Leadership, being about people and change, is complex by definition.
Every person is a complex adaptive creature embedded in multiple overlapping relationships and institutions – that is, embedded in a web of larger complex adaptive systems.
And each of these systems exists in (and affects, and is affected by) a complex, adaptive world.
This means that leadership can never be entirely predictable, at least not for long. What works today with a particular set of people in a particular time and place is not guaranteed to work tomorrow.
Context dictates, for example, the degree to which certain behaviours or skills can be taken for granted, and therefore constrains the style of leadership and management that’s likely to be effective.
Change part of the context – a person in a team; something in the culture or education system; the state of the economy; a key piece of technology – and things that have worked reliably for years can quickly cease to be effective.
Move to a different place or culture and you’re changing many parts of the system at the same time, and you’ll need to adapt your approach to leadership accordingly.
In my last post, I said that Leadership is influence that moves others towards the things you’re aiming for.
We can add that leadership is about influencing people and their environment (i.e. the physical and cultural context) to enable movement towards those goals.
Beginning with people and things as they are, a leader (slowly) shapes their immediate context and builds a stable-enough subculture – an island in the wider culture – to give them and their team a place to stand as they work for further change.