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LEAD

7 Signs That Say You Have the Mindset of a Great

Leader
Centralized power and decision-making control is out. Shared leadership is in.

By Marcel Schwantes Founder and Chief Human Officer, Leadership From the Core @MarcelSchwantes

GETTY IMAGES

One of the things I love doing as an Inc.com columnist is being able to share compelling
stories. Especially stories of extraordinary leaders who overcame unthinkable
challenges to now teach us lessons of resilience, hope, and a new way forward. 

Kevin Hancock, sixth generation family CEO of Hancock Lumber, is one such person.
Hancock was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia, a rare neurological disorder that
makes speaking difficult.

We updated our Privacy Policy as of February 24, 2020.

Two
Learn years later,
about our he began
personal traveling
information from
collection his home
practices here. in Maine to the remote Pine Ridge
Indian Reservation in South Dakota. There, he encountered an entire community that did
not feel fully heard.

While Hancock initially saw the partial loss of his own voice as a hindrance, he began to
think of it as a gift--an invitation to lead differently and give others a bigger voice.

Hancock envisioned an employee-centric company where the primary focus of the

organization would be the creation of a vibrant employee experience.

Historically, leaders have collected and centralized power and decision-making control,
while employees existed to serve the company. In the model of shared leadership
Hancock describes in his new book, The Seventh Power: One CEO's Journey into the
Business of Shared Leadership, power is dispersed and everyone is invited to lead. The
purpose of the company is to add value to the lives of the people who work there.

"Having found a piece of my own authentic voice, I wanted to help others do the same,"
said Hancock. He has since identified seven lessons for the age of shared leadership:

1. Find answers from within your tribe.

For centuries, leadership has been marketed as something to be done by the few. But in
reality, great people are everywhere. Don't think you need to look externally for solutions
to questions that can be answered from within. The best resources are likely already
within your organization.

2. Invert the pyramid to serve.

Organizations are ultimately defined by their culture, and leaders have the most power
to create it, consciously or otherwise. To achieve shared leadership, the top-down
organizational pyramid of most companies must be inverted to first serve, strengthen,
and honor the individual. This, in turn, vitalizes the organization.

3.
We Become the change
updated our Privacy Policy as ofyou want
February to see.
24, 2020.
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Leaders need to work first on themselves and become the change. Then leaders must
create the cultural conditions that encourage others to do the same. We don't change
others; we change ourselves, from the inside out.

4. Localize and shrink the center.

In the age of shared leadership, the individual, not the corporate center, is the focus of
attention. If a company sets its employees free, its customers will be thrilled in return.
It's time to shrink the power of the corporate headquarters and the C-suite and embrace
the individual employee.

5. Listen for understanding, not judgment.

In an environment of shared leadership, everyone must feel that it is safe to express
their feelings honestly. The objective is to allow every person to feel heard and accepted
where they are, as they are. Understanding is contagious--when others feel respected
and heard, they enter a new zone of comfort and security.

6. Practice restraint.

Restraint, not force, is the new path to building consensus, alignment, and engagement.
Restraint is the opposite of overreaching; it's having the power but not using it.

7. Broaden the mission.

We are entering a new age of localism in which each business must become an engine
of social change. But for this to happen, businesses must learn to think more broadly
about their roles and potential for creating change. Businesses must understand that
we are all connected and related. There is no future in the strategy of isolation.

Dispersing power is not a difficult task, but creating a culture where every voice matters
requires
We updateddiscipline
our Privacyand intentionality.
Policy Ultimately,
as of February 24, 2020. every leader has the choice to either
Learn about our personal information collection practices here.
collect authority or disperse it. Shared leadership creates a socially transformative
works culture for the 21st century in which employee engagement soars because
everyone feels authentically heard.
PUBLISHED ON: MAR 29, 2020
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