In exploring The Leadership Circle Profile, the five competencies that lead to optimal leadership are:
- Relating (Cornerstone)
- Self-Awareness
- Authenticity (Bedrock)
- Systems Awareness
- Achieving (Cornerstone)
I discussed Relating here, and Self-Awareness here, and Authenticity here, in previous posts. Let’s explore Systems Awareness, the fourth competency of optimal leadership.
According to research and results of surveys and profiles of a half a million executives, those leaders who excel in business performance also have high levels of systems awareness.
The LCP further defines this competency as follows:
When I’m coaching executives about systems, almost everyone thinks I’m talking about processes for managing tasks and productivity. Few consider that people working together in a team or company are also systems.
The network of personalities in any company is often sticky and creates logjams. Who hasn’t heard someone say, “I’d love my job, if it weren’t for the people!”
As Bill and Cindy Adams say in their book The Whole Systems Approach, “The Leadership System creates meaning and maintains the conditions by which the organization can thrive.”
The emphasis on Systems Awareness is about impacting people. Leadership is about people.
As Simon Sinek says, “Leaders don’t lead companies, they lead people. And people run companies.”
I agree and I would add that if we lead people with a high degree of systems awareness, the management of the company isn’t very difficult because everyone is contributing to the potential. We are become highly aligned in direction and purpose.
Systems awareness is about:
- Keeping the intention of positively impacting others with a service orientation of the community
- Achieving results in a way that enhances the overall long-term effectiveness of the organization
- Making decisions with a focus on the long-term health of the organization
The leaders we admire are doing their best to make a powerful impact on everyone in the system, not just those in close proximity to them.
By connecting with others and considering the whole of leadership responsibilities, a more well-rounded leader inspires contributions from all corners of the organization.
The problem is we can control our own behavior, but we can’t make other people act the way we would want them to. The ability to understand the system of people working together in close proximity (even if that is through digital connections) and still create the best results is a challenge. Take this challenge.
System awareness requires a chess master’s mind. Everything is connected, even more so today than in previous times. Everyone impacts other people, other tasks.
Can you take time to consider ALL that you impact when you are leading? Can you slow down the game long enough to consider the impact you are having? How do you grow yourself to the level of responsibility that you have been given?
It’s an awesome challenge. And one that I think is worth taking. In fact, it’s imperative to advance our businesses in a way that moves your company and your people’s lives in a powerfully effective way moving forward.
Those leaders who excel at business performance achieve optimal leadership by working within the systems—of people, of productivity, of personalities—and with a highly refined sensitivity to our interconnectedness and interdependence.
What about you, what do you think? As always, I’d love to hear from you. I can be reached at 425-533-4330 or email Marty@VondrellLeadership.com, here or on LinkedIn.