Social impact is about more than implementing projects and initiatives to do the best thing for our society. In terms of leadership more often it is the position of leaders that make the biggest difference in creating social impact. Your frontline leaders are those who are closest to the communities in need. These frontline leaders are the supervisors, team leads, managers, nurses and other individuals who work directly with those affected. They see first hand the challenges and nuances that large scale strategies often miss. They deliver your services and create value for your communities. They are not just leaders; they are agents of change.
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What is Leadership for Social Impact Projects
Leadership in social impact projects involves inspiring and motivating individuals. Helping them to work towards a common goal of creating positive change in society. Effective social impact leaders understand the unique challenges faced by their communities. They then use their vision, skills, and resources to develop innovative solutions.
They prioritise collaboration and inclusivity. They recognise that sustainable change can only be achieved by involving all stakeholders. Social impact leaders also cultivate a culture of continuous learning. The empower their team to grow and adapt as they work towards their mission. Enabling people to work together to create meaningful progress towards a social impact. Creating a brighter future for us all.
If you want to learn more I’ve written a guide to social impact leadership here.
The Real Question What is the Best Way to Lead Social Impact Projects?
Understanding what is the best way to actually lead social impact is a tricky prospect. Even unpicking the complex problem of what is leadership is a challenge. There is a morass of different types of leadership models. To quote Matt Wyatt @Complex Wales:
“The flavours go from heroic, to visionary, connected, distributed, authentic, humble and compassionate all the way down to bloody visible — and that’s a pretty low bar”.
Matt Wyatt of Complex Wales
What Type of Leadership Model is Best?
There is no real ‘best’ model of leadership. Each has their role and are most effective at different things. Indeed organisations are most strong when they have diverse teams, which also means diverse forms of leadership. Besides which there are also so many different models of leadership it’s not even clear what is and is not leadership anymore. (My experience is that leaders manage whilst managers also lead. There should be no dividing line.)
The Context of Leadership
The reality is the type of leadership you use should use depends on the context you are in. I wouldn’t want firefighters to have a long debate on what hose to use if my house is burning. But if someone was planning to knock down my house I would definitely appreciate a longer discussion. It is essential to recognise the situation we are in and adapt our leadership style to fit.
What We Can Learn From the History of Leadership
Leadership is a social construct. As such, it can be much more helpful to talk about the position of a leader relative to the people they lead. Sometimes it’s important to get back to basics. I had a great time at a medieval joust at the weekend, where there was a re-enactment of a medieval battle. We learned in a medieval battlefield, a deeply practical environment, there were only two positions for a leader. Either the frontline leader was with the troops, leading the charge. Or alternatively the frontline leader was positioned just behind the frontline. This is to ensure the troops collaborate and work together as a single unit. Literally these 2 leaders would be leading the impact!
Why were there only 2 positions in a medieval battle? Because that is where the people are. Frontline leadership is where the relationships and trust is highest, that’s where the action is. If the leader is any further away, the ‘Fog of War’ will allow misinterpretation, spies, and lies to get between the leader and the troops.
There are in fact 4 potential positions for a leader:
- Leadership from above.
- Leadership from below.
- Leadership from the front.
- Leadership from behind.
1. Leadership From Above For Social Impact
Aiming to create social impact from leadership from above or ‘positional leadership’ has a long history. Where leadership is made from positions of authority. There have been many attempts at creating social impact using top-down leadership in the public sector. Governments and bureaucrats have been attempting social projects for a very long time. Leadership from above, or off the battlefield, might make practical sense in preparation for the battle or afterward. They create the vital role of creating purpose and direction and setting clear boundaries for the people below them. If you need to plan a big change and need lots of resources the top-down route makes a lot of sense. The logic is that authority brings order.
For social impact projects, I would argue the social battle is ongoing, there is no beginning, middle, or end of the social. If you are not present at the fight or empowering those who are, this puts you in a weak position. You are unable to understand the challenges, anticipate or fully understand problems, and can not take the initiative.
Hierarchical power can and does sometimes work wonders on the big, but obvious challenges. It is a blunt tool that is good for addressing blunt things. This is especially the case when the change would not happen in a ‘bottom up’ way e.g. with the smoking ban or with the controls for covid. These changes although unpopular, saved us from a much worse crisis. Even today, people moan about authority whilst also demanding state action on the cost of living crises rather than local help. But these interventions often come at a high cost. Too often even the most well-meaning hierarchy often emphasises compliance. Which can lead to totalitarian tendencies.
2. Leadership From Below For Social Impact.
I think leading social impact from below could best be described as Servant leadership. Servant leadership has a lot going for it. Servant leaders often build strong trust and are inspirational for the people they work with. The medieval version would be managing the supply train. Every battle needs good logistics to keep the fight going. It is often said that logistics win wars. The problem is acting as a supply leader, responding to people’s needs will only stop you from losing the battle fast.
The aim of the game is by looking after the participants you can stay in for as long as possible for a long-term win. Servant leadership alone, will not be able to lead change, seek opportunities and create direct change. Given we are talking about social impact, being proactive is essential. You absolutely do need to be or have a supportive leader on your team. But they are not going to change the social projects battlefield for you.
3. Leading From the Frontline For Social Impact.
Leading social impact from the front, is role modelling actions for others, the real hero leader. It is someone who will have the bravery and tenacity to stride out there into no man’s land ahead of everyone else. Be courageous create the social impact yourself and give people an example to emulate. By leading the way you are making this easier for others to follow. This is a difficult and risky role. Not least if you don’t bring people with you. So it is a case of being in front, but not too far, so people are only one step behind you.
The other weakness of leading from the front is you can’t see what’s going on around you. Your focus can often become blinkered in meeting the challenge in front of you. You may not always the people to your side or helping someone who has fallen behind. Setting an example as a leader is great. But if this is all that you do, others may be less inclined to take the lead themselves. This leader is great for social impact projects, but they need to balance themselves with cunning to know when to charge in, when to hold back and when to give space to others.
4. Leading From Behind for Social Impact
Social Impact leadership from behind may sound like a coward’s choice. Of all the leadership types these are seen as the lowest. These managers are often treated as the ‘bottom managers’ in most organisations. Whilst these are actually the frontline leaders. In reality by having everyone just in front of them. The leader can see who is struggling, and who is doing well, and their direct knowledge of those people, so that they can play to their strengths.
The leaders behind the front line in any organsation, are usually the most knowledgeable. They have the highest quality information, the fastest, and are most able to give effective support and aid to those struggling. Too often this is the least glamorous role. To be respected that leader also needs to become part of the frontline when needed.
What is Frontline Leadership?
Frontline leadership refers to the management and leadership roles of individuals who are directly in contact with the customers or the primary operations of a business or organisation. These leaders are on the “front lines” of the business, meaning they are directly involved in day-to-day operations and have a significant impact on the customer experience, employee performance, and overall operational efficiency. Frontline leadership are often supervisors, team leads, managers, and anyone else who directly oversees and supports frontline employees.
Why Frontline Leadership is Best Placed to Make Decisions
Frontline leadership are the most powerful leader when we talk about social impact projects. They are best placed to make observations, and see patterns and opportunities. This enables them to do things better and coordinate people to take action. They can set an example when necessary too. Social impact projects must start at the level of the person best placed to connect the people and the information and that is the front-line manager.
“Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front”
Why is Frontline Leadership so Important?
- Employee Engagement and Motivation: Frontline leadership plays a pivotal role in motivating their teams, providing feedback, and engaging employees to ensure they are satisfied, productive, and aligned with the organization’s goals.
- Service User Satisfaction: Since they are directly involved in service user interactions, frontline leadership is instrumental in managing and improving the customer experience. They can quickly address customer concerns, improve service delivery, and ensure customer satisfaction.
- Operational Efficiency: They are responsible for managing day to day operations, solving problems as they arise, and making decisions that affect the immediate functioning of their teams or departments.
- Communication: Frontline leadership acts as a crucial communication link between higher management and frontline employees. They communicate organisational goals, changes, and feedback between the different levels of the organisation.
- Continuous Improvement: By being closely involved with the operational aspects, frontline leadership can identify areas for improvement, innovate processes, and implement changes that enhance productivity and efficiency.
Empowering Your Frontline Leadership to Make Social Impact.
In my experience the life of the frontline leadership is often a tough one. They are usually deprived of resources. They are often overruled and expected to follow processes they have little control over. If we are to be serious about social impact projects within and without organisations the frontline leaders are the people we need to empower. These are the people we need to give resources to. They are the people who are best placed to make decisions about what works fastest and take the initiative.
Frontline Leadership Are in A Position To Care
The front line leader also does the real meaty work of caring about others. They look after the people in front of them and to their sides. They also can provide leadership as well as understand the human’s best. When we talk about social impact projects, we are talking about trying to understand and solve the problems of people we care about. Not some distant imaginary average person we have never met.
The role of the leader is not just to care, but to coordinate to overcome challenges so that we can act together and be stronger than any individual. The frontline leaders are the lifeblood of social movements and give them meaning and purpose. That is how to win social battles. Helping people we care about to impact others in a positive way.
Example of Frontline Leadership From Toyota and Tesla
You need frontline leaders who can see the road ahead to guide you as they rarely follow straight-line planning
A great example of frontline leadership comes from Toyota. Toyota structure their frontline workers into small teams of 4 or 5 people each with their own frontline leader. These frontline leaders are the corner stone of the qaulity improvingment work in the orgnanisation pulling support and advice to them. This approach has also been adopted by Tesla, where all staff (including Elon) can pitch into help a problem on the frontline.
Example of Why We Need to Support Frontline Leaders?
I worked at a hospital that widely proclaimed that they adopted the Toyota model for improvement. Whilst in reality staff would be expected to write business cases and reports to get permission to make even the smallest change. One of the teams I worked with complained that the introduction of the model was getting in the way of doing the improvement work they had already been doing. So you can’t just talk about improvement. Other leaders have to give the frontline the support to do it.
Helping Frontline Leaders Get the Resources They Need
One of the main challenges frontline leadership has is getting the resources they need. However, when they are in the thick of the fight it is difficult for them to take a broader perspective and see the wood for the trees. It can be a real challenge for the front line leaders who do the best work to be seen and heard by high level leaders. To help I’ve created a 10 step funding proposal process. A proposal assessment tool to test the strength of the bids and give tips as well as offer 121 coaching and support.
Leadership and Decision Making for Social Impact.
Key to successful social impact leadership is not just being a role model for the people you work with. You need to demonstrate the behaviours and the values and see in others. However, you also need to respond to an ever changing situation.
The OODA loop is a fantastic learning model that helps you create understand the world and improve your thinking to act more effectively. It was also developed for and is used widely in the modern military to this day. This is probably no coincidence as the military have been working with people to create a social impact for hundreds and even thousands of years. Of course we should not emulate military’s in many ways but one thing they do know is how to get people working together to create change.
Conclusion
All types of leaders have an important and vital role to play in creating social impact. But what is most important is the position of the leader relative to the action. Each leadership position has times that it can be beneficial in different situations. However, I argue for effective social projects the most powerful leader is the frontline leadership. They are the leaders with the best information and strongest relationships coordinating and helping the people on the frontline. If we cannot take the role ourselves, we need to empower and give these leaders the resources they need to unleash social innovation.
Learn to lead change that flows: Discover more at edgeofpossible.com
Question For Leaders:
What are the types of leadership that have inspired you?
Other relevant articles:
Social Projects: A Complete Guide.