Inverted Triangle

​Inverted Triangle
I first heard of it from a guy that was chaplain to the Queensland Bulls cricket team.  Since then, I have heard of it in other circumstances, but it has not lessened its impact.  Servant Leadership.
He indicated leadership was like a triangle.  But not a triangle as we know it but an inverted triangle.  A triangle gradually becomes narrower to a point at the top.  The wide base represents the majority of workers at the coal face interacting with the users of the service. The next level which is narrower are their leaders.  As it becomes narrower, they are leaders of leaders.
I guess I have been interested in that because I became leader of a club.  It was like we were all in a line and the call went out “we are looking for a leader” and everyone took a step back except me.  Anyway, I am interested in such things and when I heard about the inverted triangle I thought that is the way it should be.
So often it seems leadership is strived for.  People are considered to have made it when they become a leader.  Yet I am a great believer in knowing what I am getting myself into. Leadership to me is most likely to fail if a person lives in an ivory tower removed from those who do the groundwork.
I reckon I see that sort of thing regularly in my dealing with computers.  So often it seems a solution is imposed without the user in mind.  There has been no attempt to gain an understanding of the implications for those that use the program.
To me that does not mean a leader should cater to every whim of someone at the coal face but it does mean decisions are made based on an understanding of the process.  I have seen the difference in those who rule by degree only and those who rule by understanding decree.
The later to me always have a greater allegiance.  Workers are less inclined to say “blow you Jack” and walk away when they know they are understood, appreciated and the way they see things matters.
It is what I reckon ownership is about.  When someone feels understood they are more likely to want to make improvements.   They think about the situation beyond 9 to 5.  Continuous improvement seems to be a buzz phrase but I am guaranteed to be fighting a losing battle if I am considered to be just a number and easily replicable.  To me when I own the most mundane of jobs, I am more likely to keep the job.
That though to me comes down to leadership.  Someone far removed from me does not recognise my value.  It is one of the reasons why I hold to inverted triangle leadership.  A person who understands what someone faces is more likely to listen when another leader tells of the good of a particular worker.
It seems to me so often leaders forget where they have come from.  Just about everyone starts at the bottom and works their way up.  Those that don’t are often less likely to understand.
Everyone has a meaningful role.  From the person at the coal face to the top person in the organization.  To me long term success is more likely when those in positions of leadership understand and listen to those that may be considered their junior but in attitude, they are senior.