The next Leadership Condition, Assembly is common and the role of the emerging leader may be overt or covert. Assembly can be formal and informal. It could be long term, periodic or even for an instant. As groups form and gather, the need for Leadership emerges. Like many of the other conditions, Assembly can also present itself as a hybrid of one or more of the other Leadership Conditions.

Unless we live on a deserted island we all experience Assembly. It is a common Leadership Condition. Think of how many times you needed to meet with a group of people. Whether it was social or professional, the gathering was an example of Assembly. One of the ingredients needed for the meeting to qualify it as Assembly is purpose. You may walk into a room that has several people gathered. This may not qualify as an Assembly if the people aren’t gathered for a common purpose. In a previous post, I defined Assembly.

This condition is when a group is formed. Often it is a natural ingredient as teams develop. Assembly draws out leadership by activating selection, typically. Although any of the other conditions can also be activated by this.

Assembly may be the call for Leadership or it could be a by-product of another condition like Adversity. Sometimes people Assemble to deal with a problem. Sometimes the Assembly forms as defense mechanism to adversity. There is safety in numbers or so they say. Whatever, the case, a Leader is needed to help the Assembly resolve its purpose.

One of the largest and controversial Assemblies of late (at least at the time of posting this entry) is the Tea Party Movement. This is not a political commentary of any kind nor an admission or omission of my political views. It is merely a relevant example. The Tea Party Movement does offer us a very grand scale opportunity to observe Assembly in the making.  The Movement started in 2009.  People assembled in response to three national issues.

• Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (which was the banking and Wall Street bailout)
• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (which was the stimulus package)
• 2009/ 2010 Health Care Reform Bills

The adversity of a strained economic system stimulated Assembly for this vocal group. Wikipedia reported that the movement started with a single voice suggesting a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party, a colorful portrait of America’s historical displeasure with the then taxation policies of England. The themes of the two Assemblies are even similar. That voice, sparked one of the most televised and mentioned grass roots political efforts of our time. As the group evolves, it has birthed leaders in several people, most of which come from conservative affiliations. The Tea Party Movement is an example of the Leadership Condition, Assembly.

Not every Assembly is political or grand. I currently serve on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development. This group is focused on improving workforce performance through learning.  One of our charges is to look at emerging learning technologies to evaluate how they can be used to help our mission. We all have been living through a tech boom as of late. Tech based tools seem to emerge every day. This expansion created a sense of urgency for the Board. We didn’t want to fall behind and needed to ensure we were providing our members with the right resources. A committee was formed. The committee Assembled to evaluate our chapter’s commitment to technological advances and develop an appropriate implementation strategy.  This condition of Assembly created an opportunity for several Board Members to step into Leadership roles and guide the committee to results.

Assembly, whether covert or overt is a common condition. As purpose falls over a gathering, the need for Leadership emerges. Think of the times you witnessed Assembly.

• What was the situation?
• What stimulated the Assembly (other conditions)?
• How did the Assembly form (Voluntary or involuntary)?
• Did you emerge as the Leader?
• What made you or another person the candidate to Lead?
• How will you approach Assembly in the future?

Assembly is an opportunity to move a team forward. It is an invitation for any great Leader. In many ways, it is a virgin opportunity to build something from the grass roots. The opportunity may provide a freshness not seen in existing groups. You have a chance to build the right culture when it is an infant Assembly. Assembly is the open door of an emerging community with a welcome mate inviting the right Leader inside.

You can follow me on Twitter @TerrenceWing and @LiquidLearn