The Power of Parallel

 

EFFECTIVE LEADERS USE THE POWER OF A PARALLEL WORLD

 

Effective leaders recognize that those who can add value to the enterprise will be encouraged to do so when their interests are in parallel with those of the leader.

The “power of parallel” is a potent leadership tool grounded on the universal truth that interests and actions aligned in parallel are dramatically more powerful and effective than those that are divergent or conflicting. Interests in parallel create, while interests in conflict destroy.

Horses to a wagon or dogs to a sled are harnessed in parallel so their individual strengths can be combined into a single, dynamic force. Humans and organizations are impacted by this natural law of parallel as well. The essence of parallel interests in any enterprise is when a group of people are joined together in a common cause that results in a common benefit.

The Business of Parallel Leadership

Truly effective business leaders create an environment in which all stakeholders – shareholders, management, employees and customers – are in parallel. This concept assures that no one group benefits at the expense of another group and when one group benefits then all do. A leader who adopts parallel interests as a core philosophy gains a significant advantage, because so few – especially in business – do so. Building a business culture that is in parallel does not mean creating an egalitarian organization, but it does mean that when success is achieved that all benefit from the success.

In leadership or business, a parallel environment exists when others come to care about the success of the leader or business as much as the leader, because they also stand to gain from that success. When a leader comes to understand, believe in, embrace and employ the power of parallel interests they harness a powerful force that marshals the collaboration of others to bolster their efforts, because it will be in their own best interest to do so.  

Building in Parallel

There are multiple ways a leader can build a culture based on parallel interests. Here is one example: When LifeUSA was founded as a start-up life insurance company, the odds favoring its success were minimal. The only advantage for LifeUSA was that – unlike its established competitors – in was founded on the concept of parallel interests.

All those who joined with LifeUSA – from the founders to the mailroom – became “owners” of the company. This ownership was real and took the form of stock that all employees and sales agents were obligated to buy out of a portion of each and every paycheck. There was only one class of stock – Class A common voting stock – which meant that no group of shareholders (including the founders) could benefit from the success of the company unless all shareholders also benefited.

This employee-ownership structure placed all those working with LifeUSA in parallel with the fortunes of the company. Everyone understood that the harder they worked to make the company successful, the more they stood to benefit from that success. They also knew that no one in the company could benefit unless they also benefited.

How did it work out? Twelve years later LifeUSA was purchased by Allianz SE for a value of over $500 million and as a shareholder every employee of the company shared in parallel in that success.

The Spirit of Parallel Leadership

Exceptional leaders intuitively understand that real success is not achieved by stepping on or over people, but by consciously aligning the interests of others to be in parallel with their own. Follow this simple philosophy and it will lead to the instinctive ability to use and benefit from the natural power of parallel relationships. If in all our personal and business relationships we identify and seek to create and maintain parallel interactions with others, we will significantly increase our prospects of effective leadership and remarkable levels of sustained success.

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Bob MacDonald -- Former CEO of ITT Life, Founder of LifeUSA, retired chairman and CEO of Allianz Life of North America; author of numerous books on business, management and leadership. bobmac5201@gmail.com



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