Most organisations are led by highly competent individuals who excel in the system as it exists today. They navigate office politics with finesse, optimise operational efficiency, and master the art of impression management. These leaders earned their positions by delivering stability, predictability, and incremental progress, all vital for sustaining the business as is. The question is what happens when organisational transformation is needed?
The Right Leadership for the Current System
Today’s successful leaders typically possess characteristics honed by and for their organisational environment:
- Political Navigation Skills
They expertly form alliances, interpret unspoken power dynamics, and resolve conflicts between factions, essential for maintaining stability in hierarchical structures. - Operational Efficiency
Their ability to optimise existing systems, deliver predictable results, and manage short-term pressures aligns with operational-centric cultures where consistent output is valued. - Cultural Conformity
Mastery of organisational norms, communication protocols, and strategic impression management reinforces social cohesion. A prerequisite for advancement in most traditional hierarchies. - Rule-Based Adaptation
They operate effectively within established bureaucracies, leveraging procedural knowledge to achieve goals while maintaining system integrity.
These capabilities aren’t accidental: they’re evolutionary adaptations to organisational environments that reward stability over experimentation, predictability over emergence and social alignment over disruptive thinking.
When context changes
Yet herein lies the paradox: The very strengths that make leaders effective in the current system may hinder the organisation’s evolution.
When markets shift, technologies disrupt, or cultural expectations transform, organisations face a stark choice: adapt or stagnate. True transformation—distinct from superficial change—demands capabilities that existing leadership structures often lack:
🔸 Tolerance for ambiguity over rigid planning
🔸 Comfort with emergence over top-down control
🔸 Cognitive flexibility beyond current worldviews
This isn’t a critique of today’s leaders. It’s recognition that transformational contexts require different muscles.
Why the Gap Exists
- The Developmental Ceiling
As Spiral Dynamics reveals, leaders (like all humans) operate within their current stage of consciousness. Vision beyond that stage is cognitively inaccessible. A leader brilliant at optimising hierarchies may genuinely not see the need for networked, emergent collaboration—not due to stubbornness, but neurological limits. - The Operational Trap
Quarterly targets, stakeholder pressures, and legacy systems reward short-term thinking. Leaders rightly prioritise today’s fires over tomorrow’s abstract challenges. Research shows only 28% of executives believe their organisations develop strategy effectively (McKinsey). - The Conformity Paradox
Traditional leaders rise by aligning with organisational norms. Yet transformation demands constructive dissent, rule-bending for innovation, and authentic vulnerability—traits rarely rewarded in stable environments.
Bridging the Leadership Gap: Three Pathways
Transformation doesn’t necessarily require discarding current leaders or organisational structures. It requires expanding their capabilities while leveraging often-overlooked organisational assets:
- Cultivate Vertical Development
Vertical development expands how leaders think, not just what they know. It enables them to handle ambiguity, integrate conflicting perspectives, and operate effectively in complex, uncertain environments. This involves challenging assumptions, reflective practice, and mentorship to fundamentally evolve their problem-solving capacity beyond technical upskilling. - Adopt Adaptive Methodologies
Traditional change frameworks often fail in volatile contexts. Adaptive methodologies (like the concept of Orienteering, introduced in my book) provide dynamic tools for navigating the unknown: - Human-systems mapping uncovers actual relationships and power flows (beyond formal charts)
- Sensemaking frameworks help interpret ambiguity in real-time
- Safe experimentation tests solutions without costly, all-in commitments
- Activate Untapped Cognitive Diversity
Most organisations already possess underutilised talent: individuals with neurodivergent traits (e.g., autism, ADHD, dyslexia). These team members often bring crucial transformation skills: - Pattern recognition to detect systemic inefficiencies others miss
- Direct communication to cut through political noise
- Deep-focus capacity to solve complex, ambiguous problems
Integrating these strengths complements traditional leadership—turning cognitive diversity into a strategic advantage.
The Choice Ahead
The goal isn’t to replace today’s leaders, it’s to develop and empower them (and their successors) with new capacities for an age of volatility. Organisations that cling solely to legacy leadership models risk solving yesterday’s problems with increasing precision while the future overtakes them.
Those ready to bridge the gap will discover transformation isn’t about hero-leaders with perfect visions. It’s about leaders humble enough to acknowledge what they don’t know, brave enough to embrace new ways of thinking, and systemic enough to build organisations where many minds light the path forward.
Feeling overwhelmed by the gap between today’s leadership and tomorrow’s transformation needs? You’re not alone.
If you’re ready to:
→ Move beyond incremental change into true organisational evolution
→ Access frameworks that work in real-world complexity
→ Lead transformation without abandoning operational excellence
Start here: Get “How Might We?”, a 292-page guide fusing neurodivergent insight, systems thinking, and practical tools for complex change.
✨ Includes a free 5-day email course on leading transformation beyond best practices.
“This isn’t a book of models. It’s a compass for the complexity you already face.”