A New Model of Leadership

In this paper we provide a new definition of leadership that gives organizations and individuals access to new power, performance and accomplishment. In our model leadership consists of four critical elements: ∞ The creation of a vision for the future that represents a significant departure from the past, one that requires breakthroughs for its realization. ∞ The creation of a system that facilitates enrollment into and elicits voluntary commitment to the vision by the critical mass of people required to discover and implement the breakthroughs required for realization of the vision. ∞ The creation of a system that ensures both the timely identification of breakdowns (and the dissemination of information about them) that, if unresolved, would prevent the successful realization of the vision. ∞ The creation of a system for managing breakdowns that causes people to voluntarily recommit to the vision and maintain these commitments through to the implementation of the breakthroughs required for the realization of the vision. We give examples and summarize evidence illustrating our principles and their productivity, and provide advice for putting these principles into action.