It will be much easier for leadership to adapt new work challenges if they evolve their thinking about organizations from viewing them as ‘machines’ or ‘living entities’ to seeing them as ‘social systems’.

The people within these organizations are already operating on this wavelength, but it seems leadership hasn’t quite caught up yet.

Social organizations represent a step beyond the concept of living systems, in which the components are both independent and interdependent. Everyone seems to have a mind of their own, but people are aligned behind a purpose and cultural values (until they aren’t!).

This evolution requires a different kind of leadership—a facilitator.