How is your Systems Intelligence? Stories from the Field

Previous articles in this series have explored Leadership Coefficient theory and principles of collective leadership. The more we work with our clients on these principles, the more I feel compelled to reflect: just how well are we doing in our own organisation with our systems intelligence? I want to share my reflection with a story or two from our own field of experience.

To set the context, let’s refocus on our 3 Principles of Collective Leadership:

Principle 1 – Focus on the “Being” of Leadership as well as on the “Doing”
Principle 2 – Leading from the Whole rather than from “the Rock”
Principle 3 – Leading from the Emerging Future rather than from the Past

Principle 1 is grounded in the concepts of emotional intelligence (EI). If you are reading this article, then you are likely well developed on the topic of EI. Principle 2, on the other hand, is grounded in the concept of systems intelligence (SI). The concepts of SI were originally developed in Finland by Professors RP Hamalainen and E Saarinen and further evolved in the work of Peter Senge and others. In our experience working with senior leaders across sectors, SI is a competency that may not even be within a leader’s awareness, or, if it is, many find it challenging to grasp the tenets, let alone apply them in an effective way to develop team performance. Bridging this gap, and harnessing the performance opportunity that it represents, is at the core of our leadership work at Leadership Coefficient.

What do we mean by Systems Intelligence (SI)?

Systems Intelligence focuses on the key collective leadership competencies needed today:

• Seeing oneself in the (human) system through awareness of the systemic environment;
• Engaging in systems thinking to foster possibilities for productivity through systemic interaction;
• Generating cross organisational collaboration;
• Knowing how to co-lead and co-create with others;
• Engaging in deep dialogue to truly hear and leverage divergent points of view;
• Harnessing the collective intelligence;
• Leading your team while also taking ownership for the whole;
• Developing systems intelligence in the organisations that you lead.

As soon as group of people comes together for any purpose, a new human system is formed. The system has its own identity, which emerges from the mix of those in the system.

Each person in the system makes his or her own impact, his or her own contribution of talent, knowledge, characteristics, viewpoints, personality – and so the whole becomes an emergence from the dynamics of multiple member contributions. Within that emergence, culture is formed. We already know this in our families and our friendship groups, and it is also true of organisational systems.

Systems also become nested within each other as sub groups form and re-form dynamically. Awareness of nesting and its implications is a key factor in a leader’s systems intelligence.

We can say that a system entity has its own “voice” – that is to say, if the system could speak, it could tell us neutrally what is going on in the system, and what the system may need at any moment for it to be healthy and to evolve.

The capacity of a leader to be able to hear “the voice of the system”, and thereby derive information as to what leadership interventions are needed to support the system to move forward, is a measure of the level of systems intelligence that the leader has. Awareness of the system entity directs leadership attention there, rather than focusing only on the individuals. With attention on the system, a leader can perceive individual behaviours and experiences (such as anger or frustration) as an expression of the wider system dynamics, informing him or herself on appropriate systems interventions.

At a deeper level of SI, the leader has awareness of his or her own impact on the system, is able to see self in the system, is able to own and understand his or her own contribution to the emergence, and, from that perspective, gauge personal behavioural or development opportunities as well as needed systems interventions.

Do you perhaps wonder, then, how you would rate your systems intelligence? And, I have reflected: how is our systems intelligence at Leadership Coefficient? 

At Leadership Coefficient we are a small (less than 20) yet global team of Partners and Affiliates, each accredited in our specialised systems leadership methodologies and offerings. Each Partner or Affiliate runs his/her own business. This geographically dispersed but closely connected human system is joined together by a compelling shared purpose: to bring the competencies of collective leadership into organisations to create greater fulfilment, joy and (so) performance. Our shared purpose knits us together more powerfully than any single corporate badge.

So, How is Your Systems Intelligence?

Story 1 – Flying like the Flock of Geese

A year ago, we embarked on a 9-month project to rebrand the Leadership Coefficient business in what represented to us all an exciting new phase. The entire team was highly energised around this. It felt huge, there were so many project threads, so many key decisions to be made. As the Director of Leadership Coefficient I could easily have felt overwhelmed (and, yes, sometimes I did!). Included was a sub project to rebrand our unique, body-based assessment method, Embodied Leadership Strengths Profile (ELSP). For a small team, it felt like a massive undertaking.

I’ve written previously about the metaphor of the flock of geese: how each leader takes his/her place in the system, according to the special talents that each brings to the table. Sometimes it’s your place to be at the front, pointing direction and taking the head wind, sometimes in the 2^nd row, or the middle, or holding and leading from the back. In this organic, non-hierarchical model of collective leadership, everyone relies on each person showing up with their own special talents to meet the demands of the moment. There’s no room for thinking, “It’s not my job” or, “I’m not able” or “They may not like it”. The system trusts and knows that each person is fully engaged, fully co-creating, fully authentically expressed, and bringing courage as well.

So it happened with our project: team members (all extremely busy running their own businesses around the globe) took ownership, heightened their sensitivity to what the system needed at any moment in time, and stepped forward, or stepped back, contributing their particular talents and insights just when needed. We used collaborative technologies to stay connected, including a collective decision-making tool. Email was minimised, flow, speed and quality were maximised. As a collective, our sensitivity to the system dynamics was pretty acute: when someone sensed that this was her/his moment to show up, generally it happened. If something or someone felt out of alignment, we said so (with deepest respect) – and we gave each other full permission there. Everyone was part of it, everyone took ownership for him/herself and for the whole and held our collective success. We knew each other’s different talents and strengths and leveraged them in the moment. The experience was flow and the result awesome (and, yes, there were a few bumpy moments too).

Story 2 – Leveraging Talents to Self-Organise as a Whole Team

18 months ago, Leadership Coefficient began a major software development project for our ELSP methodology. Aligning ourselves around this project has also been an experience of systems intelligence. One Affiliate with the expert knowledge and connections took the lead for Phase 1. As User Acceptance Testing began, others in the team stepped forward, offering their unique insights and talents. Organically, a UAT sub team formed to problem solve and identify next steps. We morphed into Phase 2 as an Affiliate with newly needed subject matter expertise stepped forward into the lead. There was no room for ego or limiting beliefs. The team self-organised with emotional maturity. Holding the whole, stepping off personal agendas, aligning with the system dynamics, we continue to accomplish our challenging objectives through the power of collective leadership.

We Welcome Your Thoughts & Comments

If you found this article interesting, do consider: how is your systems intelligence? And how does that play out in your work and life? How does it inform you? And what is different for you (and for others) when your SI informs and inspires your actions?

At Leadership Coefficient we support leaders to develop and hone their systems intelligence to create insight into team dynamics and raise team and organisational performance. If you would like to know more about our highly specialised collective leadership approach, please contact us.