Leading in a Wicked World

Introduction 01
How this book came about 02

Chapter 1 | The Wicked World Dilemma 8
Changing landscape of the 21st century 12
Could you add a little VUCA, please? 14
How the military sees the world 15
Brewing the Wicked World dilemma 17
The Wicked World is one of seismic paradigm shifts 18
One more step to go 21
Solving wicked problems 25
The fundamental challenges of the Wicked World 27
To sum things up 29
Questions for Refection | References 30

Chapter 2 | Your personal script 32
Patterns are everywhere 35
Nature, nurture, and the patterns that define us 39
The personal patterns hampering growth 41
Moving from personal patterns to personal script 43
Understanding your Operating System 45
Invite new perspectives 48
Relationship dynamics: it takes two (or more) to tango 50
Understanding the ecosystem 51
Keeping your personal script up-to-date ls like a marathon 53
Questions for Refection | References 54

Chapter 3 | The Org Script 56
Why do we organise at all – and what for? 62
The nature of the firm 62
Enhancing efficiency 64
Belief is the foundation 65
It’s an interpersonal reality 66
How we think shapes our reality 68
Language creates our world 71
Believing is seeing 73
How to unlock the Org Script 74
An ongoing process 80
Rolling down the river 83
A recap on the Org Script 85
Questions for Refection | References 86

Chapter 4 | Embracing different perspectives 88
The call for a systemic horizon 91
The evolution of perspective 92
Moving beyond reductionist thinking 93
Making sense of complexity 94
Ubuntu as a way of making sense 98
Ecosystem mindset 104
Embracing diversity and inclusion 106
Gestalt as a lens for making sense 107
Bringing it all together 113
Questions for Refection | References 116

Chapter 5 | Dance with the Wicked World 118
How adults learn 121
The challenge of being both observer and analyst 125
The power of listening 130
Explore your negative capabilities 135
Using both halves of your brain 138
Seeing the bigger picture – spiritual intelligence in a Wicked World 140
How to go forward: micro habits 142
Your best tools going forward 145
Questions for Refection | References 146

Epilogue 148
Life is an ongoing journey 149
Acknowledgements 152