Systems Thinking: A Defining Skill for Leadership | Willy Donaldson | TEDxCNU

In this TEDx Talk, Dr. William Donaldson discussed the important skill and world view of systems thinking. Recorded at TEDxCNU at Christopher Newport University on October 13, 2023.

The World Economic Forum has identified systems thinking as one of the most important skills in today's complex world. Barbara Kellerman in her penetrating article, Leadership–It’s a System, Not a Person!, makes a compelling argument for leaders to learn and practice systems thinking. She points out that there is a tri-partite relationship between leadership, followership, and the context for the two. She goes on to point out the primacy of context, as it shapes the subsequent need for, and approach to, leadership which then imparts its pull and influence on followers and defines the subsequent followership. The context that leaders invariably lead, manage and oversee is inevitably a complex, adaptive, socio-technical system, a CAST system. CASTs are notoriously hard to understand in full, manage and lead and so systems thinking becomes a defining skill for leadership. Given this important finding by one of the Leadership field’s leading lights, one would conclude that systems thinking is integral, in fact, a defining, part of Leadership training and education, and yet this is not the case. This talk makes the argument for systems thinking and offers a short introduction for leaders, followers, and leadership scholars to systems thinking, CASTs, and the system dynamics so important to leadership thought. Our world is increasingly interconnected and complex, and Dr. Willy Donaldson is positioned at the cutting edge of a skill that will help all mankind understand and manage that Complexity. After a very successful career spanning 35 years and the entire globe, Dr. Donaldson settled in academia teaching systems thinking and business at Christopher Newport University starting in 2010. Since that time, he has established the Biotech and Management Program and published two books, one on managing enterprises as systems and one on addressing critical end-of-life discussions before it is too late. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx