LIGHTING UP THE NETWORKS

In a world that is so chaotically interdependent and unfathomably complex, Einstein's comment, that problems can only be resolved from a higher level than the level at which they were created, is on everyone's lips. Solutions aren't going to come from what we already know. Tom Rautenberg observes that the world of organizational change “is really going through two revolutions simultaneously: one is the living systems revolution, and the other comes from realizing that the transformation of individual and collective consciousness is critical to the evolution of organizations and the human beings in them.” In fact, the two are deeply interrelated. For the living systems revolution to bear fruit—and not merely replace a mechanical metaphor with a biological one—the consciousness of leaders has to evolve. Destroying the rigid hierarchies of the machine is merely the first step. A new leadership is called for—one that is commensurate to the power that business exercises on this globe. Old hierarchies need to be replaced by new ones: living systems need a conscience to motivate them to serve a higher purpose. This is the role of the authentic leader at this critical moment.

The leader goes first. “The quality and level of change in any organization is only as good as the quality of the consciousness of the intervener,” says Rautenberg. “You can't take people to places you haven't been.” Business leaders and the consultants advising them have to embrace evolutionary transformation as a way of life in order to harness the creative potential of a living system.

“There's a subtle level to this that we're all creeping up on: what is most systemic is really most personal,” declares Senge. “You and I actually are the system. There's a paradoxical complementarity to this: you try to hold on to the recognition that each of us embodies the habits of thought and action that drive the larger systems that need to change as you simultaneously work to change the manifest features of those systems.” Our organizations and systems are a reflection of ourselves, our consciousness. Thus, our transformation is essential. To guide the awakening of these huge systems filled with the creative potential of thousands, our hearts and minds have to burn with the evolutionary passion that ignites only when we realize that the future literally depends on us.

“My theory is that the human species is self-organizing subconsciously,” Steve Trevino tells me in his rapid-fire way. “We are self-organizing to embrace sustainability, generativity, and vitality in order to shape a planetary civilization—which is part of our evolutionary purpose. All systems are becoming more interconnected and networked. And the network itself is beginning to light up with the awareness of the emerging global systemic risks that we face.” Collectively, we are waking up to the fact that we no longer have control over the technology-driven global economy and its effects. “The think tanks, foundations, banks, and Booz Allens of the world are lighting up with the motivation to do something about what is happening,” he continues. “And because of their motivation, their ability to move capital markets and to move resources, they will help to light up the rest of the network.”