Starting with self-organization often presents a tricky challenge for founders and senior leaders: how to lead without falling back on authority. A valuable framework for navigating this is Peter Koenig's concept of Source—a valuable perspective on the responsibilities of those who start an initiative.
The role of source is not a formal role, like CEO. It’s an inherent role that cannot be appointed through a formal process. Like the mother in a family, it is simply a matter of acknowledging who is in the role.
The role of Source is held by the individual who takes the first vulnerable step in the realization of an idea.
Working with Source aims to integrate the best of top-down leadership and participatory collaboration. It fosters resilience in complexity, ensures creative alignment, and helps initiatives thrive over time.
The key responsibilities and tasks are:
- 🎯 Holding the Vision
- Responsibility: Stay connected to the core purpose and inspiration behind the initiative.
- Tasks:
- Articulate the initiative’s vision clearly to others.
- Filter out ideas misaligned with the vision.
- 🔥 Creating and Sustaining Energy
- Responsibility: Provide the initiative’s creative and motivational energy.
- Tasks:
- Infuse enthusiasm into the team and work.
- Ensure the initiative maintains momentum, even through challenges.
- 🖼️ Making Foundational Decisions
- Responsibility: Own decisions that define the initiative’s trajectory.
- Tasks:
- Define overarching goals, principles, and values.
- Take ownership of difficult or high-stakes decisions, even amid uncertainty.
- 🧩 Sharing Authorship
- Responsibility: Distribute power while retaining accountability for the overall vision.
- Tasks:
- Identify sub-initiatives and encourage "sub-sources" to own them.
- Trust them while ensuring alignment with the vision.
- 🌳 Tend to Relationships and Alignment
- Responsibility: Foster alignment among all contributors and ensure collaboration serves the initiative’s purpose.
- Tasks:
- Act as a unifying force when conflicts or misalignments arise.
- Cultivate relationships with sub-sources, team members, and stakeholders.
- ⌛️ Letting Go When it's Time
- Responsibility: Recognize when your role as Source has run its course.
- Tasks:
- Transition the initiative to another Source.
- Ensure continuity and support for the new Source.
A simple experiment
This isn’t just about founders—anyone can be the Source for an initiative. Here’s a reflective exercise to explore your role and its impact:
1️⃣ Make an inventory of initiatives in your life—personal or professional.
- Which ones are flowing, and which feel stuck?
- What’s your role in each? Are you the Source, a "sub-source", or a contributor?
2️⃣ For initiatives you are sourcing.
- Have you accepted your role as Source?
- How could you be more effective considering the responsibilities and tasks above?
3️⃣ For initiatives you are contributing to.
- Who has the role of Source?
- Tell them that you see them in the role of Source. Do they agree? Ask which support they would appreciate from you.
Further reading: https://workwithsource.com/
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