A review of the book \u2018The Art of Heroic Leadership\u2019 by Zulfikar M.\nRachman and Ahmad Mukhlis Yusuf offers a unique perspective on\nleadership. Rather than focusing on how to become a great leader, this\nthree-hundred-page volume begins with something leaders often avoid:\nblindness to themselves and the systems in which they operate. The full\ntitle, \u2018The Art of Heroic Leadership: From Systemic Blindness to\nTrustworthy Shared Action\u2019, sets the authors\u2019 direction. Leadership is\nnot primarily understood as the ability to command, make decisions, or\nproduce performance, but as a journey from an inability to see towards\ntrustworthy collective action.<\/p>\n
This idea is vital because the modern organisational world faces\ninterconnected challenges. Economic decisions can impact social trust,\ntechnological shifts can alter both labour and human identity, and\npolitical conflicts can evolve into economic and humanitarian crises.\nWithin an organisation, a decision that appears successful in one\ndepartment may create problems in another. The book views this not\nmerely as a matter of complexity, but as a leadership issue. The problem\nis not simply whether a leader is capable of acting, but whether they\nare capable of seeing what is actually happening and understanding the\nconsequences of their actions.<\/p>\n
This is where the concept of \u2018systemic blindness\u2019 serves as a crucial\nentry point. A leader operates within a system that possesses its own\nhistory, power structures, incentives, habits, expectations, and\nrelationships between actors. Because they are part of that system,\nstructural issues often appear to be individual problems. Consequently,\nleaders tend to fix visible symptoms while the underlying patterns that\ngenerate the problems continue to persist. The book even demonstrates\nthat actions taken with good intentions can still produce undesirable\nresults when the perception of the system remains partial.<\/p>\n
Such a view serves as a critique of a management culture that relies\ntoo heavily on execution. For decades, organisations have built\nincreasingly sophisticated execution capabilities. Strategies are more\nmeasurable, incentive systems are more structured, data is more\navailable, and performance is easier to monitor. However, the ability to\nexecute well does not inherently make an organisation healthier. In\nfact, according to the book, highly disciplined execution can magnify\nerrors when the underlying framework of thinking is flawed. Execution\ndoes not correct perception; in certain circumstances, execution may\nactually accelerate and expand the limitations of that perception.<\/p>\n
At this point, the book poses a more fundamental question: what must\nleadership become before its actions can be trusted? This question\nshifts leadership from the realm of competence to the realm of\nresponsibility. A leader is not only responsible for what they intend,\nbut also for what their actions produce. Thus, good intentions are no\nlonger a sufficient measure of leadership morality. What must also be\nconsidered are the consequences that follow once a decision is made.\nLeadership becomes a form of accountability toward the lives touched by\nthose decisions.<\/p>\n
The book\u2019s narrative is built through three major movements: Descent,\nRe-Formation, and Widening. \u2018Descent\u2019 brings the leader down from\npotentially premature self-confidence toward a willingness to see both\nthe system and themselves. \u2018Re-Formation\u2019 is the process of rebuilding\nthe foundation from which one acts. Finally, \u2018Widening\u2019 moves this\ntransformation from the individual to the collective space. Thus,\nleadership transformation does not stop at personal change; individual\nawareness must find a social form to become shared, actionable\npractice.<\/p>\n
Here, the concept of \u2018self blindspot\u2019 acts as a partner to \u2018system\nblindspot\u2019. Humans never view a system from the outside; they view it\nthrough themselves. Therefore, the limitations of the system and the\nlimitations of the self reinforce one another. A leader unable to\nrecognise their own internal state may misread the system. Conversely,\nan invisible system can reinforce the reactions and limitations within\nthe individual. The book serves as a reminder that leadership is\nultimately exercised by humans, not by titles, strategic frameworks, or\nmanagement tools.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/when-leadership-must-learn-to-see-1789121238", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }