The document discusses leadership and empowerment at all levels of an organization. It presents different definitions of leadership and describes how traditional hierarchies concentrate power and decision-making at the top levels. The document advocates for empowering people throughout an organization by providing clarity, enabling conditions, and establishing appropriate constraints. This allows for better and faster decision making, greater flexibility, and increased engagement from all levels of an organization.

1. Leaders at All Levels

2. 1. When I feel disempowered. I _____________.
2. When I feel empowered, I _______________.

3. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
“Leadership is simply causing
other people to do what the
leaders want.”
“Leadership is the
ability to inspire
motivation in others to
move toward a desirable
vision.”
“Leadership is the process of encouraging
certain behaviors in others via force of
personality, persuasion and eloquent
communication.”

4. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
TOP (“Leaders”)
Set Strategic
Objectives
MIDDLE {“Leaders”)
Direct and Coordinate
Activities
BOTTOM
Perform Activities
In a typical hierarchy….

5. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
Experience
Creativity
Knowledge

6. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
Contextual Knowledge
Front-line Knowledge

7. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
Leadership is…
the ability to enhance the environment
so that everyone is empowered
to contribute creatively
to solving problems.
Gerald M.Weinberg

8. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
Experience
Creativity
Knowledge

9. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
Contextual Knowledge
Front-line Knowledge
Expand the Diamond
Expand Creative
Problem Solving

10. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
Clarity.
Conditions.
Constraints.

11. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
Clarity:
People know what to work on.
They know how their work fits into the big picture.
They understand who their customers are, and how
what they do makes a difference for those customers.

12. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
Conditions:
People have the means to do the work.
Organizational structures and policies must support the
work.

13. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
Constraints:
People know what should always be done
….and what should never be done.
People can articulate their bounded autonomy.

14. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
Routine or
Regulated
Innovation
Chaos
Rigid
Enabling

15. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
“To be a highly functional system, hierarchy
must balance the welfare, freedoms and
responsibilities of the subsystems and total
system--there must be enough central
control to achieve coordination toward the
large system goal, and enough autonomy to
keep all subsystems flourishing, functioning,
and self-organizing.”
Donella. H. Meadows

16. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
STEERING
ENABLING
DOING / DELIVERING

17. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby

18. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby

19. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby

20. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
Coherence
over
Consistency

21. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby

22. 1. When I feel disempowered. I _____________.

23. 2. When I feel empowered, I _______________.

24. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
Leaders at all levels:
better and faster decision making
greater flexibility
increased engagement
vastly reduced need for “supervision”

25. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
"The original purpose of a
hierarchy is always to help its
originating subsystems do their
jobs better.”
Donella H. Meadows

26. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2014 esther derby
Learn to live with...
• complexity and mess
• redundancy
• slack
• perception of loss of control

27. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2014 esther derby
Work on building...
• Clarity
• Coherence up, down, across
• Bounded autonomy
• Trust

28. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2014 esther derby
It’s not simple.
It’s not easy.
There is no one right way.
There is no prescriptive plan.
You won’t get there in one giant leap.

29. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2014 esther derby
It is possible.
You will get there by experimenting, having
conversations, learning.
You will create a more flexible organization.
You will increase the speed and ease of
communication.
You will improve the pace and appropriateness of
decisions.
You will unleash potential.

30. Esther Derby
designing environments for agile success +1 612.239.1214 esther@estherderby.com www.estherderby.com twitter: @estherderby (c) 2015 esther derby
Esther Derby
esther@estherderby.com
+1 612.239.1214
www.estherderby.com
@estherderby