There is much being written about lessons learned from the events of 2020 but what are we learning from the entire series of events?
We are more connected than ever before: viruses in one place on earth can infect the whole world, violence in one city can spread to other cities in other countries and our leaders have been placed under the spotlight for having further reaching consequences than the actual words they speak.
These connected global events have revealed systemic issues. We are all being forced to step up and take responsibility for health, equality and leadership.
This is true also in our businesses. Our partners, technology, communication tools, supply chains and people are also interconnected, often globally. Within teams, injustice or unrest in one area can infect the whole organisational culture. The behaviour of a single leader can have ripple effects across our companies and the customers they serve.
It feels time to ask ourselves ‘What kind of leaders do we need now and for our future?
Gone are the days when leaders were the hero leaders – the strong character who fights for the good or claims to have all the answers. Those kinds of leaders are fallible not just because they are human but also because they are individuals and are unsophisticated in the level of co-creation needed to navigate complexity.
Leaders of today need to be systemic thinkers and involve their whole team in collective leadership. As the Japanese proverb wisely states “None of us are as smart as all of us”.
There are individual traits that enable systemic thinking: curiosity, tolerance for ambiguity, open mindedness, strong interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, communication skills, analytical ability and team working to name a few.
However, modern and forward leaders understand that everything is connected and that systems are combined energy that exceed the sum of their parts – the ocean is more than water and marine life: the interconnection between all its components helps all ocean life thrive more than it would alone, and it also relies on the meteorological and planetary systems to do so…
It’s the same for human systems. Modern and forward leaders are aware of and make choices in service of the greater system and purpose, not just for their immediate commercial priorities.
And modern leaders understand that systemic thinking applies to their own teams: the team you lead must be smarter than you! It is their collective responsibility to unlock the potential of the wider system.
Working with a systemic team coach is like having a ‘power-up button’ for your team. Coaching the team together and individually, it enables shared accountability for change and real progress at a deeper behavioural level for the greater good.
As systemic team coach to a global Finance and Procurement Division, we are on a 9 month team journey together. We started by understanding what our stakeholders need from us now and going forward through interviews and a Team 360 questionnaire. This data enabled us to co-create our shared purpose, clarify what we need to do, how we need to behave and how we continuously connect to keep that shared purpose alive with our stakeholders. The learning is rich and quick and boosts the potential of the team.
Imagine if every leader of every organisation and country was a systemic thinker.
How much more would we be capable of and what a wonderful world we could co-create?
Curious to find out more?
I coach modern leaders and leadership teams in dynamic growing organisations – clever people who need to accelerate their collective leadership maturity, impact and performance to achieve systemic purpose and outcomes.
Clients trust me to help them get great results and show return on investment.
Having been trained by the best systemic team coaches in the world through the ICF accredited AoEC Masters Level Diploma in Systemic Team Coaching® , I am also an International Coaching Federation (ICF) accredited coach, an MBA, gained my FCIPD in industry HR and L&D and worked in Big 6 consulting firms on large scale transformations.
If you know an organisation, leadership team or a modern leader who would be curious to learn how systemic team coaching could benefit them, let’s connect:
victoria@coxenconsultandcoach.com
07812 037728
