Building a team of conceptualizers and operators

Earlier this week I talked a little bit about two different types of leaders we need within our organizations: Operational leaders and Conceptual leaders. The goal is to have both on your team. The operational leader is concerned primarily with "getting it done"; the conceptual leader is primarily concerned with what "ought to be done." They work together as a reinforcing rather than a counteracting team.

So why doesn't this always happen? Why do members of our team sometimes undermine one another? Well, because whereas conceptualizers generally recognize the need for operators, the reverse is often not the case. If the top post in a hierarchical administration (which is, unfortunately, how most teams are run - more on this another day) is filled by an operator who does not fully understand the need for conceptual influence, the institution does not have a bright long-run future.

For example: While I am making some generalizations here about conceptualizers and operators, my experience tells me that operators will often ask questions like: "What exactly does that person do all day?"

The goal within our organizations is to have a council of equals - a primus inter pares (see here and here for more on this concept) - in which both conceptualizers and operators understand, respect, and depend on one another, and in which neither dominates the other. This is how teams should be run. Of course, this also takes a great deal of time and work.

But remember: Our organization's long-term success depends on it!