A 3-minute Reflection on Leadership and Systems Thinking

What do you think that coaching, communication, and insight have in common? Hm. Not sure?

Or, maybe, you’re thinking it’s that they’re interactive, and that’s what they have in common, and, yep, that is true. Yet there is one more. Yep.

They are all part of a single system. Each one, coaching, communication, and insight, all of them, is a piece of a larger whole. Let’s take a look at these pieces so we can see the whole. Ready? Here we go.

Creating Coaching

Alright, I’ve written about coaching before, and, even wrote about a developed model that works pretty well. Yet, guess what? Yep. That model has iterated. Today? Here’s what it looks like now.

1. Creating Safety
2. Current Reality
3. Future Reality
4. Define the Gap
5. Create Next Actions
6. Create Safety

Yep, it is a complete system. And, yes, it is a system within a system. Meaning, that coaching is, yes, one piece in an overall system, and, yep, you begin with safety and end with it. Every time. Why?

Because creating safety for people is one of the most important aspects of developing high-functioning teams. Seriously. Watch.

What does it take to have a high-functioning team? Any ideas? Yep. Here we go.

1. Trust
2. Reciprocity
3. Vulnerability
4. Innovation
5. Execution

There’s five. And, to have those five? Yep. Safety. Always.

Creating Communication

In order to have high-quality coaching conversations, good communication must also be present. And, what, pray, are the components of good communication. Here are a few.

1. Listen
2. Be present
3. Tell your truth
4. Reciprocity

Sounds simple, yes? Well, it is, and yet, is a paradox, like most things in life. Why? Because it takes practice, and a commitment to persevere. You will make mistakes. And?

That’s okay. It’s part of it.

If we think that good communication feels good all the time, or looks one way or another, we set ourselves up for disappointment. Most of my favorite conversations today are loaded with work, for both people.

Here are a few more important concepts to develop good communication.

1. Patience
2. Grace
3. Compassion
4. Understanding

It takes work and time. Yet, when you practice listening and being present, all kinds of wondrous things happen. Really.

Creating Insight

Ah, yes, one of my favorite topics. Insight. Beautiful.

Well, what’s the deal with insight anyway? When we typically think about insight, we think about that moment of clarity where we learn something we’d not considered before. Right? Yep.

However, insight can come in many forms. Seriously. Here are a few.

1. Self
2. One-on-One
3. Team
4. Organization
5. Community

Yep. Insights are created through collaboration, whether that is through collaboration with yourself, yes, that’s true, or with another individual or team member, or with the entire team, organization, or community.

Insights are a product of high-quality communicative contexts that are safe. Period.

A Single System

Alright, so what does creating coaching, good communication, and insight have to do with each other? Yep, you got it.

They are all a part of the relationship system. First, the relationships we have with ourselves, then, the team, organization, and community. True.

And, the relationship system is applicable in all social contexts. Meaning, you can substitute family with the team in the aforementioned example, and you have a whole and complete system for the family. Same.

There we go. That’s my 3-minute reflection on the relationships system, and why considering these pieces as connected and a part of a larger whole is very important for leaders, and, well, for everyone. Really.

In fact, one could argue, as I would, that your very relationships depend on it. Truth. Phew. That was fun.

#coaching, #communication, #insight, #interactions, #leadership, #relationshsipsystem, #selfdevelopment