Leading in a Complex World Utilising the Collective Intelligence of the People

Today, leadership takes place in a challenging context, e.g.,

• increasing complexity
• increasing speed of change
• information overload

Thus, decision-making processes become more difficult. Leaders are at risk of either delaying decisions (gathering more information) or over-simplifying and rushing to decisions.

In an increasingly complex world, single leaders or small groups of leaders can’t have all the answers. Instead, they need to involve the whole team in sense-making and decision-making processes.

Involving more people may seem counterintuitive, as if it delayed decisions further. However, utilising the collective intelligence of the people leads to better decisions and gets buy-in from the start. (See also “How to Speed-Up Corporate Transformation”)

The need to be competent may also keep leaders from involving more people. They associate competence with having all the answers and giving people clear directions and instructions.

Of course, leaders need to have professional knowledge and business acumen. But they do not have to be the smartest person in the room. Today, the leader's role is less of an expert. Instead, leaders must surround themselves with the best talent, align them around a common goal, and create the conditions under which they can be their best.

Ron Heifetz says that leaders must distinguish technical problems from adaptive challenges. For technical problems solutions exist already. A leader or an expert has the answer and can tell people what to do. In contrast, an adaptive challenge is totally new. No experts have the answer yet.

“The leader's job is not to provide the answer, but instead to frame the right questions for which answers are developed and discovered by the collective intelligence of the people.”

Being competent in today’s context is less about knowledge but instead about qualities we have covered in previous episodes such as being humble, understanding that human beings are driven by emotions , and that trust-based relationships are the foundation for performance.

According to Daniel H. Pink, leaders need to turn from bosses who tell others what to do into autonomy supporters. This can be done using coaching skills, including listening and asking powerful questions.

What might keep leaders from utilising the collective intelligence of the people:

• The perceived need to express competence by having all the answers and tell others what to do; the fear that asking questions equals looking incompetent.
• Past successes, such as frequent promotions, may make leaders think they do know better, they are smarter than others.
• They don’t belief in their teams and struggle with letting go of control, or removing themselves from the centre of decision-making.

Reflection Questions for Leaders

• How comfortable am I not knowing?
• Do I feel I need to have all the answers? Or do I still appear competent when I ask questions and say, “I don't know”?
• Do I feel a need to demonstrate I am the smartest person in the room?
  If yes: why? How can I let go of this?
• How open am I to ways of working that are different from mine?
• Do I believe in the potential of the people I'm working with?
• What role do I want to take in this process as a leader? Am I going to be the expert, or am I going to be more like a coach, a facilitator, an enabler, or might I be an observer?

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