��Leadership Operating Systems�The Hidden Logic That Drives Decision-Making�David A. Lowry MD, MBA

��Leadership Operating Systems�The Hidden Logic That Drives Decision-Making�David A. Lowry MD, MBA

��Let’s Talk About Leadership��What is leadership?�How many of you are leaders?�Who is the most important person to lead?�Who is the most difficult person to lead?�Where does leadership begin?�

���Leadership is the ability to influence thought and behavior��Leadership begins with self-awareness��

���Leadership Operating Systems��Every leader has an internal decision-making framework��

���A Leadership Operating System is Defined by Decision Logic���The conscious and unconscious rules used to process information and choose a course of action���

���Everyone Has Their Own Distinct Operating System��There are several recurring archetypes that serve as the template for all operating systems��There are many dialects and accents but they all stem from a relatively few language families

���We Will Focus on Three Leadership Operating Systems��The Analytical Independent Operating System��The Collaborative Decisive Operating System��The Principled Self Control Operating System

���The Analytical Independent Leadership Operating System��What do you do when you believe you are right ….��but everyone else believes you are wrong?�����

COVID Monoclonal Antibody Therapy��

���Making Sense of Ambiguity and��Making Consequential Decisions….�� Before Certainty Arrives

The Battle of Chancellorsville�Virginia-May 1863�A case study in decision logic and execution under pressure

�May 2, 1863�Generals Lee and Jackson Meet and Issue Orders….��Retreat���

Colonel Thomas Kenan�Commander - 43^rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment�II Corps-Army of Northern Virginia��

�Battle of Chancellorsville�A Window into the Mind of General Thomas Jackson�An Analytical Independent Leader����

General Thomas Jackson

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�� Analytical Independent Operating System Decision Logic��Knowledge Creates Advantage�Challenge Conventional Wisdom�Seek Asymmetric Opportunities�Act Decisively Once Enough is Known�Stay Calm Under Pressure�Analysis Must Lead to Action

��Analytical Independent Operating System Behavior���Cognitive Mastery�Strategic Information Control�Decisive execution�Autonomous Decision Authority�

���The Analytical Independent Leadership Operating System is Most Valuable When….��Uncertainty is High�Expertise Matters�Time is Limited�Failure is Costly�No Established Playbook Exists

�The Analytical Independent Leadership Operating System��Where is it Used Today?

���There is No Best Operating System�

����The Traits That Create Success in One Environment….��Can Become Liabilities in Another�

�Battle of Chancellorsville�May 2, 1863�9 pm�

����The Same Operating System that Created Jackson’s Success During the Day�Contributed to his Vulnerability at Night����The battlefield was confused….The lines were uncertain….Visibility was diminished���The Environment had Changed

The Collaborative Decisive Leadership Operating System��How do you create alignment�build commitment �and �move forward together?

General Dwight Eisenhower�Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe�WW2�Collaborative Decisive Leadership Operating System

���How did Eisenhower create alignment and move everyone forward using the Collaborative Decisive Operating System?���He aligned everyone around a common mission��He did not amplify conflict-He absorbed conflict��He sought commitment….not compliance.

• ���Decision Logic of the Collaborative Decisive Leadership Operating System��Align around a shared purpose�Assume that risk exists-assess it thoroughly�Use analysis to enable the best decision-not to prevent action�Seek diverse perspectives to improve judgment�Clarify who decides and who is accountable�When the needs of the mission outweigh the remaining risk-ACT�Place mission above personal preference�Seek alignment-not perfection���

��When is the Collaborative Decisive Operating System Most Useful?��This system excels in environments characterized by:��Complexity�Need for expertise�Shared governance�Multiple Stakeholders�Time is not a critical factor

�����What organizations are best suited for the Collaborative Decisive Leadership Operating System?��

���Overstretched Decision Logic ��Nothing can happen until everyone agrees�Consensus replaces leadership-no one decides�Compromise dilutes the mission�Relationship become more than important the results�The need for alignment supersedes difficult discussions �

��

����Collaboration is important but collaboration alone is not enough��In failure mode, consensus can become paralysis��When critical risks arise, leaders must be willing to decide, act and accept the cost of doing what is right��

�General George Washington�The Principled Self Control Leadership Operating System

���The Principled Self Control Leadership Operating System��How do I do the right thing� when it is difficult, unpopular or personally costly?��

�The Decision Logic of the Principled Self Control Leadership Operating System��Mission before self�Honor standards and process�Protect long-term integrity over short-term gain�Let principles guide decisions�Model the discipline you expect from others�Exercise authority with humility�Adapt methods without abandoning values�Leave the institution stronger than you found it��

���Failure Mode of the Principled Self Control Leadership Operating System��Discipline becomes rigidity�Ethical certainty becomes self-righteousness�Innovation is rejected just because it’s new�Risk avoidance and preservation of the status quo creates stagnation�Institutional loyalty prevents necessary change�Policy becomes more important than purpose��

�����Most Healthcare Leaders Spend most of Their Time in the Collaborative Decisive Space Aligning��But there are Moments When a Leader Must Stand Alone�������

������What Environment is Best Suited for the Principled Self Control Leadership Operating System?����

���Failure Mode of the Principled Self Control Leadership Operating System��Discipline becomes rigidity�Ethical certainty becomes self-righteousness�Innovation is rejected just because it’s new�Risk avoidance and preservation of the status quo creates stagnation�Institutional loyalty prevents necessary change�Policy becomes more important than purpose��

�The Finish Line

��Where does this leave us?��The Analytical Independent Leader asks:�“What does the evidence tell me”?��The Collaborative Decisive Leader asks:�“How do we build alignment and then act”?��The Principled Self Control Leader asks:�“What is the right thing to do and do I have the discipline to do it”?

����Each Operating System is valuable��Each can create extraordinary results��Each can fail��

���The goal is not to master one operating system and use it everywhere��� recognize your primary operating system�understand its strengths and limitations�know your team and leverage their strengths�Know the environment� know when a different operating system is required��

���The greatest leadership failures rarely occur because the leader lacks strengths and abilities��Failures occur when the leader ��doesn’t understand their operating system�overextends its decision logic�fails to recognize when the environment has changed �fail to adapt to a changed environment ��

���The Question for Each of Us is Not��“What kind of leader am I”?��The Better Question is��“What Kind of Leadership Does This Moment Require”?����