Today’s insights are brought to you by my colleague and leadership thinker, Keith Coats.
In uncertain times, leaders often search for better tools.
Better models, faster plans, smarter frameworks.
But sometimes our biggest shift isn’t what we do.
It’s how we see.
And right now, that matters more than ever.
In one of his recent reflections, Keith said this:
“There is ‘us’ and then there is the ‘them’ – the ‘other’.”
It’s a powerful read. And absolutely vital – especially for those of us in leadership.
We “other” all the time without meaning to.
We make sense of the world by splitting it into categories.
By seeing:
- the doers vs the blockers
- the execs vs the frontline
- our team vs that team
- me vs them
But complexity doesn’t care for labels.
Leading in complexity requires inner work.
In Keith’s Embracing Uncertainty workshop, he explores four capacities leaders need to thrive today:
- SEE – Step onto the balcony and scan for what’s emerging at the edge
- DECIPHER – Ask questions that help you (and your team) make sense of chaos
- PREPARE – Build adaptive intelligence by unlearning old assumptions
- RELEASE – Honour the emotional cost of change, especially for others
But here’s what might surprise you:
The most important work? It’s in your worldview.
It’s being able to ask yourself:
- Who am I “othering” right now?
- How might that be affecting how I lead?
- What might change if I chose to see myself in them?
Because there is no “them”. There’s only us.
If this resonates with you, it might be time to rework the conversation in your exec team or leadership cohort.
These insights that come from a recent session Keith led for senior executives in CNEXT’s Generate Program – a global leadership initiative that connects rising leaders with wisdom from experienced CEOs.
CNEXT generously shared the session summary with us and were also happy for us to share it with our community, knowing that the themes are highly relevant to the leadership challenges many of our clients are navigating right now.
Want to bring this thinking to your leaders?
👉 Contact us here and we’ll send you more information on what you can expect for your team from a leadership session similar to this.
Keith Coats is a founding partner of TomorrowToday Global and leadership thinker. He works with blue-chip companies and in multiple business school leadership programmes worldwide, helping senior leaders prepare today for the challenges and threats of tomorrow… and sometimes, the ‘day after tomorrow’.
Keith is based in South Africa, but presents globally, with recent travel including working throughout the UK, the USA, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, and, of course, South Africa.