What it takes to lead systemically
The words system and systemic are becoming more familiar in our language, and yet do we understand the real meaning and implication? I often hear systemic being used to describe the entrenched nature of a challenge, and system to describe a process or design that we can observe and engage with, seperate from ourselves.
As a systemic practitioner I share my understanding and use of these terms, and the implications for leadership.
What is a system?
Organisations are complex, alive, and unpredictable. They behave just like other living systems: the carefully balanced ecosystem of a forest; the aligned and coordinated activity of a beehive; the complexity of the human experience.
This paradigm explains why culture and dynamics become entrenched and tough to influence. Replacing a row of trees will not change the quality of the soil on which future trees grow; there’s no fast track to building a mature forest. And here’s the real kicker for the reluctant systems leader…all of us have an undeniable impact and part to play, by virtue of the explicit behaviours and the implicit energy we bring.
It takes a perspective of the broader health and lifestyle of the whole system. A curiosity in this, a capability to see it, and a capacity to hold the fulness of diversity and polarities that co-exist. Inequality and privilege, power and politics, hope and possibility, projected fear and present danger.
We need incisive curiosity about the nutrients in the soil. We need to understand the literal and figurative roots of issue. And a courage to enquire into our own role in the unfolding system of things.
What are we looking for?
We need to locate ourselves on the boundary of the system-in-our-mind. To get a birds-eye view of the ecosystem, scanning for the multiple forces and factors at work upon it. It’s not just a wide view, but the capacity to see, perceive, and notice the macro and micro, visible and invisible forces.
External forces include the economic landscape, regulation, politics, social and cultural influences, and changing access to resources.
Internal forces could be climate and culture, capabilities of workers and managers, the efficiency of processes and operating models, quality of tools, as well as the hopes, fears and aspirations of people as they engage in the work.
A holistic view of these multiple dynamics gives leaders a true sense of what is required – how to adjust the work, how one shows up as a human and as a leader, and the direction the system can take to stay relevant and fit-for-purpose in a tumultuous world.
What is the value?
The task of leadership is to keep the organisation thriving through constant adjustments and course corrections. With increasingly interdependent markets and societies, paying attention to the health of the entire food chain and ecosystem – beyond the immediate boundaries of the organisation – is the only way to stay vital. To deny our inherent connectedness when it has become painfully visible is a sign of either incompetence or willful blindness. The system will function as a system whether you engage with it as such or not.
It is inevitable that we become increasingly cognisant of the impact the organisation has on its surrounds – the community, nature, supply chain and so on – from whatever part of the system we find ourselves in.
So what is systemic leadership really about? It is certainly not about ‘being the best’ or ‘delivering year on year growth’; these are bi-products and welcomed results of a healthy and vibrant system. Systemic leadership is the ability and preparedness to take accountability for the work of the organisation, the state of the people, and the ultimate impact it has on everyone – and everything – involved. From the people to the environment, industry, economy, and society it seeks to serve.