Ever heard this: There is no leadership in self-managing organisations?

When we move away from command-and-control organisations, it's easy to assume that everyone should be equal. No bosses means no leaders, right?

Unfortunately, this is a trap that will result in a whole raft of problems.

Bossless does not equal leaderless.

A former manager told me recently that they felt unable to intervene when they saw a major issue in a team. "Who am I to say anything? I'm not anyone's boss anymore!"

When we shut down or avoid leadership, we create a leadership vacuum. It results in problems like: lack of accountability, creative entropy, shadow hierarchies, and a stagnant culture.

Effective self-managing organisations are leaderful.

Leadership should flow, like water, to where it's needed. There are hierarchies, yes, but they are dynamic and chosen (versus fixed and appointed).

The first step is to create the conditions for leadership to be unleashed from across the organisation.

Tip #1: Identify obstacles to leadership. Host conversations where people can share what gets in the way for them to step into their leadership when it's needed.

Tip #2: Point to examples of leadership you want to multiply. Appreciative Interviews is a nice Liberating Structure you can use.

Tip #3: Seek ruthless feedback. Ask your peers: when do you experience me dominating in my leadership? And when do you experience me abdicating or shying away from leadership?

Remember, if we equate bossless with leaderless, we miss out on all kinds of vital energy, creativity, and learning.

Instead, let us think about how to create organisations that are leaderful.