“Unleadership” — a term coined by authors Hugo Gaggiotti, Selen Kars-Ünlüoğlu and Carol Jarvis — is not to be confused with anti-leadership, but rather refers to acts of leadership that typically pass unnoticed and under-appreciated.
According to the trio, these seemingly unremarkable acts can come from anyone, and what makes them so remarkable is that they disrupt the notions of leadership and followership.
They first identified “Unleadership” during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. “While many formal leaders across the world dithered and pirouetted, companies, communities, neighbourhoods and individuals picked up the leadership mantle,” the authors said. “They took responsibility: upskilling themselves, making their own decisions and using their resources and resourcefulness to take timely, creative, informed action for the social good, without waiting to be asked. It is not that these things weren’t happening previously, but the pandemic brought them to the fore.”
There are four dimensions which characterise “Unleaders”:
- They are confident connecting and collaborating
- They catch the wave to take timely, thoughtful action
- They are comfortable living with the unknown
- They pay acts of leadership forward without anticipating personal benefit.
Gaggiotti, Kars-Ünlüoğlu and Jarvis believe that in workplaces where acts of “Unleadership” are promoted, the “human spirit will flourish”.
To understand how organisations can benefit from “Unleadership”, read Unleadership – The Remarkable Power of Unremarkable Acts by Selen Kars-Ünlüoğlu, Carol Jarvis and Hugo Gaggiotti.