The traditional role of the “boss” is now insufficient to ensure deep and creative involvement from everyone within an organization. As we know, in any structured form of collaboration, the dynamics of leadership are essential for the functioning of the group. Even without a designated leader, some form of leadership always emerges, whether consciously recognized or not.
To clarify, there are two forms of leadership:
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Formal leadership — tied to assigned roles, but not automatically legitimized or effective
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Informal leadership — which emerges as people work together and is built on respect, experience, skills, and the ability to influence and inspire others, even without a formal mandate
Organizations require engagement, autonomy, and empowerment to thrive — which is why it’s so crucial to give space to informal leadership. This unlocks the organizational potential trapped within formal relationships and roles; and it makes it also easier to retain talent in the long term.
However, this powerful resource must be carefully orchestrated to assist the business in harmony with its needs and objectives
As the complexity of all interactions increases, it is essential to have strong formal leaders who are open and capable of navigating diversity. A formal leadership that embraces and utilizes informal leadership, instead of fearing it, stands a good chance of success because it meets the actual needs of the group or organization.
This underscores the importance of continuous leader development, a challenge that goes beyond skills and pertains to their experiences, automatic behaviors, beliefs, and convictions.
Explore how our Executive Teams and Top Management programs can make a difference for you and your organisation.
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