Writing on Leadership

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Leading the Way to a Brighter Shared Future

Throughout history, leaders have emerged to bridge the gap between an untenable present and an uncertain future by creating a transformation narrative that lights the way forward toward a brighter shared future.

From Transformation Insanity to Enterprise Instancy

As our planet careens towards a future that is increasingly data rich but certainty poor, the need for leadership becomes increasingly acute. A key leadership challenge today is to develop the responsiveness, resilience, and adaptability required by the organization to avoid extinction.

Lighting and Leading the Way

The paradox we face today is that we are desperately looking to leadership to light the path to a better tomorrow at precisely the moment they feel most insecure in their ability to lead the way.

Leaders as Levers

The unfortunate truth is that while we always have relied upon the lever of leadership to bridge the gap between an unpalatable present and an unpredictable future, there simply are not enough leaders today who stand ready to do so.

Catalyzing an Adaptive Leadership System

Systemic leadership is not exercising control, but increasing connection. It is not about enforcing rules, but encouraging agency. It is not about exerting power over others but generating energy among others. It is not about taking individual responsibility but cultivating organization “response-ability.”

Response-Able Leadership Post Covid 

Leadership is about recognizing that everyone has the response-ability to maximize the efforts of others to illuminate the path toward a brighter tomorrow. 

Leadership as a System: Circumventing the VUCA Vortex

Leaders at every level must fundamentally reframe what they see, rewire how they think and reconfigure what they do to create an Adaptive Leadership System that brings the Vision, Understanding, Clarity and Agility required to neutralize the VUCA Vortex

The Digital Nervous System

In the era of digital Darwinism, leaders have come to realize that the true sweet spot for organizations that want to survive and thrive in an increasingly complex and connected environment lies in constantly striving to find the right balance between exploiting and exploring what we don’t.

Navigating Complexity: It’s NOT Complicated

Complex operating contexts are unordered, unpredictable, and uncontrollable. They consist of polarities to be navigated, not problems to be solved, and they require a much more agile and adaptive leadership response.

Shall We Dance?

Navigating the dynamic tension between running the business and changing the business is a primary challenge leaders face today.

How to Fly the Complexity Chasm

As leaders navigate back and forth between complicated and complex operating contexts, they must repeatedly identify which side of the complexity chasm they are operating in. Then they must immediately apply the leadership response required within that context.

Building Sense-Able Leaders

Leaders must cultivate seven Sense-Abilities in order to survive and thrive in an increasingly connected and complex business context

Instant Enterprises and Techonomic Leadership: Is Your Organization Ready?

As we move from a predictable “Find-it-Out” world to and unpredictable “Figure-it-Out” one, Leadership Development needs a complete reboot.

From Best Practice to Next Practice

Perhaps contrary to popular opinion, the leaders operating in the middle of the current hierarchical leadership system are the greatest source of leverage to build the responsiveness, resilience and adaptability the modern-day enterprise requires.

The Leadership 2.0 Challenge

The first step on the journey to defining the 2.0 version of leadership development requires reframing the challenge from one of efficiently developing individual leadership competencies to one of effectively designing a VUCA-ready leadership system that enables the organization to be more responsive, resilient, and agile.

How to Lead Organizations Through Uncertainty 

Leaders operating in the middle of the organization – not those at the top – are the greatest leadership system catalysts. These center leaders propel the organization forward by working from the middle out to inform strategic direction, motivate change, guide key work activity and influence individual behavior.

Networks not Hierarchy:  Expanding Leadership Capacity and Impact in a Complex World 

Leadership within an organization is best viewed as an ever-changing network of relationships as opposed to a fixed pyramid or set of hubs and spokes.

Taking your PCT Pulse 

There are then elements that leadership must activate to change beliefs and behaviors to cultivate lasting positive organization change.

Learning to Lead on Purpose

In order to lead in this new normal of constant disequilibrium, leaders increasingly are grounding themselves in purpose. Purposeful leaders have learned that the most effective way to lead in turbulent times starts with answering the most important question: “Why?”

Leadership Lessons for Stormy Seas

Leaders can apply five simple rules to weather a perfect storm with disruptive squalls gathering on multiple fronts: societal, technological, economic, and political.

The Five Foundational Elements of Followership

Without followership there is no leadership. There are five foundational elements that leaders must establish to cultivate followership.

AMP Up Your People

Leaders must unleash the power of discretionary effort by leveraging the three key intrinsic motivational levers of Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose.

Lessons from a World Class Sprinter

Usain Bolt had the speed to dominate in track and field, but he lacked the agility to win on the soccer field. Business leaders should learn from Bolt’s lesson and recognize that in the game of business, speed is important, but agility is indispensable.

Leadership’s Online Labs

Tens of millions of people are honing their leadership skills in multiplayer online games. The tools and techniques they’re using will change how leaders function tomorrow – and could make them more effective today.

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