Johan Ivari

Background

About Johan Ivari

Some of my current, more or less temporary, beliefs: 1. Losing formal authority has made me a better leader—compelled to pay closer attention to subtle cues and to recognize that I’m only useful when making meaningful contributions within a specific context. Leadership is a social process that provides focus, enabling individuals and organizations to integrate and maximize their resources in order to accomplish a common aim, task, or solve a problem. A generative culture emerges where tensions between attentions foster emergent integration and outcomes. Lack of trust is like driving with the handbrake on—wasting energy while crawling forward. Destructive behaviours do not arise in a vacuum; they are seldom the result of a single person's actions. Reflecting on our own role before labelling others is perhaps the most responsible and noble contribution each of us can make. Like Fifty Shades of Grey, the truth is rarely black or white. Be responsible and challenge one-dimensional reasoning, even when it’s difficult or unpopular. Additionally, remain humble and open to recognizing your own framing and biases. When planning, shift focus from the product (the plan) to the process. The purpose of planning is to marinate you and your team in a context. Agility requires agency and ownership. Overemphasizing leaders, managers, or HR infantilizes teams. As Mary Parker Follett observed—the situation commands. Become a 'chef of life.' While a chef can follow a recipe, someone who rigidly adheres to recipes without considering the context is not truly a chef. In short, prepare to handle the unexpected rather than trying to anticipate it. Never stop learning—our ability to unlearn and re-learn anew is the metabolism of survival, driving novelty and progress. There is something to learn/unlearn in every single dialogue—embrace the glorious complexity of life!