Meta-leadership - Meta-Leadership in Practice

Meta-Leadership in Practice

Meta-leadership is particularly valuable in situations where the leader must rely on more influence than authority and where one must lead beyond traditional organizational boundaries. It is the core of the curriculum of the NPLI, a program for senior government leaders responsible for emergency preparedness and response. It has been widely adopted in public health agencies such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention as well as by the United States Department of Homeland Security and the White House Homeland Security Council to best meet the leadership challenges of unexpected or fast-changing situations.

Invited by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to look at government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, Marcus described the need for meta-leadership in any large-scale crisis, “Going forward, better communication and coordination among all levels of government, or ‘connectivity,’ will prove crucial. That means not just harnessing electronic technology to forge links among agencies, but also building relationships between people--transforming a culture that champions independent decision making into one that values cooperation.”

“As we have observed adoption of meta-leadership across complex public and private organizational systems and networks, we note three important advantages: 1)A conceptual framework and vocabulary that describes intentional networking and cohesion to connect the purposes and work of different or even disparate stakeholders; 2) A strategy of action designed to advance coordinated planning and activity; and 3) A purpose and rallying cry for both leaders and followers that inspires, guides, and instructs, setting a higher standard and expectation for performance and impact.”