Systems LeadershipBelinda Weir

Director of Leadership: Health Services Management Centre

Overview of session

Leadership: a quick introduction

Scientific Management

Systems Thinking

Leading in a complex system

Lao Tzu

The wicked leader is she whom the people

despise.

The good leader is she whom the people

revere.

The great leader is she of whom the people

say, “We did it ourselves.”

Theories of Leadership & Management

Scientific Approach: the “one best way”

Process Approach: MBO

Human Relations Approach: motivating

people

Systems Approach: everything is connected,

and complex

Expectation of STPs..

‘System leadership is needed. Producing a STP is not just about

writing a document, nor is it a job that can be outsourced or

delegated. Instead it involves five things: (i) local leaders coming

together as a team; (ii) developing a shared vision with the local

community, which also involves local government as appropriate;

(iii) programming a coherent set of activities to make it happen; (iv)

execution against plan; and (v) learning and adapting. Where

collaborative and capable leadership can’t be found, NHS England

and NHS Improvement will need to help secure remedies through

more joined-up and effective system oversight.’

NHS England 2015, p4

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/planning-

guid-16-17-20-21.pdf

WHO recommendation

‘Transformational strategies require new forms of

collaborative leadership that help to bring together multiple

stakeholders through an effective policy dialogue. Indeed,

what is required is transformational leadership that goes

beyond understanding how to bring together stakeholders

with competing views and mind-sets, but which pro-actively

communicates the goals and values of the strategy and

seeks to mobilize others through a more emotional

involvement in the need for change.’

WHO 2015, p34

http://www.who.int/servicedeliverysafety/areas/people-

centred-care/en/

Scientific Management: an overview

The father of scientific management

Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915)– Industrial engineer

– Specify tasks and select and train workers for this tasks

– Managers design the work and workers execute it

– Find the one best way, and standardise it

Taylorism

“Hardly a competent workman can be

found who does not devote a

considerable amount of time to studying

just how slowly he can work and still

convince his employer that he is going at

a good pace.”

(Taylor, F.W. Scientific Management, New York 1947)

The ‘scientific management’ approach

If you understand the parts you’ll understand the

whole. Hence mechanical metaphors:

– We need to step up a gear

– This department runs like clockwork

– It is part of the machinery of government

– We need to find the policy levers

– Top down change, or bottom up?

‘Mechanical’ assumptions

If you understand

1. Tasks

2. Hierarchies

3. Functions

– you can manage and discipline by replacing parts like worn out cogs

– you can make plans with timetables and penalties

– you can transfer ways of working from one setting to another, with equal outcomes

Scientific Management works well when:

The task can be clearly-defined

The task is known – we have seen it before

There is an answer and it is agreed upon by

everyone

The person carrying out the task is not required to

think on their feet

The environment is predictable and stable

The manager has the power to instruct and

command

Some problems are amenable to a scientific approach

• Complicated but tame problems:

– Throwing a rock

– Mending a computer

– Choosing a chess move

– Analysing financial flows

– Engineering a space rocket

• How about….

…..Throwing a live bird?

A Systems Thinking Approach

What do we mean by ‘System’?

Senge describes systems thinking as “a

discipline for seeing wholes. It is a framework

for seeing inter-relationships rather than

things, for seeing patterns of change rather

than static snapshots”

Assumptions about organisations as systems

From sub-atomic/quantum physics, chaos theory, fields theory, systems

theory, evolutionary biology

• Human (social) systems are living systems, ie can’t be

controlled, measured or fixed as if they were machines

• Synergy - the whole is greater than the sum of the parts

and is emergent and dynamic – relationships, patterns and

connections matter

Organisms (living systems) are self-referencing - they act

to preserve their own identity (autopoeisis)

Lessons from evolutionary biology

• Systems are well-adapted to their environment

and will act to preserve their identity

• If something comes along that upsets that

environment, by changing it, the natural response

is to kill it, or resist it.

• But keep going: “if the organism is held perturbed

for sufficient time, it adapts to this new condition.”

What form might resistance take?

• Avoidance/fear of loss

• Deflection or denial

• Endlessly delayed meetings

• Defining issue as purely technical

• Shooting the messenger

• Blaming ‘them’

Complex systems

A complex system is one in which – because of the number of

components which interact and the difficulty in determining the

boundaries - even knowing everything there is to know about the

system is not sufficient to predict precisely what will happen

Systems Thinking Ideas: Unintended consequences

Because

People don’t always obey instructions –

sometimes they think for themselves!

People make different assumptions based on

the same ‘facts’ and data

People have different ways of making sense of

their world

Systems Thinking Ideas: Predictability .

Because

• Socio-political context matters: culture, history, identity, beliefs

• Geography matters: Liverpool isn’t Lincoln, or Lyme Regis; Nottingham isn’t Newcastle, or Norwich.

• Predicting outcomes isn’t possible only by looking in the rear view mirror

• Globalisation and mass communication increase variability (and therefore complexity)

Systems Thinking Ideas: Perspective.

Because

• In highly complex systems, you can’t ‘see’ all

of the system

• Different parts of the system have different

ways of interpreting what they ‘see’

• Other perspectives are different and valid

ANELEPHANTIS LIKE ASNAKE

ANELEPHANTIS LIKE ABRUSH

ANELEPHANTIS LIKE A

ROPE

ANELEPHANTIS SOFT &

MUSHY

ANELEPHANT ISLIKE A TREE

TRUNK

Systems Thinking Ideas: Everything is Connected.

Because

• You can’t intervene in one part of the system

without having an impact somewhere else

• Small actions can have a big impact

• Lorenz’s butterfly effect

I’m sure glad

the hole isn’t

in our end...

Systems Thinking Ideas: Collaboration and Cooperation

Because

• There are synergistic gains to be made by

collaborating

• Change always involves loss

• Diversity invites new possibilities

Systems leadership is applying systems thinking to complex issues

“Leaders are struggling to innovate,

integrate, manage demand and find

new solutions.”

“Leaders are wrestling with ‘wicked

issues’ that shape-shift and defy

resolution, and which cannot be

resolved by single agencies acting

alone.”

“We are…applying systems thinking

to the practical reality of trying to

achieve complex change.”

Debbie Sorkin, the Leadership Centre/Sue

Goss, ‘A View from the Bridge’, OPM May 2015

Systems

Leaders start

here

In the

old

days

The

vision

Complex (wicked) issues are where…

…solutions sit outside single hierarchy and across

boundaries

…there is no defined start or end point – sometimes you

can’t even agree on what the issue is

…there are no right or wrong solutions; instead you need to

aim for progress and improvements

…the setting is uncertain, ambiguous and volatile

…there are diffuse and contested power relationships;

multiple and divergent motivations, objectives, value

systems; diverse cultures, professions, operating systems,

legal and financial frameworks and accountabilities….

Obesity Map

Raffoul, A. School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo.

If we think we are dealing with technical problems, we need:

problem solving skills (and a solution mindset)

expert advice and proven practices (best practices from

other areas where they’ve had some success)

clarity: e.g. clearly defined problem statements

(preferably at the level of root causes and drivers) &

clear goals and focus areas

a clear vision of the ideal end state

alignment (of stakeholders etc)

measurable outcomes

a lot of money and the very best technology

If we think we are dealing with wicked problems in complex systems, we need:

Sense-making capability (to know the system)

Pattern intelligence (which we can influence, not

control)

To value questions, not answers

Ambiguity and nuance vs certainty and clarity

Focus on the present rather than a future ideal state

Coherence within boundaries rather than consensus

To change mindsets

Leadership in systems

‘The capacity to engage people and groups

outside one’s formal control and inspire them to

work toward common goals – despite differences

in convictions, cultural values and operating

norms.’

Source: The King’s Fund

Source: The King’s Fund

Effective System Leader Behaviours

Effective Leaders in Complex Systems… Are Courageous:

– Embrace ambiguity and uncertainty e.g. are able to influence without authority

– Promote distributed leadership…engage effectively, balance collaboration and competition, let go of control

Are Curious:

– Go out of their way to make connections…

– Adopt an open, enquiring mindset…ask questions, seek out difference

Are Clear:

– Establish a compelling vision…e.g. through story-telling

– Invest in promoting values…understand the importance of culture and behaviours to driving change

Understanding Self

How, when and where are you at your most

– Courageous?

– Curious?

– Clear?

What are the conditions that enable you to

develop or use these qualities?

Learning from research and practice

Need for distributed and collaborative leadership

Shift away from excellence in task or function,

towards new roles for system leaders:– Systems Architects

– Commissioners of services

– Brokers and Navigators

– Story tellers

– Networkers

– Municipal Entrepreneurs

– Resource Weavers

Learning from research: 21st Century Public Servant

1. Develop a clear shared purpose and values

2. Place matters.

3. Make systematic use of improvement

methods

4. Develop effective mechanisms for handling

conflict.

5. Be patient, persistent and resilient.

6. Prioritise relationship building.

7. Look for many leaders at all levels within the

system.

Learning from practice: Lessons from the King’s Fund/AQuA Integrated Discovery Communities

Readiness for change is critical

Be persistent – it takes time to develop trust and a

shared vision when people come from different ‘tribes’

Doing this work needs space, as well as time

Leaders need to have resilience

External support is essential in building confidence and

capability

Measures of success must be near-term as well as

long-term

Learning from practice: ICCs in Morecambe Bay

• Understand yourselves, your teams, your colleagues

and your partners as systems leaders and enablers -

part of a wider system connected by a shared

ambition

• Hold yourselves to account – the standard you walk

by is the standard you accept

• Start small and use what you have – often more than

you think

• Make connections and build relationships, alliances

and networks (RCTs, buddies)

• Just focus on making progress: give it time, allow for

mistakes, learn from them, adapt, and keep going

What does this mean for leaders?

References Crosby, B. C., & Bryson, J. M. (2010). Integrative leadership and the creation and maintenance of

cross-sector collaborations. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(2), 211-230.

Heider, J., & Laozi. (1988). The Tao of leadership: Lao Tzu's Tao te ching adapted for a new age.

Toronto, Bantam Books.

Lorenz, E. (1963). ‘Deterministic Non-Periodic Flow’ Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, 20.

Maturana, H.R. & Varela, F.J. (1980) Autopoiesis and Cognition: Dordrecht: D. Reidal Publishing.

Miller, R. & Millar, R. (2017) Partnering for Improvement: inter-organisational developments in the

NHS. Birmingham: HSMC

Morgan, G. (2006) Images of Organization. London: Sage Publications.

Rogers, M. & Wheatley, M. (2012) A Simpler Way: ReadHowYouWant, New York.

Senge P., Hamilton H. and Kania J. (2015) The Dawn of Systems Leadership The Stanford Social

Innovation Review Winter 2015

Taylor, F.W. (1947) Scientific Management: New York

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Kings Fund

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26-33.