
Who has NOT experienced a senior leader who is clearly ‘out to lunch’? No, not literally. A leader whose ideas, ways of working and strategies are not realistic or effective. Their decisions and direction are misguided at best, dangerous at worst.
In a complex and fast changing world, obviously ineffective leaders are just the tip of an iceberg that can be difficult to speak about let alone deal with well. What about clever, well-spoken, thoughtful, ethical senior leaders who also work well with people and teams - but who are not truly capable of the kinds of work that are needed for their organisation to flourish? What if they can enable moderate success (perhaps with a lot of churn) but are unable to lead the way to a proactively adaptive organisation that is constantly successful even as the world changes in unexpected ways?
The evidence is clear. In complex human organisations, enabling sustained 'best in class' innovative performance and outcomes requires leadership that is founded on a systems thinking mindset supported by enabling networking, models, methods and tools.
Mindset, or worldview) is something that is ultimately part of each person’s life journey. Individuals entrenched in a worldview of “right and wrong solutions” or in a worldview based on “meeting targets” are not there yet. They may be wonderful, clever people of great value in many ways - but as leaders of complex systems they have a capability gap.
Networking, models, methods and tools is easier to work on. Are key decisions supported by engagement in a wide-ranging network and by the use of models, methods and tools that stand testing from a ‘soft systems thinking’ point of view?' If not, soft systems problem-solving methods and tools can be taught, learned and practiced.
Are you (or senior leaders around you) ‘out to lunch’ without this being understood or acknowledged? If so, the implications are no laughing matter.
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