Tony Morgan, the author of Killing Cockroaches and Other Scatter Musings On Leadership, has a useful paradigm for understanding the necessary shift in leadership styles as organizations change and grow.  His ideas are outlined here.

Although Morgan focuses largely on church growth, I’ve adapted his ideas for any setting. By considering where you fall on this leadership continuum, you may be able to identify next steps for yourself and your organization.

The four styles on the continuum are: leading by example, leading others, leading leaders, and leading by vision.

At an organization’s inception, leaders often begin with leading by example. In a new company, the leader is able to influence others directly, modeling valued behaviors and best practices for others in the organization. This type of leader does everything. If something is happening in the company, the founder or CEO is directly involved.

As a mom, I most often employ this leadership style in my home. As I interact with my daughters, my life and actions are the example they are learning to follow. But in the business world, this style has limited value, as leaders can only effectively teach and mentor a few individuals. If leaders stay in this stage of leadership, their company’s growth will be circumscribed.

Next on the continuum is leading others. In this style, leaders delegate tasks to others. Using this style, a leaders can accomplish more. However, this style is still limiting because even though tasks are distributed, ownership and leadership in the organization is still centralized. Others are only involved in carrying out the details of the leader’s plans, often not understanding their importance or significance.

The third style on the continuum is leading leaders. A leader working at this level is purposefully empowering other leaders, allowing them to own and direct certain aspects of the organization. By focusing energy on developing and launching other leaders, the leaders multiply the ability to get the work of the organization done.

The final stage of the leadership continuum is leading by vision. Leading by vision involves presenting a clear and compelling vision for an organization and becoming less consumed with details and more concerned with its overall health and function.

The third and fourth stages allow for the most growth but also present the biggest challenges. Empowering other leaders is difficult. Developing and communicating a clear vision for our organizations is a formidable and ongoing task. Yet without a concise purpose, it is difficult to lead anyone  — we have to know where we’re going before we can invite others along for the journey.

It is important that both vision and the steps needed to get there can be easily communicated to and understood by others. This happens from the start.  Leaders construct a strong foundation through the first stages of a company’s development, when CEOs or entrepeneurs are involved in the day to day operation of the company. The next generation of leaders will be the ones adept at articulating the company’s vision and values.

When we are less involved in tasks and details, we are free to reinforce the vision and values of our company.

Which style are you using? How does it suit the life-stage of your company or organization? What is necessary for you to move to the next stage?

This post was originally published at Mountain State University Leadertalk and is republished here with permission.

Becky Robinson

I am the founder/CEO of the Weaving Influence team, the author of Reach: Creating the Biggest Possible Audience for Your Message, Book, or Cause, and the host of the Book Marketing Action Podcast. I’m a wife and mom of three kids, and I enjoy running, reading, writing, coffee, and dark chocolate.