{"id":2775,"date":"2017-10-24T13:25:35","date_gmt":"2017-10-24T13:25:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.karlbradley.com\/?p=2775"},"modified":"2018-11-20T22:43:42","modified_gmt":"2018-11-21T05:43:42","slug":"letting-go-to-let-others-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.karlbradley.com\/index.php\/2017\/10\/24\/letting-go-to-let-others-go\/","title":{"rendered":"Letting go to let others go!"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is an increasing number of companies breaking the mold of the industrial age of management. \u00a0The hierarchy model is slowly disappearing in favor of “flatter” ways of organizing. \u00a0This allows for quicker agility, increased workplace engagement & better work\/life balance to name just a few improvements. \u00a0Check out Holocracy<\/a>, LeadWise<\/a>, SemcoStyle<\/a> or Gary Hamel<\/a> for more on this topic. \u00a0It’s amazing what happens when employees are free to leverage their collective talents & the leaders let go to let others go!<\/p>\n

Had the privilege of working with some great folks recently during a professional development session. \u00a0Our time together focused on simply getting better with managing stuff & leading people. \u00a0The audience was the leadership team from a military squadron who dedicate 3 hours every week to increase their collective wisdom to serve their colleagues. \u00a0At first glance, this seems like quite a bit of time to dedicate away from their monumental primary responsibilities. \u00a0Instead, this scheduled “time-out” serves as a weekly reminder to each that they must continually improve as individuals to make the team better & inspire everyone they lead to do the same.<\/p>\n

We began with some basic personality discovery & quickly saw how well they knew each other. \u00a0The tone set by the boss created positive acceptance space for every team member & reinforced the fact that none of us can be anything but who we are. \u00a0You can’t outrun your DNA! \u00a0The key is to stay true to who you are to lead authentically with compassion. \u00a0He didn’t have to say it, he showed it through his dedication to their development.<\/p>\n

The biggest takeaway was what they displayed during a couple exercises. \u00a0We gave them some “tools” to accomplish a task, explained the rules & gave them a time limit of 15 minutes. \u00a0They had to “rescue” a critical piece of equipment with what we gave them; string & rubber bands. \u00a0We made the task more difficult (we thought) by “crippling” some of their key members with blindfolds, broken arms, etc. \u00a0These individuals could still contribute but others had to overcome these temporary setbacks. \u00a0Their care for the “injured” members & adaptability would be paramount to team success. \u00a0As the exercise went on we saw new leaders emerge. \u00a0For every extrovert speaking their thoughts of how to accomplish the task, we could see the introverts minds blending in different ideas. \u00a0Together they figured it out in 3 attempts in only 3:30 minutes!<\/p>\n

Is this normal? \u00a0No. \u00a0Exercises like this are initially difficult with a bit of struggle to coordinate collective efforts toward task accomplishment. \u00a0Individual egos & agendas get in the way & arguments ensue wasting valuable time. \u00a0They eventually get it done but it doesn’t “feel” good, it ends in relief instead of elation. \u00a0Remember, this is just the first part of the simulated grand task. \u00a0Once they get through it they have to move on & after “fighting” a bit it’s not a good platform to continue. \u00a0How often have we all felt a little like this where we work?<\/p>\n

Their new leaders weren’t the ones with the highest rank, position or title. \u00a0Instead, they seamlessly merged their efforts to get the job done. \u00a0You’d expect in such a highly structured military environment there might be some hesitation from lower ranking folks to step forward to “lead” but not in this case. \u00a0The principles of self-management were allowed to emerge freely! \u00a0It mattered not they didn’t have a label or way of expressing what had just happened. \u00a0They re-organized, served the team selflessly with their talents & came out with a “win”!<\/p>\n

The work of Ricardo Semler has been well documented & continues to be an inspiration to others who want a little more wisdom at work. \u00a0The Semco Style Institute<\/a> believes that…<\/p>\n

“Together, we will create organizations that are able to transform themselves continuously and successfully.\u00a0Organizations that make people look forward to coming to work every day.”<\/em><\/p>\n

They list these 5 factors as primary for increasing workplace democracy…<\/p>\n