The New Practice of Leadership

This blog post builds on the ideas discussed in the previous post, which highlighted the limitations of traditional leadership models in today’s complex business environment. Organizations can no longer afford to operate under the illusion of a “bubble,” separate from the interconnected systems that shape our world.

This post explores a New Practice of Leadership that is needed to navigate this complexity. This new practice recognizes that complexity and change are inherently intertwined and that organizations must lean into the “messiness” to thrive. It also acknowledges a fundamental truth about complex problems: they cannot be definitively solved. Instead, they must be continuously evolved and navigated, demanding a shift in mindset from seeking ultimate solutions to cultivating a deeper understanding of the problem and discovering innovative ways to address its ever-changing nature.
At its core, the New Practice of Leadership is about the wisdom of the collective. Rather than concentrating leadership in the hands of a select few, it advocates for a distributed and inclusive approach where leadership is shared and nurtured at all levels of the organization–and even beyond its declared boundaries (i.e., the “bubble”). This shift is essential because evolving complex problems requires diverse perspectives and experiences, bound by dialogue and a mutual commitment to discovery.

The New Practice of Leadership demands a dual focus: cultivating individual inner work and strengthening group skills. Individual inner work involves developing not only self-awareness to nurture a capacity for reflection and growth, but also “self-as-part-of-systems” awareness and seeing one’s role within the larger systems that impact the organization. This inner work prepares individuals to participate effectively in collective leadership.
Simultaneously, the new practice recognizes the importance of robust group skills, including communication, collaboration, and shared decision-making. By honing these skills, groups can engage in generative dialogue, explore diverse perspectives, and work together to find innovative approaches to address complex challenges.

The New Practice of Leadership presented here is not a one-time fix but an ongoing process. It is a “practice” in the truest sense of the word, requiring dedication, discipline, and a commitment to continuous learning and adaptation. By embracing collective leadership, organizations can position themselves and the communities they are part of to thrive in our increasingly complex and interconnected world. In the following posts, we will begin to explore how to cultivate this individual inner work and strengthen the group skills necessary for this new practice of leadership.