Day Two

Major Sections

I. Community Meeting (15 minutes)

A. This is an opportunity for an energizing experience or ritual and for announcements.

II. Lecturette - Leadership Models

A. Refer back to the presentation from yesterday.

B. This is the opportunity to present the third model of leadership.

C. D. Quinn Mills: The Rebirth of the Corporation (Cluster Groups)

1. D. Quinn Mills and the cluster groups_Introduction
   
   While this second model is based on a major structural shift_from hierarchy to cluster group_it has definite philosophical implications for leadership styles and the role of employees within organizations. Empowerment is the key to this model as well.
   
   The spokesperson for clusters is D. Quinn Mills, a professor at the Harvard Business School and a consultant to major corporations. In his book Rebirth of the Corporation, he describes the cluster group as an alternative to the "hierarchy trap." Organizations such as DuPont, GE Canada, and British Petroleum are using these structures and concepts.
   
   
2. What is a cluster group
   
   Like the other organizational leaders and theorists, Mills subscribes to a new approach to operating organizations. He proposes a new, flatter structure of cluster groups that operate close to the customer base and whose members are empowered to make decisions and be responsible for the activities of the group.
   
   A cluster is basically a group of people drawn from different disciplines who work together on a semipermanent basis. The cluster handles many administrative functions, develops its own expertise, pushes decision making to the point of action, shares information, and accepts accountability for its business results.
   
   Cluster groups are similar to task forces but more permanent.
   
   Typically, cluster groups are multidisciplinary. Goals are established by the cluster based on the organization's mission, with targets negotiated. Jobs are defined broadly; reporting relationships, as generally understood, are abandoned. The group operates in an informal manner.
   
   In large organizations, clusters may include 30-50 individuals to provide for the necessary functions and disciplines for the cluster to run its business. Within the cluster, teams of five to seven work more closely together to complete tasks.
   
   
3. Structures of cluster group organizations
   
   A cluster organization is made up of many clusters; a small residual hierarchy administers the business as a whole. Use the transparency to illustrate the organizational chart (structure) of a typical cluster organization and the different types of clusters that may exist.
   
   Note that in Mills' book the examples of organizational charts look like they were prepared by young children. They are free-form drawings, usually of circles, which seem to bespeak to the fluidity of these structures. Both of the examples on the transparencies come directly from his book.
   
   
4. The British Petroleum example
   
   British Petroleum Engineering Organization (BPE) provides another business example of clusters and a real-life example of how they work.
   
   At the center are 16 clusters of engineers through which BPE now conducts its business directly with clients. The general managers of the engineering resources, business resources, and technology development departments remain somewhat hierarchical and report to the managing director.
   
   The clusters have no formal hierarchy and no direct reporting relationships to general managers. There is extensive communication between clusters. The power of this organizational chart lies in that the engineering clusters and the business units have direct contact with the customers they serve, and the traditional lines of authority are broken, not solid, to illustrate the spirit of participatory management.
   
   
5. How to empower people in a cluster group
   
   Theoretically, clusters allow for the full empowerment of people and provide the necessary conditions to make individual initiative possible. In his book, Mills identifies four main factors that make upper levels of management comfortable with the empowerment model and that give those empowered the tools to succeed:
   
   
   1. Each person must know and understand the mission of the team with which he or she works, the overall mission, and where his or her team's mission fits into the overall mission.
      
      
   2. To act on their own initiative, people must first have the necessary competence. This requires both technical specialization and an understanding of the broader picture.
      
      
   3. To make correct choices in specific situations, people need information_as it relates to both the specific situation and the global picture. They need to have access to information and to the networks that can provide them with the information they need.
      
      
   4. People need to know that they are trusted. They need to understand that they will not be penalized unfairly for mistakes and that mistakes are okay when they are made in the pursuit of the mission, something useful is learned, the error is not part of a pattern, and the error was made within the scope of one person's discretion (authority).
   
   
6. Leadership in cluster groups
   
   Leaders in cluster organizations try to create an empowering environment according to the principles noted.
   
   Although there is usually some residual hierarchy remaining (which was illustrated in the BPE model already examined), within the clusters there is no single person "in charge." The elements of managerial control_direction, discipline, supervision, and responsibility for performance_ are exercised or carried out by the cluster. Members meet to review the quality of work and to make decisions and plans.
   
   When the group is unable to function in a group capacity, a leader is identified on behalf of the group as a whole. Often a leader is selected for an individual project or issue based on his or her competence or skill in that area and is granted authority by the group, not by "upper management." In most cases, the residual hierarchy can disband a dysfunctional cluster or intervene if necessary.
   
   
7. How to start cluster groups (Optional)
   
   Note that Mill maps out a seven-step process for starting a cluster group in his book. He identifies some of the objectives and the obstacles that organizations face and how specific corporations made the transition. A summary of the process is to start at the top and then move to the operational level to garner support, refine the vision as you go, review organizational practices in light of the vision for strengths/barriers, define the cluster, deal with constraints, and communicate with the ranks.
   
   
8. Catalysts for cluster groups
   
   Leaders in cluster groups or organizations making the transition from hierarchies to cluster groups need catalysts to foster or to create the environment for empowerment. Another word for what Mills calls catalysts is ground rules. They are:
   
   
   • Support each other
     
   • Mistakes are okay
     
   • Pull together
     
   • Trust others
     
   • Reach_stretch yourself
     
   • It's harder to lead than to follow
     
   • Rely on the team
     
   • Trust the process
   
   These messages are used to encourage individuals to empower themselves. Because the cluster/empowerment approach is such a significant shift for hierarchical organizations, some corporations have engaged in unusual activities to make the switch. For example, some engage in Outward-Bound-type physical feats that require that new alliances be set up and that individuals support each other in ways not typical within the work structure (e.g., give the CEO the encouragement needed to take the leap off a cliff to sail through the air on a cable).
   
   
9. Summary and discussion questions (Optional)
   
   The cluster group organization is in contrast to the traditional hierarchy in that the structure is flattened, middle levels of management are removed, the locus of management activity is within the cluster group, and leadership involves communicating vision and creating empowering environments within which groups can operate close to the customer base to be most responsive to customer needs. It is a structural change based on an empowerment model of leadership.
   
   What are the key features of the cluster approach that have relevance to your partnership or coalition?
   
   Would you describe your partnership or coalition as more hierarchical or more like a cluster organization?
   
   What do you perceive to be the advantages and disadvantages of this model of operation?

III. Open Space (9:45 - 10:45) (1 hour)

Break (15 minutes)

IV. Open Space (11:00 - 12:00) (1 hour)

Lunch (1.5 hours)

V. Open Space (1:30 - 2:15) (45 minutes)

VI. Fishbowl_Sharing Open Space Results (45 minutes) (1 hour)

Break (15 minutes)

VII. Reentry Planning (45 minutes)

A. Trainers should list the title of each Open Space session covered during the workshop at the top of separate sheets of newsprint. The newsprint should be placed at different locations around the room. (Depending on the number of topics covered, trainers may want to condense the topics into five or six major themes).

B. Individual participants will use this session to develop reentry plans that detail how they will apply what they have learned here.

C. Note: The reentry planning session may be left open-ended, or it may be structured around the following questions: 1) What did I learn? and 2) What am I going to do as a result of these learnings?

D. Note: As this session begins, the workshop proceedings produced on the laptop computers should be finalized and sent to be reproduced so that participants can receive them at the close of the workshop.

VIII. Closing (30 minutes)

A. Talking Circle (20 mins.)

1. The group will assemble in the large circle, and a microphone will be passed around.
   
   
2. Each person may choose to speak or to pass the microphone to the next person without speaking.
   
   
3. Note: Since participants will receive workshop proceedings at the end of the session, it is not necessary for participants to share their action plans during the talking circle unless they wish to. They should focus on general comments about the overall workshop.

B. Evaluation (5 mins.)

C. Close (5 mins.)