Convergence

From functional to transformational leadership.

Convergence-seeking leaders distinguish themselves by their ability to deal with both the system and its components effectively. Indeed, their desire to maintain harmony requires good process management skills and good people skills.

This desire for harmony should not be taken at face value as a candid need, but rather as a powerful capacity to empathise and connect with others. Indeed, the strength of convergence-seeking leaders resides not only in their ability to create a safe space, i.e., to consider all voices as equally relevant and important, but also to offer the possibility of “co-processing” situations, often connecting at an emotional level.

Their talent manifests through their concern over the well-being of their teams and the inclusion of teammates in group dynamics, and time invested in nurturing relationships and providing thoughtful feedback. Hence, unlike many other leaders, they are equally effective in group and bilateral settings.

Yet, their ability to relate, and sometimes to create context, often comes at a price: bearing the mental charge of managing the group dynamic and assuming the role of the facilitator. They might also perceive the decisiveness of other leaders as divisive, polarizing, or judgmental, and bridle their own impetus at times.

On a more intimate level, convergence-seeking leaders may face paradoxes and double binds. If process management helps to create a safe space, it may also put some distance between them and others, at odds with the authenticity they value in relationships. Similarly, their genuine desire to empower people may collide with the integrity of the process, and their need to control it.

“How can convergent-seeking leaders harness their full potential?”, asked the Mouse.

Convergence-seeking leaders need to beware of what could be called the “syndrome of the photograph”, especially if it becomes a comfort zone. Holding a safe space can be a way to avoid being part of the process. Conversely, managing the process can be a way to subsume one’s emotions and needs into a collective dynamic at the expense of individual responsibility.  

Still, as they value self-awareness and are capable of introspection, leaders can reflect on three things:

First, it would be helpful for them to clarify the root cause of their desire for harmony. Development pathways may be different for leaders overcoming hurtful memories and those dreading their own strength, and the possibility of hurting others.

Secondly, convergence-seeking leaders can reflect on what they see as the source of their legitimacy. Beyond the ability to manage group dynamics – which they might consider a form of stewardship – leaders need to explore more endogenous sources of legitimacy, such as their knowledge of a certain topic, or their status. In doing so, they take a position in the system, with its inherent biases and limits. They also signal that they trust others to position themselves in response, without their help.

Thirdly, leaders can reflect on their relationship with conflict. Their desire for harmony might make them conflict avoidant, and for the less mature leaders, passive aggressive, or even manipulative to achieve their goals without deteriorating superficial equilibrium. However, managing conflicts, or rather navigating the blurriness of it (an intimate fog of war if you will) is one of their core skills, and the healthy nature of processing conflicts is core to their worldview. The challenge is to widen their perspective to consider conflicts that can’t be solved.

Freeing themselves from a conflict resolution mindset will open the door to personal transformation and from there to impact at an organisational scale. Without the pressure to perform or control, they can connect with their fears and dark side – i.e. needs or desires they may have that wouldn’t fit with their worldview –. The challenge in doing so shouldn’t be underestimated as their ability to process might collide with their ability to connect, a challenge heightened when they are parties to a conflict.

To assist in this process and achieve their potential, convergence-seeking leaders may need supervisors of sort: trusted sparring partners who would do for them what leaders do for others. The role of a supervisor wouldn’t be to ensure that leaders succeed but to allow them failure and provide a space to process situations on their own, without giving them the opportunity to opt-out by co-processing them. Because they have an unparalleled ability to connect, convergent leaders can enable peers in the role of supervisors.

Still, the journey towards owning their status as leaders and clarifying their relationship with authority is a long one. It requires acknowledging the fact that harmony is a choice and not only an ideal, and that their sense of stewardship and responsibility also brings them comfort and control, sometimes at their own expense.

In many ways, convergence-seeking leaders have an inverted challenge compared to others. Whilst some may need to connect to achieve their full potential, others will need to establish boundaries. Hence, if they marry their ability to connect with individuals and groups with the acceptance of their own desire for power and the responsibility that comes with it, then convergence-seeking leaders can drive systematic changes, and will upgrade from an ability to function in various contexts to the possibility of shaping cultures.

Baptiste Raymond - 04/2022.