A source is rarely able to fully manifest their initiative alone and usually need help of others. Helpers bring specific ideas and carry out actions to realise the vision. They may help the source better articulate their vision or expand it in ways the source hadn’t thought of, yet only the source knows whether or not the idea or action fits within their wider vision.

The motivation for a helper to join a source’s initiative is often an instinctive one – a feeling of being uniquely positioned to help realise the source’s vision. A closer look shows that the primary motivation underlying a helper’s willingness to help is actually the realisation of their own vision, through the opportunity of helping. This represents the most healthy form of collaboration.

A helper is not able to see the vision of the whole – only the source can – but their actions help the source realise their vision. Should a helper’s ideas or efforts drift outside the source’s vision, Koenig discovered this creates undesirable outcomes not only for the source (who sees their vision bent unhelpfully out of shape) but also the helper, who eventually realises it wasn’t the right environment for that particular effort to succeed, even it would be a perfectly valid idea to realise elsewhere. From these insights we can see that a deeper cause of organisations in a state of confusion or tension is often that it has become disconnected from the source’s vision.

Helpers are often sources too

It’s possible to see a helper as a source in their own right. From their point of view they are working on what’s most meaningful to them, not only helping the source. When someone takes the initiative to realise a part of the source’s vision they become the source for that specific part. As such it is they who have the vision, feel the passion and know the next step within that domain. We call them ‘specific sources’. In a company this might be someone taking the initiative to create a new product line or open a new division. The original source does not receive the information on the specific source’s vision, or clarity on the next step – the specific source receives these. So the original source shouldn’t interfere at this level; they should limi their control to simply ensuring that the specific source’s initiative lies within their own larger vision.

Through mapping the initiatives of the source and specific sources, we can arrive at a picture of an organisation that brings clarity to an enterprise which cannot be seen through a designed organisation chart.

Next: Succession of source