How to lead?

Statesmanship for the wicked problems

A possible leadership model for Industry 4.0 and 5.0 is that which for example Mats Agurén looks at in his PhD thesis Matrix Mind. His view is that in order to mitigate the effects and to be able to partially solve the wicked problems, a leadership inspired by statesmanship will be needed and this is maybe the most demanding form of leadership.

• It involves the ability to listen and communicate at the same time as you try to solve problems and lead. The ability to communicate is central.

• To be able to handle several parallel problems at once, judge where different problem areas are heading and how they will influence each other.

• Have a vision. You need to be able to see further into the future than others. This is about longer time perspectives, at least 10-20 years into the future. This is a desirable characteristic especially among senior managers.

• Realise limits and be realistic. It is not possible to achieve everything. Do a plausibility analysis.