Not knowing

As soon as you seem to know ‘it’ – a cause or a solution – you either take or not take certain turns. In doing so, you immediately shut out a part of reality: you do not need to look there anymore!

An important skill for the systemic leader is to NOT decide for as long as possible. Not until you have seen everything. Because then the system will show you where to go; all you have to do is follow.

This skill is the skill of Not Knowing. It invites you to be neutral and to let go of your judgement as much as possible. It causes you to delay or even refrain from acting. It opens a space, as it were, in which everything is contained: all the good reasons that make a situation the way it is. This way you will discover all the possible solutions that could help to move the situation along.

Not Knowing is not something you do by yourself, you also do this by making sure that the fact we do not know is visible, and by asking others to accept this. And by trusting that the answer will present itself.

As the leader of a team, Not Knowing can be quite the challenge. You have a function that is connected with the team. You have an interest, and more than likely an opinion. And then the systemic leadership asks you to be neutral!

However, by Not Knowing you create space to explore other perspectives, and listen to everyone, rather than (once again) taking a turn that is all too familiar for you. With time, space, patience, waiting and reflection other information is released with which you can take a sustainable next step.