Week 23.45 The World is a Mesh

The past weekend, I attended the 2023 Thinkers50 bi-annual celebration of leadership thinking in London. Aware of the mess in too much of the world at the moment, it was a relief to be in an oasis of celebration of the possibility of how leadership can build a better world. Since the event happens every other year, it was easy to remember that in 2021, the event was held virtually. It felt like a distant recent past. And since the most recent live event, it was also astonishing how much the world of leadership thinking has changed. The celebrated thinkers were noticeably more diverse in gender, race, geography, and age. There was a greater focus on how leadership can support expansive growth - wealth in all forms. There was a recognition and celebration of a new kind of leader who understands that sacrificing people for the sake of the company diminishes the wealth, long term and short term. It was exhilarating, vibrant, and felt like a moment of transition. It is also an inside look into how change happens and why there is reason to believe that difference is now.

At first glance, Thinkers50 acknowledges the great works of individual thought leaders. When I first attended in 2017, that was certainly the case. In 2023, there was a recognition that no one is an island and that we grow within the context of our referent set. In other words, the context of the people we surround ourselves with is the world we create for ourselves. Today, the world of leadership has shifted to a new guard of wonderful people who see themselves as part of a team of teams working together to create change. Considering that most people being recognized have written groundbreaking books or developed game-changing initiatives, there was a sense of collective recognition of all contributors. Julie Carrier, winner of the Ideas Into Action award and also one of the top 50, was quick to recognize the leadership of the high school girls in her programs. And there was universal recognition that the Thinkers50 community was creating its own center of gravity that moved the collective thinking.

It was encouraging to observe that we change the people around us with the people around us. Spending 48 hours together, we shared ideas, tested hypotheses, and encouraged new risks. An idea from one person sparked a new idea in another. The rapid sharing of new thinking with quick feedback and builds created a flourishing contemporary thought. There was a recognition that too many of our days are spent in two dimensions on ZOOM screens getting jobs done. There was a luxurious feel to our five-dimensional experiences (in person, over time, in relationship) in Guildhall - one big room. It felt vibrant and alive, people jumping from person to person like bees in a field of flowers. In those rapid conversations, we were iterating new ideas that would shift collective thinking - a little trimtab nudge that turns the ship of leadership thinking a little more toward collective flourishing.

Of course, it is wonderful to consider the collective experience, but it is also worth noting that, true to its roots, Thinkers50 celebrates the individual. This year, that also felt different. In the past, the focus was more of a celebration of individual thinking. In 2023, no one is an island. We are each a node in a vibrant mesh, contributing, transmitting, and receiving. And just like a mesh is nothing without the nodes, the collective is nothing without the individual. One of the newly celebrated truths of leadership was the idea that by deconstructing and reconstructing the concept of leadership, we can recognize that everyone has their moment of leadership in their own way. It is an expansive idea of leadership that shares the load that is too great for one person to carry and opens a path for new kinds of thinking and leading.

After the dramatic changes in leadership thinking and the abyss of the pandemic, Thinkers50 weekend could have felt anachronistic. Thanks to the bold, brazen, and quirky leadership of Des Dearlove and Stuart Crainer, the event has metamorphosized from a celebration of hierarchy to an embrace of the mesh. Sure, individuals were recognized, but the focus was much more on a greater sense of mission and purpose, of ideas that were put into action or had made material change. It is worth having a look at the list of work that was recognized. Be sure to examine it both in the particular and the collective. At a time when too much of the world is messy, it was uplifting and encouraging to see that there is a movement to change that world into a meshy one focusing on growth and inclusion for all.

Recognition for the Legends of Coaching

Thinkers50, the global ranking of management thinkers, has announced Coaching Legends, honoring the executive coaches that have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of coaching. Among the new inductees to Coaching Legends is Frances Hesselbein, the former leader of the Girl Guides USA. Also included are Bill Campbell, the “Silicon Valley coach”; David Peterson, the former head of executive coaching at Google; and Gary Ranker, champion of the “global mindset”.

Sanyin Siang Siang is also recognised as the recipient of the Thinkers50 2019 Coaching & Mentoring Award, as is Nankhonde Kasonde-van den Broek, for her impact on developing leadership in Africa. Rounding off the list of eight inductees for 2023 is emotional intelligence expert Richard Boyatzis, and Mark C. Thompson, who has coached leaders of some of the world’s most innovative companies.

MARSHALL GOLDSMITH AWARD FOR COACHING & MENTORING to ?? Michael Bungay Stanier

Michael’s work centers around coaching and curiosity, the challenges of change at an individual and organizational level, and how to stay focused on work that matters. A master of simplifying the tools and techniques of coaching, he outlines four important coaching skills: 1) Start something that matters – a coach, leader, or mentor helps people set ‘worthy goals’; 2) Stay curious longer – learn seven essential questions and build curiosity into a powerful, everyday habit; 3) Tame your advice monster – the basis for any personal and sustainable behavior change; and 4) Do more great work – finding the courage and focus to do the work that has more impact. The main thread running through Michael’s work is helping people and cultures move from ‘advice-driven’ to ‘curiosity-led.’

Congratulations to Amy Edmondson for #1 Thinkers50 Ranking

Pioneer and champion of psychological safety, studies people, projects and organizations to uncover the secrets of successful teaming. Edmondson’s work on psychological safety has been groundbreaking. Her blueprint on creating a fear-free culture is essential, she argues, for organizations to be able to thrive in today’s knowledge economy in which new ideas and critical thought are essential to success. She has also explored the concept of teaming in dynamic work environments and demonstrated how cross-organizational teaming can impact the building of smart cities.

With love, gratitude and wonder.

Scott