www.macmannberg.dk © systemic approach to leadership practice - a joint venture between public and...

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Systemic approach to Leadership Practice - A Joint Venture between Public and Private

Sector

Focusing on:Strategic Work from a Systemic Approach

Carsten Jørgensen, The Danish School of Public Administration

Eva Korntved, MacMann Berg

Danmarks Forvaltningshøjskole

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Plan for the Workshop

1. Lectures – our presentations

2. Organizing plenary contributions

3. Shared reflections


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The Client:

A public sector company with a vision:

Implementation of a systemic approach throughout the organisation

leading to a leadership program, based on the systemic approach.

Provided by a joint venture (MMB and DFH (DSPA))

The company:• 18.000 employees

• 2. 200 managers and deputies

Organised as a central government, a district government and decentralized institutions


The Program

300 decentralized leaders have participated in the program,

13 days with systemic training and theory.

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The Development of Environment – Society - two approaches:

Rational approach:

• Common basic values and cohesiveness

• Controlled speed

• Community

• Increased level of education

• Stable environments

• Predictability

Systemic approach:

• Differentiation

• Fragmentation

• Increasing speed

• Individualisation

• Increased level of education

• Permanent change

• Unpredictability


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The organisation is observed

Rational approach

• A hierarchically organized division of labour where tasks are placed and executed

• Structures and results (outputs) are important

Systemic approach

• A system of communications in which tasks are carried out on a cross.

• Sensemaking, meta reflection (input) and results (outputs) are important


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The task of management is characterized by

Rational approach

An overview of economics,

management and

documentation systems for

overall knowing what is

going on in the organisation.

Belief in the rational

paradigm and the strategic

planning.

Systemic approach

Choice of relevant behaviour,

including the interpretation

of economic management

and documentation systems to

improve core services

Experience in the systemic

thinking and constructing the

world.


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Communication is observed as

Rational approach

Linearly transparent

messages – strategic

communication

The transmitter –

the leader –

a centralized system

is the most important

Systemic approach

Dialogical reflective

construction of sensemaking

The receiver – the

other – a decentralized system

is the most important


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Strategic Work from a Systemic Approachan Epistemological Model

Speech Act

Implicative forces

Contextual forces

Implicative and

Contextual Forces

The Surrounding World

The Political System

System Management: Organisational Legitimacy

Vision, Mission, Strategy, Goals, Company Values etc.

Direct leadership: Operation

Employees

Customers – children – citizens etc.

Discourses

Bottom line – financial situation and core product on system level

Core product

- On individual level

E.g.

Political/ administrative/

department

E. g.

Schools, kindergartens

Etc

Comprehension and implementation of strategy

Establishment of linguistic links


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Strategic Work From a Systemic Approach

Vision Work and Strategic Work in Three Phases:

• Analyse

- Generating Insight by Creating View (Out Sight)

- The Surrounding World

• Development

• Implementation


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Intention: Clarification

Intention: Development

Future Past - Present

Situational-Clarifying Questions

InitiativeClarifying

Questions

GenereratingQuestions

Expanding Questions

1. Step one in Building the Vision:

Set your Company Dreams Free

By Back Casting

0. Clarifying the Context

Does an organisational Mission and Vision already exist?

Do we wish to create an organisational Vision? In what view?

2. Contextual Inquiry – clarifying situation based on past and present

3. Give voice to the most important stake holders to generate suitable linguistic links

4. Make any further analyses necessary to decision making.

Begin the projects


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The Vision:

The intentional purpose:

To provide perspective and hereby, continuously sustain motivation to suitable change in the organisation and secure the legitimacy of the organisation.


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The Linguistic links

• We seek suitable links throughout the system

• A suitable link is a speech act doing work of interpretation between the context layers.

• The links point in all directions

• Continuity is created by linguistic links

The purpose is to expand the bottleneck by good links to ensure and sustain suitable communication, both vertical and horizontal.


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Discourses:

- From the figure:

The top: Bottom - line discourse -

The bottom: Core Product discourse

The discourses don’t communicate, but by suitable links we can clarify and co-ordinate meaning and understanding to enable us to work with the different discourses.

New positions can invite in new prospects and generate new actions


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Interview in groups of three focusing on strategy processes

• Tell about the most successful strategic process you have been a part of?

• How was it successful?

• What did you do?

• What were the most important suitable links you created?

• What would your employees tell about the process

• How would they describe the linguistic links?

• What stories would your colleagues tell

• What would be your most important focus in the next strategic process you are in charge of or part in?


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