In 2012 and in the absence of more formal support within this global advisory network, we were asked to put together a programme to help existing Partners develop their leadership strengths for an increasingly uncertain future.
There has been a lot of interest over the past few years into the idea of coaching to an explicit agenda, one that combines the needs of the client, the needs of their organisation with a particular set of ideas or framework. The addition of an explicit agenda – for example, complexity, business development, strategy development – in a sense adds a tutorial element to the coaching interaction.
This joint-venture organisation had won some major infrastructure planning projects; and there was potential for more such assignments in the near future. As a branch of the government, their clients needed to ensure ‘value for money’ and wished to see evidence of ‘collaboration’; this was made a pre-condition for the award of future contracts.
Organisations are always on the lookout for fresh ideas & we have recently come across Illustra.TV who publish short video interviews with influential management & leadership thinkers. They have published a video interview with Nick Obolensky, author of ‘Complex Adaptive Leadership’. In it Nick offers an overview of some of the principles behind his research. You can see the video here, at the bottom of the page.
A study of the characteristics of chaos & complexity science suggests ways in which leadership could be made even more effective & potentially less stressful. It is an interesting & potentially far-reaching proposition. There is little doubt that the climate in which so many organisations operate is complex, uncertain & liable to sudden unexpected changes.