Chapter 19Leading From The Middle
The Leadership Model suggests that leadership takes place in a downward direction in the organization: to the followers who report to the leader. But there are situations where the leader's target of influence are peers, customers, and sometimes the leaders they report to. That's known as Upward Leading, where the principles of leadership are unchanged, but the practical realities make the practice challenging.
Leaders often feel powerless, but that sense reflects a lack of understanding of Organization Power, the degree of control or influence a leader has in a situation. Applying Organization Power to a list of the Critical Safety Factors that have caused many high profile safety events, by virtue of stop work authority—control—the front line leader is often the most powerful member of management in the hierarchy. A front line leader has two other very significant sources of influence: information as to what's really going on, and credibility with followers.
The proper understanding and application of Organization Power won't make a leader's life easier, but is will make safety performance better.
Preparation Questions
- Why do you think many front line leaders fail to appreciate the Organization Power they actually possess?
- One particularly important opportunity to “lead from the middle” is to provide upper management with a true picture of organization reality as it relates to safety. In your organization, where do you see a potential ...