THE ART OF LEADERSHIP.

In The Art of War, Sun Tzu observes “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” The net point being, while there are many scientific elements of leadership - plenty of things about leadership that can be TAUGHT, some aspects of leadership (arguably its most important components) must be CAUGHT. And a critical insight to be ‘caught’ by systems leaders, at least those not on an 'actual' battlefield, is that the enemy is not ‘people’ - rather, it’s the ‘status quo.’ So, first, anyone who is not challenging the status quo is not leading, they are managing. Second, the status quo is not easily changed (caveat ductor - "let the leader beware"), because systems are resistant to change and become violent when threatened. Third, changing the status quo is possible, but it requires both self-awareness and an awareness of what motivates people and undergirds the status quo - in essence, a leader seeking change must create a 'why' for the proposed innovation that is more compelling than the 'why' for staying the same. #TheArtOfLeadership

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