“This doesn’t work,” she said. “We’ve tried it. I believe the Americans call it, “Too many cooks in the kitchen.”

I was nearly halfway through the first day of my two day course on adaptive leadership and the design of developmental culture and we had our first strong objection.

This group was in New Zealand and the woman who raised her hand had experience in corporate level leadership for several ”progressive” organizations in their country. She had heard the warm and fuzzy concepts of “everyone is a leader” and her experience was that it created consensus issues, chronic stepping on toes, and good intentions gone bad.

Usain Bolt earned the title of the fastest man alive. Speed is a capacity, like leadership, that can be earned. It should be noted that Usain Bolt can also walk to his car at a normal pace. And, while it may be shocking, he can also go for a jog. His capacity for speed does not mean he needs to run at top speed everywhere he goes.

Leadership capacity works the same way. When you have it, you can use it — or not.

One of the most common misunderstandings of the call to build companies with development in mind and a definition of leadership that is divorced from authority is the assumption that everyone is in charge. Nothing could be further from the truth. And, frankly, of course that doesn’t work.

Raising the capacity for responsibility taking in your organization does not mean everyone is a boss and no one reports to anyone. Hierarchy, decision rights, and authority structures can all still be in place while you prioritize leadership capacity development.

If leadership is about being accountable to the results, it should be understood less as having a team of CEOs and more like having a team of people who hold the posture of personal responsibility and responsibility to the team outcomes.

“Oh, I think you’re misunderstanding me,” I responded. “Leadership is a capacity that can be turned off and on when you have it. The Navy SEALs motto might say it best, ‘Ready to lead, ready to follow.’”

The best way to navigate a group dynamic where you’re so lucky as to have a team of leaders is to install “responsible parties” for all team initiatives. While everyone on the team might have the capacity for leadership, there is one (and only one) responsible party for each vertical.

This allows for dynamic switching of roles as needed in an agile, high-leadership environment, but doesn’t suffer from the delays that a need for consensus brings. Responsible parties can lean on the leadership, insight, and opinions of those around him/her, but decision-making is ultimately entrusted to a single person.

Frankly, most organizations are far away from having too much leadership around, but the “too many cooks in the kitchen” fear is real and can prevent otherwise willing groups from taking the plunge into a developmental structure.

If you think of leadership as a capacity instead of a job title, it will always seem worthwhile to develop more leadership in your group, not less.

1. AUDIT. Where is leadership still connected to authority in your mind or the minds of those in your organization? Where are a lack of clarity in decision-making rights slowing down your team?

2. PRACTICE. Regardless of the talent pool or size of your team, can you select a single responsible party for each area of the business?