Multiple Leaders - an afterthought

Thinking about David Clutterbuck (see yesterday's post "Multiple Leaders"), led me to recall how this can be an effective approach in practice.

Project and Product

When I was involved in bespoke software development, we used a project structure that had a Project Manager (PM), as the overseer of the whole project, and a Technical Director (TD) who had responsibility for the quality of the "end-product" (the software and its associated documentation etc).

Different responsibilities, different people

This approach was recognition that a person who could plan, organise, direct, and control (and yes, "lead") a team was not necessarily someone with the technical skills and experience to build the product.  This was the responsibility of the Technical Director (TD).  Both were required, at times, to be leaders, but in different situations and in different ways - and they had different traits, competencies and power sources.

Recent experience

On a recent engagement in an IT department, I noticed that they appointed a PM but not a TD.  The PM carried technical responsibility.  My observation was that this was risky and led to a poorer outcome.