Systemic Intelligence is the Leadership Skill You’re Missing. Here are 4 Ways to Start Honing It.
Strategy is important, and structure is necessary, but without systemic intelligence, even the best plans will stall.
by Tony MartignettiFast Company Daily
Organizations look structured and logical from the outside – boxes and lines, reporting relationships, KPIs, and performance frameworks.
But walk into any real meeting, and you’ll sense it: side glances, shifting energy, people going silent when one voice enters the room, unexplained resistance to change, and power dynamics no slide deck could predict.
That’s not just dysfunction. That’s the system speaking, and most leaders aren’t listening.
That is why we need something called systemic intelligence. Systemic intelligence is the capacity to sense and respond to the invisible forces shaping an organization’s behaviour, culture, and outcomes.
It’s not about titles or tactics. It’s about understanding:
- The unspoken agreements that guide behaviour
- The loyalties people carry – to past leaders, ideas, or roles
- The emotional undercurrents in teams and across departments
- The patterns of inclusion and exclusion that shape decision-making
- The stories that are being told, and the ones that aren’t
If emotional intelligence helps you understand individuals, systemic intelligence enables you to understand relationships, fields, and patterns. It’s what allows a leader to walk into a room and feel the temperature, not just the metrics, but the mood of an organization.
Why This Matters More than Ever
The modern workplace is in flux. Hybrid work, generational shifts, AI transformation, and rising emotional exhaustion reveal how fragile many organizational systems are.
Furthermore, only 27% of employees believe their company’s values align with how work actually gets done. Most strategies fail not because they are wrong but because they are disconnected from the reality of the system they are trying to move. If leaders don’t learn to see the system, they will be ruled by forces they don’t understand.
A Moment That Changed Everything
I once worked with a leadership team navigating the aftermath of a merger. They had a new vision, a reorg plan, and a glossy set of PowerPoint decks.
But something was stuck. Meetings were tense. Morale was low. Alignment felt forced. So, we paused the strategy session and held a story circle.
One leader finally voiced what everyone else had been feeling: “I still feel loyalty to our former CEO. We never really said goodbye. And it feels like we’re not allowed to grieve the culture we lost.”
In that moment, something shifted. What emerged wasn’t just emotion; it was clarity. The energy in the room softened, and trust began to rebuild. The team could finally move forward – not by pushing harder, but by acknowledging what had been in the system all along. What you don’t name, you can’t shift.
The S.E.E.N. Framework for Systemic Intelligence
Systemic intelligence isn’t about having special powers. It’s about cultivating a new kind of leadership presence that’s attuned to what’s happening beneath the surface.
You don’t develop this awareness by accident. You create it by practicing small but powerful shifts in observing, listening, and engaging with your organization as a living, breathing system.
To help leaders begin, I use a simple guide: “S.E.E.N.” It’s a reminder that before you can shape a system, you must first learn to see it.
How to Start Seeing the System
You don’t need to become a therapist. You just need to become more attuned to the emotional undercurrents, unspoken dynamics, and patterns shaping your team. Here are a few ways to begin:
- Host Campfire Conversations. Create spaces where stories – not just updates – can be shared. Start with: “Tell us about a moment that shaped your connection to this organization.”
- Bring in Outside Eyes. Artists, facilitators, systemic coaches, or organizational psychologists can help visualize dynamics your team may be too close to see.
- Use Visual Mapping. Ask: “What’s the formal structure? What’s the informal one? Who’s at the centre of decisions, and who’s on the margins?”
- Slow the Agenda. Build in white space. Let emotion, silence, or discomfort have a seat at the table. Intelligence lives in the spaces we’re often too quick to fill.
Most leaders try to fix what they can see. But true leadership begins by learning to sense what you can’t.
Strategy is important, and structure is necessary, but without systemic intelligence, even the best plans will stall. Because what’s unacknowledged gets acted out, and what’s seen can finally start to shift.
So, the next time your team feels stuck, ask yourself: “What’s really going on here? What’s in the system that no one is naming?”
That question might be your most strategic move yet.
About the Author
Tony Martignetti is the chief inspiration officer at Inspired Purpose Partners, where he advises leaders to stay grounded in chaotic times. He is the best-selling author of Climbing the Right Mountain: Navigating the Journey to An Inspired Life and Campfire Lessons for Leaders: How Uncovering Our Past Can Propel Us Forward.
Contents of this article remain the property of the author and/or publisher.