our beliefs

To effectively respond to external challenges in today’s VUCA world (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity), leaders of the future must: be able to make good decisions in the midst of ambiguity; be highly self-aware and equally conscious of the system in which they operate; tell the difference between a problem to be solved and a paradox to be managed; and, adapt at pace without losing their ethical compass.

‘Excellence’ is no longer an individual sport, but one that requires teams and communities, so leaders must also be proficient at building strong social capital and harnessing collective wisdom in the service of organisational goals.  

In all our leadership development programs, Tomorrow Architects seeks to foster wisdom rather than mere knowledge for a profound learning experience. This transforms the operating systems of our leadership, rather than just tweaking the software of our thoughts and actions.

Organisations can no longer be guided by the metaphor of machine work in static environments where technical solutions come from topdown expertise. In this structure, people play another cog in the machine, staying within their remit without really needing to think for themselves.

We are moving into territory where we don’t have pre-existing solutions to keep the machine running. A machine that’s well-oiled is not enough. To thrive, the machine must transform into a living organism that can continuously sense their surrounding environments and adapt to changing conditions.

The role of people, then, would be ‘sensing nodes’, a collective intelligence that senses into the organisation's needs, experiments and creates adaptations. The leader's role is to create cultures that give permission and agency to the nodes, regardless of their positional authority.

The adaptive challenges we’re facing are beyond any one leader’s capacity to solve. They require collective intelligence, which means ongoing innovation from cross-pollinating ideas and perspectives. Teams must work dynamically together to create collective outcomes that its members in aggregate could not generate. This is a world in which one plus one begins to equal 3, 4 and 5.

At Tomorrow Architects, we emphasise the ingredients of highly synergistic teams in our work with leaders and their teams by: building a bedrock of what Amy Edmondson calls ‘psychological safety’; harnessing diversity and fostering inclusion; and, mastering the subtle art of dialogue whereby the friction from diverse perspectives becomes a force for creativity rather than dysfunction.

Extensive research has shown a massive shift in the worldviews of the workforce, particularly among Millennials and Gen Z. Today, employee motivation isn’t just job security, a good salary and long-term career advancement prospects, but also autonomy, mastery, meaningful relationships, a deep sense of purpose, and the ability to contribute earlier than the traditional corporate ladder would allow.

Organisations with more traditional cultures and approaches to employee development risk worrisome attrition rates and ward off talent. We must deeply rethink: what does it take to sustainably create the capable and engaged workforce of tomorrow? That includes re-thinking learning and leadership development – shifting from INformation for technical capability in a complicated environment to TRANSformation for adaptive leadership capability in increasingly complex environments.

Effective learning programs of the future are no longer mere tools for short-term skills-building. Rather, it focuses on intellectually and emotionally compelling experiences that deepen relationships and foster transformation in the service of long-term personal and organisational goals.