{"id":23815,"date":"2023-11-30T10:08:27","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T10:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davies-group.com\/consulting\/?post_type=blog&p=23815"},"modified":"2026-01-21T12:54:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T12:54:10","slug":"leadership-success-is-best-shared","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/davies-group.com\/consulting\/blog\/leadership-success-is-best-shared\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership: Success is Best Shared"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Success is Best Shared\u2019 means replacing the \u2018power of the few\u2019 with \u2018the influence of the many\u2019, replacing ego and recognising that Leadership is best delivered through a network, not a cascade. By leadership, I do not mean a function of hierarchy or role or seniority. I mean the mindset and behaviours of every individual in an organisation, no matter their role, function or how many people they manage. \u00a0Everyone is capable of thinking and behaving differently towards themselves, their business or social environment, and towards other people. \u00a0Everyone can put themselves at cause, take accountability, and make a difference. \u00a0This is Leadership in practice.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Problems, challenges, and opportunities don\u2019t just exist at the top of the organisation for the senior few to own, they exist everywhere across the whole enterprise. They just vary in terms of scale, impact or urgency. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Having said that, let\u2019s not lose sight of the fact that Leaders in the traditional sense tend to have direct influence or control over financial and human resources, and so have a greater capacity to impact the firm. I urge these leaders to use that capacity to cultivate organisations that share and distribute success by creating connected leadership throughout the organisation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We talk about \u2018Distributed Networks\u2019 and \u2018Distributed Ledger Technologies\u2019. Imagine if these behaved like people in an organisation and everything had to flow from the single most powerful computer, or if the information was only sent one way, or if some computers hid data from others, only shared it with the few, or neglected to ask inputs from the many? Then we would all agree that the performance would be suboptimal, yet hierarchical leaders often behave that way in our businesses.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is this becoming more important?<\/h3>\n

Pre-Covid, when everyone was in the office, the leadership that I saw was focused on the \u2018Science\u2019 of being a leader \u2013 defining a strategy, setting goals, making investments, implementing governance models and ensuring the efficient functioning of the system by keeping everything on track and on budget. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Post-Covid, the \u2018system\u2019 has been severely, and in my view permanently, disrupted by hybrid working models. People changed their expectations, motivations and choices, and now prioritise their mental, physical, and emotional well-being. This has forced the smarter folks with influence to think more about the \u2018Art\u2019 of leadership as a gateway to the sustainable achievement of outcomes and the fulfilment of individual and corporate purpose. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u2018Art\u2019 means working on people\u2019s mindset and capability so they have the skills and confidence to put themselves at cause, take accountability for results, decisions and actions, and make a difference to themselves, others and the organisation. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How do we achieve distributed leadership and shared success?<\/h3>\n

High-performane behaviours<\/h6>\n

Start by investing in the development of high-performance behaviours that encourage everyone to lead and outperform themselves, others and results, <\/span>no matter where they are in their career.<\/span><\/b> Don\u2019t wait until mid or late career to invest in your people. Invest in school leavers and graduates,- make behavioural development an imperative for the many, not a luxury item for the minority. \u00a0Smart organisations are developing such high-performance leadership behaviours around 4 themes: <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n