from high VUCA to high SCSC ( stability , certainty , simplicity , and clarity ). They always choose high VUCA .
This is our leadership context . We all know it , and we all know it is not going to lessen but accelerate . The acceleration of complexity makes a demand on consciousness that it evolve . Most of us are running an inner operating system that is not as complex as the challenges we face . The complexity of our context requires Windows 10 and we are running DOS .
Our inner game — the structure of our internal meaning-making system , our decision-making system , our level of selfawareness and emotional intelligence , our mental models , and the inner beliefs and assumptions by which we define and deploy ourselves moment to moment — is not complex or mature enough to thrive amid complexity . We are in over our head . The very context in which we must lead continually challenges us to evolve . If we do not , we become increasingly less relevant . Meeting Limits To Scale We recently met with a very successful senior leader ( John ) in a large organization in Europe to debrief him on his Leadership Circle Profile ( a 360-degree assessment that provides feedback on a leader ’ s effectiveness and the Creative and Reactive elements in his or her leadership ). John walked into the meeting and started it by saying , “ You ’ re not going to turn me into one of those touchy-feely leaders .”
John had a very Reactive ( Autocratic , Arrogant , Critical ) leadership profile . We suggested that , despite all his success , his leadership was capped out — it had reached limits to scale . He did not understand . We pointed out his low Work- Life Balance score and asked , “ How long are you working each day ?” What unfolded was the story of a man who works constantly . Work defines him , it makes him feel valuable . He achieves a sense of self-worth through work and being the one who gets the results .
He is also passionate about what the organization is up to , and he wants to contribute all he can to its mission and growth . As we talked , he came to the realization that “ more , harder , faster ” was no longer going to scale . In fact , he was long past the point at which the way he had achieved his success was optimal . He was now in his own way and canceling himself out . The limitations in his leadership at scale were canceling out his tremendous talent .
John is being challenged — by his very success , by the organization ’ s choice for rapid growth , and by the complexity of the business environment — to develop a more complex way of knowing and leading . Complexity of mind is not a more complicated , convoluted mind . It is the elegant mind of mastery .
John needs a way to scale his genius . Scale can only be achieved by developing capacity and capability in others . Effective leaders , at scale , develop other leaders . John is now at the point where this is a non-negotiable item . John is facing his development gap . His operating system has reached its limits to scale , and he is challenged to grow beyond it , to evolve it . Compassionate Development Let ’ s be clear . John is neither a problem nor a problem to be solved . There is nothing wrong with John or his leadership . John is facing the inevitable . He has succeeded to a level of scale , but when combined with his organization ’ s need for scale and the escalating complexity of his context , this has put him in over his head .
Success has a way of doing this . Escalating complexity has a way of doing this . We all — if we are succeeding — face development gaps . There is no shame in having them . They are the inevitable consequence of leading successfully in an increasingly complex world .
The inherent beauty in all this is that leadership becomes a kind of spiritual boot camp . The very pressure that success , scale , and complexity bring is a force for our own transformation and evolution . It remains for us to make the development agenda a priority .
ABOUT BOB ANDERSON
BOB ANDERSON has dedicated his career to exploring the intersections between leadership and personal mastery , and between competence and consciousness . The creator and author of The Leadership Circle Profile , an integrated and innovative leadership assessment tool , Bob is a true pioneer in the field of leadership development and research . As the founder of The Leadership Circle , and co-founder of Full Circle Group , Bob lends his expertise to developing practitioners around the globe to carry on the powerful work derived from the tools and offerings these two companies provide to leaders .
Bob has a master ’ s degree in organizational development and a bachelor ’ s in economics and business administration . Bob and his wife of 30 years make their home in Toledo , Ohio , and are the proud parents of three successful adult children .
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