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TRIPLE STRENGTH LEADERSHIP - Coggle Diagram
TRIPLE STRENGTH LEADERSHIP
TRI-SECTOR LEADERS
someone who can engage and collaborate across the private, public and social sectors
appreciate the needs, aspirations, and incentives of people in all three sectors and speak their language
kinds of challenges they can help to address are not: managing resource constraints, controlling health care costs, training the 21st-century workforce, develop- ing and implementing smart-grid and intelligent- urbanisation technologies, stabilising financial systems to foster sustainable economic growth
government, business, and civil society collaborating, working together to provide lasting and sustainable solutions
people who have succeeded in crossing sectors have had notable careers as leaders
tri-sector leaders are distinguished as much by mind-set as by experience
PROBLEM
many of the world’s most intractable problems—operating in a resource-constrained world, training tomorrow’s workforce, controlling health care costs— require that government, business, and nonprofits cooperate
ARGUMENT
Tri-sector leaders—people who can bridge the chasms of culture, incentives, and purpose that separate the three sectors—are best suited to solve problems of this scale
SOLUTION
to develop these leaders we need a life-cycle approach: incorporate tri-sector issues in formal academic and executive training; set up exchange programs so that mid career leaders can build inter sector networks; and make tri-sector experience a talent development priority for business unit leaders and CEOs
BALANCING COMPETING MOTIVES
find ways to pursue overlapping and potentially conflicting professional goals
concerned at some point with wealth creation for themselves and their families, which they associate with the private sector
also aspire to positions of influence, impact, and leadership on a large scale, which draws them to government service
they typically have a strong sense of mission -> the primary focus of nonprofit
desire to create what Nye calls “public value,” -> which many in government consider to be the objective of public policy, much as shareholder value has become the objective of business
tri-sector leaders -> can contribute to public value whatever sector they are working in -> they carry that sense between the sectors
makes career decisions -> is less concerned with which sector to work in than with what problems he wants to solve
need to balance his commitment to public service with the financial demands of a growing family
otherish givers -> more idealistic than the purely self-interested, more pragmatic than the entirely
selfless
a hybrid engine of self-interest and concern for others serves a much wider circle of people than can be reached by self-interest or caring alone
ACQUIRING TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
business executives excel at allocating scarce resources to capture attractive market opportunities
government officials bring competing interests together to create legal and policy frameworks for the benefit of the public
nonprofit leaders typically focus their more limited resources, longer time horizons, and greater operating freedom on devising creative ways to further the social good
tri-sector leaders acquire elements of all three skill sets, and as they apply their growing array of tools and tactics to new challenges, they strengthen their ability to work effectively across the sectors
DEVELOPING CONTEXTUAL INTELLIGENCE
to select and apply the tools in their repertoire, tri-sector leaders must not only see parallels between sectors but also accurately assess differences in context and translate across them -> contextual intelligence
FORGING AN INTELLECTUAL TREAD
many tri-sector leaders concentrate on a
particular issue or theme over time, build- ing subject-matter expertise in the process
developing and applying an intellectual thread across the sectors gives them the capacity to understand underlying principles and to transcend some of the constraints that single-sector leaders face when dealing with cross-sector issues
trisector leaders seek to strengthen their intellectual threads through for mal education, professional training, or research at a nonprofit
an intellectual thread bolsters tri-sector leaders' credibility and their capacity to cross sectors, magnifying their effectiveness
BUILDING INTEGRATED NETWORKS
a mentor, a colleague, or a friend pulled them into their newest position
networks can be essential for any career, but because hiring managers so rarely look outside their own sectors for talent, networks are even more vital to trisector careers
trisector leaders depend on their integrated networks to build leadership teams and to convene the diverse groups that can address and resolve knotty trisector issues
people entering government service from either the private or the non-profit area -> networks can be a lifeline when things get rougher than expected
MAINTAINING A PREPARED MIND
virtually none of his career was planned
at a practical level, many tri-sector leaders speak of the need to prepare financially so that they can afford to say yes when the president calls
they are ready and willing to deviate significantly from the familiar road to embrace opportunities that will extend their experience and skills across sectors and to run the accompanying risks
HOW WE CAN DEVELOP MORE TRI-SECTOR LEADERS
they want to build successful careers and contribute to public and social policy without waiting to complete a career in one sector
if these people are to prosper and full-fill their aspirations, we need a new ecosystem that allows for what Chopra, the former chief technology officer of the United States, calls “frictionless participation"
because friction between the three sectors is probably at an all-time high
how many business executives view government as bureaucratic and inept and NGOs as ineffective and inefficient; how many in government view business executives as out to make as much money as they can, as quickly as they can, whatever the con- sequences; and how many in the nonprofit world think neither business nor government really cares about the disadvantaged in society or about building a sustainable global future
consider also the systemic barriers -> the obstacles presented to those in the private sector by the arduous and seemingly capricious government confirmation process; the level of transparency and public scrutiny that public service entails; the tremendous and growing disparity of pay between the private sector and both government and the social sector; the differing knowledge and skills that each sector requires; the potential damage to a career from sector hopping; and the sheer difficulty of hearing about cross-sector career opportunities
not suggesting that it’s possible or even desirable to eliminate all the cultural and structural barriers between the sectors, no matter how convenient that might be for tri-sector leaders
businesses do need to prioritise revenue and profits; NGOs rightly value mission over efficiency; government must function through compromise
not every leader who crosses sector boundaries creates public value
must find ways to help passionate, committed, creative individuals of goodwill in their quest to build extraordinary careers that address the world’s most difficult problems
we need to take a life-cycle approach -> to create programs that will give them an intellectual foundation at the start and practical pathways that will allow them to move from sector to sector throughout their careers with- out slowing their forward momentum
EARLY ON
organisations can do more to develop tri-sector leaders by expressly incorporating cross- sector concerns in their training and mentoring programs and by systematically rotating their professionals through engagements with private, public, and nonprofit clients
should also seek to integrate tri-sector leadership principles into their training and talent development programs
aspiring tri-sector leaders would benefit from early jobs in which they could gain an appreciation for each sector and for the issues that cut across all three
MID CAREER
without slowing the progress of their careers would benefit most from fellowships, associations, and conferences that could connect them to mentorship opportunities, virtual and traditional communities, and relevant media channels for advocating their ideas to targeted audiences
AT THE TOP
businesses need to incorporate tri-sector experience into their talent development programs at every level
providing it for those who are in line to lead their organisations in five to 10 years should be one of the highest priorities for CEOs and business unit leaders facing tri-sector challenges—which we suspect is pretty much all of them