Clarity in Complexity
In the post-COVID world, challenges loom large, seemingly insurmountable. The legacy of Covid-19 serves as a stark reminder of the complexity of issues we face, embodying what scholars term as ‘wicked problems’. Coined by Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber, this concept describes challenges of immense complexity, often lacking clear definitions or solutions, and defying conventional problem-solving approaches. Think cost of living, climate change, education redesign, or poverty eradication – these are just a few examples of wicked problems that defy easy resolution.
Making sense of what’s happening
Self-awareness
To see how important self-awareness is, you need only look at where it is lacking. Toxic leaders show a scarcity of self-awareness. They are unaware of their own failings and limits, and oblivious to how their behaviour impacts on others or how they are perceived. They are overconfident about their own performance and effectiveness. These personality traits inform their leadership style. This leadership style creates the culture of the team and, in turn, this can become the reality across the organisation.
The foundation for critical behaviours
- In their work on Emotional Intelligence, Salovey and Mayer and subsequently Daniel Goleman point to self-awareness as a key skill which links with other critical adaptive behaviours such as empathy, motivation and social skills.
- Being more self-aware with greater self-control and regulation of our emotions are the critical components that help us to build our skills of resilience. Karen Reivich outlines 7 key pillars of resilience, with emotional awareness being the first.
- We can promote the ideas of positive psychology (like those in Martin Seligman’s PERMA model) that impact management, leadership and wellbeing by being more aware of ourselves and our responses to the world around us.