The points of departure are “dynamics,” which, as the sociologist Niklas Luhmann
determined, arise from interactions, actions, decisions and communications. These
determine the essence of the organization. Organizations function and sustain them-
selves by connecting decisions to previous decisions. The people are quasi coupled to
these dynamics. The “hands-on” type of leader, who thinks they have access to their
subordinates and can dictate what they have to do, is outdated. The systemic leader
leads by communication and by means of a densely interwoven information network.
To change the behavior of their employees, the systemic leader changes his or her
own behavior first.
3.1.4 Learning Instead of Steering
Moreover, systemic leadership assumes vagueness and uncertainty as inherent to
complex systems. Complex systems organize and develop themselves, making
100% reliable predictions impossible. In addition to the desired effect, every
influence has uncountable and unpredictable side-effects because all parts of the
system are connected.
Therefore, good intuition and a certain willingness to take risks are important
qualities of the systemic leader. He or she develops solutions based on the inherent
dynamics and properties of the system rather than using ready-made standard
solutions. Leadership and system autonomy are in harmony if the leader merely
establishes and monitors the conditions for action and provides the information and
authority for self-control to the people he or she leads.
This includes the leader supports the capability of the system, i.e., the company
and its employees, to learn and develop, just as it involves the leader continuing to
learn himself or herself and always critically questioning their own style of struc-
turing and steering. The ability to learn also includes the ability to unlearn, to give
up outdated patterns of behavior and to leave known structures behind. In this
regard, flexibility is essential (see Probst and Gomez 1991).
In this context, development does not mean revolution but learning. All
members of an organization have to constantly learn. Lifelong learning is one of
the central success strategies in the knowledge society. A systemic thinking leader
stimulates others to learn and gives them opportunities to acquire new knowledge.
At the same time he or she is in a constant process of learning, always asks for
feedback and is open to other perspectives and ideas.
3.2 Leading with Your Head and Heart
The late strategy guru Sumantra Ghoshal forecasted the end of the capital-oriented
philosophy of management. In the last 50 years the scarce resource of capital was
considered the flywheel of the economy, and money was the lever to be used to the
advantage of the company. This traditional conception is about to vanish.
122 3 Systemic Leadership or: Designing a World That Others Want to Be Part Of