Rowitz On Leadership

It seems that managers and leaders solve problems and make decisions from different thinking mindsets. Managers and leaders must be resilient and flexible enough to use the thinking approach most appropriate to a given context and set of issues. This article will explore three thinking mindsets which we can view as a continuum.

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Linear                                     Systems                            Complexity

Linear thinking is dance floor thinking(See Heifetz and Linsky’s book LEADERSHIP ON THE LINE). When you are on the dance floor, you are concentrating on your partner and the dance steps. You are being careful to not bump into other couples who are dancing. This form of thinking is very detail oriented and also very structured. The linear thinking mindset tries to make connections between things. Cause and effect approaches predominate. Managers tend to use this approach on a regular basis. It is their responsibility to keep an organization running in a smooth way. They operate within the strict boundaries of the organization. It is their job to take the ideas of the leaders and make them fit into the structure of the organization. On a day to day basis, most people function in a linear world.

According to Heifetz and Linsky, when you go up to the balcony, you can see the whole dance floor. You can see the band and you can see all the dancers. In other words, you get the big picture view. You can see all the interacting parts. You can see the dancers who stumble and have difficulty with the dance steps. You are a systems thinker. The systems thinker not only sees how his or her organization is functioning, but can also see how the organization functions within the context of the community in which the organization is embedded. Managers may have trouble seeing the big picture because they are dealing with the details of the organization. Leaders are systems thinkers who see the importance of various structures on the overall functioning of the system as a whole. In my February, 2009 posting on the Leadership Change Cycle, I discussed the move from being a manager to being a leader with a stop at managerial leadership where the manager is moving beyond traditional management activities to a more people-based approach. In systems thinking, relationships become important although the relationships may carry the baggage of position, agency priorities, or cultural barriers.

Complexity thinking recognizes that most of our reality is messy and somewhat chaotic. Systems thinking concentrates too much on structure and not enough on the relationships that guide our lives. In their book A SIMPLER WAY, Wheatley and Rogers make the point that people need organization in their lives, but it takes messes to get there. Positions and structure often hold us back because they are so inflexible and rules and regulations limit our creativity. Resilience is a necessary component in complexity. Purpose and not intention drives action. Purpose brings us together and helps us to develop new relationships. It is only out of these evolving relationships that structure can play a role. Whenever new players enter a group, the structure by necessity must change. Thus, the system is a growing thing and it is ever changing. Leadership in a complex world must be synergistic and be able to adapt on a regular basis since change is the driving force in our lives.

These three thinking approaches guide us in our daily activities. A leader must understand the evolving context of his or her reality and be able to work in environments that are sometimes linear, sometimes systemic, and most often very complex.