Guidership rather than Leadership!

Here is a situation you may have now or you will have soon. 

There is a large herd of horses. 

Six to ten horses are grouped by themselves and each group has a leading horse.  

You're aiming to a certain place to get pay offs. 

Weather is unpredictable. 

Terrain is so harsh. 

Wild animals approach to preys. 

In a midway of a long journey, a sudden thunderstorm has begun. 

Some horses are becoming crazy to run away !  

Some horses are out of your control.  

Some horses are under your perfect control. 

How you can manage this situation? 

I present this case as an example of contemporary situation of 'leading a large organization in a chaos.' And I ask how you can manage a large organization in a totally unpredictable situation?  

Does leadership is proper to managing this situation? 

Leadership is defined as "a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal [Northhouse, 2007, p3]

However if you cannot practice 'influence' to large groups of people, how you can manage them? 

Enforce every single horses? Maybe it's not possible. 

We may get some insights from the greatest shepherd, Jesus.  

[Holy Bible: John 10, 11 & ~14]

1

1. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

[Holy Bible: Mathew 18, 12~14]

12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

He did not say "lead" but say "give life, know, and care" 

I call this "Guidership" rather than Leadership. 

Guidership, then, can be defined as "a process whereby an individual or a group know, care, and give life a group of individuals to achieve a common goal." 

The concept of Guidership can be understood by flipping traditional organization chart as following figure. 

President of an organization is located in the most below position as following statement.  

[Holy Bible: Jeremiah 13, 18]

18 Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.

He or She who want to lead a large organization should practice "Guidership" under whole body of groups and individuals, not leading or administrating them. 

 

source: 

1) Northouse (2007), Leadership Theory and Practice, Sage Publication. 

2) Inverted Pyramid Structure: http://visualworld.org/inverted_pyramid_structure.html.