Frank Schaeffer In Conversation with Ambassador Matthew Barzun exploring his new book, The Power of Giving Away Power.
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Matthew Barzun has always been fascinated about how we can stand out and fit in at the same time. He helped countries do both when he served as US Ambassador to the United Kingdom and to Sweden. He helped citizens do both as National Finance Chair for Barack Obama by pioneering new ways for people to have a stronger voice in politics. And he helped tech consumers do both as an entrepreneur when he helped start CNET Networks in the early 90’s. Barzun was raised on the East Coast, started his career on the West Coast, and settled in the middle in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife, Brooke, and their three children.
“Give away power. In eras when distrust is high, hierarchies of power are usually suspect. Leaders earn trust by spreading authority through the ranks. In his book “The Power of Giving Away Power,” Matthew Barzun contrasts pyramid hierarchical structures with constellation structures in which power is dispersed. Pyramid structures encourage a competitive win-lose mind-set, he writes, while constellation structures encourage cooperation.”
If you let go of hierarchy, chaos will reign...or so many leaders believe.
But when leaders find the courage to distribute rather than hoard power, creativity multiplies, trust deepens, and inclusivity expands... and a new kind of order emerges.
A few rare leaders have learned to embrace a new organizational shape and mindset: Constellations. Organizations designed as constellations are dynamic and flexible networks of distinct yet interwoven individuals. Each member of the team feels like a singular star and is also connected to others to form something greater. That is how Visa reimagined how we pay for things, how Wikipedia beat the richest company in the world and how Barack Obama and his grassroots team revolutionized political campaigning. These leaders did what most leaders dread – they gave away power.
Barzun brilliantly layers lessons across history and industries with his own experiences as an internet entrepreneur, political organizer, and US ambassador to the United Kingdom and Sweden. The Power of Giving Away Power shows how the Constellation mindset shines in some of the most impactful organizations and innovations the world has ever known. And it encourages us all to recognize, as Barzun writes, "the power we can create by seeing the power in others" — and making the leap to lead. Together.