Leading in Complexity
We crave predictability and safety, but we live in an unpredictable and complex world. It is an uncomfortable place. This is when leadership is most critical.
We must remember to connect to our human qualities of emotion, hope, and resilience during complex change. The more we can do this, the more trust and confidence we will have, and the more creative leaders we will be. For me, leadership has three elements: self-awareness, communication, and navigating complexity.
SELF-AWARENESS
Self-awareness is the practice of improving yourself to elevate others and learning from experience to apply to the future. Understanding our abilities and motivations maximizes our impact. We must be grounded and centered on this knowledge so we can lead. Slow down. No matter what the situation, you can always choose how you react to it. We can ask ourselves these questions to check our self-awareness.
How am I showing compassion and taking care of myself?
What support do I need right now? How can I ask for what I need?
What value am I leading with?
What am I doing to have fun and be creative?
How am I showing up for people the way they need it?
How am I thoughtfully stabilizing the environment for myself and others?
How many perspectives can I hold about this situation?
What perspective may I not be aware of?
COMMUNICATION
Communication helps lead others by facilitating high-quality interactions through a diverse range of mediums and with a diverse range of people, which enables the leader to bring out the best in each person. Continuous clear communication and intentional listening are essential. Leaders make sense of what is happening and meet people where they are — from an emotional and individual perspective. The underlying question that people have is, “What will happen to me?” Leaders take personal challenges seriously and demonstrate empathy.
Leaders don’t always know the answer, and ambiguity comes with the job. People need informal connections, motivation, genuine compassion, and inspiration. Here are a few things to think about when communicating with your team:
How are we defining reality and giving hope?
What are we doing to keep communication simple, clear, and purposeful?
How are we practicing rigorous prioritization, planning, and mobilization? What is the best next step, the main thing to focus on? What are Plan B, Plan C, and Plan D?
How are we letting others lead and innovate? Express a vision, set the course and destination with boundaries, offer support, then let others take it from there.
Are we continually communicating the context of decision-making without stressing people out? What indicators are you looking at and the rationale behind decision-making? What options did you explore?
How are we celebrating wins together?
NAVIGATING COMPLEXITY
Navigating complexity is about learning how to optimize the future and prepare for the challenges ahead. Leaders are navigating and course-correcting in real-time. Leaders need to discover what the real problem is and act on it. Rigid systems tend to break, guidelines work better than rules, and creativity thrives on constraints. To develop fast enough to meet the demands of our complex world, the skills we need most are curiosity, humility, and the ability to learn. Below are questions to start asking yourself and your team.
In this issue, what ramps up and ramps down energy in the system?
What do we want to do differently tomorrow?
What stories do people have about this issue?
How do we challenge our assumptions to understand what is going on?
What is the bigger picture? What is the context?
How can we be wrong about this?
What indicators are we monitoring to make changes?
What are 2–3 likely scenarios to engage our team in making suggestions?
How do we manage short-term and long-term goals?
Let’s talk. Contact us today to discuss what’s challenging you and how we can support you in navigating a path forward.