Leading from Behind Could Propel Your Business Forward

Traditional leadership in business tends to be structured in a top-down fashion; that is to say, there’s someone at the top, prioritizing for, dictating to and orchestrating the actions of underlings below. Since the dawn of business, the leadership structure has thus been administered: some one individual acting as the boss, in charge of making every decision, delegating every action and getting all the credit for the work of their team. The efficacy of such a structure was never questioned - that was just the way it was in business.

In these times when employees are keen on working in a more authentic, collaborative environment where they feel a sense of purpose, new structures of leadership are arising as highly attractive - and highly effective alternatives to traditionally instituted ones.

Could adopting a different leadership style - or some elements of it - benefit your business? An extremely progressive one of these styles is known as "leading from behind." While the term sounds contradictory, there’s a compelling truth to the theory as stated.

The concept of leading from behind as a leadership style was inspired by none other than Nelson Mandala. Upon reading his autobiography, Linda Hill of the Harvard Business School noted that Mandela compared successful leaders to shepherds herding their flocks from behind, where they can better oversee them.

When compared to the shepherd, a leader in this vantage point of being able to see the people they’re leading has a clear view of the individual employees, how they work, what they bring to the table, and what talents they possess. Indeed, it’s easier to take note of that which is in front of you. And what they see, rather than only their own view of a particular goal and how to achieve it, is the entirety of their team. From behind they are able to see the whole picture - not just the big picture. They can see the functioning of the team, not from ahead of it or above it, but from within it - as one of its members, not the most important member.

Leading from behind flips the script on traditional "pied piper" style of leadership. Rather than following a leader with a singular vision, mission and execution style, teams that are led from behind are afforded the opportunity to participate more fully in their work. That is a highly empowering situation for employees who no longer are satisfied with being told what to do; they are ready, willing and able to step up, think for themselves, take initiative and innovate.

When the leading is happening from behind, the definition of leader becomes broader because one person isn’t doing all the heavy lifting. This style encourages leadership qualities in employees to emerge so that it becomes more of a communal role. Often the original leader can take on a supporting role in nurturing leadership qualities in their teammates.

The role of the leader from behind is to ensure that everyone is working toward the same goals, then to provide support and inspiration, leaving room for innovation. They should provide opportunities for employees to learn and grow in workshops by collaboration. All team members are encouraged to invest in the business’ success and new ideas are celebrated and rewarded. This is not to say that the team has no leader; rather that it has co-leaders. It’s important that leaders step in to lend support when needed - not to rescue the team but to lead with grace. To optimize the opportunity for team growth, it’s difficult but necessary to allow the team to learn from mistakes.

Is leading from behind a viable leadership strategy for every business? No, it’s not. It works best in environments that are more creative than urgent where teams have the luxury of time for the conception and development of new ideas and strategies. It is also best implemented in industries where failure is an option because there is a learning curve involved for people’s innovative spirit to emerge, be recognized and purposely directed. But elements of leadership from behind that involve looking at and engaging with employees, worker empowerment and acceptance of a diversity of ideas can make any team more successful.

Could - and should - your business begin leading from behind?