2 The Co-Active Leadership Model

One-dimensional models of leadership do not have the range to celebrate and honor different expressions of leadership. To be truly effective, communities—whether in the family or in the workplace—need a model that is multidimensional and inclusive. This allows leadership to be a flexible system in which everyone can assume leadership regardless of his or her role or title and move flu-idly through different dimensions of leadership, depending on the needs of the moment.

Multidimensionality and agility allow us to access a broader range of resources from a number of powerful leaders, each taking responsibility in a different way. Collaborative solutions emerge that would not have been available from one-dimensional, hierarchical leadership structures in which important considerations are often overlooked.

The Co-Active Leadership Model offers five different dimensions, five different ways to lead. Though it is useful to pull the different dimensions apart for the sake of learning and practice, the dimensions of the Co-Active Leadership Model are designed to work together. Everyone, at different times, plays all five roles, shifting from dimension to dimension as the circumstances and the needs of the moment require.

The Co-Active Leadership Model

When Co-Active Leadership is really working, leadership is shared at every level in a system, be it an organization, a family system, or some other kind of community. While there are various roles and responsibilities, everyone involved feels committed and engaged because they understand that they have an important contribution to make to the success of the whole.

It’s normal to find that we are more skillful and comfortable in one dimension than another. For example, some of us excel at Leader in Front and need to learn to give way to others from time to time. Others of us are extraordinary at Leader Behind and tend to shy away from the spotlight. As Co-Active leaders, we need practice all the dimensions of the model and learn to shift from one to the other nimbly.

Sometimes there is concern that with so many people contributing and participating, we won’t be able to move forward effectively. We fear that there will be too much co and not enough active. It is important to remember that participation is not the same as agreement. It is entirely possible for a group of people to move forward quite effectively, aligned around a common vision and with considerable disagreement about the most effective action. When people are allowed to own responsibility for the decisions they make, they can seek advice and input from others while still making a considered decision that does not comply with everyone’s opinion.

Leader Within lies at the center of the model and is formed by the overlap of the remaining four dimensions, which are Leader in Front, Leader Behind, Leader Beside, and Leader in the Field. This is because the dimension of Leader Within is unique and also present in all the other dimensions.

What follows is a brief description of the dimensions of Co-Active Leadership. In the following chapters, we’ll be illustrating each dimension more fully and offer examples of how the dimension might be utilized.