Leadership and Power

I often hear that people do not believe in “hierarchical leadership”, and are strongly opposed to it.  Effective leadership is a core value of the Elysia Commons and this paper sets out some thoughts on the subject that seek to define the terms to allow the discourse to develop.

For I perceive there to be a danger that this statement paralyses our Will through the difference between “leadership” and  what is meant by “hierarchical leadership” not being clear.  The statement “we don’t believe in hierarchical leadership” is so strong that in the presence of any doubt at all, the concept of Leadership, as a whole, becomes forbidden.

Firstly I would like to differentiate ownership from control.  Ownership is the ultimate container and determines how control will deploy.

Control directs the activity of the organisation by deploying authority and through the authority flows the power of the human beings as they carry out their tasks.

Power deployed in directions that are not authorised is essentially abusive.  This can easily occur, particularly when power gets conflated with position and status becomes primary.

Perhaps “hierarchical leadership” has become a codeword for when power is wielded in an organisation in accordance with status instead of authority.

There is nothing in the research in to the Hierarchies to suggest that authority does not flow through a hierarchy.  There is also nothing in the way that Steiner founded the Anthroposophical Society to suggest that he did not believe in leadership. On the contrary, the big decision for Steiner himself was whether to directly take up leadership of the organisation or not.

Our research in to the Hierarchies leaves me with a sense of order and task, of each Being knowing its task and taking it up fully.  In Earthly life, in our organisations, we access our tasks through our roles.

It is interesting to notice that when authority is assigned to the role rather than the person it provides a layer of separation from the person, which is effectively a buffer against the power of the authority seeping through to the person and becoming power mobilised according to status.

Role offers us a critical frame to view ourselves through, because through that frame we can catch sight of ourselves, our system and the context of all.  We can clearly identify our authority, from whence it originates and to where it will flow through us.

It can be seen in this diagram how the ownership is a peripheral force that works inwards and will suffuse the organisation with a particular atmosphere, and that the leadership / management of the organisation is a force that works outwards and permeates the organisation through the paths and channels of authority.

The Elysia Commons offers to support the forces of ownership in properly containing the organisation, suffusing it with a healthy atmosphere, which will in turn support the forces of leadership in permeating the organisation with healthy authority, to foster effective, competitive action.