Mezzo-Leadership
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The document discusses the concept of mezzo-leadership, which operates at the intersection of strategic and operational levels within organizations, emphasizing the importance of both vertical (north-south) and lateral (east-west) relationships. It highlights the necessity of task-initiated role relationships (TIRRs) for effective collaboration across functions, advocating for the design of governance protocols that facilitate interaction and decision-making among stakeholders. The document suggests that without proper coordination, organizational silos can lead to conflicts and inefficiencies, and presents questions for organizations to evaluate their structures and strategic alignment.
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Mezzo-Leadership
- 1. © Copyright Alkamind Consulting 1 Mezzo-Leadership Navigating Latitude & Longitude of organizational relationships Alf Rock [email protected] FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES
- 2. © Copyright Alkamind Consulting Mezzo-Leadership is positioned at the heart of an organization where the middle position allows access to both the higher strategic intent and the lower operational realities. This, north-south, latitudinal Mezzo capability is also complemented with an even more critical Longitudinal, east-west, position that allows for coordinating and monitoring relationships with organizational entities. 2 North-South (Latitude) = Vertical chain of command and control. East-West (Longitude) = Lateral process across functions.
- 3. © Copyright Alkamind Consulting 3 In a top-down (north-south) vertical latitude the position of Mezzo-Leadership can easily be seen as translating strategic objectives into programs of change . This vertical latitude corresponds to the layers of the organization and is familiar and workable provided the work does not span outside the scope of the “silo”. Systems Means Outcomes Macro • Purposeful • Authority • Decide • What is the vision? Mezzo • Goal-seeking • Influence • Plan • How do we get there? Micro • State maintain • Power • Execute • How do we sustain it? Define and allocate funds to new systems and solutions with an open consideration of available options (open) Reflect full exploration of opportunities, relative to constraints (open) Apply creativity and innovation in the utilization of authorized resources to carry out the program of change (open) Dictated by the authorization of resources to be applied to the achievement of goals (closed) Pre-agreed (design) processes and procedures in alignment with the project and operational plans (closed) Defined within pre-agreed service levels and product specifications (closed) The Means and Ends (outcomes) of each layer in a governance system can be open or closed.
- 4. © Copyright Alkamind Consulting Traditionally this vertical authority operates within hierarchical layers. Elliot Jaques referred to this north-south vertical layers as TARRs (Task Assigned Role Relationships). This is the traditional north-south interaction in a silo with relationships with the people we report to and those that reports to us. TARRs work well within a span of authority (silo), but when the need for lateral cross-functional processes (involving multiple silos or organizations) emerges then other relationships are needed. 4 A Life Cycle View Organize Implement Run Where do you live on this map and how are your lateral relationships?
- 5. © Copyright Alkamind Consulting 5 Let’s take a closer look at the 7 lateral relationships of authority & accountability that Jaques calls Task Initiated Role Relationships (TIRRs). Defining these (east-west) interactions between the various functions are critical for achieving effective and efficient outcomes. Efficiencies are gained by reduced compartmentalization and long, (north-south) communications chains. Efficiencies are formed through “treaties” between silos of pre-agreed levels of authority of lateral interaction. East-west interactions form relationships that are client centric and outcome focused. A can report higher about B A can be informed about B's work A can have access to persuade B A can have access to explain to B A can call coordinative meetings with Bs A can instruct B to do something A can instruct B to stop and B stops A can instruct B to delay and B delays A and B disagree - A decides C ollateralCompoments of Task Initiating (TIRRs) A = Initiator B = Responder Accountability & Authority (A&A) A = Initiator B = Responder P rescribe A udit C oordinate M onitor S ervice A dvisory High Authority Level Based on Task Initiated Role Relationships from Elliott Jaques’ Requisite Organization Mezzo-Leadership uses “finesse” capabilities of coordinating and monitoring, rather than the forces available to Prescribe and Audit. Low Authority Level
- 6. © Copyright Alkamind Consulting Let’s apply TIRRs over a life cycle model. The importance of TIRRs is that most significant endeavors operate as a process, and will span boundaries of organizational silos. These "silos” operate, internally, using a north-south protocol of Task Assigned Role Relationships (TARRs). If we fail to pre-agree the authorities of TIRRs between these silos: conflict arise, relationships suffer, and outcomes fail. Needs need to be seen and accommodated. 6 Prescriptive Authority: agrees the “Charter of Change” and provide the budget Audit Authority :validates against specific control objectives Coordinative Authority: brings together stakeholders to align the strategy into an integrated plan Monitoring Authority: tracks the tasks and metrics to provide transparent management oversight Service Authority: provides a set of capabilities to be used for implementation and operations Advisory Authority: provides expertise to be used at various levels of an organization Collateral Authority: is the collegial relationship between people working together Based on Task Initiated Role Relationships from Elliott Jaques’ Requisite Organization A Life Cycle View Which layers needs to be strengthen in your organization?
- 7. © Copyright Alkamind Consulting 7 Mezzo-Leadership coordinates across a diverse set of stakeholders, applying creativity and innovation to the translation of the organization’s goals into implementations and operational realities. Lateral coordination is at the heart of program management. Without this Mezzo- Leadership coordination capability, many ventures end up escalating their frustrations, re- organize the management or simply hiding the dysfunctions in “red tape”. Systems Means Outcomes Macro • Purposeful • Authority • Decide • What is the vision? Mezzo • Goal-seeking • Influence • Plan • How do we get there? Micro • State maintain • Power • Execute • How do we sustain it? Define and allocate funds to new systems and solutions with an open consideration of available options (open) Reflect full exploration of opportunities, relative to constraints (open) Apply creativity and innovation in the utilization of authorized resources to carry out the program of change (open) Dictated by the authorization of resources to be applied to the achievement of goals (closed) Pre-agreed (design) processes and procedures in alignment with the project and operational plans (closed) Defined within pre-agreed service levels and product specifications (closed) The Means and Ends (outcomes) of each layer in a governance system can be open (prescriptive) of closed (proscriptive). Coordinative Authority: brings together stakeholders to align the strategy into an integrated plan Monitoring Authority: tracks the tasks and metrics to provide transparent management oversight
- 8. © Copyright Alkamind Consulting 8 Macro (Executive) Layer – purposeful Mezzo (Management) Layer – goal-seeking Micro (Operational) Layer – state-maintaining Control Process Driven Measure Success Driven People Orientated Environmentally Viable Integrate Establish Order Achieve Success Integrate Cultures Internal (north-south) management of a silo is easier to manage from the top, than to coordinate (east-west) across multiple “silos of authority” from the middle. The challenges for north-south relationships begin to be felt when the program of change runs longer than two years or there are more than four layers involved. If a program runs over 2 years, Mezzo-Leadership needs to establish a sequence of change.
- 9. © Copyright Alkamind Consulting 9 Courtesy Alf Rock [email protected] [email protected] Courtesy Alf Rock alf@alkamin d.com alf@spirald ynamics.intr anets.com Cultural Values Social UL. Individual/Internal UR. Individual/External LL. Collective/Internal LR. Collective/External Thinking Behavior Blue Blue Red Orange Orange GreenGreen Beige Purple Red 2nd Tier Emerges Each phase in the sequence will need a framework of knowledge management creativity and innovation to establish controls, order, success and integration. Developed by Alf Rock [email protected] [email protected] Adapted from Ken Wilber & Richard Barrett Values Alignment Personal Alignment Structural Alignment Mission Alignment Coordinating the establishment of a program & governance structure within the operational realities and constraints. Focus on Order Internal organizational commitment to the “charter for change” & “strategic objectives”. Focus on Control Monitor, adapt and improve the life-cycle process to realize the benefits sought by the investment. Focus on Success Organizationally develop and integrate the skills & practices into a structure requisite to the success of the mission. Focus on People
- 10. © Copyright Alkamind Consulting Additional Slides – part of a secondary narrative 10
- 11. © Copyright Alkamind Consulting 11 The big questions ? 1. How well designed are our governance protocols across organizational entities? ? 2. How do we design the spaces that allow people to interact, create ideas, shape and share things of value for a richer engagement of stakeholders? ? 3. Can we see where we are on the epic unfolding of our adaptive intelligence against the prevailing life conditions ahead? i.e. where are we on the map?
- 12. © Copyright Alkamind Consulting 12 smaller questions 1. Will we need a new business model to engage differently with our customer (current or new emerging) or will the relationship and channel to our customer remain essentially the same? 2. Have we externalized your business model (created a map) so that the various "players" of this enterprise can see where they fit and the nature of their relationship to the other “parts of the big picture”? 3. Do we need to articulate a strategy to align and enroll broad communities within the organization or can we manage the various parts, compartmentalize from each other? 4. Have we defined the overall organizational structure with the key functional components and relationships? 5. Have we translated the "what" needs to happened (initiative) into a holistic program structure of time (when) and dependencies? 6. Have we translated the various initiatives of the program into individual projects to design/architect the "how" and "who" will implement the realization of the desired benefits? 7. Has the "manifest" that each project will deliver been assessed by the receiving "production" teams? 8. Do we have a way to represent the voice of stakeholders for each life-cycle stage? 9. Is the voice of the user/customer defined as a critical stakeholder in each stage?
- 13. © Copyright Alkamind Consulting 13 Knowledge Spiral 2-Dialogue or Collective reflection 3-Linking Explicit Knowledge 4-Learning by Doing 1-Field of Interactio n SECI model: Takeuchi & Nonaka Tacit TacitExplicit Explicit Externalization Tacit to Explicit Socialization Tacit to Tacit Internalization Explicit to Tacit Combination Explicit to Explicit The SECI knowledge creation promotes creative relationships.
- 14. © Copyright Alkamind Consulting 14 Exercising Learning by doing • Broadly shared • Embodied in action • Actualize concepts into practice • Simulation and experimentation trigger Systemizing • Connecting • Complex • Systematic • Workable plans • Operationalized • Disseminated • Usability Dialoguing • Crystallized sharable form • Embody skills • Metaphors, concepts • Analogies to bridge • Models to shape Originating • Shared experience • High-quality physical • Joint activities • Apprenticeship • Informal meetings • Transcend boundaries Socialization Externalization Internalization Combination Socialization Externalization Internalization Combination Socialization Externalization Internalization Combination Socialization Externalization Internalization Combination Creating the “ba” – a Space for interaction Which organizational space serve well and which needs improvement?
- 15. © Copyright Alkamind Consulting 15 Courtesy Alf Rock [email protected] [email protected] Courtesy Alf Rock alf@alkamin d.com alf@spirald ynamics.intr anets.com Cultural Values Social UL. Individual/Internal UR. Individual/External LL. Collective/Internal LR. Collective/External Thinking Behavior Blue Blue Red Orange Orange GreenGreen Beige Purple Red Orthodox Fundamentalism Prevails Liberal Fundamentalism Prevails … ... Until emergent complexity brings forth the next existential crisis! 2nd Tier Emerges Intentional Personal meaning and inner skills Behavioral Individual behavior and outer skills Systems Systems and Processes Cultural Cultural and shared meaning AQAL as Organizational Evolution Developed by Alf Rock [email protected] Adapted from Ken Wilber