The Facilitative Leader

I recently read this white paper (again) by Linda Dunkel CEO of Interaction Associates and Christine Arena author of The High Purpose Company. I’m a real fan of what they have to say. This particular segment really stood out for me:

“— the facilitative leader — one who engages relevant stakeholders in solving problems collaboratively and works to build a more collaborative culture in his or her organization or community. The facilitative leader makes conscious choices about how much collaboration is appropriate for each decision and delegates accordingly. The facilitative leader is able to get more out of the organization, while staying on track and driving the strategy forward. The facilitative leader is able to devise and articulate a vision of triple-bottom-line value that inspires and motivates internal and external company stakeholders alike.”

We hear a lot about innovation and collaboration right now, and although companies say that they are doing these things we don’t see many examples of what this looks like. I think the ‘facilitative leader’ uncovers a tangible component to collaboration and innovation (innovation doesn’t necessarily mean tech / geek, it could mean doing things differently inside your organization).

Facilitative leaders help play off of people’s strengths, think collectively, and push an organization forward. And aside from the “triple-bottom-line value” part (they certainly inspire growth, but this might be a stretch) Arena and Dunkel are right on with their definition.