When Everyone Leads: How The Toughest Challenges Get Seen and Solved
Ed O’Malley and Julia Fabris McBride
Bard Press (January 2023)

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”  African Proverb

Because of what it reveals about empowerment, this is my favorite passage in Lao-tse’s Tao Te Ching:

“Learn from the people
Plan with the people
Begin with what they have
Build on what they know
Of the best leaders
When the task is accomplished
The people will remark
We have done it ourselves.”

Whatever their size and nature may be, all organizations need to empower effective leaders at all levels and in all areas of the given enterprise. Consider, for example, the importance of having eager and able problem-finders as well as problem-solvers. Better yet, if almost all of the people in your organization are what I would characterize as “employee evangelists.”

This is precisely what Ed O’Malley and Julia Fabris McBride have in mind when asserting that, “when everyone leads, the toughest challenges get seen and solved.” Years ago at a GE annual meeting, its then chairman and CEO — Jack Welch — was asked to explain his reasons for thinking so highly of small companies. Here is his response:

“For one, they communicate better. Without the din and prattle of bureaucracy, people listen as well as talk; and since there are fewer of them they generally know and understand each other. Second, small companies move faster. They know the penalties for hesitation in the marketplace. Third, in small companies, with fewer layers and less camouflage, the leaders show up very clearly on the screen. Their performance and its impact are clear to everyone. And, finally, smaller companies waste less. They spend less time in endless reviews and approvals and politics and paper drills. They have fewer people; therefore they can only do the important things. Their people are free to direct their energy and attention toward the marketplace rather than fighting bureaucracy.”

O’Malley and McBride wrote this book in order to explain HOW collective leadership –on a team as well as in a department, division, and even in an entire company (regardless of size) — can maximize the impact of communication, cooperation, and especially [begin italics] collaboration [end italics] throughout any workforce.

For example, O’Malley and McBride have much of value to say about what they characterize as “The Gap.” More specifically, the distance between an organization’s current realities and the strategic objectives it aspires to achieve. Here’s how to solve the toughest objectives:

1. See The Gap in terms of what is really is…and isn’t.
2. Acknowledge “the tough stuff.”
3. Summon the courage and commitment needed to achieve the given vision.
4. Ask powerful questions about the toughest challenges.
5. Know the differences between adaptive challenges and technical problems.

Marshall Goldsmith reminds all ambitious executives, “What got you here won’t get you there.” My own opinion is that what got you here won’t even allow you to remain here, however and wherever “here” and “there” are defined.

Why is it so difficult to focus on our greatest aspirations? O’Malley and McBride suggest these reasons:

o “We assume we need uniformity about what those aspirations should be.
o Finding common ground takes time.
o It’s important, not urgent.
o We’d rather get a respectable B- than an A-.
o Some gaps will never be completely closed.”

The African proverb cited earlier —  “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together” — is directly relevant to the material in the final chapter,  “When Everyone Leads: A Call to Action.” I commend Ed O’Malley and Julia Fabris McBride on their provision of an abundance of valuable information, insights, and counsel.

However, with all due respect, I remain convinced that the value of this material will ultimately be determined by the ability of change agents to attract and retain sufficient buy-in from their workforce colleagues.

I conclude with two suggestions: highlight key passages (I prefer an optic yellow Sharpie) and have a lined notebook near at hand while reading  When Everyone Leads in order to record your comments, questions, and page references (I prefer the Mead “marble” version). These two simple tactics will help you to facilitate, indeed expedite frequent review of key material later.