Leading From The Middle

December 11, 2012

Enter [what’s been on my mind]

Lead from the middle box of crayons

Leadership is important, and among the ever-changing workplace, a new kind of leadership has emerged.  The traditional model of hierarchical top-down leadership is effective, but this different type of leadership includes people from the bottom up.  Empowering people to lead gives them more than just another responsibility – it gives them authority and assures them of their value.

Blink [see a new perspective]

Leadership is not positional.  Some business models have adapted the servant leadership approach, acknowledging that leadership is more about relationships and influence than it is about control.  Some even argue that leadership comes more from the middle of an organization than it does from the top.  Fast Company posted a recent article which states that organizations need not one, but multiple leaders in order to “steer their companies, and modern business, toward more sophisticated models.”

Shift [try it out]

Even if you’re not the head of an organization, you can still influence those that you work for, those that work with, and those that work for you.  Leading from the middle is not only effective, but necessary.

Listen [hear from our community]

I’ve observed a lot about leadership over the years; some by being led, some by successfully leading and some by failing. What is clear to me is that there is no single way to lead. Sometimes leadership is so transparent and effusive that everyone is inspired and magically moves as a group in the “right” direction. Other times the leadership is overt – giving strong and obvious directions that everyone must follow, in a silent single-file-hand-to-shoulder-march in order to be brought safely out of harms way.  A good leader knows how to fit the leadership style to the circumstance. 

-Howard Mahran, CEO and Founder of Deep Domain

WRITTEN BY

Annie Duncan

Annie Duncan