Distributed Leadership – Deborah Ancona

Nimble Organizations, Agile, X-Teams, Leadership... You will learn about all those in this incredible chat with Prof. Deborah Ancona! Vision, mission, and objectives are key but constitute only half of the story for a high-performing team. What differentiates high-performing teams is their ability to reach out and understand the larger organization, the wider ecosystem, new trends, new technologies… This is X-Teams. A nimble organization is usually referred to as an organization able to adapt fast, it is also a culture that embraces freedom and people’s ability to be full fledge members of this community. The underlying success factor is respect with a learning mindset: tough on ideas, respect for people. Enjoy learning about years of research and those concepts and tools to make our organizations and teams high-performing to deliver on our companies’ purposes.

"Open up your mind to receive and update your view of the world."

MEET OUR GUEST Deborah Ancona Professor of Management and founder of the MIT Leadership Center.

Deborah Ancona is the Seley Distinguished Professor of Management, a Professor of Organization Studies, and the Founder of the MIT Leadership Center at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Deborah’s research and work led to the creation of multiple powerful models, tools, practices and concepts, including X-Teams as a vehicle for driving innovation within large organizations, and also the concept of distributed leadership that enable organizations to foster creative leadership at every level.

She has also served as a consultant on leadership and innovation to several companies including healthcare. 

Deborah is the author of the book, X-Teams: How to Build Teams That Lead, Innovate, and Succeed along with several other publications and articles in prestigious reviews. One of my favorites is “Family Ghosts in the Executive Suite”.

Below are some incredible tools and concept resources shared by Prof. Ancona in this episode:

Readings (Don't hesitate to reach out for more information) - The 4-CAPS+ model:  In Praise of the Incomplete Leader, HBR. - Sensemaking:  Framing and Acting in the Unknown, chapter.  - Challenge-Driven Leadership  - The X-Factor:  Six Steps to Building High-Performing X-teams, Organizational Dynamics.  x-teams: How to Build Teams that Lead, Innovate and Succeed, Harvard Business School Press. 

Nimble Organizations:    https://hbr.org/2019/07/nimble-leadership https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/five-rules-for-leading-in-a-digital-world https://hbr.org/ideacast/2019/07/the-3-types-of-leaders-of-innovative-companies https://hbr.org/2019/07/how-to-give-your-team-the-right-amount-of-autonomy

Tools: Tools to help move organizations from bureaucracies to more nimble forms.  These can be found at xLEAD.co.  

Tools include:  x360—a 360-degree leadership development tool based on the 4-CAPS+ model xCHANGE—is a simulation aimed at helping individuals and teams to learn how to use xTEAMS for effective change and innovation.   xCARDS—this is an exercise that can be used to assess how well your organization practices nimble leadership. There is also a card exercise to help individuals, teams, and organizations understand their leadership signatures, team identities, or organizational cultures. 

Courses (available in-person and live online) https://exec.mit.edu/s/