Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney earned a rare standing ovation following his speech to world leaders in Davos last month. And if you’ve engaged with fellow Canadians since, you’ve no doubt noted the swell in national pride that has erupted in its aftermath, regardless of political stripes.
Like many around the world, we were reassured and inspired by the Prime Minister’s remarks. Not least of which because they highlighted an approach that we at Intersol have long promoted: facilitative leadership. In contrast with top-down leadership approaches, facilitative leadership is a collaboration between leaders and followers, empowering people to connect with one another and the topic at hand in the pursuit of a shared vision and purpose.
As people who make their living helping diverse groups to think and work together in the pursuit of shared interests, we echo his call for a pragmatic, relational and facilitative approach to the collective problem-solving our world desperately needs to overcome its substantial challenges.
Here are some of the key themes from the Prime Minister’s speech that we consider fundamental to solving complex problems, not only in the geopolitical arena, but also in our workplaces, homes and communities.
- Naming the current reality
Naming and describing a situation as objectively as possible helps ensure that those assembled are starting from a common understanding of reality (though they may differ in their points of view on what to make of it). One of the ways PM Carney demonstrated leadership in his recent speech was by naming a reality others had observed but not yet voiced.
Sometimes we need to consciously let go of nostalgia, as he put it, in order to build something better moving forward. Experience has taught us that in order to do this, it’s helpful not only to name the current reality, but also to support people in envisioning a successful future.
- Co-operation over fortress-building
While the impulse to build walls in an uncertain climate is understandable, building bridges is ultimately a more powerful and strategic move, particularly for those whose resources are not unlimited. A facilitative leader helps parties emerge from strictly defensive positions to discover common ground on which to move forward together.
We agree wholeheartedly that: “collective investments in resilience are cheaper than everyone building their own fortresses. Shared standards reduce fragmentations. Complementarities are positive sum.”
- Balancing principles and pragmatism
In our line of work, groups and leaders must often walk the line between principles and pragmatism. Depending on the situation, one may be weighted more heavily than the other. The balance often shifts as the circumstances do. Yet at the root of every group or institution there must be certain inviolable boundaries. Values so essential to their raison d’être that they are never up for negotiation.
- Engagement despite differences, progress not perfection
One element of pragmatism highlighted by the Prime Minister is “recognizing that progress is often incremental, that interests diverge, that not every partner will share all of our values.”
While shared values form a strong base on which to build relationships, expecting one’s potential collaborators to hold very same position on everything is a recipe for a stalemate.
Making progress together on some fronts is usually preferable to waiting to engage, until perfect alignment exists. PM Carney recognizes this when he speaks of taking on “the world as it is,” and not waiting for “a world we wish to be.” He went on to emphasize the need for coalitions that “work issue by issue with partners who share enough common ground to act together.” This is the kind of work we support leaders with every day.
- Working together to uphold the rules that make working together possible
One of the strongest yet most basic tools at a facilitative leader’s disposal is the establishment of rules of engagement or ground rules. Whether intended for the duration of a meeting or project, these guidelines help keep discussions and behaviours productive and solutions focused. While adhering to them is a shared responsibility, the facilitative leader is ultimately accountable for ensuring this happens consistently, even when issues get thorny and emotions run high — “applying the same standards to allies and rivals,” as the PM put it.
In conclusion, we share Prime Minister Carney’s pride in Canada’s pluralism. In our “loud, diverse and free” public square, as well as in the commitment to work collaboratively to advance shared interests and uphold cherished Canadian values. As facilitative leaders ourselves, we view this as the only sustainable way forward. So, we face our country’s next chapter with hope, having seen countless times how people from coast, to coast, to coast are not waiting to act together on issues that matter.
