For more than a decade, I had the privilege of directing the Center for Collaborative Leadership. Our work was based on a simple yet powerful idea: when people feel trusted, included, and invited to lead from wherever they sit, the entire system performs at a higher level. Decades of research on shared leadership back this up. For example, a 2024 study found that shared leadership builds deeper communication, increased resilience, trust, and innovation.
So when I read Daniel Goleman’s recent piece on The Skills That Make Zero Distance Possible, it struck a deep chord. In case you choose not to read the article, he explains zero distance as “replacing the traditional corporate pyramid with self-managed teams. He outlines both the opportunity and the challenge. Many organizations say they want autonomy, agility, and employees who can think strategically. They talk about flatter structures and new opportunities created by AI. But as organizational psychologists often remind us, systems tend to protect their own habits — even when those habits are outdated. Old processes, compliance checkpoints, unspoken rules, and legacy structures quietly keep people from doing the very work leaders say they want.
And when we don’t see these changes happening, we tend to blame the employees for resisting change rather than conducting a systemic assessment for what might be getting in their way.
Neuroscience gives us another clue. When people face unclear authority, shifting expectations, or structures that don’t match the stated strategy, the brain defaults to self-protection — narrowing focus, reducing risk-taking, and limiting collaboration. Psychological safety research echoes this: without clarity and trust, diverse teams struggle to share ideas or take initiative, even when they have the skills and motivation to do so.
That’s why the phrase “soft skills” irritates the heck out of me. In organizations that rely less on command-and-control, these capabilities: systems thinking, conflict navigation, emotional regulation, and empathy are not optional; they are essential. Goleman’s work has consistently shown that emotional intelligence enables leadership without formal authority. And future-of-work research reinforces that the most AI-resilient skills are the deeply human ones: relationship-building, creativity, and the ability to collaborate across boundaries.
So if we truly want zero distance, organizations where our people are able to move faster, think bigger, and lead more boldly, then we need to understand that this is as much a systems issue as it is a skill-building issue.
Imagine approaching this like a scientist:
What’s the hypothesis you’re testing?
Perhaps it’s: “If we remove these barriers, people will collaborate more effectively and make better, quicker decisions.”
What experiment could you run?
This could look like: a small pilot team with clearer decision rights, or a redesigned workflow that reduces handoffs.
How would you measure what’s changing?
Measurement doesn’t need to be restricted to things like productivity or cycle time, but indicators like team trust, time to decision (as well as decision quality), or ease of cross-functional work can be just as valuable.
And how will you adapt the system as you learn?
Taking the time to evaluate the experiment, to build on what worked and adapt for what didn’t, allows you to refine and iterate as you go.
Leaders often think they need a sweeping transformation to create cultures of collaboration. The reality is, successful transformations start with something far simpler: treating the organization as a living system rather than a machine. Adjust one condition, observe what shifts, and then refine. Over time, those experiments create the conditions where people can do the work you hired them to do…and the work they want to do.
If you were to run one small experiment in your organization toward zero-distance leadership, where would you begin? And, what new possibilities might this open for your team?