Temre Green PhD

I have been working in the adaptive leadership space and its intersection with complexity for over 13 years now. I love helping clients navigate the system tension they experience at an individual, team and an organisational level. In complex environments, like the ones my clients work in, the most effective leaders aren’t just decision makers. They’re tension managers.  In adaptive leadership there are so many polarities that make this type of work hard to do. Polarities are a set of interdependent opposite poles that both matter — like breathing in and breathing out.. They define each other – You can’t exhale with an inhale, and you can’t have strategy without execution. In helping organisations make progress on the big wicked problems or adaptive challenges it requires leadership to be mindful about the many polarities to manage, not solve. These polarities might include: 1.     Leadership And Authority 2.     Stability And Change 3.     Technical Work And Adaptive Work 4.     What to Hold Onto And What To Let Go Of 5.     Protecting People and Exposing People to Discomfort 6.     Being on the Balcony and The Dancefloor 7.     Having radical Optimism And Brutal Realism 8.     Preserving Core Values And Adapting Values Our natural preference is to focus on one more than the other but in complexity that doesn’t work. We need to learn to navigate the tension between both and harness the best of both poles. This article talks about why great leadership lives in the Both/And. https://lnkd.in/g7XxFiTK

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Brilliant insights in our new 2026 Performance Management report by my colleague Zac Upchurch. See which design choices had the greatest impacts on perceived effectiveness, how execution weakness undermines success and how AI is being used (if at all). Download the complete report for free now at https://lnkd.in/end6PZaC

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This is the week we launch our Irrational Change Agent Bootcamp ... the ultimate resource for any Change Agent (or Leader of Change). It is something we have poured our heart and soul into, sharing what we use in our own advisory practice and decades of experience as practitioners and behavioural engineers. I promised cheesy videos all week and here goes. The most asked question we get: What makes this Bootcamp different? There was so much to choose from. I picked four 1. Rigour in our approach. We are data obsessed, science and evidence informed, but also grounded deeply in being applied practitioners. But, we recognise that science doesn't have all the answers, so undertake our own research in our practice, across a wide range of sectors and geographies. Where results are repeatable and effective, we codify and include them in our Bootcamp, so that you can use them with confidence. 2. External Radar What is happening outside your change, that messy, political, capacity constrained context, often has the most impact on the likely success of your change. We give you the tools, techniques and tactics to assess the environment external to your change, and if you have the appetite, change the context, or system you are working within to create a fertile ground for change to happen. We don't always get what we need, so we give you easy to use tactics to change the conversation and reframe expectations of what is possible. The sooner you spot the impact, and shift the conversation, the better. 3. Tribal Dynamics The sources of our motivation and choices are very different as an individual, and when we are at work. Behavioural science focuses on the individual, we look wider at the system and social structures that inform our choices. We use the predictable dynamics of tribes and their behaviour to assess and navigate complex political landscapes, working smarter, not harder. Expect to find tools that identify and predict the tribal behaviour, and techniques which break down silos and barriers, create collaboration and speed up decision making. 4. Leadership is the #1 driver of organisational behaviour change Few will argue with us on this point. It is one we all know too well. We give you the tools, techniques and confidence to assess and build the conviction, capability and capacity in your Change Leaders. Gain comfort in structuring a change stategy that focuses on harnessing the primary driver of changing behaviour; your leaders. Create the space, and learn the techniques that will transform your practice, and the outcomes you create. There is so much more. If you do the same things, you will get the same outcomes. It is time to think, believe and dare to do differently. Link to the Bootcamp is in the comments. What are you waiting for?

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As a leader, one of the hardest lessons I’ve learned is that comfort and progress rarely coexist. When things start changing, markets, teams, technology our instinct is often to hold on tightly to what we know. But leadership isn’t about preservation; it’s about navigation. Over the years, I’ve realised that change doesn’t need to be feared, it needs to be understood and led. The businesses that thrive aren’t the biggest or the loudest; they’re the ones that move with intention when everyone else hesitates. When I started in business, I didn’t have the experience or the rulebook. What I did have was the willingness to adapt, to learn, and to keep steering forward even when the road wasn’t clear. That mindset has shaped every chapter since. Real leadership isn’t about avoiding uncertainty, it’s about giving your people confidence through it. Because when you drive change with purpose, you don’t just survive disruption… you set the direction for others to follow. #leadership #businessgrowth #changeleadership #mindset

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Great session on for-purpose governance yesterday with Institute of Directors in New Zealand - including Dan Te Whenua Walker proving again why I admire him so much. Key themes: - co-leadership is an emerging trend, with one panelist describing an organisation with join chairs and joint CEOs. Could this be a governance structure that has succession built-in? I’m intrigued to find out more. - relationship building is essential, especially for the strategic and cultural work that boards need to do. But often for-purpose organisations are run by busy volunteers and time is at a premium, and socialising goes by the wayside. Chairs and boards need to make a strong case for the habits that humanise, and enable real relationships to grow. Thanks to IoD for trialling a new, more interactive format. I really liked it and I think the others at my table did too. This session reminded me of training I did some time ago with the Art of Hosting and Harvesting Conversations That Matter, work that I need to revisit. A key insight I got back then was simply this: “Relationships are infrastructure” Just as much as pipes or cables, relationships take time to assemble and once established can build strong momentum. Good words. A lot to live up to.

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This is my recent response to a question on dealing with complexity in the Company Director Magazine. Feedback welcome. Summary for those without access: 1 - Embrace complexity as threat and opportunity. 2 - A different mindset - wrestling with complex decision-making calls for a mindset dedicated to continuous learning through experimentation. 3 - Build a fast-learning loop consisting of piloting new ideas, then learning and applying the outcome. Hire this way, strategise this way, negotiate commercial contracts this way.... 4 - The success of a strategy hinges on understanding how groups of people will respond to an input. Prioritise understanding the perspective of people with a role in your success. Start with your workforce and leadership. 5 - Strategise in real time - The days of annual “batch processing” strategy, 1980s-style, and expecting remarkable results are gone. Transition to real-time reflection and learning at board and executive level. Prioritise discussing and understanding the system as a whole. Make it a natural part of discourse between executive and board. Build agility to respond to what you learn. 6 - Gather intelligence - learn to recognise a transforming insight — watch who is doing what with AI. Reward the workforce for becoming your eyes and ears, and prioritise the flow of key intelligence through the organisation. 6 - Practise “framing the problem” - this is often an issue for inexperienced boards. They fail because they are solving the wrong problem or are paralysed by an inability to articulate the problem coherently. Learn to see interdependencies and how logical sequencing of responses might de-risk complexity. 7 - Be ambitious - this also means being courageous. Build a culture of resilience to the idea of “failure”. Work hard to communicate to the workforce that you will reward behaviours that lead to unique insights. Intelligence gleaned is often subtle. Learn to tune in. 8 - Balance autonomy and control - Hierarchical, rigidly run organisations don’t do well with complexity. A natural desire for control overwhelms the autonomy required for a learning culture. Rigidity might give you a sense of comfort that you have control, but an inability to see and respond to the effects of complexity might make you more “brittle”. 9 - Bigger isn’t always better - size brings another dimension to complexity, adding risk and loss of transparency. The observations of former CEO Ross McEwan CBE about focus and clarity on leaving NAB are worth reading. 10 - Conclusion - complexity, over time, kills organisations not properly tuned in to the world around them. The solution is to develop a mindset, an organisational culture and structure, which prioritises attentively watching, listening and learning while rewarding organising principles agile enough to implement what you learn, fast enough.

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I recently reconnected with a leader I assessed more than two years ago. Their organisation was considering another assessment round to measure progress and set new development priorities. What stood out was their openness to growth and reflection, the willingness to hold up a mirror and explore how they had evolved. That is the true value of #leadershipassessment. When used well, it is not a one-time evaluation. It becomes a process of reflection, accountability, and continuous learning. Leaders who engage deeply with the assessment process develop greater self-awareness, and that awareness becomes the foundation for better decisions, stronger relationships, and higher-performing teams. It turns potential into sustained impact and strengthens the culture around them. Research from McKinsey & Company shows that organisations with robust leadership development and assessment practices are more than 2.4 times as likely to outperform peers in revenue growth. Deloitte’s 2024 Global Human Capital Trends report found that 83% of organisations see leadership development as critical, yet fewer than 15% feel confident in their existing pipelines. The gap is not in ambition; it is in the structure, feedback, and follow-through of development initiatives. Effective assessment programs bridge that gap. They create a structured and consistent approach to talent growth that aligns with organisational strategy, values, and goals. These programs challenge leaders to stretch beyond their comfort zones, reflect on their behaviour, and gain insight through feedback. When leaders begin to see themselves as others see them, awareness becomes transformation. That is where leadership shifts from instinctive to intentional and where growth becomes measurable and meaningful. Organisations that commit to this journey build strong internal pipelines and future-ready leaders who lead with confidence, empathy, and self-awareness. #LeadershipDevelopment #TalentManagement #OrganisationalDevelopment #ExecutiveCoaching #PeopleStrategy #SelfAwareness #GrowthMindset

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I've been thinking a lot about leadership competencies recently. What are the key traits for leaders in the 2030 workplace? The one I keep coming back to is Trust. People are starving for trust in their organisations (and everywhere we look). Technology will level the playing field when it comes to strategy, efficiency, and even focus, but one thing it can't do is building trust. This is what will differentiate good leaders in the decade of 2030. What do you think? What would be one leadership trait that you think all leaders need in 2030 to succeed? #leadership #leadershipcompetency #trust

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