The Leadership Qualities That Make Systems Thinking Stick: Insights from our 2025 conference: The System Is the Strategy
- Cosmic Centaurs
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
During our 6th edition of the Cosmic Conference, we explored systems thinking not as a conceptual exercise, but as a lived leadership practice. As conversations unfolded across disciplines, sectors, and geographies, one question kept returning:
What does a leader need to develop, personally, to nurture systems thinking over time?
Rather than theorizing an answer, we asked each speaker directly. Some responded with a clear leadership quality, others with a skill or mindset closely tied to leadership development. Together, their responses offer a grounded picture of what systems thinking asks of leaders.
Honesty, Humility & Inner Grounding
“The leadership quality most needed to nurture systems thinking is…”
“Kindness and honesty. You need to tell what is really going on”
— Sander Hoeken, Co-Founder of The Fearless Organization Scan & Founder of CellSpace
“Persistence and humility”
— Dr. Laura Cabrera, Co-Founder of the Cabrera Research Lab & Professor at Cornell University
“Humility”
— Dr. Derek Cabrera, Co-Founder of the Cabrera Research Lab & Professor at Cornell University
“Intentionality”
— Daniel Delati, Managing Partner at 360 Consulting
Systems thinking is nurtured by leaders who are grounded enough to face reality honestly, acknowledge limits, and act with intention.
Curiosity, Attention & Sense-Making
“The leadership quality most needed to nurture systems thinking is…”
“Self-awareness and genuine curiosity. Understanding how you show up”
— Marilyn Zakhour, CEO of Cosmic Centaurs
“Curiosity”
— Rawan Albina, Leadership & Wellbeing Academies Director at Chalhoub Group
— Mazuba Haanyama, Independent Consultant
— Imad Lahad, Global Chair for AI & Intelligence at APCO
Leaders who nurture systems thinking remain open, attentive, and willing to question their own assumptions.
Patience, Ambiguity & Emotional Range
“The leadership quality most needed to nurture systems thinking is…”
“Negative capability: the ability to remain steady in uncertainty, ambiguity, and doubt"
— Wissam Adib, Executive Coach and Advisor
“Patience”: ask not how, but who
— Dhiren Bhatia, Entrepreneur, Coach & Founder of Cloudscape Technologies
Systems thinking requires staying present with uncertainty rather than rushing to fix or over-structure.
Observation, Listening & Relational Awareness
“The leadership quality most needed to nurture systems thinking is…”
“The ability to observe what is invisible and intangible”, especially interactions and time
— José Santos, Professor of Practice in Global Management at INSEAD
“To listen, to be humorous, and to encourage while challenging”
— José-Rodrigo Córdoba-Pachón, Associate Professor at Royal Holloway, University of London
Leadership as relational awareness: noticing dynamics, listening deeply, and creating psychological space for systems to surface themselves.
Discipline
“The leadership quality most needed to nurture systems thinking is…”
“Discipline: staying the course when results are not immediate”
— Stoyan Yankov, Productivity & Performance Consultant
Systems thinking matures when leaders remain disciplined and committed beyond short-term cycles.
What emerges across these perspectives
Taken together, these responses point to leadership as a practice, not a posture. Systems thinking is nurtured through behaviors that are repeated, embodied, and sustained over time.
In that sense, systems thinking is not introduced through frameworks alone. It is reinforced through how leaders show up, day after day.
This is the second rapid fire question explored with our speakers at The 2025 Cosmic Conference: The System is the Strategy . Together with What an Effective Systems Look Like, The Mindset Leaders Need When Leading Systems, and Systems Thinking Tools Leaders Actually Use, speakers shared quick answers to what it takes to design, lead, and evolve systems that perform under pressure.
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