Creating Leaderful Organizations

3 The Challenge of Leaderful Practice

Preparing for Leaderful Practice

Leaderful practice may not always be specified as the first leadership behavior exhibited within the community. Take, for example, the case of a hospital unit team who, having put up with a heavy-handed supervisor for fifteen years, got a chance to try out a self-directed team approach when the supervisor left the hospital.¹ The unit chose as its team leader someone who had strong interpersonal skills and who it considered a much kinder and gentler person. Originally, the team was excited about performing some of the administrative functions that the former manager had previously handled. The new team leader worked right along with the other staff in the unit, sharing administrative ...