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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010329188 | HD57.7 B35 2014 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
Our leadership models are stuck in an Industrial Age, top-down mentality. But in our complex, data-drenched, 24/7 world, there is simply too much information coming from too many different directions too quickly for any one leader or group to stay on top of it. Hierarchy is breaking down everywhere-why should leadership be any different?
Inspired by the peer-to-peer model of computing used in social networking and crowdsource technologies, Mila Baker shows a new way to lead. Organizations, she says, must become networks of "equipotent" nodes of power-peer leaders. The job of the leader is now to set the overall goals and direction and optimize the health of that network, not tell it what to do. In these organizations, leadership roles shift rapidly to fit the needs of any given situation. Information flows freely so those who need it can find it easily and act on it immediately. Feedback becomes an organic part of the workflow, enabling rapid course corrections.
Baker shows how companies like Gore and Herman Miller have achieved long-term success practicing these principles and provides a structure that any organization can adapt to build flexibility, resiliency, and accountability.
Author Notes
Mila Baker is director of leadership and human capital management programs and academic chair of the MS in human resource management and organization development program at New York University's School for Continuing and Professional Studies. She has served in senior HR and leadership positions at Fortune 500 companies and as a senior consultant/advisor at the World Bank. @MilaBakerNYC
Reviews 1
Booklist Review
Baker, an academic and an executive, presents her bold new ways of thinking about leadership and organizational design leadership through community. She explains that peer to peer (P2P) IT (information technology) architecture is a radical, architectural shift that has transformed the computing industry and . . . ignited an interest in . . . peer-to-peer processes and relationships, including traditional command-and-control leadership which, she reports, is outmoded. P2P leaders relinquish some of their command and control and allow individuals to be equals as information flows freely to those within the organization who act on it. Baker envisions top-level executives and senior leaders responsible for the network's health, setting goals and corporate direction but not telling it what to do. She provides examples of organizations successfully using her principles and we learn, In a P2P network community . . . everyone is involved in creating and working toward that same common purpose and vision, . . . everyone is equal and all are able to act. A thought-provoking approach to leadership and organizational design for our twenty-first-century, hyper-digitally-connected world.--Whaley, Mary Copyright 2014 Booklist
