The Significance of Creative Leadership - A Focus on Systems Awareness

An Excerpt from Mastering Leadership: An Integrated Framework for Breakthrough Performance and Extraordinary Business Results, by Robert J. Anderson and William A. Adams (Wiley, 2015)

I trust that you are enjoying your leadership journey. When I talk to leaders, I remind them that leadership is a heavy responsibility and that a lot of people’s career progress and organizational results and outcomes rests on your shoulders. Are you taking this responsibility seriously and are you developing yourself to be an outstanding leader? Will your NAME come up when your direct reports or team members talk about the leaders they admire?

I continue with the series on creative leadership and today my focus is on a leader having systems awareness and not just focusing on a small area of work. Being system aware says that you know that organizational results come about when the whole system is working in consonance to deliver results. System thinking believes in the service delivery value chain. A break in the chain or a weak link in the chain affects the whole system.

System awareness as a leader is about your understanding and recognizing the interconnectedness of various components within your organization or its broader system. It involves seeing the "big picture" and appreciating how individual elements—such as teams, processes, and external influences—interact and influence each other. When you are system aware you can navigate complexity, anticipate the ripple effects of decisions, and create solutions that align with the system's overall objectives.

When you are system aware, it means you look at things from a holistic perspective, understand the interconnectedness, you are a dynamic thinker, you understand those who will impact and be impacted by your decisions, you are able to identify root causes rather than addressing symptoms, you monitor results, adapt to changing conditions, and encourage open communication to continually improve the system.

System awareness will improve your decision making, enhance the way you collaborate, increase your resilience, and improve your leadership ethics.

I wish you success as you continue your leadership development journey and in enhancing your skills in making your organization, team, community, home be a better place to live and work. I salute all the leaders out there doing their best to lead from their core values and lead with authenticity. Have a phenomenal week.