New Water Policy and Practice Volume 1, Number 2 - Spring 2015 | Page 16
Understanding Six Water Leadership Roles
Table 3: Key leader competencies and leadership strategies typically associated with the
enabling leader role
Leader Competencies
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•
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The ability to correctly diagnose complex
challenges (‘wicked problems’) and apply an
enabling leadership style to address them
(see Uhl-Bien et al. 2007; Snowden and
Boone 2007). Such challenges are difficult,
evolve over time, are perceived differently
by different stakeholders, have many
interdependencies and there is no obvious or
agreed solution (Rittel and Webber 1973).
A propensity to enabling others (e.g.,
affected stakeholders and technical experts)
to find solutions to complex challenges,
rather than directing them how to solve
problems. This typically involves trusting
others, ‘letting go’ of the detail, and being
comfortable with uncertainty, ambiguity and
experimentation.
Advanced inter-personal skills, including
communication (e.g., storytelling, active
listening, and strategic framing), facilitation,
conflict management, and managing
stakeholder relations.
•
Advanced social networking skills, including
building networks, alliances, and coalitions
across organisational boundaries.
•
The ability to take a systemic approach to
problem-solving, see the ‘big picture’, take a
long-term perspective, and interpret change
for colleagues (e.g., explaining why there is
resistance to change). This includes the
ability to use systems thinking techniques to
help stakeholders to build a shared vision of
the problem and possible solutions.
•
Patience and the ability to work on complex
challenges characterised by conflict, setbacks, uncertainty, and long time frames.
•
The ability to use transformational leadership
behaviours to build shared visions for
projects that are clear and inspiring, inspire
confidence, build commitment and influence
people across organisational boundaries.
Enabling water leaders who are good at
shaping organisational cultures are also
usually strong transformational leaders (see
Taylor 2010a).
Leadership Strategies
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Working with others to create environments for
collaboration, innovation, experimentation, responsible
risk-taking, and ‘learning by doing’. These environments
may include demonstration projects, learning alliances,
communities of practice, task forces or research projects.
Often enabling leaders in the water sector build bridges
between practitioners and researchers.
•
Shaping the culture of the organisational team so that it
values the previously described behaviours (e.g.,
experimentation). This includes modeling these
behaviours and frequently reinforcing their importance
through positive feedback, corrective action and
storytelling.
•
Building and supporting teams working on challenging
projects by providing resources, mentoring and coaching,
sharing information and knowledge, and connecting them
to other teams or people. These teams often across
organisational boundaries and require a champion-type
leader to get started.
•
Fostering innovation and creativity within teams (e.g.,
using creative thinking techniques and external thought
leaders to stimulate discussion).
•
Facilitating activities that involve frequent interaction
between stakeholders and encourage task-focused,
productive conflict.
•
Maintaining an atmosphere where the status quo is no
longer acceptable, there is an impetus for change, but
people are not overwhelmed by the challenge (see Heifetz
et al. 2004). Heifetz and colleagues use the analogy of a
pressure cooker, where heat and pressure are needed to
cook but a valve is also needed to reduce the pressure if it
becomes too great.
•
Monitoring for the emergence of potential solutions and
leaders to champion them.
•
Managing conflict between forces that promote the status
quo and those that advocate for change. For example,
managing the tension between organisational leaders who
want traditional water services to be delivered more
efficiently and champion-type leaders who are promoting
radical change towards more sustainable water services.
•
Celebrating ‘small wins’ and scaling-up successful trials.
•
Looking for ways to institutionalise new approaches (e.g.,
through formal policies and legislation) to embed new
practices.
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