At the Pegasus Conference 2010: Systems Thinking in Action, held last week in Boston, several pioneers—including Daniel Kim, Robert Fritz, and Peter Senge—presented nuggets of wisdom for EHS, Sustainability, and CSR professionals. I’ve shared a few of them below.
Daniel Kim discussed what he calls “The 3rd-Generation Leadership Challenge.” Speaking generally about two eras—the industrial revolution era and the current “knowledge and learning” era—he characterized the evolution of leadership as having two generations in the industrial revolution (Pioneer- and Manager-Leaders) and four leadership options in the current era (which he refers to as 3rd-Generation Leadership: Parasite-, Operator-, Stagnant-, Learning/Transformative-Leaders).
In this 3rd generation, leadership has the possibility to be transformational, rather than transactional. According to Kim, Learning/Transformative Leaders are Stewards, Teachers, Designers, Coaches, Theory-Builders about the Future, and Systematic Integrators.
I was intrigued by his observation that “systemic integration,” a key activity, cannot be outsourced. I was also impressed by Kim’s expansion of Chris Argyris’ single and double loop learning model, to include two additional loops that encompass Vision and Purpose. His presentation points to the need for 3rd-Generation Leaders to examine purpose and vision through a new lens. As Betty Sue Flowers said at the Pegasus Conference: 2008, this lens can also be called the lens of the ecological era.
EHS, Sustainability, and CSR Professionals are in a perfect place to embrace and demonstrate the transformative 3rd-Generation Leadership qualities Kim presented. You can impact, if not lead your organization’s efforts in examining and transforming its purpose, vision, and mission.
© Redinger EHS, Inc. (2010)