Lars Lehne is Global CEO of Incubeta. He was previously CEO at SYZYGY, a WPP company and Country Director Agency DACH at Google.
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“There is no better tool or equipment you can have on board than a well-trained crew.” — Larry Pardey
My father-in-law once told me that his passion for sailing, a hobby we both share, stems not only from the sport itself but from the situations it places you in. Out on the water, your decision-making has to be agile. Comfort zones are nonexistent and individuals become one—responding to the wind, the swell and the sail. You are reliant on your crew, your knowledge and your experience, trusting one another to navigate uncertainty. There may be a skipper—a leader—on board, but they depend on the crew as much as the crew depends on them.
Unfortunately (although perhaps not unsurprising), this quality of humility is still rare outside of the sailing world, namely among business and company leaders. Perhaps it makes sense in the world of entrepreneurship and startups that the personalities that prosper are those that appear to lead from the front. Investors need to feel confident about the plan (or at least, the appearance of a plan). But for more mature organizations, particularly those seeking to respond to changes in conditions, boasting a single individual to claim command of all the forces is surely a method of imperilment.
Steering Away From Simple Solutions
Unfamiliar threats lead to fear. Fear leads to a fight-or-flight response and an appetite for simple solutions. This is a dangerous moment for any vessel, be it a company or, even worse, a country. We’ve seen it loom large in the political sphere over the past decade, with growing uncertainty and fear of the future fueling a rise in populism and an attraction to “strongman” leaders. Sadly, the perils of this path have played out all too painfully.
Given the volatility of the economic and political climate, it’s understandable that corporate leaders have resorted to edict. Whether it’s in the form of confident pronouncements about the metaverse or definitive predictions about the future of work, business leaders seem to simply deflect from uncertainty by predicting a future that is not foreseeable. How often did you rely on the weather forecast and it turned out to be different? One thing, however, is certain: In the event that poor weather hits or in times of crisis, volatility and change are a signal for leaders to exercise less authority, not more.
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This is when the true advantage of dispersed authority versus command and control comes into play. The history of the corporate world is littered with the stories of once-great businesses that fell prey to changing circumstances through inflexibility or a stubborn refusal to heed advice.
The Principles Of Devolved Leadership
Organizations that devolve power and decision-making, and which offer specialists the scope to leverage their knowledge, are naturally more resilient, more flexible and more open to innovation. The other side of this coin is of course the risk that may arise from different parts of an organization pulling in opposing directions. Achieving coherence while encouraging independent action is a tough balance to strike but one that is well worth it. It relies on three simple principles that any skipper would recognize:
Shared Vision
Everybody needs to know where they’re going and why. On a sailing boat, that’s easy, but in a complex organization, it can be one of the toughest tasks a leader will face. Defining the vision, mission and purpose of a company is all-too-often deprioritized or seen as a marketing extra belonging to the communications team. Until everyone in your company can express, simply, the company’s destination and motivation, this work is not yet done. If there is one thing I have learned over the years, it’s that you cannot over-communicate!
Defined Responsibilities
It’s not enough for an individual to know what their own role and responsibility are. They need to understand their teammates’ functions too. A good crew member has an instinctive sense of other members’ likely next actions and works in concert with them. Too often in companies, even at a senior level, handoffs are fumbled and effort is duplicated. An effectively devolved organization works because the team operates at maximum efficiency with minimum instruction. In growth companies, this leads to constant change and not everybody feels comfortable in such environments.
Trust
Hard to earn, easy to lose. The larger and more complex an organization becomes, the harder this critical aspect of culture is to maintain—and the more important it is. Particularly when a company grows through acquisition, as the business I run has done, it’s incumbent on the larger partner to foster an atmosphere of absolute transparency so that all those in the incoming business—not just the founders—feel able (and inclined) to offer their all.
As we adapt to a world where we spend more time apart, companies that prosper will be those that can rely on individual capabilities coming together effectively under their own initiative. It’s the skipper’s responsibility to ensure that when bad weather hits, the crew will step up.
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Author: Lars Lehne, Forbes Councils Member
