Lateral leadership – The light side of power
Network-like forms of cooperation are currently emerging in many organizations and associations. Thematically relevant experts are cooperating in projects regardless of their hierarchical affiliation. In these networks, those who know their way around have to say. Leadership concepts based on formal hierarchy quickly reach their limits here. This is reason enough to have a closer look at lateral leadership as a topic, as it is increasingly gaining momentum.
Lateral leadership is based on three pillars
According to Stefan Kühl and Thomas Schnelle, lateral leadership is based on three central influencing factors: power, trust and understanding. With their help, it is possible to combine the different interests of all those involved into something as viable and common as possible, thus creating a collective framework for thinking.
- POWER is the most confusing term, as it is generally suspected of having a negative connotation. In this case, however, it refers to a positive influence. For example, if an employee has special expertise or experience in a topic compared to others, they almost automatically take the lead in this area. The same applies to the seniority principle: A person who has been working on a topic or in a team for a long time has a lot of implicit, useful knowledge. And then some people are particularly good at networking or can easily build up good and sustainable relationships with other team members or people in other departments. These connections contain valuable, powerful and beneficial resources. Probably the most underestimated form of power is that of listening. It is always good to know what is going on among those involved in the team, project or company. Listening and listening properly can make the difference between success and failure in a project.
- TRUST is important, everyone knows that. However, the beginning of a trusting relationship is tricky – after all, someone has to start with a leap of faith in the other person. That is why it is also called “giving trust” – always in the hope that this gift will not be abused. Trust therefore requires courage on the one hand and time on the other, because the consequences of this investment only become apparent later. It can neither be created nor imposed, it has to grow over time. If there is trust within a team and in the shared abilities, it needs attention and care. This keeps it strong and resilient against the rough storms of everyday life. If this is successful, even emotional conflicts can be resolved on a factual level. Then they are useful for the quality of the joint result.
- UNDERSTANDING has a lot to do with getting to know the needs, wishes and concerns of others. Anyone who wants to lead without authority must be able and interested in exploring the thoughts of others to such an extent that the number of options for action increases. Resistance is always a sign that important information is missing that could further secure the success of a project. People who dare to offer resistance should therefore always be valued as important sources of information and taken seriously.
Lateral leadership basically means that there is someone for whom the goal is more important than any kind of authority – and who still respects it. Someone who is interested in the expertise of those involved. Someone who knows why something needs to be done. The basis for successful collaboration is voluntary cooperation and the creation of a common framework of thought, a shared reality. Sounds good and simple in theory, but is somewhat more complex to implement.
In everyday life, it’s the mix that counts
The interplay and balance of the three factors – power, trust and understanding – can vary depending on the situation. They can intertwine in such a way that they support and benefit each other. And it is entirely possible for them to hinder each other here and there. The secret of successful lateral leadership lies in finding the right balance of power, trust and communication depending on the situation.
Solutions to problems are then developed together directly within the team – or expertise is brought in from outside. Then resistance is celebrated as a resource – or experienced as a special form of commitment. Then confidence can provide the patience needed to persevere in tough times – or, given the right conditions, the end of a project can be decided by mutual agreement. All according to the principle: One for all and all for one.
Imagine, for example, that you want to organize a big company party for the entire workforce and their families at your location in Vienna. You have chosen the beginning of September as the date because many people will be back from holiday and the weather should still be good enough. It is now helpful if you have good contacts who are familiar with the organization of major events and can actively support you (power). It is also useful if you are patient and confident that everything will go well in this situation (confidence). Instead of getting angry, ask those complainers who find the appointment impossible what concerns they have and how they think the appointment would be better (understanding). In this way, you have combined all three factors for your success.
However, if the most committed of your experienced contacts are scheduled during the busiest period, the confidence that everything will still work out is too little. It then takes a lot of energy to find new helping hands, outsource the job to external professionals, or postpone the deadline. Power and understanding must take priority here – and trust can follow as soon as everything is back on track.
Supervisor role versus lateral leadership?
It can often be observed that employees are more likely to be led by people who are not formally responsible than by their own boss. And sometimes this boss, thanks to his authority to issue instructions, tries to have these lateral leaders solve the problems in his management tasks. You guessed it: That won’t work.
Successful leadership only works if the issue in question is highly relevant to the manager personally – and this cannot be delegated. If you have children, you know only too well that you can hardly successfully enforce rules that you don’t really stand behind. The same principles apply in the relationship between manager and employee. So if you want a certain behavior, you have to enforce it yourself.
Connecting instead of separating
The two, a hierarchical superior role and lateral leadership, are absolutely compatible. In our part of the world, many managers use the power of authority because they have learned to do so. If you have confidence in your own abilities and those of your team, you can lead formally and laterally at the same time.
Lateral leadership has a long tradition as a concept. Back in the 1990s, Harvard experts Roger Fischer and Alan Sharp published a book entitled “Getting it Done”. It is primarily aimed at people who have to and want to successfully implement their projects together with colleagues without a formal management function. Anyone who has ever held a project management role will be familiar with the difficulties encountered when trying to lead people to commitment who also “serve other masters”. When studying the concept of lateral leadership, this somehow sounds familiar…
What are your experiences with lateral leadership? How do you practice hierarchy as a corporate culture? Share your experiences with us so that we can continue to learn together!
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