Leadership does not only happen between a manager and employees.
We both practice and seek leadership all the time – in peer sparring, in advice, in support, in frustrations shared over lunch, and in the short conversations between meetings. We help each other succeed professionally, and we help each other make life work across both work and private life.
But our need for leadership is not constant.
Sometimes we need sharp professional sparring on a critical decision.
Other times we need help understanding our position within a larger context.
And sometimes we simply need someone to listen – without trying to fix anything.
The problem is that we lack the language for it.
We rarely have a precise vocabulary for:
- What we actually need.
- How to ask for it.
- How to read and offer the kind of leadership a situation calls for.
This is where leadership roles can function as a method.
From formal leadership to shared leadership capacity
The six leadership roles I work with emerged at Danish Design Center during an organizational transformation where all formal leadership roles disappeared.
The need for leadership did not disappear.
On the contrary, it became more visible.
When no one held the title, it became necessary to ask:
How do we step in for one another?
The roles were co-created as a shared language for the “everyday leadership” that was already taking place – but lacked concepts.
They are not universal truths.
They are archetypal positions we can step into.
And that is precisely the point:
They are not something you are.
They are something you take on.
De syv lederskabsroller
“I help you see where you are –
and where you could go.”
Sparring on direction, career, and development
Helps clarify position and sense of belonging
Mirrors the individual in relation to the organization and the wider community
Contributes overview, perspective, and reality checks
Puts words to possibilities, choices, and consequences
“I watch over you –
even when you don’t.”
Keeps an eye on wellbeing, workload, and boundaries
Checks in and follows up – also preventively
Has your back in difficult situations
Gives a gentle push when necessary
Creates safety to take responsibility and risks
“I challenge you with
knowledge, perspective, and depth.”
Contributes professional and strategic insight
Listens attentively and asks exploratory questions
Challenges assumptions and habitual thinking
Shares experience and specialist insight
Supports learning through reflection and mentorship
“I lead the way, so you can learn by following.”
Works with personal and professional development
Creates frameworks for apprenticeship and practice-based learning
Provides structure, clarity, and continuity
Helps navigate rights and responsibilities
Translates experience into concrete tools and routines
“I stand with you in what is too heavy to carry alone.”
Guides through change and transition phases
Acts as an active co-developer and close sparring partner
Relieves pressure when it is at its highest
Clears the path and removes obstacles
Draws on personal experience from similar processes
“I help you go further
than you thought possible.”
Trains focus, discipline, and perseverance
Sets the pace and maintains momentum
Pushes you to the edge of your comfort zone
Challenges your self-imposed limitations
Supports you with belief, energy, and encouragement
“I hold the space,
so what remains unspoken can surface.”
Creates a safe space for the personal and the difficult
Allows room for pause, stillness, and recovery
Holds frustration, doubt, and resistance
Supports reflection and processing
Enables clarity before action
How to work with the roles in practice
Recently, I worked with the roles during a team development day.
The method was simple – yet effective.
1. Individual reflection
After a brief introduction to the roles, everyone was asked to reflect:
Which roles come most naturally to me when colleagues seek my support?
Each participant received stickers representing the roles and placed them on their chest to indicate the ones they identified with most.
The point is not to fix identity.
The point is to create awareness.
2. Making culture visible
Looking around the room, it quickly becomes clear:
- Are many of us leaning toward the same type?
- Are certain roles missing?
- Are there roles no one steps into?
This is not a normative exercise.
But it can open a conversation about feedback culture, conflict management, and collaboration patterns.
3. Activating the roles in practice
From here, the work becomes operational:
- Identify your current need.
- Find a colleague who has that role visibly represented.
- Ask directly: “Can you support me in the role of …?”
Alternatively, the exercise can be more reflective:
- Which roles do I most often seek?
- Which do I rarely seek?
- Are there needs I don’t consider legitimate to ask for?
This often leads to interesting insights.
Some discover that they always seek the same type of sparring, even though their needs vary.
Others realize they have needs they have never dared to articulate.
And some become aware that they offer the same kind of help again and again – regardless of what the situation actually calls for.
What happens when the language changes
When the roles are given space within an organization, three things typically happen:
- It becomes easier to ask for help.
- It becomes easier to say yes – or no – to a role.
- Leadership becomes distributed rather than centralized.
People begin to say:
“I don’t need direction right now. I need a ‘Breathing Space.’”
“I don’t need critique. I need a ‘Doula.’”
“Can you be ‘The Professor’ for five minutes?”
It significantly changes the quality of the conversation.
Leadership as movement – not position
The roles make one thing clear:
Leadership is not an identity.
It is a capacity.
With practice, we can learn to step into multiple roles.
Not perfectly.
But consciously.
And when someone asks for sparring, we can respond by asking:
“What kind of leadership do you need right now?”
This is where the method truly becomes operational.
Why this strengthens the organization
- When informal leadership is given language and structure:
- Collegial capacity increases.
- Dependence on formal leadership decreases.
- Development becomes more closely anchored in everyday work.
The roles do more than improve peer sparring.
They strengthen cohesion.
Because when people can use one another more consciously – both professionally and personally – the organization’s overall capacity to act grows.
Other tools and methods:
Method -The four-leaf clover of change
To create change in your life, you need to tap into both conscious and unconscious skills and knowledge. Use this coaching tool on your own challenge or help a colleague, friend or similar to uncover and fulfill their potential.
The four-leaf clover of change
Method -
