System Leadership for Sustainability

Christopher G. Beehner

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN:
  9780367342180
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000754018
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

This book is the first to explore the application of system leadership to promote sustainable solutions for contemporary and future environmental and social problems. The combination of synthesized research summaries and case studies of individuals and organizations contribute considerably to the field by expanding system leadership concepts from theory to practical application. System leadership has been identified as a method by which complex societal problems can be addressed, but it has as yet not been applied to sustainability. The first chapters introduce the background and fundamentals of system leadership and its relevance to sustainability. The chapters that propose methods of developing system leadership, examples of system leaders, and practical application of system leadership in industry, academic, government, nonprofit, and NGO settings. Each chapter includes a chapter case, interview, and/or reflection questions in order to stimulate critical thinking and provide instructional tools for academic use and practical application. The book is particularly relevant to researchers and students internationally in the fields of social development and sustainability. It is also relevant to public, private, and nonprofit/NGO management practitioners who are curious about the leadership styles and skills necessary to develop a sustainable future.

1
Introduction to system leadership

Introduction

Leadership has been defined as the ability to influence a group of individuals to accomplish a common goal (Northouse, 2018). The study of leadership originally focused on traits of known leaders, believing leaders were born, not made. Subsequent theories examined leadership behavior and skills, introducing a perspective that leadership could be developed and taught. Contemporary leadership theorists have examined the role of followers in leadership. Most scholars and practitioners agree that leadership does not require a formal position of authority. Anyone can demonstrate leadership, often without conscious awareness of doing so.

Much of the focus of leadership research, literature, and training has been with organizational leadership. However, researchers have more recently examined system leadership as a form of leadership which transcends organizational boundaries (Fullan, 2004, 2005). A system leader is a unique individual capable of seeing and comprehending the larger system and catalyzing collective leadership to proactively co-create the future (Senge, Hamilton, & Kania, 2015). The system leader exhibits boundaryless leadership, extending influence among stakeholders across entire systems both inside and outside of their organizations, industries, and sectors. According to Timmins (2015), system leaders are distinguished from organizational leaders by their experience “working across” services and organizations, especially in situations involving considerable complexity.

System leadership is not a leadership style, but rather a model or framework describing leadership being applied beyond the immediate influence of the leader. As such, this chapter and book are not intended to introduce a new leadership style for sustainability. Instead, the purpose is to introduce and describe system leadership as a platform on which to develop sustainability leadership. This platform is intended to enhance, not replace, other leadership styles. In this text, I propose application of the system leadership model as a framework for realization of sustainability.

While varying definitions exist for sustainability, a generally accepted definition originated in the Brundtland Report: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). This definition, which has framed and influenced much of the sustainability conversation for the previous three decades, provides the context for sustainability throughout this text. Sustainability describes an ideal state of mutual existence in which humans and other living entities consistently flourish within planetary environmental limits (Ehrenfeld, 2012). However, sustainability is not a final outcome, but a dynamic objective that is constantly improving (Gaziulusoy, Boyle, & McDowall, 2013), and must exist within planetary boundaries, which define the safe operating space for society (Rockström et al., 2009; Steffen et al., 2015).

The focus of this chapter is to provide a foundation for the remainder of this book. The history, background, and concepts of system leadership are introduced with existing literature summarized and synthesized. Systems thinking is examined within the context of system leadership and sustainability. While the literature contains references to both system leadership and systems leadership, for consistency, the term system leadership is used throughout this book. The scope of this text is to introduce system leadership as a contemporary solution to the sustainability challenges facing the public, private, nonprofit, and NGO sectors. The theoretical base of system leadership will be expanded into practical application in organizational and inter-organizational contexts.

The origin of system leadership

System leadership first appeared in literature in the early 21st century within the field of education. System leadership was described as an emerging practice consisting of a broad range of responsibilities developed either locally or within individual networks or programs that, when combined, can contribute to system transformation (Hopkins & Higham, 2007). Within the education field, system leaders are administrators who are willing to assume system-wide roles to improve other schools and systems in addition to their own (Hopkins & Higham, 2007). Outside of academia, Timmins (2015) defined system leadership as “seeking to achieve change across organizations where people do not have direct line management responsibility”.

Fullan (2004) suggested that a new type of leadership is necessary to challenge business as usual. Because systematic forces have the advantage in preventing system transformation, powerful, proactive action will be necessary to change the existing system and context. Leaders who will enact systemic change must be adept at thinking systemically, because systems thinking can directly and indirectly provide the tools for system change. Achieving organizational and systemic change will require leaders who can connect people and resources from multiple system components. System leaders influence stake-holders across boundaries inside and outside of their organizations, industries, and sectors. In addition, these leaders must be capable of developing other leaders with similar abilities to achieve scale and impact.

In 2015, Senge et al. suggested that “[t]he deep changes necessary to accelerate progress against society’s most intractable problems require a unique type of leader – the system leader, a person who catalyzes collective leadership” (p. 27). The system leadership concept built upon Senge’s (1990) earlier work in the field of systems thinking. System leadership can be summarized as possessing the following three characteristics.

1. System leaders are not unique, extraordinary individuals but are facilitators of the conditions necessary for successful social change.
2. Any individual in any organization, in any industry or sector, and with any (or no) formal authority can be a system leader.
3. The core system leadership capabilities include the ability to see the larger system, promoting reflection and more innovative conversation and transforming the collective focus from reactive problem solving to proactive co-creation of the future.

(Senge et al., 2015)

System leaders develop these core capabilities, which produce collective leadership (Senge et al., 2015). The collective leadership style and the three core capabilities are further examined in Chapters 3 and 4.

System leaders perceive situations characterized by polarization and considered unsolvable problems to be opportunities for innovation (Senge et al., 2015). They are capable of balancing temporary reactive problem solving with permanent proactive value creation. System leaders positively influence organizational politics, assisting organizational members in recognizing that individual and organizational success is dependent upon the well-being of the broader systems in which they exist.

Although system leaders possess varied personalities and leadership styles, authentic system leaders have an extraordinarily similar impact (Senge et al., 2015). Their deep commitment to the overall well-being of the whole system influences similar behavior in other individuals, and their ability to empathize with people of diverse perspectives creates an environment of transparency and openness. System leaders build relationships based on intentional listening, which encourages development of honest, collaborative networks. The strength of a system leader is often not in what they know, but in what they do not know, which enables them to ask obvious questions and demonstrate a commitment to ongoing self-development that becomes a contagious influence on broader change efforts (Senge et al., 2015). Authentic leadership and other leadership styles appropriate for system leadership are examined in more detail in Chapter 3.

Systems theory

Because systems thinking is the application of systems theory, it is appropriate that we first understand the principles of systems theory. Kaine and Cowan (2011) defined a system as a collection of interconnected elements that form a relationship comprising the entirety of the components interacting in a nonlinear manner. Systems can vary in complexity, and each system is characterized by circumstances, purpose, association, inputs, throughputs, outputs, and evaluation, feedback, and control processes (Robèrt et al., 2004). System components interact in a manner that results in an outcome greater than the sum of the individual components (Siebert, 2018). These essential systems features provide the foundation for a holistic decision-making framework (Davidson & Venning, 2011). However, understanding system behavior is difficult, because the temporal and spatial interconnections between system variables further complicate decision-making (Kunz, Moran, & Kastelle, 2013).

Von Bertalanffy introduced general system theory (GST) in 1928, defining GST as a collection of components from multiple existing systems approaches (von Bertalanffy, 1968a). Two assumptions influenced existing systems theory: open systems, defined as steady-state processes that remain constant over time, and closed systems, defined as a time-independent stable state, characterized by increasing entropy, and seclusion from the surrounding systems (von Bertalanffy, 1968a). Open systems require constant change to maintain equilibrium, experiencing both positive and negative entropy, while closed systems experience interactions among system components, and not the external environment (von Bertalanffy, 1968a). One of von Bertalanffy’s contributions was recognizing GST in biological organisms as open systems, suggesting that an organic perspective was essential for understanding and critically analyzing systems. The open systems model, when combined with systems thinking and acknowledgment of the interaction between internal system and external factors, offers a robust method for examining and changing systems (McNamara, 2006). Systems theory is the result of various researchers’ efforts to develop a common field of conformity, providing both a glossary of commonly understood terms for researchers from diverse fields and a shared foundation for presentation and interpretation of phenomena (Ramosaj & Berisha, 2014).

The viable systems approach (vSA) is a systems theory which provides an interpretative model that reinforces a governance methodology for any entity that can be viewed as a viable system (Barile, 2000, 2009; Barile, Pels, Polese, & Saviano, 2012a; Barile & Saviano, 2011; Barile, Saviano, Polese, & Di Nauta, 2012b; Golinelli, 2010; Pels, Barile, Saviano, Polese, & Carrubbo, 2014). The vSA is based on Beer’s (1972a, 1972b) definition of a viable system as one that survives, remains intact, is integral, is externally and internally balanced, and possesses processes and abilities for expansion, learning, development, and evolution, thereby increasing system influence within its environment (Barile & Saviano, 2018). According to vSA, every entity (individual, organization, or community) can be viewed as a microenvironment, composed of multiple interconnected sub-components engaged in a common objective (Barile, Orecchini, Saviano, & Farioli, 2018). These networked and interconnected collections of systems provide eco-systemic conditions for any entity existing within them, persuading and being persuaded by their actions. Under these eco-systemic conditions, the structural boundaries among system components disappear when interaction develops (Barile et al., 2012b; Barile et al., 2018).

Systems theory has significantly influenced our understanding of organizations and our ability to achieve organizational change (McNamara, 2006). When applied to organizations, a systems approach can assist in rapidly identifying root causes of organizational issues and determining where and what appropriate response is needed (McNamara, 2006). Systems analysis is the application of systems theory, for the purpose of achieving system improvement by ensuring that all system components work efficiently to accomplish their purpose. Systems thinking is a major systems analysis tool and is the topic of the following section.

Systems thinking

Systems thinking is a holistic analytical method used to examine how a system’s constituent components interconnect and how they function over time and within the context of larger systems (Ambler, 2013). Systems thinking is the study of systems from a viewpoint of the entire system, corresponding subsystems, and the repetitive patterns that occur between the subsystems (McNamara, 2006). Systems thinking consists of:

• A holistic view of situations characterized as a collection of assorted interacting components within an environment.
• Acknowledging that relationships among system components are better predictors of system behavior than the actual components.
• Acknowledging a hierarchy of system levels in which attributes emerge at various levels, with mutual influence existing both within and between levels.
• Recognition that individual behavior within social systems will conform to dissimilar purposes or philosophies.

(Mingers & White, 2010)

The use of systems thinking encourages a broad perspective of systems and their overall structures, patterns, and cycles (McNamara, 2006). Systems thinking is useful for the identification and management of interrelated components, processes, and relationships that occur in systems (von Bertalanffy, 1968a). An important assumption of systems thinking is that system components will change behavior when separated from the system or other system components. The practical application of systems thinking stimulates an exploration of the interrelationships, perspectives, and boundarie s of the organization or system (Learning for Sustainability, 2019). Because all systems generate emergent attributes that always differ from the sum of their components, systems cannot be understood by only examining the components (Robertson, 2014).

Systems thinking is not a new idea but rather a new name for a natural, intuitive manner of understanding the world (Siebert, 2018). Systems thinking is the term assigned to the contemporary resurrection of integrated thinking in academic and professional disciplines, beckoning us to follow our instincts, remove barriers, see the broader picture, explore opportunities, and relearn what we already know (Siebert, 2018). Humankind has been observing the interaction between systems and components throughout recorded history, with the ancient Indian Vedic philosophy being a holistic systems thinking tradition nearly 10,000 years old (Siebert, 2018). Although holism is at the foundation o...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Introduction to system leadership
• 2 Why system leadership is appropriate for sustainability
• 3 System leadership characteristics and competencies
• 4 Development of system leadership for sustainability
• 5 System leadership for sustainability in business
• 6 System leadership for sustainability in academia
• 7 System leadership for sustainability in government and intergovernmental organizations
• 8 System leadership for sustainability in nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations
• 9 System leadership for individual sustainability
• 10 Future of system leadership for sustainability
• Index