A Leader's Framework for Decision Making
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by David J. Snowden and Mary E. Boone
Many executives are surprised when previously successful leadership approaches fail in new situations, but different contexts call for different kinds of responses. Before addressing a situation, leaders need to recognize which context governs it—and tailor their actions accordingly.
Snowden and Boone have formed a new perspective on leadership and decision making that’s based on complexity science. The result is the Cynefin framework, which helps executives sort issues into five contexts:
- Simple
- Complicated
- Complex
- Chaotic
- Disorder