Systems Thinking Will Not Save Us
Summary
Zainab Kabba argues that understanding complexity matters, but uncritically centring systems thinking risks becoming a dangerous distraction. Five conditions of how systems work – among them that systems are not neutral, complexity masks power, and knowledge without action is paralysis – expose what current leadership lacks. Kabba proposes leadership as an everyday practice rooted in ethics, reflexivity, responsibility and courage.
Rationale
The jab at desk-chair theorising lands on us too: 150 works read, a framework drawn. Our reply matches Kabba’s: act on informed hunches before the maps are complete.
✳ This entry was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed before publishing. See Rights.