Co-operatives are democratic, highly adaptable and very resilient. In my opinion, the world needs more co-opetition from its leaders – when we compete to make society better then we’re all winning. Leading as a member of a co-operative requires different thoughts and actions. And the great thing for you is that, whether or not you’re one of the 25% of Canadians who are members of at least one co-op, you don’t need to work at a co-operative in order to be a co-operative leader. Here are 12 things that make co-operative leaders different.
Shift your mindset
There is no difference between membership and ownership in a co-op. Leadership in a cooperative comes from that sense of ownership. As all members are owners, all members are, or should see themselves as, leaders, regardless of their day-to-day responsibilities. Cooperative leadership is facilitative, rather than directive, focused on bringing out the best in people rather than telling them what to do.
The phrase “servant leadership” was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader and, while it’s not exactly the same thing as co-operative leadership, there are connections between concepts. Here, Greenleaf says:
It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions.
Meet the need
Co-operatives are born out of groups of people working together to address a common need, like access to financial capital, tools or stock photos. Great leaders think similarly by deeply understanding the unique needs of their teams, stakeholders and communities. Leading co-operatively means harnessing employee-led innovation because the folks closest to the work are going to have the best understanding of what’s needed to add the most value. Fast Company’s Shane Snow recommends that leaders who are “eyes on, hands off” empower their teams to solve complex problems and deliver the most value: “the manager’s job, in other words, is to gather as much information from as many angles as possible, and share it with people so they can make the best decisions possible.”
Sharing is caring
We’re experiencing a global war for talent and a massive skills gap that is leaving hundreds of thousands of jobs unfilled and work uncompleted. Even within organizations the talent pipeline isn’t multi-directional, as the best employees are plucked from call centres and storefronts to serve more complex, strategic needs elsewhere in the business. Co-operative leaders let go of high performers and know how to build developmental experiences into their employees’ existing roles so that everyone is always growing. For example, three folks from Vancity’s branches, all of whom have an interest in learning, are supporting a piece of work for my team.
Their managers understand that not only is this experience awesome for their career development, but it also enhances their knowledge and skills in ways that will make them better in their current role, too. In a co-operative, education, training and information is about the business, sure. But reaping those benefits through the development of people, supporting their personal development and growth, is an essential part of what sharing means for leaders of this movement.
One size fits all Adapt always
Co-operatives can be designed to serve consumers, support producers of goods or services, provide labour opportunities, or any combination of these via a multi-stakeholder co-operative. They are highly flexible and outperform conventional businesses. The sign of a great leader is that they can achieve consistent performance regardless of who makes up their team. Like Brad Stevens and Gregg Popovich, co-operative leaders run meetings, assign work and coach differently based on the makeup of their team. Here’s the balance that co-operative leaders should strike, according to HBR’s John Coleman, “be intellectually curious, ready to learn from others, communicative, and collaborative. … Have high-quality standards, but also be open to change and understand when old ways of working no longer serve you or your company.”
#MicDrop from my colleague, Paula
Seven simple leadership ideas and actions inspired by the co-operative guiding principles
The co-operative principles are guidelines by which co-operatives put their values into practice and you can apply them to your leadership practice:
- Voluntary and open membership – be transparent about opportunities, such as roles, work or learning experiences, because everyone should be able to express interest and receive feedback about the decision.
- Democratic member control – not every decision can be driven by consensus, but try making as many choices as a team and definitely listen if everyone else sees it differently.
- Member economic participation – empower team members to make decisions as close to the work as possible and say yes without making it weird if someone offers to buy you coffee.
- Autonomy and independence – be an awesome coach, not a stifling micro-manager.
- Education, training and information – deeply and enthusiastically invest in people’s ongoing development by emphasizing growth over performance.
- Co-operation among co-operative – exchange talent throughout your community even if you’re letting go of a superstar and welcoming a project.
- Concern for community – invest, like, five hours of each team member’s time each month in listening to the needs of your members, which will enhance trust, credibility and knowledge.
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Photo credit: Stocksy Co-operative
This article was originally published on May 16, 2018