Know thyself. And knowing himself, he may learn to use
advances of knowledge to benefit, rather than destroy, the human species.

Simon and Newell (1958:8)



Leadership is a journey, not a destination.
It is a marathon, not a sprint.
It is a process, not an outcome.

John Donahoe, president of eBay cited in George (2007:3)

The first step is to understand oneself before you can understand other people. Individual reflection is an important precondition for organisational or network reflection. DeRue and Ashford argue:

“You learn how to go forward by looking backward”

(DeRue and Ashford, 2010: 26)



Figure hitching a ride to empowerment
On the road to Empowerment

Exploring the Journey:  The Road to Empowerment

The collective leadership framework places behaviours as a high-level outcome of shared values. Part of the problem is that the focus of traditional leadership theories has been more about the individual than the collective.

The journey starts with the individual but, if most (individual) leaders are indeed fundamentally flawed in some vital respects, is this because they are driven by intrinsic values and motivation?  If so, the role of collective leadership is to mitigate those flaws by focusing on shared values. Based on a review of the literature and my experience and research over many more years than I care to remember, a range of case studies is explored against a framework for leadership through 360° intelligent networks, knowledge and skills assisted by a moral and value-laden leadership compass.


Action Learning

Action learning is certainly increasing in popularity as a pedagogical method and is viewed quite widely as an excellent means of experiential learning between groups of individuals facing organisational problems. 

A typical Action Learning Set will consist of 5 or 6 people who commit to work together over a period of at least six months. The set meets regularly (possibly every six weeks) for a day or half a day.  No one person is considered more important than any other and all have a contribution to make, even when they are not experts in a particular field. Participants in action learning sets are encouraged to bring in their heart as well as their head


Applied Leadership Challenge


An Applied Leadership Challenge (ALC) seeks to take this one stage further and apply the principles of action learning throughout the organisation and its networks and directly aligning the learning to the impact for the organisation and its networks in addition to that of the individual learner.

Committing to Applied Leadership Challenges

The senior leaders of an organisation or partnership would agree to collaborate in the development of a collective vision with a view to delivering outcomes that are in the public interest, based on the presenting problem profile and its integrity.

What are we trying to achieve through Applied Leadership Challenges?

The Selfless Leader discusses the Compass Values (Collective Vision; Outcome Focus; Multi-Level Leadership; Partnership Working; Action-Oriented and Adaptive Leadership; Systems and Structures and Skills and Behaviours, using the ‘COMPASS’ acronym) in some detail as well as the concept of leading responses to ‘wicked problems.

A ‘puzzle’ can be equated with a ‘tame’ problem whereas a wicked problem is (usually) unsolvable. A problem profile concerns the framing of the problem. If the problem is framed wrongly then this is likely to lead to the wrong solution being chosen. A key aim of the problem profile is thus to frame the challenge that the organisation or its networks are facing and, if it is framed correctly, then there is less opportunity for individual leaders to re-frame it. It is only through shared leadership that collective responses can be suggested in resolving ‘wicked’ problems. This is the main aim of the Applied Leadership Challenge.

The aim is to develop a multi-level approach to problem-solving and action learning through a cascaded approach of action learning and applied leadership challenge.

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