The Flexible Leadership Model: a tested framework for unlocking the potential of many rather than relying on the power of a few. A five-dimensional approach acknowledges that leadership has to be adaptable and flexible, with the roles of leaders and followers changing to meet the demands of the situation. A valuable lesson for MaastrichtMBA’s Online Track students during their Flexible Leadership Lecture. Led by Drs. Micole Smits, the lecture challenges them to re-evaluate what leadership is and gives them the right tools to adapt to any situation using the five leadership styles in the Flexible Leadership Model.
The session kicks off with an interactive round to memorise names and share key takeaways from the week’s previous lectures. Micole invites students to share their experiences, sharing her own personal story first. She sets the tone for exploring personal experiences, creating an environment where everyone feels safe to share.
Together, they explore expectations of today’s lecture and start a first, small exercise: “Take a moment for yourself to write down on a post-it what leadership is to you in this moment of your life.” After students finish the exercise, Micole asks them to share their personal definition of leadership.
First Connect; Then Lead
It takes a while before everyone who wants to say something, has spoken. Micole writes it all down on a flip chart and leads the discussion on what leadership is to the group. Highlighting the lecture’s first lesson, she asks: “If you reflect on what we have been doing from the start of this session until now, what does that say about leadership?”
First lesson of this lecture: first connect, then lead. Micole: “We started off like we did because I believe that leading is only possible when you have a connection to someone. I was checking in with you, asking all kinds of questions, to see how you look at certain things, which will help me discover our common direction. It was a conscious choice to spend quite some time on forming a connection with you. Writing it all down shows that I take seriously what you say and want to share it with the group – although all I did was something simple like ask questions and write down your answers. Leadership shows up in every single small moment, in everything you do, and you will always have to adapt to different situations.”
