Moving the pyramid

Companies are often compared to pyramids with the CEO at the top and all the people who handle the day-to-day operations at the bottom. Depending on the hierarchy of the business, this pyramid can appear tall and thin or short and wide. But either way, it provides an appropriate analogy for understanding leadership.

So much of leadership relies on persuasion. In order to get someone to commit to your idea you must first persuade them to believe in it. Getting commitment is the challenge from any level in the organization. At the bottom, many of the challenges arise from limited visibility into the company strategy and market forces on the company. Furthermore, moving the pyramid requires tight coordination between peers and all the layers above. Such coordination at a bottom layer, while still performing daily responsibilities, is typically so arduous that few have the time and stamina to do it well.

Additionally there are challenges at higher layers in the pyramid. Although progress can often still be made on moving the pyramid without commitment from all layers, lack of commitment can destroy the pyramid’s migration mid-flight. A senior-level manager can use his authority to kick off a project, but the same authority that can force progress will also frequently prevent feedback. Employees at the bottom of the pyramid, if left to feel undervalued, will seldom report problems up the chain. The process that did not value their commitment sufficiently prior to project kick-off will leave them feeling their continued feedback is similarly unimportant.