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IM JUST CURIOUS

OVERVIEW OF WWW.HEROICLEADERS.COM

Based on the book Leading Heroic Journeys: Drawing onthe Wisdom of Cultures Throughout Time

by Gordon BarnhartIllustrations by Jim Borgman

515 Terrace Avenue

Cincinnati, Ohio 45220

USA

513.221.0833

2009 Gordon Barnhart

All rights reserved

Leadership

Roles and

Strategies

Knowledge

of the

Heroic

Journey

HEALTHY

ORGANIZATIONS

AND COMMUNITIES

Answer

the

Call

Leadership

Web


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SUMMARY

Its All on the Website and Free

The Daunting Leadership

Challenges We Face

The Leadership Picture We Must Create

Fully Commit Saying Yes When

Called to Lead

Develop a Foundation of Knowledge and

the Wisdom to Apply it

Align Around the Leadership Roles and

Their Core Strategies

Build a Web of Leaders and Followers

The Heroic Journey is Built into OurLeadership DNA

THE POWER OF SAYING

YES ANSWERING THE

CALL TO LEAD

There are Always Two Goals

The Call to Our Best

The Heroic Challenge for LeadersThe Heroic Challenge for Followers

Our Courage The Heart of the Matter

Our Growth as Leaders

Who Me? Yes, You

Its Our World Its Our Choice

THE POWER OF KNOWLEDGE

THE FOUNDATION FOR

LEADING WITH CONFIDENCE

Six Benefits Provided by the Heroic Journey

A Three Act Play with Five Core Challenges

Act I: Beginnings Going Forth

#1: Being the Author of the Experience

Act II: On the Path

#2: Let go of old ways

#3: Discover and Master New Ways

#4: Manage the Land In-Between

Endings and beginnings

Act III: Completions

#5: Finish StrongThe Guidance of the Heroic Journey is

Pretty Much Guaranteed

THE POWER OF CLEAR ROLES

& STRATEGIES

Act I: Beginnings Going Forth

The Visionary Strategies

The Architect Strategies

The Real Bottom Line

Act II: On the Path

The Catalyst Strategies

The Guide Strategies

The Builder Strategies

Act III: Completions

The Integrator Strategies

The Leadership Art is in the Adaptation

THE POWER OF LEADERSHIP

WEBS

Heroes Dont Go Alone

Its About Webs of Leaders and Followers

What Happens Without Leadership Webs?

Leaders and Followers It Takes Both

The Contract Between Leaders and

Followers

The Leaders Part of the Bargain

The Followers Part of the Bargain

IM JUST CURIOUS OVERVIEW OF WWW.HEROICLEADERS.COM

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HeroicLeaders.com

SUMMARY

This site is designed for people leading the journeys of change

required for the health of our organizations and communities. It

is based on the heroic journey, which is the story used by cul-

tures throughout time to teach their members how to create or

renew individual lives, organizations or communities. It matches

the challenges of corporate and community change perfectly.

The heroic journey shows us what to expect on journeys of

change, what to do about it and how to do it together. It calls for

our best and provides guidance about how to find it. It is always

relevant the art is in the adaptation to the specific setting.

ITS ALL ON THE WEBSITE AND FREE

The website is built around an online book Leading Heroic Jour-neys: Drawing on the Wisdom of Cultures Throughout Time.

The book focuses on four critical leadership success factors that

are at the heart of leading journeys of change: Leadership com-

mitment, knowledge, strategic action and webs of leaders and

followers.

There is a chapter for each critical success factor. Each chapter

has a video overview and a complementary QuickStart packet to

guide leadership teams in getting started. The QuickStart pack-

ets have a set of guiding questions as well as tools, templates

and worksheets. There is also a Field Manual to provide a com-prehensive guide to impementation.

THE DAUNTING LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES WE

FACE

Our organizations face constant challenges to change, from

changes in structure, roles and relationships to changes in

processes, technologies and management style. Nationally and

in local communities we deal with issues of safety, economic

health, faith in government, education, race relations and gen-

eral quality of life. On a global scale we face environmental,socio-political and health challenges as well as challenges of

dangerous economic imbalances. These are the challenges the

website is designed to address.

THE LEADERSHIP PICTURE WE MUST CREATE

The leadership picture that can successfully meet these chal-

THE MISSION

NAVIGATING

THE BOOK & WEBSITE

THE CHALLENGE

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lenges includes the following elements:

A webof aligned leaders and followers..Fully committing

themselves and bringing forth their bestTo execute a set of

leadership roles and strategiescarefully designed and orches-

trated..Based on a foundation of knowledgethat guides and

sustains people throughout any journey of change.

It is certainly not an easy picture to create, but it is well withinthe reach of thoughtful disciplined leaders acting in partnership

with effective followers.

FULLY COMMIT SAYING YES WHEN CALLED

TO LEAD

The heroic journey naturally asks for our best our current best

as well as the pursuit of a new best developed over the course

of the journey. There are four forms of courage that leaders of

journeys can call upon to support them in calling foprth their

best. The heroic journey really is our story as leaders and inher-

ently asks, If not you then who? And if not now, then when?

DEVELOP A FOUNDATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND

THE WISDOM TO APPLY IT

Knowledge of the journey provides a foundation that supports

leaders in acting with confidence and sureness even in the most

difficult parts of a journey, which generates confidence and a

willingness in others to invest themselves in pursuing the goals

of the journey.

Understanding the five core challenges that will be faced over

the course of the journey enables leaders to not only plan well,

but also deal with the inevitable surprises and setbacks on the

journey with creativity and flexibility. Leaders are able to perse-

vere and hold the course because they know the course.

ALIGN AROUND THE LEADERSHIP ROLES AND

CORE STRATEGIES

The leadership roles and core strategies match the three acts of

a heroic journey and the five core challenges that are encoun-

tered. The theme is to start strong in Act I, stay strong in

Act II, and finish strong in Act III.

In the beginning of the journey (Act I) the focus is on awakening

people to the need for the journey, where we are going and the

leadership structure and performance required to get there. The

LEADERS WORTHY OF

THEIR FOLLOWERS

THE FIVE CENTRAL

CHALLENGES

THE ANSWER


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two leadership roles of Visionary and Architect are central to

Act I.

On the path (Act II), as the journey unfolds, the focus is on en-

gaging people in productive roles, building the required capa-

bilities (individual, group and systemic), maintaining energy and

holding ourselves accountable for our performance. Its about

being disciplined in persevering and holding the course. The

three leadership roles of Catalyst, Guide and Builder are theprimary roles to be played in Act II.

In completing the journey (Act III) the focus is on maintain-

ing leadership discipline and finishing strong. That means

protecting what has been achieved, maximizing the outcomes

and building on what has been learned to prepare for the next

journey. The leadership role of Integrator meets these final chal-

lenges.

BUILD A WEB OF LEADERS AND FOLLOWERS

These leadership strategies must be executed by a well-de-

signed web of leaders and followers that extends throughout

the organization or community. Such a web creates the reach,

power, credibility and resilience that will be required.

People in such a web have clear roles and relationships at every

level of the organization or community. They are engaged, con-

nected, confident in their abilities and able to successfully self-

manage. There is a clear contract between leaders and followers

that establishes high expectations and accountability.

THE HEROIC JOURNEY IS BUILT INTO OUR

LEADERSHIP DNA

This is not a new model that has to be learned. It just needs

to be awakened. Most of the stories we have read, the movies

we have watched and the make-believe we have created have

been based on the heroic journey. Star Wars, the Odyssey, Harry

Potter and most books for children have all taught us about the

heroic journey. So have the best books on leading corporate

and community change. We intuitively understand the path,what will be expected of us and how to respond as leaders. We

just need to say Yes.

CONTINUE ON TO LEARN MORE

ABOUT EACH OF THE FOUR

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

THE SIX LEADERSHIP ROLES

WHO, ME?

YES, YOU

ITS ABOUT LEADERS

AND FOLLOWERS


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THE POWER OF SAYING YESANSWERING THE CALL TO LEAD

Whether novice leaders or seasoned veterans, we are being

asked for increasingly high levels of performance in rapidly

changing environments. We are usually asked to do that in

groups ranging from a single team to extraordinarily complexorganizations or communities.

The question is whether we will say yes to leading, whether

in large or small roles or formal or informal roles. If we do, the

doors open to us and the challenges through which we create

our organizations and communities - as well as ourselves - pres-

ent themselves.

THERE ARE ALWAYS TWO GOALS

When we answer the call to lead a journey of change there are

always two goals:

1To achieve the desired results for any particular journey and

2 To build the change capability of our organization or ourcommunity and our own leadership capability in the pro-

cess.

We need to be successful in the short-term to be around for the

long-term. But, that success will be short-lived if we dont build

our change capability.

THE CALL TO OUR BEST

The heroic journey naturally calls for our best it is ennobling

by its very nature. We will be asked to lead (1) with a sense of

our own significance an understanding that our actions make

a difference; (2) with integrity implementing the whole model

and matching our actions to the challenges and matching our

actions to our words; and (3) with the willingness to think and

act beyond our own immediate welfare.

THE HEROIC CHALLENGE FOR LEADERS

For those of us leading a major change, the challenge is to be

worthy of those we ask to follow us. We must be worthy of their

hope and trust as well as their personal effort, their sacrifice,

and the risks they take.

THE HEROIC CHALLENGE FOR FOLLOWERS

The challenge for followers includes such tests as becoming

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THE LEADERSHIP GAME IS

GETTING TOUGHER

ALWAYS TWO GOALS

FOR LEADERS

SIGNIFICANCE, INTEGRITY

AND LOOKING BEYOND

SELF


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partners with others in the leadership web, taking considered

risks, making the leap of faith to trust others on the journey as

well as acting in a trustworthy manner and helping to shape the

direction and nature of the journey. It also involves being honest

and forthcoming in providing feedback to leadership, attending

to the needs of leaders and challenging themselves and others

to exercise a high degree of self-management.

OUR COURAGE THE HEART OF THE MATTER

In successfully bringing forth our best, courage is the quality or

characteristic that is most often called upon. Courage can come

in many forms, but there are four specific forms that are at the

heart of heroic leadership.

1The courage to see and speak the truth

2The courage to create and hold forth a vision of thedesired state

3The courage to persevere and hold the course

4The courage to collaborate with and rely upon others

These sources of courage are what support us even in the

toughest settings.

OUR GROWTH AS LEADERS

If we answer the call and bring forth our best, we will naturally

grow and become increasingly strong and whole as leaders. A

life is made up of a series of heroic journeys, each one adding

something new. Sometimes that is intellectual capacity, some-

times emotional competence, sometimes physical prowess

and sometimes spiritual growth. We never know for sure what

opportunities open up for us, but we need to answer Yes in

order to find out.

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NO GUTS, NO GLORY


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WHO, ME? YES, YOU

The challenge is not for larger than life heroics, but the re-

claiming of the heroic journey as our story. The only differences

between the heroic myths and our own personal stories are:

LARGER THAN LIFE FIGURES

Most of the heroic figures in the myths are larger than life. Most

of us, on the other hand, are ordinary people doing what weneed to do to make a difference.

GRAND DEEDS

The heroic myths are grand. Our own heroism is mostly, though

not always, lived out in our daily lives and seems unremarkable

in comparison.

OCCASIONAL VS. OVERLAPPING JOURNEYS

The heroic myths tell about occasional journeys. Our own jour-

neys are surprisingly frequent and often overlapping.

THE PATH IS KNOWN

Throughout virtually every culture in history heroes have left

known worlds to venture into the unknown, face trials, discover

truths and revelations, experience various deaths and rebirths

and return bringing something of value. Corporate and com-

munity change requires the same venturing forth into the un-

known, the same trials and contests, the death of certain things

and the rebirth or birth of others, and the return or arrival at a

new state of being. The heroic journey of the myths is mirrored

at the individual, group, organization and community level. Its

the same story just a different scale.

8

MANY OTHERS HAVE GONE

BEFORE WE HAVE THE

MODEL

THE HEROIC JOURNEY IS

OUR STORY BUT THERE ARENATURAL BARRIERS


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ITS OUR WORLD ITS OUR CHOICE

The heroic is being asked of us by our organizations and our

communities, not on a grand scale, but on a daily and a person-

al scale. Our heroism comes in the form of leading journeys of

change. It may play out at work or in communities from neigh-

borhoods to our global community. It is also the great story of

creating a worthwhile and rewarding life. We can say yes or

we can say no or we can pretend we didnt hear the call.

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THE POWER OF KNOWLEDGETHE FOUNDATION FOR LEADING

WITH CONFIDENCE

We wouldnt head off into the jungle without knowing what to

expect, what to do, having gathered the needed resources and

preparing for the adventure. It should be no different with lead-ing journeys of change. Unfortunately, we are frequently thrown

into journeys of change with little time for careful preparation.

Fortunately, the heroic journey will guide us effectively regard-

less of how we begin, but it will sometimes feel like preparing

on the fly.

With sufficient numbers of people well prepared, the likely sce-

nario is one of more excitement than anxiety, more trust than

mistrust, a posture of self-management vs. dependence and

victimhood, and an increasing sense of confidence. The state-

ment knowledge is power is certainly true in leading journeysof change.

SIX BENEFITS PROVIDED BY

THE HEROIC JOURNEY

Whether preparing prior to a journey or preparing on the fly

in the midst of one, understanding the heroic journey will pro-

vide us with the foundation blocks on which to base our leader-

ship.

1Plan Effectively We can plan our journies effectively

2Prepare the Organization We can prepare people to self-manage and be successful.

3 Minimize Surprises We will rarely be thrown off track by events as the journey

unfolds and can respond quickly to unforeseen events and

needs.

4 Act with Confidence & Gain Credibility We can act with confidence and sureness because we cansee how our actions match the requirements of the journey

and so can those who follow.

5 Align People on Common Ground Because its an almost universal story and is the shared basis

for the experience of change, the heroic journey can provide

common ground for even the most diverse groups.

ITS LIKE A JUNGLE

EXPEDITION

THERE ARE SIX ESSENTIAL

BENEFITS

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6 Call Forth Our Best The heroic journey reminds us of the qualities and capabil-

ities that we have, and can draw upon, to be leaders worthy

of followers.

Being well grounded in knowledge of the realities of the heroic

journey puts all of these benefits within reach. Its actually hard

to imagine leading without them.

A THREE-ACT PLAY WITH FIVE CORECHALLENGES

The heroic journey can be seen as a three-act play in which five

core challenges are engaged. These challenges will always be

part of the journey, but they will play out very differently in each

journey. However, we can focus our attention and energy on

these five in order to understand whats likely to happen and todetermine the highest leverage strategies to employ.

ACT I BEGINNINGS: GOING FORTH

Beginnings matter a great deal. Act I of the heroic journey is

about how we leave our current known world. Its about how

we cross a threshold and go forth on an adventure into territory

with a great deal of unknowns, many challenges and great pos-

sibilities. We can heed a call to go forth, be thrown or lured into

a journey or blunder into one. Regardless of how we begin, thefirst challenge is one of making a surprising number of choices.

HEROIC JOURNEYS ARE PLAYS

IN THREE ACTS WITH FIVE

CORE CHALLENGES

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BEGINNINGS SET THE TONE


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Challenge #1: Be the Author of the Experience

This challenge begins immediately and continues throughout

the journey. This is the central challenge of the heroic journey

and it will have a major impact on the success achieved with the

other four challenges. If people heed a call to go forth, they are

already in the authors posture because starting the journey was

clearly their choice. It might have been a difficult choice, but it

was theirs. If, however, people are thrown, lured or blunder intothe journey, a critical leadership challenge is helping them get

into a stance of being the author as soon as possible.

Authorship can be seen as an individual challenge or as a col-

lective challenge of a group, whole organization or community.

The individual challenge of authorship has to do with accepting

the responsibility to self-manage on the journey and effectively

play leadership and/or followership roles. Authorship on the col-

lective level focuses on how the six leadership roles are played

how their core strategies are adapted and executed. In the

beginning such authorship focuses on making choices acrossa potentially broad array of topics. These range from market

strategies, structure and processes to roles, leadership style and

what is valued.

ACT II ON THE PATH

Act II addresses the three challenges that are naturally encoun-

tered on the path. These three are letting go of old ways, dis-

covering and mastering new ways and dealing with the land of

in-between endings and beginnings (sometimes referred to asinbetweenity).

Leaders are challenged to maintain direction and energy, build

the required capabilities, keep people connected and produc-

tively engaged, and deal with the inevitable surprises encoun-

tered. Its about persevering and holding the course regard-

less of how the path may twist and turn.

Challenge #2: Let Go of Old Ways and Deal with the Endings

These may be ways of thinking and acting, sets of competen-

cies, identities and self image or ways of relating to others thatno longer work. Moving on without letting go is not going to be

successful, but letting go can be tough, particularly if there isnt

something immediately available as a replacement. The extent

of this challenge often depends on the balance between areas of

change and areas of continuity as well as how quickly the new

ways are discovered and mastered.

HOLDING THE COURSE

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AUTHOR OR VICTIM?


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Challenge #3: Discover and Master the New Ways

This can involve developing new knowledge, new skills, new

ways of relating, working with new process or technologies new

or new ways of managing or leading. This is the deceptively dif-ficult challenge. It is almost always underestimated and, there-

fore, is often the dragon that causes the most trouble as the

journey unfolds.

Mastery takes time and sustained effort and it usually involves

an initial dip in performance, which is hard to accept. Individu-

als are challenged to commit to mastery and organizations are

challenged to support the process and create a climate in which

risk taking and mastery can flourish. Otherwise, progress will

be slowed or stopped and leadership will be left thinking, Hey,

what happened?

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HERES THE MOST DECEPTIVE

CHALLENGE


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Challenge #4: Manage the Land In-Between Endings and

Beginnings

Uncertainty, the unknown, conflicting emotions, confusion and

a sense of shifting reality are natural experiences at various

points on the journey. There will be a set of what can be called

dynamic tensions, which pull people back and forth throughout

the journey.

For example people can be pulled between a sense of order and

disorder, between anxiety and excitement, between belong-

ing and being disconnected, or between feeling competent and

questioning competence. These dynamic tensions eventually

resolve themselves, but they can be tough to deal with when

they are in play.

A major complicating factor is that ongoing operations have to

continue while the changes take place. This can sometimes feel

like rebuilding the plane in flight and frequently results in tem-

porary dips in performance. Dealing effectively with this senseof being in-between is critical in keeping people engaged and

productive. It is easy to lose people in this part of the journey

and leaders often find direction and energy just slipping away.

ACT III COMPLETIONS

Act III presents leadership with a challenge of discipline and

focus. Achievements can unravel quickly if the challenges of

Act III are ignored. As journeys near their end, it is very easy for

leadership to become tired, over confident or distracted. As Yogi

Berra, the former NY Yankee and manager, is reputed to have

said, It aint over till its over.

1

IT AINT OVER TILL ITS OVER

YOGI BERRA

WHERE WEIRD IS OFTEN

NORMAL AND NATURAL


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Challenge #5: Finish Strong

The challenge is to integrate, deepen, and protect what has

been achieved. Successful change, once achieved, is surpris-

ingly vulnerable for a period of time. First, our desired changes

may challenge others to make necessary complementary chang-

es and those may not be seen as desirable. Leadership needs

to understand those ripple affects and support others in making

the complementary changes.

Second, finishing strong also means ensuring that the various

elements and people of the organization are re-aligned and

working together because they will naturally be thrown out of

alignment to some degree as the changes are achieved. There

is frequently a very high price paid for not finishing strong and

maintaining leadership and focus.

The Guidance of the Heroic Journey is Pretty Much Guaranteed

The specifics of each Act in a journey will be unique, but we

can trust the map of the heroic journey to show us the way and

guide our actions. The fundamental pattern will always hold

true. The leadership art is in the adaptation of the leadership

strategies and the construction of the web of leaders and follow-

ers to match the challenges of each journey.

HeroicLeaders.com

FINISH STRONG PROTECT

AND INTEGRATE

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THE POWER OF CLEAR ROLESAND STRATEGIESLEADERSHIP THAT IS ALIGNED,

FOCUSED AND SUSTAINABLE

There are six leadership roles to be played on a journey ofchange and three core strategies that define each role. The strat-

egies are easy to customize and cover the leadership challenges

from planning to full implementation. Each leadership role will

offer different amounts of leverage on different journeys and at

different points on a journey, but they all have their place and

none can be ignored without diminishing leaderships influence.

ACT I BEGINNINGS: GOING FORTH

THE VISIONARY AND THEARCHITECT

The two roles in the beginning of a major journey of change

are characterized by an intensive effort to awaken people to the

need for the journey, set direction, provide leadership structure

and plans for the journey and develop a core web of leaders to

launch the journey with confidence and credibility. This is where

the core challenge of authorship begins and the focus is on the

challenge of being the author - in many ways.

THE VISIONARY STRATEGIES

Establish a shared perception of the need for change and asense of positive urgency

Create a strategic vision of the desired state to be achievedand assess its likely impact on the organization and its people

Paint a clear picture of how the change journey will beconducted - the leadership commitment being made

THE ARCHITECT STRATEGIES

Create the organization design required to realize the vision ofthe desired state and conduct a more detailed impact

assessment

Develop a plan for leading the journey to close the gapbetween current reality and the envisioned desired state

SIX LEADERSHIP ROLES

EACH WITH THREE CORE

STRATEGIES

ESTABLISHING LEADERSHIP

CREDIBILITY

1

WHY, WHERE AND HOW?

PLANS, PEOPLE AND

ORGANIZATION DESIGN


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Design the web of leaders and followers required for thejourney and build the core team for that web

The real bottom line is that we are trying to mobilize and guide

peoples energy: their vitality, creativity, willingness to put forth

extra effort, to sacrifice, to experiment and take risks, to trust

each other and the organization, and to self-manage effectively.

Act II On the Path: The Catalyst,The Guide and the Builder

The three leadership roles on the path meet the three key chal-

lenges encountered: letting go of old ways, discovering andmastering the new ways and coping with the strange land in-

between. Act II requires engaging people in the journey lead-

ership, effectively communicating and building capability on

an individual, group and organizational level. It also requires

healthy accountability to maintain direction and energy.

THE CATALYST STRATEGIES

Bring people into the web of leaders with clear roles,expectations and support

Add the operational detail to the vision and organizationdesign

Conduct a change readiness and capability study andprepare the organization and its people for the journey

ENDINGS, BEGINNINGS AND

INBETWEENITY

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MORE PEOPLE, DETAILS AND

REALITY CHECKS


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THE GUIDE STRATEGIES

Develop systems for communicating out, for feedback, andfor promoting dialogue among people to promote

self-managementGuide people in letting go of what must be left behind and

dealing with the challenges of inbetweenity

Create processes and an environment that promote healthyaccountability in order to maintain direction and energy

THE BUILDER STRATEGIES

Expand and maintain the web of leaders and followers andbuild the capabilities required for leading the journey

Build the individual, group and organizational capabilitiesrequired in the envisioned desired state

Guide people in the process of discovery and the extendedchallenges of mastery

Act III Completions: The Integrator

This is the role that must integrate all of the changes achieved

during the journey. It must also ensure that the achievements

arent undermined by the natural ripple effects that might re-

quire complementary changes by others. There is a period oftime when the changes look like they are solid, but are in reality

very vulnerable. The Integrator ensures that leadership remains

focused and disciplined.

THE INTEGRATOR STRATEGIES

Assess the ripple effects of the changes, including the likely

HeroicLeaders.com 18

COMMUNICATION, LETTING

GO AND ACCOUNTABILITY

SUSTAINING LEADERSHIP AND

BUILDING CAPABILITY

ACHIEVEMENTS ARE SURPRIS-

INGLY VULNERABLE AT THECOMPLETION OF A JOURNEY


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reactions of others, and determine effective responses

Align the things of the organization (structure, technologies, etc.) to institutionalize the changes

Ensure that the people of the organization have internalizedthe changes (attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, etc.)

THE LEADERSHIP ART IS IN THE ADAPTATION

Just as the heroic journey always plays out differently in each

story, myth or movie, so must the roles and strategies be adapt-

ed to the realities of each setting. No two journeys of change

will be the same. No two sets of leadership strategies will look

the same in execution.

PROTECTING AND

INTEGRATING THE CHANGES


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THE POWER OF LEADERSHIP WEBSLEADERSHIP REACH, POWER,

CREDIBILITY AND RESILIENCE

HEROES DONT GO ALONEHeroes dont go alone (and succeed) in the heroic myths and

neither should leaders of change. It simply doesnt work. The

grand lone hero becomes the lost or defeated hero usually

a victim. And everyone else suffers the defeat along with the

would-be hero.

Whats really required is a web of aligned leaders and followers.

Three perspectives that lead to effective leadership webs in-

clude (a) building, expanding and maintaining leadership webs;

(b) focusing on leaders AND effective followers; and (c) design-ing clear contracts between leaders and followers.

ITS ABOUT WEBS OF LEADERS AND

FOLLOWERS

A spiders web is a good model for leadership webs. They are

strong, flexible and resilient. They provide lots of connections

and they dont require a lot of resources in order to cover a wide

area. They also come in a wide variety of structures. Leadership

webs need to be carefully built starting with a very strong core

team and extending outward in an elegant design. Webs also

need to be maintained and repaired because they naturally suf-

fer wear and tear over the course of a journey.

An effective web is composed of a critical mass of leaders and

followers that have a common understanding of the reason for

the journey, where they are going, the relationships required,

the roles that need to be played and the strategies employed.

HEROES DONT GO ALONE

BUILDING OUTWARD FROM

A STRONG CORE

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WHAT HAPPENS WITHOUT LEADERSHIP WEBS?

The dangers are many. Some of the most damaging conse-

quences of inadequate attention to the leadership web include:

1Loss of CredibilityThe people of the organization intuitively know that it takes

a web of leaders and immediately lose a significant degree

of faith in leadership when they fail to see one developing.They recognize the gap between the challenges of the jour-

ney and the leadership capability being brought to bear.

2Loss of Potential LeadersWithout the leadership structure of the web potential leaders

and effective followers can be left without productive roles,

resources and supporting relationships.

3Inadequate Reach and ConnectionWithout an extended web, leadership simply has inadequate

reach into the organization and people are not consistentlyconnected. Boundaries are often felt as barriers because there

is no web to transcend them.

4Too Much Wear and TearAs journeys progress leaders can easily wear out because of

having an inadequate web around them to help carry the load

and provide renewal.

Its not a pretty picture, but it is a common one. That picture

does not, however, need to exist if webs are carefully built, ex-

panded and maintained.

LEADERS AND FOLLOWERS IT TAKES BOTH

The importance of followership is still dramatically under-

appreciated, which is a major problem in leading journeys of

change. Too little is often expected of those in a follower role,

by leaders as well as followers, and it becomes a self-fulfilling

prophecy.

There are, thankfully, some exciting profiles of effective follow-

ers that have emerged followers we would really want when

we are leading. For example, Ira Challeff proposes that an effec-

tive followers show the following characteristics:

The courage to assume responsibility for themselves andtheir organizations. They look for ways to add value and real-

FOLLOWERS ARE

UNDERESTIMATED

AND UNDERESTIMATE

THEMSELVES

IT CAN GET UGLY WITHOUT

A STRONG WEB

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ize their potential in the process.

The courage to serve serving leaders and, with thoseleaders, serving the purpose of the organization. They

understand leaders needs and support them.

The courage to challenge standing up to, or for, leaderswhen things dont seem right. They are willing to risk

rejection and others strong emotions in service of the

organizations well being.

The courage to participate in transformation the ability tocommit and stay involved through the tough patches.

They are also willing to look at themselves and change as

appropriate.

The courage to leave the refusal to collaborate withdestructive leadership. They are willing to risk being

terminated or coming to the decision that they must leave.

Such followers provide both the support and the challenge that

leaders need. They complete the leadership web that can pro-

vide the reach, power, credibility and resilience required on a

journey.

THE CONTRACT BETWEEN LEADERSAND FOLLOWERS

In well-led change there is an inherent, if not explicit, contract

between leaders and followers. Followers look to the leaders to

commit fully to the leadership roles and to be worthy of their

followers. Leaders look to their followers to make the leap of

faith to engage fully in the journey, to put forth extra effort, totake the necessary risks, to manage themselves well, to support

each other, and to take on the leadership roles when the oppor-

tunities arise.

Leadership webs are much stronger when this implicit contract

is made as explicit as possible. The process of doing so facili-

tates the conversations that lead to true alignment and begin to

build the trust that will provide much of the foundation for the

journey.

THE LEADERS PART OF THE BARGAIN

For example, the leaders part of the bargain centers on the four

critical success factors for leading change.

1Commit FullyLeaders answer the call to lead - bringing their best, fully

committing themselves and acting with an awareness of their

MAKE THE CONTRACT

EXPLICIT

2

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significance.

2Base Actions on KnowledgeLeaders bring an understanding of the heroic journey and an

appreciation of what they are asking of themselves and their

followers.

3Act StrategicallyLeaders effectively adapt the six leadership roles and theircore strategies and implement them with discipline.

4Extend LeadershipLeaders invest in building the web of leaders and followers.

THE FOLLOWERS PART OF THE BARGAIN

Followers actually have two parts on their side of the bargain.

One is actively supporting leaders and the other is thoughtfully

challenging leaders. The key for followers is to earn credibil-ity through supporting leaders, so that their challenges come

within a supportive context. For example, the supportive behav-

iors of followers include the following:

1CommitFollowers let leadership know you are ready to support them

and demonstrate it

2AttendFollowers pay attention to what leaders may need at any

point in time (from information to emotional support)

3ReinforceFollowers actively reinforce leaderships messages

4ModelFollowers model the desired behaviors

5LeadFollowers play the leadership roles at the appropriate scale

and in the appropriate setting

6ChallengeFollowers challenge each other to be effective followers

The ability to challenge appropriately is equally important.

Without the challenges, leaders can easily go astray over the

course of a journey. Without the support, however, leaders

wont be effective even if on the right path, and they probably

wont be as open to the challenges.

LEADERS WORTHY OF

FOLLOWERS

FOLLOWERS CHALLENGING

AND SUPPORTING LEADERS

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ACT JOIN US IN MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN

THE WORLD

Act from a sense of significance if not you, then who and call

upon your best. There are journeys to be led and your choices

and actions matter. Say Yes.

Look to the heroic journey as the foundation for thinking about

the journey to come and the basis for your actions all of your

experience and approaches to leading will find a a home and

will be leveraged.

Act strategically adapt and execute all of the leadership strat-

egies, although some will be more important than others in a

journey.

Lead in concert with others a web of leaders and followers

carefully designed and built.

IF NOT YOU, THEN WHO?

chapter curious new-4

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