Inverting the Hierarchy: Is Distributed Leadership Right for Your Organization?

In today’s rapidly changing world, business leaders are asking how they can make their organizations innovative, faster, and more agile. One strategy that’s begun gaining traction is a new approach to organizational management: distributed leadership. We take a look at how a distributive leadership model works and the value it can deliver to a modern workplace.

What is distributed leadership?

A traditional leadership structure is hierarchical, with leadership responsibilities centralized among a small group of individuals. These managers set priorities and delegate tasks, as well as take accountability for both the process of business activities and their outcomes. In contrast, distributed leadership shares traditional decision-making and management responsibilities across a broader group of people. Roles and team structures remain flexible and fluid, with positions and responsibilities allocated according to situation-specific skills, knowledge, and opportunities.

Distributed leadership is a relatively recent management concept that uses a horizontal structure to help create an environment of shared ownership and accountability, even for mission-critical decisions. Leadership responsibilities become disconnected from an individual’s position in the organization, and roles such as “leader” and “follower” become largely contextual. For example, the individual who takes on a leadership role for one project may be a lower-level team member for another engagement, regardless of their individual seniority or tenure with the organization.

While distributed leadership was first explored as a management style for educational institutions, recent years have seen increased interest in sectors such as healthcare, manufacturing, the public sector, and non-profits, as well as the broader business world.

What happens to executive leadership?

While the idea of “leadership” becomes more flexible under a distributed leadership approach, executive oversight remains. Company leadership positions remain critical to setting the organization’s vision and strategic priorities, creating a culture that supports greater employee autonomy, and steering the organization towards success.

“Top leaders are flipping the hierarchy upside down,” says lecturer Kate Isaacs from the MIT Slone School of Management when speaking on distributed leadership. “Their job isn’t to be the smartest people in the room who have all the answers, but rather to architect the gameboard where as many people as possible have permission to contribute the best of their expertise, their knowledge, their skills, and their ideas.”

This approach may also be viewed as related to an emerging style of executive leadership given the (sometimes contested) name of “servant leadership,” in which higher-level leaders’ primary function is seen as supporting, guiding, and enabling the people within their organization.

The three principles of distributed leadership

According to school leader and distributed leadership pioneer Ben Solly, there are three interconnected principles of distributed leadership:

1. Autonomy: Individuals must have the autonomy to make decisions independent of direct oversight. Collaboration and information-sharing within the team is encouraged; micromanagement is not.
2. Accountability: Just as individuals become responsible for leading an initiative and making key business decisions, so too must they be accountable for both the process and its outcomes.
3. Capacity: It is not enough to allow leaders to make decisions and take accountability for those decisions without also supporting them with the resources necessary for success. Such tools might include technology, funding, team support, communication and collaboration tools, and more.

What could a distributive leadership style add to your organization?

Case studies in distributed leadership show that organizations can experience benefits including:

• Increased organizational agility: These days, organizational success can be dependant on the company’s ability to adapt to rapidly shifting factors such as technology innovations, regulatory pressures, geopolitical events, and more. Organizations using a distributed leadership style may be more innovative and able to adapt to changing market conditions more swiftly than their competitors.
• Fostering a culture of leadership: By spreading traditional leadership tasks among a greater number of people, all individuals have opportunities to develop their leadership skills in on-the-job scenarios and are motivated to collaborate for greater success. Leadership also becomes a skill to be developed across the organization, rather than being viewed as a role into which one is promoted.
• Improved employee investment and retention: The combination of autonomy and accountability inherent in a distributed leadership structure has a powerful effect on employee empowerment in the workplace. Under this management structure, employees at all levels are recognized for their contributions to the success of the organization as a whole, while individuals can see clear paths toward greater contribution, responsibility, and opportunities for growth.

Try starting small to see success

Transitioning from a traditional management hierarchy to a fully distributed leadership model requires significant organizational change — but it’s okay to start small. Even organizations that choose to continue with a more hierarchical structure can investigate the benefits of distributed leadership within particular organizational groups or projects. For those looking to start down this path, take a look at the process of distributed project management to see how a distributed approach could work for your team.

Today, more employees are looking for career opportunities that enable them to act autonomously, develop critical leadership skills, and collaborate within a meaningful work environment. While distributed leadership may not be the right fit for all organizations, it can provide a critical advantage to businesses looking to compete more effectively not only in the market but also in the pursuit of top talent.