The Systems Leader: Mastering the Cross Pressures That Make or Break Today’s Companies

The business world is in a constant state of disruption. Leaders are constantly caught between “cross pressures,” or contradictory demands, according to Robert Siegel, a lecturer at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and venture partner at Piva and general partner at XSeed Capital. Examples of cross pressures include the need to succeed at both execution and innovation, the imperative to project both strength and humility, and the need to focus both internally and externally. So, what is the answer to these conflicting tensions? Siegel prescribes “systems leadership,” a framework he developed with Jeff Immelt, former CEO of General Electric. An alternative to both top-down command-and-control thinking and disruptive, Silicon Valley-style leadership, it offers a holistic, interdisciplinary path to figuring out the right things to do and accomplishing goals consistently. For Social Capital leaders looking for a way forward, Siegel is an inspiring guide.