In my work with many international multi-stakeholder initiatives it became increasingly clear that the future of our world depends on effective collaboration between different sectors of our global and local societies, between different institutions and between men and women. This calls for a paradigm shift in the way we conceptualize and enact leadership. We need to see leadership towards a more sustainable world as the capacity of a collective to catalyze and implement change for the common good jointly.
Collective Leadership
Leadership Needs to be Seen as Capacity of a Collective
Co-Creating a Better Future Together
We need to see leadership as the capacity of a collective of actors to steward change towards the common good
Petra Kuenkel
Most sustainability challenges are complex, interdependent and urgent. Implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires more conscious human agency with reverence for the integrity of our planet as whole. The answer to complexity is not simplification, but a complex, yet ordered approach that empowers actors to shape their future collectively into a direction that benefits all. The answer to interdependence is a networked approach to collective action and reflection. The answer to urgency is tapping into the human desire to make a difference. Transformative change needs to be built on human competencies and is best navigated with methodologies such as the Collective Leadership Compass.
Collective leadership is the capacity of a group of leaders to deliver their contribution to a more sustainable future through assuming joint and flexible leadership in service of the common good.
Petra Kuenkel
The Collective Leadership Compass
The Collective Leadership Compass is used to diagnose, design and implement a pattern of human interaction that furthers tangible results. This becomes the foundation for process architectures that enhance the likelihood of better co-creation. People become more efficient, more effective, better at learning quickly, more adaptive, and above all, oriented towards their contribution to a better future for all. They start to lead transformative change collectively. As a collective, they become more resilient – an important capacity in a complex, interdependent and quickly changing world. The Compass enhances the transformation literacy of collectives of actors.
The Collective Leadership Compass and its Dimensions explained by Petra Kuenkel
Our world needs collaborative inventiveness and jointly implemented change.
Petra Kuenkel
Collective Leadership Compass- Online Tool
The online version of the Collective Leadership Compass supports change agents in succesfully navigating complex change with multiple stakeholders.
Using the online Compass is like learning to design and implement a pattern
of human competencies – by keeping the six dimensions in an appropriately balanced composition and ensuring that none gets lost. Implementing this patterns enhances the likelihood of better co-creation; we become more efficient, more effective, better at learning quickly, more adaptive, and above all, oriented toward a future that our kids want to share. As a collective, we become more resilient – a capacity we need in a complex, interdependent and quickly changing world.
Collective Leadership Compass Tool
Shifting the Way We Co-create: How We Can Turn the Challenges of Sustainability into Opportunities
Petra Kuenkel, Kristiane Schaefer
In order to explore the patterns and factors that help facilitate a collective way of leading for sustainability, CLI interviewed practitioners from the private sector, the public sector, and civil society who explored essential steps in sustainable development.
Citation: Kuenkel, P., Schaefer, K. (2013): Shifting the way we co-create: How we can turn the challenges of sustainability into opportunities, Collective Leadership Studies Vol 1, Collective Leadership Institute: Potsdam/Germany, ISSN 2569-1171.
Download here.
Navigating Complex Change - How We Can Master the Challenges of Stakeholder Collaboration
Petra Kuenkel
This Volume 2 of the Collective Leadership Studies explores the conceptual background and application of our core methodological approach, the Collective Leadership Compass, that empowers individuals and groups of leaders to navigate complex change in multi-stakeholder collaboration.
Citation: Kuenkel, P. (2014): Navigating Complex Change – How We Can Master the Challenges of Stakeholder Collaboration, Collective Leadership Studies Vol 2, Collective Leadership Institute: Potsdam/Germany, ISSN 2569-1171.
Download here.
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