The Peter Lougheed Leadership Development Institute, an important node in a global network

As The Banff Centre moves into an exciting new phase with redefining their leadership development program and adopting the name, Peter Lougheed Leadership Development Institute, it is important to recognize and acknowledge that the Internet has changed the way we think and therefore changed the way we lead. Our epistemology (the way we know what we know) is different. In the 21st century we have shifted from being primarily sequential thinkers to being connected, collaborative, networked thinkers. Networked thinking is a new literacy, which needs to be a part of all leadership development.

When we received a large percentage of information by reading ink on paper the sequencing was clear. We knew the route from A to B. If we were in the western world the sequence was left to right, top to bottom. If we were in Asia or the Arab world the orientation was not the same as in the West but we still maintained whatever sequence had been established as our cultural norm. Our world was a world where ambiguities and anomalies tended to be few and far between.

Then along came the hyperlink and the Internet, forcing us to change the way we think. The hyperlink blew sequencing out of the water. We can now leap from one information location, concept or form of documentation to another instantly and in any order! The ramification of the hyperlink is that information and communication can take many different forms and routes from the point of origin to the person receiving the message.

If two of us are passing a message from one to the other there are only two combinations of originator and recipient. The message could travel, from me to you or from you to me. If we have twelve people sitting in a circle where each of us can only pass a message to the person sitting beside us there would be 24 possible combinations of originator and recipient. This is the model in a chain of command system. However, let’s reconsider the connections in our circle if anyone of the 12 people could be the originator and any other person in the circle could be the recipient. In other words, lets consider what would happen if all 12 people were hyperlinked. There would be 479,001,600 routing possibilities (the mathematical notation for this is 12!). No wonder leadership in the 21st century often feels like an overwhelming task; no wonder we have had to reconfigure how we approach leadership.  

In 2015 leading is akin to being a node in a network. We are a hub, rather than a position on a totem pole. Collaborative, networked leading and learning need to be the new norms. This means that an important aspect of leadership development involves learning how to navigate networks, learning how to plan by taking networks into consideration, and learning how to benefit from networks. Organizations need to recognize and understand the power of networks both f2f (face to face) networks and digital networks. Learning to navigate networks will take a great deal of energy and rethinking. I look forward to seeing the role the Peter Lougheed Leadership Development Institute will play in responding to the challenges posed by networks.

Exciting, dynamic changes are afoot as The Banff Centre embraces the, Peter Lougheed Leadership Development Institute, and its new role as an important node in a global network of innovation and leadership.

Maureen Crawford, is the Leadership Development Consultant for Edmonton Public Schools and an alumnus of The Banff Centre Leadership Development program. She is in the process of writing a thesis for her Master of Arts in Communication Technology from the University of Alberta exploring the impact of personal learning networks (PLN) on the acquisition of leadership competencies.

Her Twitter handle is @jmc3ualberta and she blogs at maureen.crawford.com