Read also: An empirical study of sustainability leaders who hold post-conventional consciousness
I just spent the last week working with a group of sustainability leaders and change agents at an excellent seminar put on by Experience Integral. One of the things these folks did was to evaluate themselves against 15 competencies of highly conscious sustainability leaders that I had previously identified.
A critical competency they targeted for development is Complexity Theory and Complexity Thinking. This is defined as: “Understand the fundamental concepts and language of complexity theory, especially as it relates to leadership. Be able to apply complexity thinking to better understand sustainability issues and support the development of complex adaptive systems.”
How you would rate yourself on that competency? Given the complexity of engaging in global social and environmental change, I believe that understanding complexity theory as it applies to leadership is crucial. Here are a couple of tips from this field that may be of service as you work to catalyze change.