Discover the benefits of invisible leadership
Creative Leadership requires a culture where the visions and goals of the organisation are held by the workforce, rather than the leader!
When you hear the term invisible leadership, you might picture a leader who lets their team members get on with the job uninterrupted, or one who isn’t around much. While that first interpretation has some significance, the latter is a recipe for disaster.
The concept of invisible leadership is less to do with how much a leader is seen and heard, and more about the way an organisation communicates its vision and objectives to employees. The origins of invisible leadership come from the modern way that conversations happen in the connected world.
Changing how we think
The internet transformed human life and continues to do so. The world has become a huge information exchange system that shares data, values, ideas, and beliefs widely and instantaneously.
This transformation includes the way we prefer to learn. Research undertaken at cybersecurity business Palo Alto demonstrated that the most powerful organisational learning and knowledge-sharing stems from informal relationships and personal networks. Invisible leadership capitalises on this fundamental concept.
Visible versus invisible leadership
For bold leaders to engage and motivate today’s workforces, they need to align their thinking and practices with the modern way conversations happen.
If ‘visible leadership’ is positioning yourself as a prominent figurehead who loudly proclaims their vision and objectives, and expects them to be achieved, then invisible leadership is motivating employees to champion the vision and objectives for themselves.
You can see this as a driving factor in the success of many major organisations, including those regular held up as the best companies to work for. For example, Apple, Cisco, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce and Tesla.
Capitalising on community
The basis of invisible leadership is encouraging networks of conversations within the organisation that go from top to bottom and back up again in a continuous feedback loop.
Naturally, you need to capitalise on the various communications channels within your organisation, most notably using your network of team leaders, champions and other key influencers to spread the word.
Self-perpetuating leadership
By achieving a culture of invisible leadership, every employee owns the vision and objectives, and has an input at some level. They all serve a common purpose, which helps to generate a network of trust and shared commitment.
The outcome is often a more productive and innovative organisation where employees take the initiative because they know exactly where they are going.
Practicing invisible leadership can also make you more effective as a leader as it reduces the amount of time you spend giving directions. Instead, you can dedicate yourself to more important tasks such as devising future strategies.
Don’t disappear!
The pitfall of invisible leadership is actually becoming invisible to your workforce. As we mentioned earlier, this is a recipe for disaster that can lead to failures, missed opportunities, and a weak culture.
Studies prove that retention rates are higher if leaders spend time with employees. Therefore, maintain your presence while building a strong culture of invisible leadership in which everyone is leading themselves in the direction you need to go.
How can training help me?
Training can help you develop a stronger leadership style that enables you to achieve more within your organisation. Here are a few articles that may help:
- What does a good leadership style look like? Learn about the characteristics that drive success – What is a good leadership style?
- A leader’s success often hinges on their ability to persuade others to follow their vision and objectives. Read our four steps for persuasive leadership.
- Every leader is different, but good leaders tend to follow patterns of success. Read our round-up of the five things good leaders do every day.
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