3 Practices of Disruptive Leadership
Disruptive times call for disruptive leadership. When we take actions to disrupt the inequitable status quo in our community, we are exercising disruptive leadership. Over this turbulent year, I’ve watched a number of people with positional power use their authority and influence to disrupt the status quo. They’ve done so in three different ways:
Share and/or Give Up Power — The status quo is rarely disrupted when key players stay in place for long periods of time. Such leaders become accustomed to and comfortable with the status quo — as it invariably works to reinforce their power. Sometimes it takes a global pandemic to persuade organizational leaders to give up power. Many communities created emergency relief funds that awarded special grants to help residents cope with the consequences of the corona virus pandemic. Money was raised from a variety of players, including philanthropy, business and wealthy individuals. In most communities, the people that contributed the money decided where the money went — perpetuating the current power structure. In one community, however, the powerful entities that created its relief fund turned over the allocation of the funds to a newly formed committee made up of residents and neighborhood leaders. Those with positional power recognized that those on the street were better judges of where the needs were greatest. Whether this act of sharing power becomes the norm or remains the exception, may well shape how well that community (and others) disrupts the status quo.
Acknowledge Ignorance — We expect those with positional power to advocate for solutions — often solutions that reinforce their power. But in disruptive times, the “solution” is rarely evident. Instead, the solution emerges from a process of learning and engaging with others. Disruptive leaders are comfortable saying, “I don’t know the answer, but I’m confident that together we can figure this out.” A white business owner who felt compelled to acknowledge and address the consequences of systemic racism in his community started off advocating for a fairly simple “solution” of placing an advertisement din the local paper that would be signed by many of his peers and declare their shared commitment to equity. But he quickly acknowledged that such an act would create a “moment, not a movement.” Instead of declaring the answer, he’s embarked on a much more challenging journey of inquiry by engaging with others to explore what could and should be done to address systemic racism in his community.
Alter Practices and Policies — We often look to leaders to push others to change — to get others to follow. But first leaders with positional power must change their own practices and policies that perpetuate the status quo. The CEO of an organization expected to lead efforts to address systemic racism in her community strengthened her ability to exercise leadership by first holding a mirror up to her own organization. The mirror showed that her organization had its own set of racist practices and had made no effort to operationalize equity and anti-racism. A long, difficult and rewarding process followed that resulted in changes that ranged from how the organization welcomed people into its buildings to the key performance expectations of its leadership team. She now feels comfortable exercising greater leadership in her community and uses the example of her own organization’s journey to inspire other leaders to operationalize equity and anti-racism in their organizations.
How our communities emerge from these disruptive times will depend on how well we each practice disruptive leadership.
