Multi-Faceted Management Model: Braided Leadership

“Braided leadership” is a metaphorical concept that evokes the image of multiple strands intertwined to create a robust and cohesive structure. It represents a collaborative, inclusive, and multi-faceted approach to leadership, where interweaving diverse skills, perspectives, and roles leads an organisation effectively. Several brands reflect braided leadership by combining diverse leadership strengths to drive innovation, customer success, and financial resilience.

Critical Concepts:

The critical concepts of braided leadership require:

Interconnected Roles and Skills as in Tech Startups: Strengthening braid requires interweaving multiple strands; a team or organisation is strengthening depends on leaders with diverse skills and backgrounds working together. Each leader brings unique capabilities — strategic vision, operational expertise, empathy, and technical acumen to create a resilient leadership structure. In a tech startup, braided leadership might involve a trio of leaders: the CEO, who focuses on strategy and vision; the CTO, who handles technology and product development; and the COO, who oversees operations and scaling. By working together closely, they ensure that the company’s growth is balanced and sustainable, with each leader contributing their expertise to the overall strategy.

Shared Leadership and Distributed Authority as in the Healthcare Industry: Authority and decision-making are distributed rather than centralised in a braided leadership model. This approach empowers individuals across the organisation to take initiative and share leadership responsibilities, leading to more agility and adaptability. In a hospital setting, braided leadership is visible in a multidisciplinary team comprising doctors, nurses, administrators, and patient advocates. They jointly run a triage process to agree on a plan for critical patient well-being. Each group brings its perspective on patient care, and leadership is shared among them to make decisions that balance clinical outcomes, patient experience, and operational efficiency.

Integration of Multiple Perspectives as in Corporate Leadership: Braided leadership emphasises integrating diverse perspectives. Leaders from different departments (e.g., marketing, technology, finance, customer success) collaborate closely, ensuring that decisions are well-rounded and consider the impact on all facets of the organisation. In a social enterprise, braided leadership can manifest through a board of directors that includes community leaders, business experts, and individuals with lived experience relAnkitant to the organisation’s mission. It ensures that strategic decisions are grounded in practical business considerations and that a deep understanding of the social issues is addressable.

Strength in Diversity as in the Social Sector: Just as a braid is strongest when made of diverse, complementary strands, an organisation thrives when it leverages diverse experiences, cultural backgrounds, and leadership styles. This diversity fosters creativity, innovation, and a more comprehensive approach to problem-solving. Braided leadership reflections and data sets in a large corporation are responsible for an executive team composed of leaders from different geographical regions and business units, each contributing their localised knowledge and expertise. This approach helps the organisation navigate complex global markets by making decisions informed by diverse, on-the-ground insights.

Braids can withstand tension and pressure by distributing force across their strands. Similarly, braided leadership creates a resilient organisation that can withstand challenges and adapt to change because it relies on a network of interconnected leaders rather than a single point of failure.

Leadership Structure:

Braided leadership is about creating a leadership structure that is more significant than the sum of its parts, enabling an organisation to navigate complexity with strength and flexibility. Thus,

1. Foster a Culture of Collaboration: Encourage open communication and collaboration across departments and hierarchies. Create opportunities for leaders to work together on cross-functional projects and initiatives.

2. Empower Diverse Voices: Allow for different perspectives by involving diverse stakeholders in decision-making. It might involve setting up advisory boards, councils, or working groups that include voices from various levels of the organisation.

3. Develop Shared Leadership Skills: Invest in leadership development programs focusing on collaborative skills, such as active listening, conflict resolution, and co-creation. Encourage leaders to build networks of support and partnership within and outside the organisation.

4. Align on Shared Values and Vision: Ensure all leaders align with the organisation’s core values and vision. This shared sense of purpose acts as the thread that binds the braid together, even when leaders come from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

Braided leadership development programs are increasingly crucial for mid-level and senior managers aspiring to take on broader leadership roles. The urgency in today’s context is due to the pressure on managerial roles, which has intensified due to several factors. For one increased complexity, due to globalisation, technological advancements, and evolving customer expectations, businesses face greater complexity. Another reason is faster change in the business environment, which is constantly changing, requiring leaders to be agile and adaptable. Lastly, the talent shortage, finding and retaining skilled leaders is a significant challenge for many organisations.

Developing Braided Leadership:

It is essential to develop braided leadership development programs to address these challenges by providing managers with the skills, knowledge, and support they need to succeed in demanding leadership roles.

1. Preparedness for On-the-Job Skills: Braided programs intertwine theoretical learning with practical application, allowing managers to apply new skills in their current roles immediately. It accelerates the learning process and builds confidence. These programs often include mentorship and coaching components, providing personalised guidance and support from experienced leaders. Participants need to work on real-world challenges facing the organisation, gaining valuable experience in problem-solving and decision-making.

2. Acquisition of New Competencies: Braided programs go beyond traditional leadership training by incorporating diverse areas like strategic thinking, communication, emotional intelligence, change management, and cross-cultural leadership. This approach equips managers to handle the complexities of today’s business world, characterised by rapid change, globalisation, and technological disruption. By developing broader skills, managers are better prepared for future leadership challenges and opportunities.

3. Diversity of Collaboration: Braided programs involve participants from different departments and backgrounds, fostering collaboration and a holistic understanding of the organisation. Participants build relationships with peers and senior leaders, expanding their network and fostering a sense of community. Exposure to different perspectives and approaches enhances problem-solving and decision-making abilities.

While braided leadership development offers numerous benefits, it’s important to acknowledge potential drawbacks. For example, these programs can be expensive and time-consuming, requiring significant investment from the organisation and the participants. Designing and implementing an effective braided program requires careful planning and coordination. This approach may not suit all individuals or organisations. Some managers may prefer a more traditional, linear approach to learning.

Putting Braided Leadership in a Company — A Story:

Despite these challenges, the benefits of braided leadership development programs far outweigh the drawbacks, especially in today’s dynamic business environment. These programs help organisations develop a strong leadership pipeline and ensure their future success by equipping managers with the necessary skills, knowledge, and networks. Let us take a story to demonstrate the above:

In a bustling city known for its diverse industries and rapid growth, a company called InnoWave thrived at the forefront of innovation. The secret to InnoWave’s success was a unique approach to leadership called braided leadership. Unlike traditional hierarchies, braided leadership brought together multiple threads of leadership styles and strengths, woven into a unified whole that was stronger and more resilient than the sum of its parts.

The company was led by three core leaders: Ankita, Deepak, and Priya. Each brought their own expertise and perspectives, representing different “strands” in the leadership braid.

• Ankita was an analytical thinker, known for her ability to streamline operations and build processes. She had a sharp eye for detail and often focused on reducing complexity, both internally and in customer relationships. Her goal was to make the company’s systems user-friendly, which helped the teams focus more on innovation and less on troubleshooting.

• Deepak was a visionary and a people-oriented leader, passionate about customer success and revenue growth. Deepak believed that by deeply understanding customer needs and building trust, the company could drive retention and growth organically. He saw every customer as a partner in a larger mission, and his insights helped InnoWave shape its premium services in ways that not only met client demands but exceeded them.

• Priya brought financial acumen and a strategic mind focused on revenue and churn management. She kept the company’s financials healthy, ensuring there was space for growth and reinvestment. Priya also created recovery plans that minimized losses when projects went off-track, ensuring that InnoWave stayed agile and resilient.

Together, they practiced braided leadership, interweaving their strengths to create a balanced approach to decision-making. Ankita’s complexity reduction often made room for Deepak’s customer-focused innovations, while Priya’s financial insights kept these initiatives sustainable. Each leader could step into a different role if needed, but they worked best when they leaned on each other’s strengths.

One day, a major client called Zenith Corp faced a sudden market shift and needed immediate adjustments to their product strategy. The team at InnoWave sprang into action. Ankita simplified internal processes so they could respond quickly, Deepak engaged with Zenith to understand the challenges deeply, and Priya adjusted the budget to allocate resources for the client’s needs without affecting overall stability.

By combining their talents, InnoWave not only helped Zenith overcome the crisis but also deepened their relationship. Zenith became a loyal client, attributing its turnaround to InnoWave’s adaptive and cohesive leadership approach.

Through braided leadership, InnoWave flourished in a competitive market, and their model became an example for others. This approach underscored that leadership, when woven together with diverse strengths, could create something far more durable and impactful than any single style alone.

In Summary:

Braided leadership requires a holistic approach, where these diverse skills and perspectives are interwoven to create a strong and adaptable leadership fabric. This means:

• Collaboration: Leaders with different expertise work together, sharing their knowledge and insights to make informed decisions.
• Shared Accountability: Leaders take collective responsibility for the organization’s success, fostering a sense of ownership and commitment.
• Empowerment: Leaders empower their teams to take initiative, innovate, and contribute their unique talents.

Benefits of Braided Leadership

• Increased Agility: The organization becomes more adaptable and responsive to changing market conditions.
• Enhanced Innovation: A collaborative and diverse leadership team fosters a culture of innovation and creativity.
• Improved Performance: Streamlined operations, customer-centricity, and a focus on growth drive improved organizational performance.
• Stronger Relationships: Trust, transparency, and shared accountability build stronger relationships with customers, employees, and stakeholders.

In conclusion, braided leadership is a powerful approach that combines diverse skills and perspectives to create a dynamic and successful organization. By weaving together financial acumen, innovation, customer success, and a focus on recovery and growth, braided leaders can navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and drive sustainable growth.