This part of the book contains the central propositions of Systems Leadership. It is the heart of the book. Our propositions about behaviour and especially universal values underpin everything else that follows. As such if this material is to be used constructively, these concepts must be fully understood. It is not about any particular type of organisation, it is about how and why people associate and come together to achieve a purpose. It explains why associations succeed and why they fail.

As we have said, Systems Leadership is essentially about how to create, improve and sustain positive organisations through creating productive social cohesion. While we do not underestimate the critical issues in creating commercial and technically viable organisations, all are built on the social process of human relationships.

There are qualities and principles in human relationships that are not limited to work organisations but are relevant to all relationships. Although human beings are adaptable, they are not chameleons. We do not completely transform as we move from one relationship, say work; to another, say family. Of course there are important and significant differences but there are also similarities. Indeed, the ability to transform totally and be a completely different person in different situations is regarded as socio- or psychopathic. The formation of stable social relationships and entities, essential for our survival, is not possible if people generally behave psycho- or sociopathically.

This part of the book proposes a set of general principles about human behaviour relevant to all relationships including work organisations. Like the outer layers of an onion, these principles form the context that surrounds the more specific relationships we have found in organisations. If we are unable to develop an understanding of these general principles, then the deeper meaning of specific relationships will remain hidden. Behaviour will seem either more mystical or technical than it is, and the ability to change our own behaviour and to influence others’ behaviour will be diminished.

In this section we look at how we try to order our social environment, make sense of it, and make decisions about whom we can or want to associate with. We look at how and why we try to change our own and/or other peoples’ behaviour. All of these principles apply in an organisation, but we explain here how they apply more generally as well. As we move through the book, we gradually move the focus from the general to the specific. If we started with the detail, we would lose the sense and depth of structure underlying these relations and end up with a more shallow and descriptive account rather than a set of propositions that allow us to understand and predict more effectively.

As a concentrated summary of our approach we outline it first in the form of 6 core principles. It has been suggested to us that these are sufficient for a book in itself, certainly the 6 core principles are the foundation on which Systems Leadership is built.

We start with our fundamental need to predict our environment in order to feel safe. We cannot focus on work or be creative if we do not know what might happen next. We need a context that is neither distracting nor threatening. We then examine how important it is to recognise other people’s view of the world so that we see people as people rather than as objects to be manipulated. This may seem obvious but the objectification of ‘the other’ is the most common cause of conflict and abuse. We then argue that all of our behaviour is value based. Not only that but, perhaps most radically, those values are universal. All people share the same set of values against which we judge behaviour.

Thus we argue that we are fundamentally connected with all others and what binds us is far more important than what separates us as people. This unusual proposition leads us to look at how we form cultures and social cohesion. How we are drawn to people who share the same views (mythologies) as to what constitutes positive behaviour. Whilst this is understandable it can also be dangerous if we only reinforce our views and never challenge them. We argue that behavioural change is based upon an experience of dissonance. By dissonance we mean how we feel when what we expect is confounded and our predictions fail. The experience of dissonance may be a positive or negative one depending upon the nature of our expectations.

We then argue that there are three main tools that can be used in behavioural change: Systems, Symbols and Behaviour. We examine the difference between relationships that are built on authority rather than power and finally, strongly argue for the need for clarity if we are to create productive social cohesion.