The Primes: How any Group can Solve any Problem

SHAPE SHIFTING

How to destroy your power in groups.

Meetings are rarely the best place to make decisions. They are, however, a good place to develop recommendations that can later turn into decisions. Leaders can assume a collaborative or an authoritarian relationship with a group, but not both at once. How explicit are you about your role?

Every group needs and wants a leader. Two of the many types of leaders are characterized in this PRIME:

1. Leaders who put themselves into a collaborative relationship with their group: They roll up their sleeves, brainstorm as peers, and help formulate recommendations before the decision is made.

2. Leaders who assume a hierarchical relationship with the group and use their organizational authority to make decisions: They frequently use the command-and-control leadership style mentioned in the LEADERSHIP SPECTRUM PRIME.

Both roles are vital; the key is for leaders to make it clear which role they take. Many make the common mistake of declaring a collaborative relationship with the group and then making authoritative decisions. This change in roles is called SHAPE SHIFTING and it frequently erodes the trust a group places in its leader.

Some decisions necessitate creativity, innovation, and the group's involvement and wisdom, while other situations require a quick decision.

The discussion of OPEN–CLOSE–DECIDE showed us that there's no such ...