Tweet

“Third Generation Leadership” – “3G Leadership” or “Leadership v3.0”

Guest post by: Douglas Long

Article Overview: First Generation Leadership ("G1 Leadership" or "Leadership v1.0") was typified by a command and control approach in which hierarchy ruled and the leader was "right". Second Generation Leadership ("G2 Leadership" or "Leadership v2.0") was typified by a reward for conformance / non reward or punishment for non-conformance. Again, hierarchy ruled and the leader was largely "right". Third Generation Leadership ("G3 Leadership" or "Leadership v3.0") is typified by engaging followers both with what they are doing and with the people with whom they do it. In this article Doug Long introduces both the concepts of leadership generations and shows the distinctions between them.

“Third Generation Leadership” – “3G Leadership” or “Leadership v3.0”

The world today is vastly different from that of the world of the 1940's when I was born.

When I was born World War II was in full swing (even if the USA had not yet become involved) and the concept of duty and respect for authority was dominant. Families were disrupted when fathers, brothers, and sons went off to fight and, for many, this disruption was exacerbated by the death or permanent disability arising from military action. Very few people in Australia, NZ, the UK and allied countries questioned the "rightness" of the military action and almost everyone was prepared to endure whatever occurred because they saw this as part and parcel of their duty.

After the War things remained pretty much the same. Children were largely to be seen but not heard - it was not a question of whether they were loved and cared for - it was simply a fact that they were at the lower end of the pecking order. In the workforce, women who had willingly moved into various types of employment largely accepted that they should return to being housewives and allow their menfolk to again be the prime income earners. At the same time, men returning from military service largely accepted a hierarchical structure in which preference was given to longevity of service and status in society.

We lived in a world in which First Generation Leadership dominated.

In this world obedience to rules and regulations and to those in authority or of a "superior" social stratum was expected and followed. The dominant leadership behaviour was command and control and there was a strong disciplinarian ethos in which corporal punishment of children (whether or not of your own family) was at least tolerated and the price of disobedience in the workplace could be dismissal. To question an instruction or statement from an elder or other authority figure was generally actively discouraged and very often brought about punishment for the questioner. "Just do it" was very often the ethos.

Recent studies in neuroscience enable us to recognise that this world of First Generation Leadership is one in which the brain's locus of control is centred in the basic (or "reptilian") and limbic areas of our brain - what we call "the red zone".

During the 1950's things started to change - very slowly - but change none-the-less. At my secondary school most teachers still emphasised strong discipline backed up by the cane but one or two stand out as men who sought to get students involved in their learning and who never had to resort to punishing students.

By the 1960's the groundswell had grown and those in authority were horrified at the "sex, drugs and rock and roll" culture that emerged in so many places. At the same time management researchers were producing data which suggested that a different approach would be more effective in obtaining desired organisational results. The emphasis moved towards compliance with rewards for those who complied and the withholding of rewards (or the provision of other punishments) from those who failed to comply.

By the 1970s Second Generation Leadership was alive and thriving.

In this world the leader emphasised responsibility and experience and sought to obtain and retain people who wanted to perform. Respect was expected by the leader and the leader reciprocated by demonstrating respect to those who conformed to the requisite standards. Communication still tended to be one-way (from the leader) and open upward questioning was discouraged.

Recent studies in neuroscience enable us to recognise that this world of Second Generation Leadership was one in which the brain's locus of control shifted between the basic (or "reptilian") and limbic areas of our brain - what we call "the red zone" and the limbic and cortical areas of our brain - what we call "the blue zone". It is also one in which, under pressure, almost invariably the red zone became dominant.

It is from these two worlds that today's leaders over the age of 40 have come as their schooling and early work experiences were based on these approaches. Accordingly Second Generation Leadership is today's dominant worldview in business, schools and society at large.

During the 1980's cracks started to appear in this Second Generation Leadership approach. The catalyst for change was, first, the personal computer and, second, the emergence of the internet. Of recent years with the rise of social media the cracks have grown and enlarged - sometimes to gaping chasms. The reason for this relates to the easy access to and rapid dissemination of knowledge and information of all sorts. No longer can those with power easily withhold information for prolonged periods and errors in fact and judgment can be rapidly discovered and disclosed by those who question.

Today we need Third Generation Leadership which can also be labelled 3G Leadership or Leadership v3.0.

Third Generation Leadership comes from a brain that has its locus of control firmly in the cortex and neocortex - "the blue zone".

The difference between Third Generation Leadership and its predecessors is significant. Whereas Second Generation Leadership was a linear progression from First Generation Leadership and both were primarily red zone orientated, Third Generation Leadership makes a step jump. This is illustrated in a table developed by Andrew Mowat of Group 8 Management:

Version:	First Generation Leadership (G1 Leadership or Leadership v1.0)	Second Generation Leadership (G2 Leadership or Leadership v2.0)	Third Generation Leadership (3G Leadership or Leadership v3.0)
World View Mind State	Obedience Red Zone	Conformance Red Zone/Blue Zone	Engagement Blue Zone
Leader emphasis	Command & Control	Responsibility & Experience	Collaborative, invitational, facilitative
Development Professional belief	Disciplinarian "Seen & not heard"	Expert "Give me people who want to perform"	Facilitator "Universal belief in every person"
Followers	Behaviour and learning managed by leader	Behaviour and learning partially managed by leader, partially by follower	Behaviour and learning managed by person (self-managing)
	Every person today can be engaged by a Leader 3.0, some by a Leader 2.0 and few by a Leader 1.0
Respect	Unconditional, 1-way (followers must respect leader)	Conditional, 2-way (followers get leader respect if they do what they are told)	Unconditional, 2-way (leader respects people regardless of behaviour or achievement, followers reciprocate respect)
Questions from subordinates (followers to leaders)	Punished	Discouraged	Invited
Questions from leaders	For the purpose of making a decision or forming a judgement	For the purpose of solving another's problems	For questioner to facilitate the other finding their own solution
Listening	When listener chooses and for their benefit	For listener to understand the problem	For listener to help other engage with the solution
Decision-making	Impulsive, instinctive	Intuitive, experience-based	Multiple viewpoints, analytic, team-based
How a leader feels	Superior when others fail	Responsible	Equal
Existential Anxiety	Allayed by following the rules (life is predictable)	Allayed by conformance to norms and rules and confidence in learning from experience	Allayed by "I matter to someone" and "I am making a difference"

The different Leadership Generations bring about different approaches to developing leaders.

With First generation Leadership there was no need for leadership training. Because life was controlled by rules and obedience was de rigueur one learned these rules as one progressed up the hierarchy and there was no difficulty in applying them and enforcing them.

Second Generation Leadership was different. With Second Generation Leadership leaders needed to learn how to bring about conformance. Some programs were pretty manipulative but most were genuinely focused on the leader-follower interaction in a positive way. However one thing common to most of these was that they could encourage the use of positive reinforcement (rewards for conformance) to get the desired result. And, as already indicated, although Second Generation Leadership harnessed the cortical zone of the brain, it was still basically a red zone activity as often observed when the leader was under pressure and effectively resorted to a "just do it" approach.

Third Generation Leadership focuses on the brain's locus of control. The emphasis here is to help leaders understand themselves and to learn how they can manage down their red zone while managing up their blue zone.

"Third Generation Leadership" ("3G Leadership" or "Leadership v3.0") is truly transformative for the leader, the followers, and the organisation. And it can be learned.

Related Articles
  Eliminating the Fear of Failure
  Leadership fails without management
  The Essence of True Leadership
  LEADERSHIP IS CREATIVE THINKING NOT REACTIVE THINKING
  INVENTORIES CAN BE MANAGE BUT PEOPLE SHOULD BE LEAD.

Article Tags: 1G Leadership, 2G Leadership, 3G Leadership, Blue Zone Leadership, concepts of leadership, first generation leadership, generation leadership, Leadership Development, Leadership v10, Leadership v20, Leadership v30, Red Zone Leadership, second generation leadership, third generation leadership



Related Forum Posts
Re: Business Women Peer Mentoring Spotlight - Hi Everyone, Gosh, I REALLY appreciate your concrete feedback. This was far more than I expected and I'm glad you said what you thought straight out. Each of you have shared something of value and I want to take some more time to think and really go over what each of you have said. However, I can see there are some things I need to change right away. What an interesting point about a NEW program perhaps making people think they are guinea pigs! This is NOT what I want to convey! It's funny how we can see some things so clearly in others while not always seeing it for ourselves! I must admit there are a few things I've been meaning to change (like my bio which is very outdated). Obviously, these things need to be higher on my priority list. You caught me like the plumber who puts his clients first and doesn't get around to fixing his own tap! As far as my target market, I do feel quite strongly about working with Women Leaders and doing Leadership Coaching with them. It's non-negotiable in my books. In my Executive Coaching training, the terms "Leaders" and "Executives" are interchangable. To me, an Executive is a Leader and so is the Business Woman or Entrepreneur who is CEO of her own business. I love working with decision makers! What I did learn is that I need to avoid opening up the Leadership term beyond what I described above. I'm also wondering if there is a misunderstanding with the general public as to what Leadership Coaching really is. Leadership Coaching is all about developing your leadership skills, both as a people manager and in more effectively running and growing the business. There is ALWAYS room for growth in some way. As well, sometimes, we just need a sounding board to clarify what our next BEST step is. In fact, if a woman thinks she has nothing to work on, then we aren't a good Client/Coach fit anyway. How can she grow if she doesn't see the value of expressing ALL of the great ability within her? How can her company grow if she doesn't see the value of strategic planning for the next best level? Thanks again to you all! I will go back to my website and really question whether I am conveying the right message. I got more than I bargained for in this Spotlight... you generously offered way more than I was asking. I think we could be on to something great for the Forum. Now it's time to let someone else have the spotlight. It would be great if everyone took a turn! In gratitude, Tami
Re: 3 Ways I Used Twitter To Grow My Business This Week - Hi Olivia, It seems you are working in the area of leadership area. Is Leadership = Learning? I am looking for some good books on strategy? Which one do you recommend? Thanks, Robert
Different Hats - CEO Sales & Marketing & Leadership Development Company Strategic Vision 10 Alliances & Growth Strategies 10 Hiring & Managing People 8 Mentoring 8-9 Strategic Planning for Clients 10 Execution of Marketing Campaigns 9-10 (i have great people who do the nitty gritty) Financial Management 9 Bookkeeping 3 (outsourced as I really hate the fine details like GST0 Administrative Follow Up 6-7 (again have great staff) Writing & Publishing 9 (getting better all the time!) Speaking 10 (so I have been told) Self Promotion 9-10 Web development & Promotion 6-7 (learning more and have brought on players who are 10+) Babysitting Employees (1 - wont do it, that's why I work so hard to hire and motivate the people I have) Great topic Kevin!! Jude
Why A Project Fails? - Hello Everyone As the size and complexity of ones business grows, so does their need to effectively manage projects. I have been thinking about the major reasons why a project can go wrong and my limited experience comes up with the following. 1 Leadership: A project manager with leadership skills and not just management skills. 2 Failure to (Foresee and) Plan 3 Failure to Manage: Ineffective change management control methods. Unclear decision making guidelines. 4 Talent: Finding, allocating and developing people 5 Scope: Setting an overly ambitious or amibigious project scope 6 Alignment: When projects are not prioritized in alignment with the business strategy, or project members personal objectives are not in tandem with that of the project / company 7 Lack of Candor: Communication Breakdowns I would be interested in knowing everyone's thoughts on this, especially on ways to overcome the above mentioned obstacles. Cheers!
The Old Girl's Network - (2003) - Haven't read this one yet... Contents A business of one's own: setting the stage Passion: Turning what you love into a real business Vision: Bringing Your Idea Into the World Pioneering Spirit: Discovering new frontiers Tenacity: Passions Bulldog Raising Capital: Translating your vision into dollars and cents Focus, feedback and flexibility Leadership lessons Life after the survival stage: Managing onward There's a Took Kit in the back that has lots of good stuff, including: Outline for competitive analysis: the basic issues to address before starting your company Outline for executive summary and business plan, with sample summary Explanation of non-disclosure agreement Milestone setting "Do you have what it takes" quiz Sample financing term sheet Due Diligence checklist Sample advisory agreement Process and systems review Outsourcing overview


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Promoting your company and self with verve

Google Panda and Your Search Engine Rankings

What If You Had a 100% Success Rate?

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.