A story of emergent leadership
Have you ever seen a group of starlings flying together? Taking twists, turns, swooping, and swirling across an open sky (also called murmurations)? Studies suggest how starlings achieve such incredible coherence to operate like “one giant living system”, continuously moving through the stages of order, chaos, and then a new order.
What’s even more exciting, however, is that different members of the flock emerge as leaders at various junctures. A slight fluctuation or change started by one gets amplified, and a new form of order spontaneously emerges at the critical point of chaos.
“Emergence” is a key characteristic of life. It is a natural, spontaneous, and creative advancement to a new state of order. Often, it is experienced as “magic” that emerges amidst chaos.
Understanding emergence has led to a new kind of leadership theory called “emergent leadership”, which happens when group members naturally emerge as leaders over time instead of being appointed or nominated. Cultivating such leadership requires an organizational structure that facilitates emergence and a culture that celebrates creativity and novelty.
Classical or “designed” structures (rigid, top-down, and hierarchical relationships) give us the necessary stability, control, and order in organizations. However, organizations also need adaptability, flexibility, and creativity to survive and succeed in the long term. These traits reside in the informal, self-generating, “emergent” networks within the organizations.
“People do not resist change; they resist change imposed on them. Being alive, individuals and communities are both stable and subject to change, but their natural change processes are very different from top-down organizational changes.”
Fritjof Capra, a renowned physicist, ecologist, and systems thinker.
Good managers and business leaders understand the interplay between an organization’s formal “designed” structures and its informal “emergent” networks. They constantly seek to achieve the right balance between the stability of design and creativity of emergence.
Medhavi Association – a model of emergence
An organization’s leadership model must always align with its raison d’être. Accordingly, it can either rely on top-down, rigid structures. Or instead, focus on the bottom-up, emerging networks. Medha chose the latter while developing a suitable leadership model for its alumni programs. The first set of these programs emerged within a group of alums working at Medha, who later founded the alumni department together. The department grew organically, with a cadre of alumni associates and volunteers joining them over time.
In 2022, a section of active Medha alumni organized themselves to form an independent organization called Medhavi Association. Entirely governed by Medha alums (Medhavis), the association aims to meet the changing needs of the alum community as it grows in size and geographic reach.
Nurturing emergence – our learnings
Medhavi Association is an example of “emergence” in the vital ecosystem of Medha. The active network of Medhavis has always acted as a continuous pipeline of emergent leaders for Medha. Its core members (that constitute the nucleus) have all “emerged” as leaders over a period during their various interactions with Medha. And the superstructure (beyond the nucleus) is a vibrant community of volunteers active in their local (alumni) chapters/communities. Some of them will emerge as future leaders of the association.
The core values embodied by the association, Community, Creativity, Courage, and Compassion, can be seen as factors nurturing emergence and promoting emergent leadership within Medhavis.
Community-driven initiatives
Medha alumni community is far from a homogeneous group. It would be unfair to presume “one size fits all” while engaging them. Therefore, at the association, we have flipped our approach for program design and delivery. We invite our members to co-design and lead initiatives based on the needs of their respective regions. We encourage them to take ownership and emerge as leaders of their own communities.
In our pilot year of introducing city chapters, we saw our volunteers exploring new themes and issues which they found relevant. For example, our Gorakhpur chapter hosted a community kitchen in order to enhance the spirit of fraternity in the community. They also set up a community gullak to fund their next meetups.
In Lucknow, our volunteers raised awareness about the menstrual health of young women in their region. Our Patna chapter brought a group of budding entrepreneurs together, providing them with a network to find resources and build on their creative ventures. In all these initiatives, our central team members act as facilitators, supporters, and companions.
Creativity by way of fluidity
We encourage creativity in the association by keeping a flat structure that allows the free flow of ideas between the members. A small central team comprising experienced, full-time members play the role of nurturers, ably supported by on-the-ground volunteers who ensure voices from the ground are always able to reach us.
We welcome, appreciate, and celebrate creativity and novelty. Among other initiatives, our annual youth fest, Atrangi, is a platform where Medhavis get a chance to showcase their diverse skills, interests, and creations. During the entire year, by means of regional auditions, our core team ensures regular checkpoints with local chapters to identify and support newer talents.
Courage amidst chaos
We invite conflict of ideas, variability, and sometimes, even a prolonged state of confusion. Because that’s when we feel Medhavis’ minds are the most activated to explore new trails. Each of them has had its share of hurdles and failures, but despite that, we see them willing to experiment and take up new challenges.
Tolerance for a certain level of uncertainty and disorder is essential for nurturing emergence. That’s why Medhavis are also primarily identified as dreamers and risk-takers, curious to learn more and do more. Our learning journeys, Rubaru, are a perfect example of harnessing the excitement to explore unknown territories without fear of getting lost.
Compassion brings us together
Over time we have discovered that not every alum is looking for a benefit or offering from us. Instead, they are interested in giving back and supporting the community. The association provides a channel where Medhavis support each other in various ways.
Many alumni have come forward to provide job opportunities, counselling, sponsorship, networking and other support to fellow Medhavis. This motivation to give back to the community is the biggest “stickiness” factor for us. While members have individual dreams and aspirations, it is the compassion for each other that binds the association together.
For example, with over 60% of our Medhavis being young girls, our sharing circles create safe spaces for girls to open up, accept themselves and support those going through similar experiences.
Organization as a living system
Studying the emergent properties of nature, Canadian biologist and mathematician Brian Goodwin observed a coexistence of asymmetry and symmetry, which he describes as multiplicity in unity. In his words, nature expresses itself in a way that, “Each part is free to do as it pleases, but then it keeps a certain relationship with the whole.” This coherence, or the diverse “parts” expressing and acting in harmony with the “whole,” is what is essential to the vitality of a living system.
Organizations can emulate this emergent property of nature to stay healthy and vibrant. A certain level of openness to individual freedom, and autonomy to the teams, while retaining an overall focus on the core values, can be a fertile ground for cultivating emergence.
Coming back to starlings, Medhavi Association is the dynamic superstructure created by its member Medhavis. While each of the “starlings” may have different interests and aspirations, they jointly create coherent shapes and patterns of similar hopes, joys, and struggles. And at critical points of chaos, some of them emerge to take the lead and keep the flock moving together.
This story is a part of Non Profit Work: a collection of opinions and insights to help non-profits work better and drive greater impact.