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Miami SPEC Class Collaborative Blog

Catherine Penrod

On Sharing Leadership

By Catherine Penrod - 5 months ago

Leadership is not about the individual, but rather the group that leads the organization beyond one person's vision.

 I have long thought that it is usually better to have shared leadership.  Like any successful partnership, leaders should complement each other not be clones. "Opposites attract" is a cliché that may or may not be necessarily true, but does make sense.  In most organizations in which I have worked, I have had the luxury of a second-in-command.  I usually identify the person (although in one instance they were identified for me...it didn't work) or persons who I think can step in for me and carry my philosophies in my absence.  I know they can do this short-term, but generally, they do not share my personality or competencies.  I know where my weaknesses lie so I try to surround myself with those who can fill those gaps.  I try to work them to help them develop into the areas where I am strongest and I try to learn from them as well.  I find that seeking and utilizing a collective leadership approach is very effective because "two heads" usually are better than one.  The challenge that does occur, of course, is that sometimes a leader might need to make a decision that is unpopular with the other leaders.  It's a difficult balance between "let's do this together" and "I've made my decision." 

I agree with the book's chapter One Style Doesn't Fit All.  The manner of leadership does impact organizations, but the one commonality mentioned, shared leadership, makes sense because the organization is put before all else despite what personality the leader has.  I particularly like the statement that "...they all recognize that they cannot increase their impact by hoarding power."  I liken this to the person who doesn't share information.  Neither of these actions supports the organization.  However, some egos, cannot comprehend this.  And, truthfully, no matter how altruistic the leader is, we are all humans with the frailties of insecurity, distrustfulness and so on.  Everyday, leaders really do need to seek out ways to distribute leadership.  One of the best ways to do this is to have a strong senior team that is not hesitant to be honest, but is willing to be supportive of the team's decisions. 

Succession planning is always a hot topic for nonprofit execs.  Many years ago, while I was in a select leadership training program, a very well-known national non-profit head told our group that the most responsible thing we can do when we start a new job as nonprofit execs is to identify, then groom and mentor our replacement.   If that person doesn't exist, then hiring processes should include this as criteria.  In my current organization, I have the perfect example of succession planning in one of my departments.  The director knew that in 2 or 3 years she would be retiring.  She identified someone who was extremely capable and began giving her stretch assignments.  She never told her until several months before her retirement what she had been doing.  Once she retired, the person did move into the role and has been doing a great job ever since.  She in turn has identified 2 individuals and is following the same pattern.  The outcome is that department has a great deal of consistency, stability and respect.  This is important as they continue to work within the school system that recognizes these characteristics as routine of Switchboard.

 
Labels: Document, Learning, Miami SPEC, Miami SPEC Class, Organizations, Results-based Accountability

3 Comments

 
Post #1
Scot Evans Scot Evans - 5 months ago

Thanks for providing some examples from your own experience. I wonder how their finding that "lack of talent as the second most significant barrier to growing their organization and expanding their impact" resonates for you and our other partners?

 
Post #2
Catherine Penrod Catherine Penrod - 4 months ago

Lack of talent is significant...I'm not sure if this is a regional thing....when we need to make a hire we get many resumes.  But a large number of them are from people who have no qualifications for the job whatsoever.  As we weed through them, we find some over-qualified prospects, but the remainder are generally (not always) mediocre.  Posting for postion is strange here too....the Herald is too expensive.  We get better results from Career Builder, but even that is not tremendous.  We try to post on as many likely places as possible, but it still seems that word-of-mouth is what gets us the best candidates.  When I was working in the north, I found that I usually had a nice pool of candidates to choose from....

What I HAVE noticed here is that the same people pop up in positions for different organizations.  In some ways, we seem to be a bit of a "closed" society.  I know that for some positions, I'd much rather "steal" someone whose performance has been obvious as opposed to picking someone blind.

 
Post #3
Catherine Penrod Catherine Penrod - 4 months ago

In reading The Six Secrets of Change by Michael Fullan, I am reminded why I like this book so much. 

Secret Five: Transparency Rules
While "transparency" has become the buzz word of the year, it is a true statement that whether we want transparency to be the norm or not, others are foisting it on us.  It's here and if we are lucky, it's here to stay.  That's not to say that there is not a down side to "transparency."  As part of my commitment to our staff, I have told them I will always tell them what I can, and when I cannot, I will explain why.  We have learned that funding for abstinence programs will end sooner than anticipated due to the Obama administration's priority shift.  As an organization, we understand this.  However, to fulfill my pledge, I did share with the staff.  This has resulted in an exodus, understandably, of our most qualified personnel to other organizations.  This places the programs in jeopardy and the organization as a whole, which is greatly dependent on that ever-so-diminishing administrative allowance included in the program funding.

6. Secret Six: Systems Learn
There is no one in Miami, despite what some individuals might think, who has all of the answers.  I like Pfeffer and Sutton's words - "[Leaders]...Have to be more confident than the situatiion warrants.  They have to develop leadership in others.  Be specific about the few things that matter and keep repeating them."  Many years ago, I worked in an organization where the CEO would "leave me in charge" while she was out.  This worked well unitl I made a decision in her absence with which she did not agree.  She made light of it and joked about it.  In the end, I had the last laugh...it was a good decision that kept us out of a lawsuit.  Until I left the organizaiton, however, I was hesitant to make any decisions in her absence.  The "leadership" I learned was that the CEO always was right -- even when she wasn't.

Fast forward to now.....I try to remember this and compliment anyone I leave in charge on some aspect of their leadership.  As I look around at the nonprofits we have in Miami-Dade, I am afraid that leadership is not being developed in organizations and seems to rise and set on the (current) exec.

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