The McLean Loop of Leadership Agility
I’ve been working on a model that can help people better navigate our increasingly unpredictable world. I use this model in my work as a collaboration coach, guiding people to better outcomes - individually and within groups.
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It’s a model for you - or for your team - to provide awareness, reflection and a loose structure to how you might want to proceed when leading in these unprecedented times.
The loop consists of 4 main areas:
The four areas are connected by 'Unlearn' and 'Relearn'.
Each area has a set of tools and reflective questions to help you on your journey.
Understanding what you know now, and figuring out whether there are things which you can’t predict moving forwards.
Reach out beyond the usual spots for finding out information and take a wider, open interest in the situation we are facing.
Bring people together to learn as one, giving the group autonomy and a licence to lead.
Share impediments with others and find a way through, helping each other to find better ways.
It's simply not that simple.
See Valerie in action presenting the loop to the 'Digital Transformation in London' community.
Agility in Leadership
Central to the whole model is the concept of Agility in Leadership, which for me means this:
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Taking short, fast action.
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Changing plans based on what we know now.
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Creating hypotheses about what we might learn next.
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Celebrating anything we find out - good or bad!
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Empathy and kindness towards others.
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You can start at any point on the loop! The tiniest thing within it might spark something new for you and unlock a new way of looking at a problem.
Key References
The loop has been hugely influenced by Keith Grint’s work in his paper ‘Wicked Problems and Clumsy Solutions: The Role of Leadership.’
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This paper outlines different types of problem and the different types of management or leadership needed for each. It goes on to talk about the importance of bringing people together in a positive way and why we need to let go of our question for a perfect, easy, ‘elegant’ solution to many of our problems.