We Make Great Leaders.

By Erica and Karen

A recent Harvard Business review article asked What Makes A Great Leader?

That article contends that the type of leadership the world needs today is what [certain people] embody: a mixture of skills that spark innovation within an organization and across external organizations and ecosystems.

All the leaders in the book were visionaries who knew that innovation was rarely the result of an individual genius’s having an “aha” moment Consequently they adopted an inclusive definition of leadership and did all they could to democratize innovation. They believed that everybody had a “slice of genius” — their talents and passions — that could be unleashed and leveraged to develop innovative solutions to stakeholders’ pain points and ambitions.

The authors identify three leadership styles: architect, bridger and catalyst. (Obviously, this is an oversimplified summary. Read the very interesting article!). Each type is essential if an enterprise is to ensure that all participants bring their talents, and those of others, together so that its objectives advance in a nimble fashion.

• The architect creates an organizational structure in which everyone is motivated to innovate.

• The bridger figures out how people within his group can identify and reach out to people or resources outside the group to advance her work.

• The catalyst motivates people to work together faster.

The article concludes:

Our leadership challenge today is an existential one. When faced with crises, we humans tend to default to our muscle memory. But how we have led in the past will not take us where we aspire to be. The time has come to embrace a new kind of leader who is prepared to take on the promise of innovative problem-solving — who is willing and able to unleash the abundant talents and passions all around us and leverage them to create a better world.

So what does that have to do with us? We think this leadership picture provides an apt description of a role that can be enhanced by a Wendy.  Who is a Wendy?

• A Wendy is someone like us who works outside the formal structure of a business, reporting to the top but from the side, available to all who seek advice about how to advance the objectives of the enterprise.

• A Wendy’s interest is to assist others to move forward–she herself is no longer on the way up.

• A Wendy has lots of skills and experience–lots more than younger people for obvious reasons.

So a Wendy is the perfect person to participate in thinking about creating innovative institutional architecture, bridging to other innovative resources, and catalyzing people to move forward faster, together. Of course advice from successful workers can be obtained on an ad hoc basis—but why not make it part of the structure?

A Wendy, in other words, is a leader’s leader. A great leader is someone who has done many things for many years, has reached the top of her profession, is freed from quotidian obligations imposed on those still climbing the ladder, and is passionate about sharing what she knows. A Wendy can help an architect, a bridger and a catalyst to function at a higher level.

Of course, the HBR article didn’t even mention retired career women. And that’s a shame. All of their findings would be amplified if we were seen as the unique assets we represent.

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