical management styles best suited in an industrial era. We now face the challenge of a new shift towards a model where no single individual has formal control. This shift will require business to break down boundaries between organisations. It will force competitors to become collaborators, and create an environment where team members can become more transient and distributed. All whilst seeking a higher purpose. How do you demonstrate leadership in an ecosystem, when it is harder than ever already? This was the subject of the panel at GDPF2020, titled: Ecosystems Leadership. New Scope, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/?p=2632\">[\u2026]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":""},"categories":[272,237],"tags":[270,238,276],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2632"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2632"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2817,"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2632\/revisions\/2817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}