"The days of the ‘Great Man’ theory of Leadership—where one sole leader rules over the masses from their ivory tower, are long gone…But while co-leadership can be energizing and rewarding, if the relationship isn’t strong, the arrangement can easily become draining and frustrating.”* For co-leadership to be fruitful, it has to be a strong emotional partnership that rests on the foundation of commitment.
Organizational ‘emotional partnerships’ began with the birth of the organization. High-level leadership bonding has always existed, resulting in a synergy that allowed a relatively small group of individuals to create a large organization of loyal followers. Without the creation of these partnerships, organizations will remain small and ineffective. Why? Because the required diversity of functional competence, the variability of human nature, and the vast number of transactions required to manage a large organization will overwhelm one individual’s intellectual capacity and their emotional ability to cope.
Let us turn our attention to the business organization. For the purpose of interchangeability of the human parts, the business community has evolved a hierarchal structure of functional responsibilities that can be plugged with people having the appropriately related technical expertise. The concepts of ‘bonding’ and ‘emotional partnerships’ are typically left to the CEO’s discretion. CEOs routinely enlist the help of recruiters, psychological assessments, and other trusted executives to help them select individuals for their top management team.
It is also common for newly appointed, but seasoned leaders, to reach into their past endeavors and pull forward individuals that they have personally worked with and have enjoyed a successful and trusting relationship. Why? Because, instinctively, they understand that emotional partnerships are critical to successfully managing a large organization.
This story is from the September - October 2018 edition of The Smart Manager.
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This story is from the September - October 2018 edition of The Smart Manager.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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