This website or its third-party tools use cookies which are necessary to its functioning and required to improve your experience. By clicking the consent button, you agree to allow the site to use, collect and/or store cookies.
Please click the consent button to view this website.
I accept
Deny cookies Go Back

Intelligent Management

Deming and Theory of Constraints for CEOs and Executive Teams for the Age of Complexity. Ess3ntial Critical Chain Project Management

  • THE DECALOGUE METHOD
    • The Problem for Every Business
    • The Systemic Solution
    • synchronize competencies
    • How It Works
    • business insight and foresight through systemic cause and effect reasoning
    • Our Education Modules for Systemic Management
  • about us
    • Dr. Domenico Lepore
    • the founders
    • Intelligent Management Success Stories
    • Our Books
    • Clients
    • Expanding Spiral of Positive Systemic Results with Intelligent Management
  • blog & books
    • Blog Theory of Constraints and Deming
    • Our publications
  • ITALIA
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Uncategorized / What Does it Take to Be a Leader in Today’s Complex World?

Jan 21 2021

What Does it Take to Be a Leader in Today’s Complex World?

Times are changing fast and leaders need to adapt. We have evolved far beyond a simple situation where people just need to be told what to do. We suggest four essential qualities required for 21st century leadership.

Number One: A leader must have real knowledge

A leader in today’s complex world cannot be a person who improvises. It’s true that today there is a wealth of information readily available about every subject matter. We are swamped with information and tips, but as Dr. W. Edwards Deming has pointed out, information is random whereas knowledge is orderly and cumulative. A leader today must, by definition, be somebody who has a theory, who “owns” a body of knowledge, not just information, so they can back their claim to be able to accomplish a transformation within their span of control.  Theory is not the opposite of practice. Theory is what allows solid practice to happen.

What kind of transformation? Breaking free of the prison of silos  towards whole system optimization as a prerequisite for true and continuous innovation. This requires a different mindset. It means shifting away from any kind of command and control style leadership. Instead, the new whole-system approach to leadership is one where:

  • competition is replaced by cooperation;
  • performance is managed systemically, not judged, using appropriate statistical thinking;
  • teamwork is fostered rather than the ranking of individuals.

Number Two: A leader must walk the talk

Knowledge is mandatory but it is not enough. A leader must be able to get their message across; they must be able to address their people in a
way that touches their brains but also their hearts. A leader must also have fortitude; they have to “walk the talk” and be an example. A leader has to have the strength that it takes to accomplish something that probably only they have the vision for, and they must be able to clearly communicate that vision. In order for that vision to happen, a leader must have an action plan, a step-by-step guide that people can understand and execute. These are all necessary attributes for a leader, but they are not sufficient.

Number Three: A leader must be selfless

We have evolved far beyond a simple situation where people just need to be told what to do. A leader of an interconnected organization must provide their people with a vision of life; their words and actions must elevate people’s faith in the possibility to build a better world.

A leader must be selfless and seek no power; on the contrary they see their job as service. This is not because they are weak but because they understand their role in the world. A leader, at their very core, is an enabler of people’s potential. One of the greatest spiritual leaders of our times, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, said

“a leader has to be a reflection of our own light back to us, so we may see ourselves anew.”

Number Four: A leader must enable others to be leaders

A leader must aim at creating other leaders not followers; they do so by elevating their people’s ability to address their inner drives and cater for their primal fears. They seek no control over people’s emotions; they empower them, they give them the possibility to be the best they can.

A leader understands that we live in a world where interconnections and interdependencies easily go beyond our ability to fully comprehend them. There is only one meaningful role for a leader to play in this interconnected network: to act as an enabler so that the organization can deliver its purpose.

(Image by Olga Bast )

Contact: intelligentmanagement@sechel.ws
SCHEDULE AN INTRODUCTORY CALL WITH US

Intelligent Management has been guiding organizations to understand a systemic approach to managing complexity for over 20 years through our Decalogue management methodology. The Network of Projects organization design we developed is supported  by our Ess3ntial software for multi-project finite scheduling using the Critical Chain algorithm. 
We can learn to think systemically, see the big picture and connect the dots that otherwise we would not even see. Our business novel, ‘The Human Constraint’ , bought in 41 countries, presents several case histories through narrative form and illustrates that it is the way we think that we have to transform. That is the biggest challenge now. 

LEARN MORE

DR. DOMENICO LEPORE’S BOOK IS AVAILABLE NOW!
Leaders and managers are facing unprecedented change in the Digital Age. To compete they must shift to a systemic mindset and way of conducting operations.

Written by angela montgomery · Categorized: Uncategorized

Search Form

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign Up For Our Systems View Blog!

Fields marked with a * are required.

Search Form

Recent Posts

  • Synchronizing Competencies Accelerates Throughput and Overcomes Silos August 11, 2023
  • What is Variation and Why Do We Care? July 27, 2023
  • What Does Every Organization Do? Processes and Projects July 14, 2023
  • Why Mapping Your Organization as a System Makes Sense – Introducing Flowcharts June 29, 2023
  • What’s Wrong with Silos in Your Organization? June 6, 2023
  • How to Manage your Organization as a Complex System May 11, 2023
  • Our Reality is Systemic – Time for Decision Makers to Understand the Implications April 21, 2023
  • Connect and Orient Your Entire Company Towards the Goal March 30, 2023
  • Beyond Continuous Improvement: Deming and Goldratt together March 8, 2023
  • Confused about the Theory of Constraints? Don’t be! February 16, 2023
  • Why We Need Intelligent Management from Humans More than Ever February 2, 2023
  • Why Complexity Impacts Your Organization January 20, 2023
  • Continuous Learning is a Must for Organizations Today – A Systemic Approach Part 18 January 11, 2023
  • Why HR Is So Much More than a Department – A Systemic Approach Part 17 December 21, 2022
  • Are Your Management Methods and Style Obsolete? December 2, 2022

Social Icons

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo

Archives

  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011

Our Blog

  • Synchronizing Competencies Accelerates Throughput and Overcomes Silos
  • What is Variation and Why Do We Care?
  • What Does Every Organization Do? Processes and Projects
  • Why Mapping Your Organization as a System Makes Sense – Introducing Flowcharts
  • What’s Wrong with Silos in Your Organization?

Recent Posts

  • Synchronizing Competencies Accelerates Throughput and Overcomes Silos August 11, 2023
  • What is Variation and Why Do We Care? July 27, 2023
  • What Does Every Organization Do? Processes and Projects July 14, 2023
  • Why Mapping Your Organization as a System Makes Sense – Introducing Flowcharts June 29, 2023
  • What’s Wrong with Silos in Your Organization? June 6, 2023

Connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Sign Up For Our Systems View Blog!

Fields marked with a * are required.
  • Home
  • Blog Theory of Constraints and Deming
  • Library
  • How to adopt systemic organization management
  • Knowledge Base for ‘The Human Constraint’
  • Contact Us

© 2021 Intelligent Management Inc. Canada

Privacy Policy