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Student: Sining Liang

The article review:

Understanding contextual intelligence: a critical competency for today’s leaders

Authors: Matthew R. Kutz & Anita Bamford-Wade

Cite: Understanding contextual Intelligence: A critical competency for Today’s leaders E: CO Issue Vol. 15 No.3 2013 pp. 55-80

Introduction

The title of the article is that understanding contextual intelligence: a critical competency for today’s leaders. It was written by Matthew and Anita. It was published in Emergence: Complexity and Organization, vol.15 No.3 2013. This article is mainly about the critical competence is important for today’s leaders. The authors described the critical competence from contextual intelligence which extends the non-Newtonian-based leadership paradigms as the background knowledge, tacit-based learning, synchronicity and innovation, and time orientation to tell us today’s leaders should own these competencies. In the whole article, the authors found and used many theories and numbers to support their views. When they used a new idea, they always reported the original theory and then used “in other word” to introduce the theory as a simple words which can easily be understood by readers. At the first the article, the authors negated the old style management. In their mind, the old style doesn’t find the volatile and dynamic contexts of the relationship of leaders and followers. The leaders always use the same model to manage the group. Although there are some people have use the taxonomies to present, it difficult for leaders to decide how to apply leadership theories.

 For the whole article, the authors wanted to tell readers the contextual intelligence which extends non-Newtonian-based leadership paradigms by integrating the principles of tacit knowledge, synchronicity, and time orientation that offer the practitioner outcomes that can immediately impact performance. In this article review, I will introduce the new theory in the paper, and then connect some interesting facts which was occurrence in China to improve the new theory is very important to today’s leaders.

Summary

 This article is as the non-Newtonian as the basic theory, so at the first, they introduced what is the non-Newtonian paradigms. They first told us what the Newtonian-based paradigm is. It rests in the notion of law-abiding, stable, and predictable outcomes. The Newtonian-based paradigm is very useful in our life, so the non-Newtonian-based paradigms are explained as chaos theory and complexity theory. Everything in the non-Newtonian-based paradigms is randomness and disorganization. The Chaos theory tells that not all processes can be determined. It includes “phase transition” which is a place of existence somewhere between stability and predictability and anarchy and dimness. The phase transition is instable and uncomfortable, and can be understood as a temporarily moving into a stage of bibulous identity without fully knowing what new identity the transition will bring. There is another concept is “double-loop”. It requires on to be acutely aware of and tuned into sudden changes in the overall environment. The second is complexity theory, which is framed around the dynamic ability of adaptive systems. The complex systems require both an internal and external analysis as whole. The organization is a complex and chaos unit. Non-Newtonian paradigms implied the understanding of leadership as a behavior and response of everyone throughout the organization and not only relegated to those in leadership or systems’ positions. In the Non-Newtonian based environment, many things cannot be prediction. On the contextual intelligence, this paradigm implied how hierarchal and organized systems are perceived both internal and externally people. After the background theory, the authors began to introduce the different elements which today’s leaders should have.