The Next Next Common Sense
as the father of a son with cerebral palsy fundamentally shaped his lead- ership approach. Rather than compartmentalizing his personal experience, Nadella allowed it to transform his professional identity. His heightened empa- thy, patience, and appreciation for different abilities directly influenced Microsoft’s renewed focus on accessibility and inclusive design. What might traditionally have been seen as a “personal role” (father) deeply informed his “professional role” (CEO)—making him more effective in both. The Holonic Perspective In complexity science, the concept of a “holon” (first introduced by Arthur Koestler) provides a useful framework for understanding multiple roles. A holon is something that is simultaneously a whole in itself and part of a larger system. You are a whole person, but also part of various systems—your family, your organization, your community. This holonic perspective helps resolve the apparent paradox of mul- tiple roles. You don’t need to fragment yourself into distinct personas. Instead, different contexts call different aspects of your whole self to the foreground while others temporarily recede to the background. Think of a diamond catching light. As you turn it, different facets catch and reflect the light more prominently—but the entire diamond remains present. Similarly, various contexts bring different aspects of your integrated identity into sharper focus. Ft oo rNeagvriogua tni dn ga nMduBl tai cpkl eg rRooul ensd : T h e K e y
The most effective approach to multiple roles isn’t strict compart- mentalization but rather skillful attention management. This involves recognizing which roles need to be in the foreground of your attention
155
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease