My whole understanding of leadership and leadership development changed when I was living in Australia and took Michael Cavanagh's Groups, Teams and Systems module for my M.Sc. in Coaching Psychology at Sydney University.
Michael introduced us to complexity theory and systems thinking, and, critically, he showed us how our ability to lead in modern complex workplaces is dependent on our capacity to be adaptive in the way we see the world.
These are the ideas that have underpinned this series of posts on becoming a more strategic leader. In the first part of the series, we explored the idea of vertical development, which is what facilitates the expansion of our perspective taking capabilities. Last week we looked at how vertical development happens and we considered what we can do to help ourselves make the two leadership shifts that most of us face in our careers.
Today we look at Michael Cavanagh's four factor model of leadership, which provides us with a simple but effective way to think about how we can lead well in complex organisations. It is also, in my view, a way to enhance our vertical development because, as Cavanagh says, it encompasses the capacities needed to notice, engage with, and influence what happens within complex systems (Cavanagh, 2013).
Why a plan is not enough
Cavanagh points out that many of the models we use in management (and coaching) assume that cause and effect are predictable. We set a goal and then work through a plan to reach it. That works well when things are stable. But in a complex organisation, what happens depends on multiple variables and multiple people, each with their own goals and views. That is why outcomes are not predictable and cause and effect often only become clear in hindsight, and also why complex problems need a different approach (Cavanagh, 2013).
Cavanagh is also critical of models of leadership in which the leader sets out a compelling vision and expects everybody to organise themselves around it. His concern is that they leave little room for the many different goals and motivations that drive people's behaviour in a complex organisation (Cavanagh, 2013).
So, he suggests that leading well in that kind of environment depends on four capacities, which he sets out as a pyramid.
Perspective taking capacity sits at the top. Mindfulness, purpose and positivity form the base and support it. Mindfulness helps you notice what is going on in yourself and around you, and perspective taking capacity helps you make sense of it. Purpose and positivity are what allow you to bring people along with you, so that you can find a way forward together even when there is conflict (Cavanagh, 2013).
Here is what each factor involves, and what you can do to develop in each area.
Perspective taking capacity
Cavanagh defines perspective taking capacity as the "capacity to understand, critically consider and integrate multiple competing perspectives into a more comprehensive perspective that enables adaptive action" (Cavanagh, 2013, p. 168). I included it in my list of core qualities for modern leaders, and it is the factor that links most directly to what we covered last week.
Cavanagh uses the image of everybody in an organisation carrying a torch along a dark path. Each of us can only see a short way ahead, and the height at which we hold our torch is our perspective taking capacity. The higher we hold it, the more we can see, and the better we can judge which of the options in front of us will work. He links this directly to the complexity of mind that Kegan describes, so as we develop through Kegan's stages, we are able to hold the torch higher (Cavanagh, 2013).
The value of enhanced perspective taking capacity is supported by research, for example, the review by Gillian Ku and colleagues, which showed that perspective taking helps managers with things like negotiations, managing diversity and resolving conflict. The research also showed that perspective taking results in increased cognitive complexity (Ku et al., 2015). So, you can see why it has a central role in vertical development.
Here are some things you can do to develop your perspective taking capacity:
Map the perspectives on a live issue. Pick a problem you are dealing with now and list everybody who has a stake in it. For each of them, write down what they want and what they are worried about. Then ask yourself what would have to be true for their view to make sense. Finally, ask what bigger picture view of the situation could encompass most of what you have written down.
Suspend your view before you defend it. Cavanagh, drawing on the work of William Isaacs, points out that in a contested conversation we face a choice (Cavanagh, 2013; Isaacs, 1999). If we defend our view, we end up in debate, where somebody wins and somebody loses, or in discussion, which tends to end in compromise. If we suspend our view and approach the views of others with genuine curiosity, we can explore the tensions between their view and ours and build a bigger shared perspective. In your next difficult meeting, notice the moment you want to defend your position, and ask a question instead. Think about how the answer can help build on what is possible.
Mindfulness
Cavanagh and Spence define mindfulness as "a motivated state of decentered awareness brought about by receptive attending to present moment experience" (Cavanagh & Spence, 2012, p. 117). In plainer terms, it is the capacity to turn your attention to what is happening now, in yourself and around you, and notice it without immediately judging it or seeing it through the filter of past experience or worries about the future.
This matters because the way we make sense of the world shapes what we notice. If we are stressed or feeling defensive, for example, we close down. Mindfulness softens the boundaries around our current perspective, so that we allow new information in. In Cavanagh's terms, that information can then provide the raw material for a bigger perspective (Cavanagh, 2013).
Here is what the research tells us:
A meta-analysis (study of studies) of research on leader mindfulness found that it was linked with better relationships between leaders and their teams and better job performance, and with better well-being and performance among their team members (Zhou et al., 2023).
In one study of an eight-week mindfulness programme for senior leaders, participants reported that they had become more agile in complex situations and better at collaborating, and the benefits were linked to practising for at least ten minutes a day (Reitz et al., 2020).
Here are some things you can do to become more mindful:
Practise for ten minutes a day. A simple practice is to sit quietly and focus on your breathing, noticing when your mind wanders and bringing it back, without giving yourself a hard time about it.
Pause before you respond. In a tense conversation, take a moment before you reply to notice what you are feeling (in your body as well as your mind) and what assumptions you are making. Notice how this helps you respond intentionally, rather than react automatically.
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Purpose
Cavanagh deliberately uses the word purpose, rather than goal. Goals tend to be clear end points that can be measured. Purpose is the pattern of commitments, such as our values, hopes, fears and responsibilities, that gives meaning to what we do. It is the set of criteria by which we judge, in hindsight, whether something worthwhile has been achieved (Cavanagh, 2013). There is more on the difference between purpose and goals here.
In a complex organisation, different people bring different purposes. Cavanagh argues that leaders should not set the purpose by decree, or let a narrow group of people define it. Their role is to help create a purpose that is wide enough for everybody involved to connect their own purposes to it. Once that purpose is in place, the leader also needs to make sure the team does not let go of it too easily when things get difficult, while being open to adapting it as circumstances change (Cavanagh, 2013).
Here is what the research tells us:
In one study, teams working on a simulation had their situation changed suddenly. When the leader helped them make sense of what was going on and what mattered, the teams developed a shared understanding of their strategy and adapted better (Randall et al., 2011).
In another study, leadership that built a shared sense of meaning in a team improved the team's performance, and this kind of leadership mattered more when the team's work was uncertain (Yang et al., 2018).
Here are some things you can do to develop it:
Find out what matters to the people involved. In your next one-to-ones, ask each team member what they want to achieve through their work, and what they would see as a good outcome for the team. Notice where their answers overlap and where they differ.
Ask Cavanagh's question. With your team, or with the key people on a project, ask "What is it the world needs from us, and what does this mean for our purpose together?" (Cavanagh, 2013). You may need to swap "the world" for "the organisation" or "our customers", but the question still works. Once you have agreed a purpose, remind people of it when things get difficult, and check that it still holds when circumstances change.
Positivity
Positivity in Cavanagh's model means something more specific than being cheerful. It is the leader's capacity to create conversations with enough psychological safety and enough challenge for people to keep talking about difficult and contested issues (Cavanagh, 2013). Perfect harmony is not the aim. An environment where nothing can be challenged is a stifling one, and some friction is needed for healthy conversation. What is required is realistic positivity, which is about acknowledging the challenges and difficulties while maintaining confidence that they can be overcome.
This links to Barbara Fredrickson's work on positive emotions. In a series of experiments, positive emotions broadened the scope of people's attention and the range of things they thought of doing, while negative emotions narrowed them (Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005). Cavanagh makes the critical point that when we feel under pressure, we tend to narrow our thinking just when what we need is a bigger perspective, not a narrower one (Cavanagh, 2013).
Here are some things you can do to develop your positivity:
Make it safe to disagree with you. When somebody challenges your view, thank them and ask them to say more, even if you end up disagreeing.
Keep some challenge in your meetings. If everybody always agrees in your team meetings, ask "What are we missing?" or ask somebody to make the case for a different option.
Maintain a solutions focus. Keep the emphasis on solutions and pathways to solutions, rather than on rehashing the problems.
Why this matters
Each of these four capacities can be developed, and you can start working on them in the conversations and decisions you are already dealing with. Together, they give you a practical way of starting to lead more strategically in a complex organisation, where nobody has all the answers.
In the last part of the series, we'll look at how the four factors work together, and why perspective taking capacity, and the vertical development that sits behind it, matters so much.
So, this week, pick the factor that feels least natural to you and try one of the practices above.
Hit reply and let me know which of the four you find hardest. I'll try to pick that up when we look at how they work together.
References
Cavanagh, M. J. (2013). The coaching engagement in the twenty-first century: New paradigms for complex times. In S. David, D. Clutterbuck & D. Megginson (Eds.), Beyond goals: Effective strategies for coaching and mentoring (pp. 151–183). Gower.
Cavanagh, M. J., & Spence, G. B. (2012). Mindfulness in coaching: Philosophy, psychology or just a useful skill? In J. Passmore, D. B. Peterson & T. Freire (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of the psychology of coaching and mentoring (pp. 112–134). Wiley-Blackwell.
Fredrickson, B. L., & Branigan, C. (2005). Positive emotions broaden the scope of attention and thought-action repertoires. Cognition and Emotion, 19(3), 313–332.
Isaacs, W. (1999). Dialogic leadership. The Systems Thinker, 10(1), 1–5.
Ku, G., Wang, C. S., & Galinsky, A. D. (2015). The promise and perversity of perspective-taking in organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, 35, 79–102.
Randall, K. R., Resick, C. J., & DeChurch, L. A. (2011). Building team adaptive capacity: The roles of sensegiving and team composition. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(3), 525–540.
Reitz, M., Waller, L., Chaskalson, M., Olivier, S., & Rupprecht, S. (2020). Developing leaders through mindfulness practice. Journal of Management Development, 39(2), 223–239.
Yang, F., Huang, X., & Wu, L. (2018). Experiencing meaningfulness climate in teams: How spiritual leadership enhances team effectiveness when facing uncertain tasks. Human Resource Management, 58(2), 155–168.
Zhou, Y., Wang, C., & Sin, H.-P. (2023). Being "there and aware": A meta-analysis of the literature on leader mindfulness. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 32(3), 299–316.
More leadership inspiration
What Next?
All of my posts for new leaders are here.
How I can help you
Coaching. If you are trying to lead more strategically in a complex organisation and would like to work on any of these four capacities, I can help. Coaching gives you the combination of challenge and support that we looked at last week, which is what this kind of development needs.