Becoming a Tri-Sector Leader

Hi, I’m David and my mission in life is to prepare people for the future of work.?

In this week’s edition of the newsletter the theme revolves around "tri-sector leadership”, a concept I became familiar with ten years ago, during my studies at the University of Glasgow. The critical challenges the world faces such as climate change, technological disruption, greater income inequality, and a more polarised society than in previous decades require the business, government and nonprofit sectors to work together to create sustainable solutions. But this is only possible if the senior executives of our leading institutions become what the Kennedy School of Government professor Joseph Nye has called a “tri-sector athlete” - someone who can “engage and collaborate across the private, public, and social sectors.” Below are some insights and thoughts that will help you understand what characteristics set tri-sector leaders apart, and the different paths to tri-sector leadership.

Timeless Insight

“A hybrid engine of self-interest and concern for others serves a much wider circle of people than can be reached by self-interest or caring alone.” – Bill Gates

Most tri-sector leaders are what the Wharton School professor Adam Grant calls in his book, Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success, “otherish givers” or, in other words, select individuals that are more idealistic than the purely self-interested and more pragmatic than the entirely selfless. This combination of idealism and pragmatism, Grant suggests, accounts for their disproportionate professional success and impact in the world at large. Successful tri-sector leaders find ways to pursue overlapping and potentially conflicting professional goals. Most are concerned at some point with wealth creation for themselves and their families, which they associate with the private sector. They also aspire to positions of influence, impact, and leadership on a large scale, which draws them to public service. And they typically have a strong sense of mission, the primary focus of nonprofits. Underlying these various motives is a desire to create what Joseph Nye calls “public value,” which many in government consider to be the objective of public policy, much as “shareholder value” has become the objective of business. But tri-sector leaders carry that strong sense of mission in whatever sector they are working in and between the sectors.

Food for Thought

What does the term mean and why is it relevant today??

Tri-sector leadership is a holistic leadership approach that involves collaboration between the three main sectors of society: public sector (government agencies and institutions), private sector (SMEs and corporations), social sector (non-profit entities and charities).?

Drawing on his/her cross-sector experience, a tri-sector leader appreciates the needs, aspirations, and incentives of people in all three sectors and speaks their language. However, most leaders have never worked outside their sector, and the siloed divisions between business, government, and civil society remain very distinct and hostile at times. So, our leaders today need to develop a better understanding of what drives the three main sectors in society, and an ability to navigate different cultures, align incentives and draw on the strengths of a wide range of actors, from different sectors, to solve large-scale problems.?

The critical challenges the world faces such as climate change, technological disruption, greater income inequality, and a more polarised society than in previous decades require the business, government and nonprofit sectors to work together to create sustainable solutions.?

In other words, we have “tri-sector problems” and we require “tri-sector solutions”. However, this kind of tri-sector collaboration will only be possible if the senior executives of our leading institutions become what the Kennedy School of Government professor Joseph Nye has called a “tri-sector athlete” - someone who can “engage and collaborate across the private, public, and social sectors.” Tri-sector athletes will not just emerge, they will need to be developed and nurtured. And they will need to learn from the experience of those individuals who have previously built tri-sector careers, often overcoming considerable hurdles to do so.?

What characteristics set tri-sector leaders apart?

There has been extensive research (see here and here) suggesting that people who have succeeded in crossing sectors have had notable careers as leaders. So what are the unique combination of skills, motives, and career trajectories that characterise tri-sector leaders?

Balanced Motivations - A desire to create public value no matter where they work, combining their motivations to wield influence, have social impact, and generate wealth.

Transferable Skills - A set of distinctive skills valued across sectors, such as quantitative analytics, strategic planning and stakeholder management.

Contextual Intelligence - A deep empathy of the differences within and between sectors, especially those of language, culture and key performance indicators.

Integrated Networks - A set of relationships across sectors to draw on when advancing their careers, building top teams, or convening decision-makers on a particular issue.

Prepared Mind - A willingness to pursue an unconventional career that zigzags across sectors, and the financial readiness to take potential pay cuts from time to time.

Intellectual Thread - Holistic subject matter expertise on a particular tri-sector issue by understanding it from the perspective of each sector

What are the different paths to tri-sector leadership?

Some tri-sector leaders made their fortunes in the private sector and subsequently turned to philanthropy or government service. Others started in government before moving on to the private or nonprofit sector. So what are the different paths to becoming a tri-sector leader?

Business First - Some highly successful private-sector leaders subsequently become government or nonprofit leaders or both (e.g. Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates, Diana Farrell).

Government First - Some distinguished public-sector leaders subsequently develop second careers in the private or nonprofit sector (e.g. Jared Cohen, Bob Hormats, Sheryl Sandberg).

Nonprofit First - Some leaders spend their early careers in the nonprofit world of community engagement before moving into government or business (e.g. Barack Obama).

In and Out - Some tri-sector leaders keep moving among government, business, and nonprofits during their careers (e.g. Carol Browner, David Hayes, Ian Solomon).?

Stay in Place - Some leaders spend their careers primarily in one sector but engage and collaborate with individuals in the other two to address tri-sector issues (e.g. Eric Schmidt).

Tri-sector leaders have been among the most significant and influential people of their time.? So how can you become a tri-sector leader yourself? First, identify a tri-sector issue of interest and cultivate a network across sectors to learn from and meet your counterparts. There is no shortage of major conferences, hackathons, and nonprofit organisations where tri-sector issues are discussed and acted on by representatives from all three sectors. But, most importantly, follow your passions and seek to leave the world a better place. And, before you know it, you’ll be working with leaders across sectors to see your vision realised.

Article of the Week?

Triple-Strength Leadership

Caricature of the Week

Source: Condé Nast

Thank you for reading and keep on growing!

David

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