Mezzo-Leadership

© Copyright Alkamind Consulting 1

Mezzo-Leadership

NavigatingLatitude & Longitude

of organizational relationships

Alf Rock [email protected]

FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES

© Copyright Alkamind Consulting

Mezzo-Leadership is positioned at the heart of an organization where the middle position allows access to both the higher strategic intent and the lower operational realities. This, north-south, latitudinal Mezzo capability is also complemented with an even more critical Longitudinal, east-west, position that allows for coordinating and monitoring relationships with organizational entities.

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North-South (Latitude) = Vertical chain of command and control. East-West (Longitude) = Lateral process across functions.


In a top-down (north-south) vertical latitude the position of Mezzo-Leadership can easily be seen as translating strategic objectives into programs of change . This vertical latitude corresponds to the layers of the organization and is familiar and workable provided the work does not span outside the scope of the “silo”.

Systems Means Outcomes

Macro • Purposeful• Authority• Decide• What is the vision?

Mezzo • Goal-seeking• Influence• Plan• How do we get there?

Micro• State maintain• Power• Execute• How do we sustain

it?

Define and allocate funds to new systems and solutions with an open consideration of available options (open)

Reflect full exploration of opportunities, relative to

constraints (open)

Apply creativity and innovation in the utilization of authorized resources to carry

out the program of change (open)

Dictated by the authorization of resources to be applied to

the achievement of goals (closed)

Pre-agreed (design) processes and procedures in

alignment with the project and operational plans

(closed)

Defined within pre-agreed service levels and product

specifications (closed)

The Means and Ends (outcomes) of each layer in a governance system can be open or closed.


Traditionally this vertical authority operates within hierarchical layers. Elliot Jaques referred to this north-south vertical layers as TARRs (Task Assigned Role Relationships). This is the traditional north-south interaction in a silo with relationships with the people we report to and those that reports to us. TARRs work well within a span of authority (silo), but when the need for lateral cross-functional processes (involving multiple silos or organizations) emerges then other relationships are needed.

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A Life Cycle View

Organize Implement Run

Where do you live on this map

and how are your lateral

relationships?


Let’s take a closer look at the 7 lateral relationships of authority & accountability that Jaques calls Task Initiated Role Relationships (TIRRs). Defining these (east-west) interactions between the various functions are critical for achieving effective and efficient outcomes. Efficiencies are gained by reduced compartmentalization and long, (north-south) communications chains. Efficiencies are formed through “treaties” between silos of pre-agreed levels of authority of lateral interaction. East-west interactions form relationships that are client centric and outcome focused.

A can report higher about B

A can be informed about B's workA can have access to persuade BA can have access to explain to BA can call coordinative meetings with Bs

A can instruct B to do somethingA can instruct B to stop and B stopsA can instruct B to delay and B delaysA and B disagree - A decides

Compoments of Task Initiating (TIRRs)

A = Initiator

B = Responder

Accountability & Authority (A&A)

A = Initiator

B = Responder

High Authority

Level

Based on Task Initiated Role Relationships from Elliott Jaques’ Requisite Organization

Mezzo-Leadership uses “finesse” capabilities of

coordinating and monitoring, rather than the

forces available to Prescribe and Audit.

LowAuthority

Level


Let’s apply TIRRs over a life cycle model. The importance of TIRRs is that most significant endeavors operate as a process, and will span boundaries of organizational silos. These "silos” operate, internally, using a north-south protocol of Task Assigned Role Relationships (TARRs). If we fail to pre-agree the authorities of TIRRs between these silos: conflict arise, relationships suffer, and outcomes fail. Needs need to be seen and accommodated.

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Prescriptive Authority: agrees the “Charter of Change” and provide the budget

Audit Authority :validates against specific control objectives

Coordinative Authority: brings together stakeholders to align the strategy into an integrated planMonitoring Authority: tracks the tasks and metrics to provide transparent management oversight

Service Authority: provides a set of capabilities to be used for implementation and operations

Advisory Authority: provides expertise to be used at various levels of an organization

Collateral Authority: is the collegial relationship between people working together

Based on Task Initiated Role Relationships from Elliott Jaques’ Requisite Organization

A Life Cycle View

Which layers needs to be

strengthen in your

organization?


Mezzo-Leadership coordinates across a diverse set of stakeholders, applying creativity and innovation to the translation of the organization’s goals into implementations and operational realities. Lateral coordination is at the heart of program management. Without this Mezzo-Leadership coordination capability, many ventures end up escalating their frustrations, re-organize the management or simply hiding the dysfunctions in “red tape”.

Systems Means Outcomes

Macro • Purposeful• Authority• Decide• What is the vision?

Mezzo • Goal-seeking• Influence• Plan• How do we get there?

Micro• State maintain• Power• Execute• How do we sustain

it?

Define and allocate funds to new systems and solutions with an open consideration of available options (open)

Reflect full exploration of opportunities, relative to

constraints (open)

Apply creativity and innovation in the utilization of authorized resources to carry out the program of

change (open)

Dictated by the authorization of resources to be applied to

the achievement of goals (closed)

Pre-agreed (design) processes and procedures in

alignment with the project and operational plans

(closed)

Defined within pre-agreed service levels and product

specifications (closed)

The Means and Ends (outcomes) of each layer in a governance system can be open (prescriptive) of closed (proscriptive).

Coordinative Authority: brings together stakeholders to align the strategy into an integrated plan

Monitoring Authority: tracks the tasks and metrics to provide transparent management oversight


Macro (Executive) Layer – purposeful

Mezzo (Management) Layer – goal-seeking

Micro (Operational) Layer – state-maintainingControl

ProcessDriven

Measure

SuccessDriven

PeopleOrientated

Environmentally Viable

Integrate

Establish Order Achieve Success Integrate Cultures

Internal (north-south) management of a silo is easier to manage from the top, than to coordinate (east-west) across multiple “silos of authority” from the middle. The challenges for north-south relationships begin to be felt when the program of change runs longer than two years or there are more than four layers involved. If a program runs over 2 years, Mezzo-Leadership needs to establish a sequence of change.


Courtesy Alf Rock [email protected]@spiraldynamics.intranets.com


Cultural Values Social

UL. Individual/Internal UR. Individual/External

LL. Collective/Internal LR. Collective/External

Thinking Behavior

Blue

Blue

Red

Orange

Orange

GreenGreen

BeigePurple

Red

2nd Tier

Emerges

Each phase in the sequence will need a framework of knowledge management creativity and innovation to establish controls, order, success and integration.

Developed by Alf Rock [email protected]@gmail.comAdapted from Ken Wilber & Richard Barrett

ValuesAlignment

Personal Alignment

Structural Alignment

MissionAlignment

Coordinating the establishment of a program & governance structure within the operational realities and

constraints.

Focus on Order

Internal organizational commitment to the

“charter for change” & “strategic objectives”.

Focus on Control

Monitor, adapt and improve the life-cycle process to

realize the benefits sought by the investment.

Focus on Success

Organizationally develop and integrate the skills & practices

into a structure requisite to the success of the

mission.

Focus on People


Additional Slides – part of a secondary narrative

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The big questions? 1. How well designed are our governance protocols

across organizational entities?? 2. How do we design the spaces that allow people to

interact, create ideas, shape and share things of value for a richer engagement of stakeholders?

? 3. Can we see where we are on the epic unfolding of our adaptive intelligence against the prevailing life conditions ahead? i.e. where are we on the map?


smaller questions1. Will we need a new business model to engage differently with our customer (current or

new emerging) or will the relationship and channel to our customer remain essentially the same?

2. Have we externalized your business model (created a map) so that the various "players" of this enterprise can see where they fit and the nature of their relationship to the other “parts of the big picture”?

3. Do we need to articulate a strategy to align and enroll broad communities within the organization or can we manage the various parts, compartmentalize from each other?

4. Have we defined the overall organizational structure with the key functional components and relationships?

5. Have we translated the "what" needs to happened (initiative) into a holistic program structure of time (when) and dependencies?

6. Have we translated the various initiatives of the program into individual projects to design/architect the "how" and "who" will implement the realization of the desired benefits?

7. Has the "manifest" that each project will deliver been assessed by the receiving "production" teams?

8. Do we have a way to represent the voice of stakeholders for each life-cycle stage? 9. Is the voice of the user/customer defined as a critical stakeholder in each stage?


Knowledge Spiral2-Dialogue or

Collective reflection

3-LinkingExplicit

Knowledge

4-Learning by Doing

1-Field of Interaction

SECI model: Takeuchi & Nonaka

Tacit

Tacit

Ex

plic

it

Explicit

ExternalizationTacit to Explicit

SocializationTacit to Tacit

InternalizationExplicit to Tacit

CombinationExplicit to Explicit

The SECI knowledge creation promotes creative relationships.


Exercising Learning by doing• Broadly shared • Embodied in

action• Actualize

concepts into practice

• Simulation and experimentation trigger

Systemizing• Connecting• Complex• Systematic • Workable plans• Operationalized• Disseminated• Usability

Dialoguing• Crystallized

sharable form• Embody skills• Metaphors,

concepts• Analogies to

bridge• Models to shape

Originating• Shared experience• High-quality physical• Joint activities• Apprenticeship• Informal meetings• Transcend boundaries

Socialization Externalization

Internalization Combination







Creating the “ba” – a Space for interaction

Which organizational

space serve well and which needs

improvement?




Cultural Values Social

UL. Individual/Internal UR. Individual/External

LL. Collective/Internal LR. Collective/External

Thinking Behavior

Blue

Blue

Red

Orange

Orange

GreenGreen

BeigePurple

RedOrthodox Fundamentalism

Prevails

Liberal FundamentalismPrevails …

... Until emergent complexity brings forth the next existential crisis!

2nd Tier

Emerges Intentional

Personal meaning and inner skills

BehavioralIndividual

behavior and outer skills

SystemsSystems and

Processes

CulturalCultural and

shared meaning

AQAL as Organizational Evolution

Developed by Alf Rock [email protected] from Ken Wilber

Date post:	11-Aug-2015
Category:	Leadership & Management
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Mezzo-Leadership

Leadership & Management