Command & Control OR Collaboration
From Command & Control to Collaboration
What Schools Teach Us About Leadership
For centuries, leadership rested on one assumption: the leader is superior to the people being led. From kings and generals to bosses and professors, authority came from title, wealth, or position. Leaders commanded, and others complied.
But that model no longer works in today’s schools, organizations, or communities. Just as classrooms have shifted from teacher-centered to learner-centered, leadership must shift from control to collaboration with others.
Why That No Longer Works
Today’s world is different and changing rapidly. Knowledge workers bring expertise leaders can’t outpace. Global and diverse communities bring insights no single perspective can cover to prepare for the rate of change. Technology forces continuous learning. Students, staff, and employees expect participation, not just direction.
“the only sustainable competitive advantage an organization can have
Is its ability to learn faster than its competition”
Peter Senge
The McCormick Example
One company proved this nearly a century ago. In the 1930s, Charles McCormick turned to employees for solutions through his “Multiple Management” system. Their ideas — more than 7,000 of them — helped restore profitability and fuel innovation.
The principle applies in schools and organizations today: when people feel ownership, solutions emerge. Involving voices closest to the work — teachers, students, staff — surfaces creative answers and builds commitment. James Surowiecki, in his book The Wisdom of Crowds, reports that expert decisions results in 65% success. Decisions made by the crowds (team collaboration) result in 91% success.
The lesson: collaboration outperforms control.
The Shift to Facilitation
Modern leadership is about facilitation. Teachers who shift from lecturing to guiding discussions unleash student voice. Leaders who move from directing to involving unlock potential in their teams.
Facilitation builds trust, creativity, and ownership. It transforms classrooms into learning communities and workplaces into collaborative cultures. In short:
- Yesterday’s leader told others what to do.
- Today’s leader creates the conditions for others to grow.
Practical Application: Three Shifts Leaders Can Make Today
- Choose Awareness – Ask yourself: Where do I still default to “telling” when I could invite input?
- Invite Input – In your next class, meeting, or project, ask: “What would make this 10% better?”
- Facilitate Growth – Redesign one interaction this week to prioritize dialogue over directives.
Small changes like these can ripple outward, shifting culture from compliance to collaboration.
Conclusion
For millennia, leadership meant superiority. But today, success depends on listening, including, and empowering others.
Whether in a school, a business, or a community, growth comes when leaders move from control to collaboration. The leaders who thrive now are not those who cling to authority, but those who unlock the potential in others.
“This article is part of a collaboration between Dan Sitner (Clear Purpose Coaching) and Bill Sommers (Learning Omnivores) exploring how leadership must evolve for today’s world.”