In this podcast, Kevin Hancock speaks to The Better Show host Ian Mikutel about his new book The Seventh Power: One CEO’s Journey into the Business of Shared Leadership. Kevin and Ian speak about how his new leadership style formed, why companies struggle to disperse power within the organization, and what individuals can do to empower their voice, the voices of others, and learn to share leadership. Kevin also shares how listening affects leadership and that we should strive to listen for understanding instead of judgment. Sharing leadership and understanding the true voice of others is something that Kevin is passionate about everyone learning about and using in their daily lives.
Click here to listen to the full podcast.
Here are a few highlights from the podcast (click here for the full transcription):
- I think you really start right at the beginning and say, “Well, does leadership matter?” I think you start with that. And I think, particularly right now in these challenging times, I think everyone would agree that I agree that leadership matters. And when you think about the COVID-19 challenge and you ask the question, “Well, who’s going to have to lead on this challenge?” The answer is obvious, everybody. It’s going to take everybody to lead. So I think leadership matters. And I have come to believe that the best way to lead is in a shared way where power is distributed and everyone is helping to lead. (04:40-05:24)
- The first reason shared leadership is a bit difficult is because humanity has gone through generations upon generations of a different type of leadership model that is built on collecting power to the center. Historically, the way you gained power and lead was by collecting it. And the more you collected, the more control and influence you had. But in the 21st century, that script is not working that well. (06:41-07:24)
- I’ve come to believe, which is the fun part, that sharing leadership is much easier than not sharing it. Think about it that way. I’ve kind of flipped it inside out. And think about all the structure and control that has to be a place to not share leadership. That’s actually hard to do. Sharing leadership really, when you contemplate it, is easier, it’s intuitive, it benefits everybody, and it’s not a complicated exercise. Collecting leadership is complicated, sharing it is not. (21:32-22:24)
