Navigating the Twenty First Century Leadership Landscape Amidst Quandary

Average leaders are obsessed with holding on to every aspect of decision making. They fear that if they delegate, they will lose their power. 

Effective leaders however believe in empowering others to make decisions through empowered execution

In 2023, we live in a world that is like never before rapidly changing and increasingly becoming complex. A world where the solution to the same problem changes every day. A world where information technology and innovation has become so ubiquitous that it is disrupting every sphere of life.  A world so connected that a Tweet posted by a president on one continent can send shock waves through the global economy. Leaders operating in such a world find themselves constantly dealing with a flurry of events that are mostly beyond their control but have a direct effect on their organizations.

How can leaders like myself navigate these complexities and achieve their goals?  In the book Teams of Teams, General Stanley McChrystal et al present their tired and tested approach to dealing with modern warfare. The methods they share are applicable to leadership in general. After reading this amazing book, let me share how I have, and intend to apply these principles to my leadership journey. 

The Proteus Problem

Like Menelaus, king of Sparta who found himself pitted against the immortal Proteus – an old god of the sea who was a shape-shifting polymorph, leaders today find themselves operating in an environment that is constantly changing. However, many organizations are structured to deal with problems of yester year. Leaders in such organizations find themselves coming with the proverbial knife to a gun fight. Most organizations follow a command and control structure which whereas was effective in the 20th Century, it cannot stand against the complexity that exists in the 21st Century.

I saw this first hand at my previous workplace. We were trying to establish a world-class service center to serve our clients. This would require us to respond in almost real-time and address problems immediately. However, the organization’s internal structure was so leviathan and bureaucratic that trying to procure a toilet cistern replacement for the center would take a month. We were using a reductionist approach (bringing a knife) to what was a complex operation (a gun fight). 

As the operations manager, I quickly learnt that we needed to be agile and adaptable if we were going to be a leading service center amidst unpredictability. In a world that is VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous), square pegs can’t fit in round holes. 

As a leader, I learn that it is not enough to be efficient. I need to be agile, adaptable and resilient. 

From Many, One

Most organizations have adopted Fredrick Taylor’s approach to management which is hierarchical in nature. People work in units/departments and only focus on what they need to accomplish as a department. It is a case of many teams working on their own to meet their set Key Performance Indicators. Each team is a mini hierarchy within the bigger hierarchy and these teams rely on chain of command to get results. Whereas this approach has worked quite well in the past, it generally crumbles when dealing within the complex environment that is the 21st century. It was so profound for me to discover that the Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL (BUD/S) training has nothing to do with building super soldiers but rather creating a unit of soldiers who can trust each other with their lives and work in unison like a cell. 

When I took on the role of operations manager, I was tasked to manage a team that was made up of smaller teams. There was a silo mentality and zero trust among each of the teams. Through a series of team building and trust building activities, I was able to create a high-performing team. People began to trust each other. The service center became a center of excellence and we had governments from other countries coming over to learn from us. 

As a leader I learn that eliminating command and control and instead focusing on building trust among the team creates a sense of purpose and commitment to solving problems. This is a principle that I will apply to whichever team I find myself leading in future. 

Sharing

“Information is power” is a famous adage. Many leaders are obsessed with power and will do whatever it takes to hold onto that power. If information gives them power, they will hoard it. In most organizations, information is shared on a “need to know “basis. Leaders and managers tend to only share what is needed by their teams to get the job done. Information isn’t shared across departments and so most people do not have an organization-wide view. Whereas it is important to safeguard sensitive information, limiting the flow of information within an organization is not an effective way to lead in today’s complex world. 

As a leader, there’s need to adopt a systems approach where everyone on the team has an overall understanding of the system. Sharing more creates shared consciousness where everyone on the team teams feels a sense of responsibility towards the big picture – the mission. 

As the operations manager, one of the things we did was to add my team – which consisted of teams from different government and private sector organizations to the internal mailing list. By doing this, I made sure they had access to all communication – some of which was very sensitive. There was a fear that information would leak (and we had one or two leaks) but it had far-reaching benefits. As a service center, we were able to quickly resolve issues as information flowed faster. 

Developing shared consciousness also requires sharing resources across teams in an organization through liaisons (Gen. McChrystal used Linchpin Liaison Officers) which fosters trust and effectiveness.

I learn that there is more power in sharing information than hoarding it. However, it important that safeguards are put in place primarily by building trust. As a leader I will ensure to share information with my teams and break down all types of silos (physical or otherwise). 

Letting Go

Average leaders are obsessed with holding on to every aspect of decision making. They fear that if they delegate, they will lose their power. 

Effective leaders however believe in empowering others to make decisions through empowered execution. In most cases it’s the people below who are familiar with the issues that require decisions to be made. We live in a time where things change so fast that a delayed decision could be overtaken by events. Effective leaders trust their subordinates to take timely decisions while only keeping eyes on what is going on in general.

As a leader, I need to adopt a “Eyes On – Hand Off” approach to leadership: to exert less control and empower my teams to execute and take responsibility for their decisions. 

Traditionally, leaders have been akin to chess masters: moving pieces around the board strategically. However, in the complex world that we live in today, leaders need to evolve beyond strategy. Leaders need to lead like a gardener: to create an environment where their teams can flourish. This takes a lot of work upfront but eventually the leader will reap a bountiful harvest. It takes time build relationships and to create an environment where teams can trust each other. But in order to navigate the leadership landscape that is complex, this is very necessary. 

As a leader in my church, I am now more than ever determined to do the hard work of a gardener to disciple the leaders under me; to create a conducive environment for them to thrive and reach their potential. 

Looking Ahead

In order to successfully navigate the leadership landscape in the 21st century, leaders need to appreciate that there is no panacea to the challenges that lie ahead. Leaders need to be intentional about being adaptable, agile and resilient. They need to build teams of teams that can shape-shift in order to solve the emerging problems. 

Like Albert Einstein said, “Our theories determine what we can measure,” leaders need to build teams will be ready to deal with unknown variables and unknown theories. This will be made possible by coupling shared consciousness and empowered execution to create adaptable organizations that can thrive in an ever-increasing complex environment. 

As a leader, I purpose to first of all lay aside every hubris and appreciate that I operate in a world that is volatile and uncertain. The only constant thing is change and so I must adapt and embrace change in order to make sense of the 21st century. 

Conclusion

Leaders today operate in an increasingly complex, shape-shifting-like world where yesterday’s solutions won’t solve today’s problems. To navigate this landscape, organizations must be willing to transform themselves into agile teams.  Leaders must be willing to let go and empower their teams. They must be willing to become ‘gardeners’ who are committed to creating a network  –  a team of teams.

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