Leading When No One Is Complete

What does leadership look like when one leader can’t do it all? In this episode of Bold Agendas, Mimi Brooks is joined by Deborah Ancona, MIT Sloan professor and founding director of the MIT Leadership Center, to explore a radical shift in how we understand and practice leadership. Drawing from her groundbreaking research on X-Teams and the Incomplete Leader, Deborah makes the case that today’s complexity demands more than individual brilliance, it requires collective capability. Together, Mimi and Deborah dive into the capabilities leaders must cultivate and why no single person can excel at all of them. They unpack why leadership must move beyond hierarchy, how networks and external orientation drive agility, and what it means to lead in systems where no one has all the answers. Whether you're leading a transformation, scaling innovation, or building adaptive teams, this conversation will reframe how you think about leadership in a world that won’t stop changing.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction: Leadership in the Age of Complexity

03:24 – The Incomplete Leader: Debunking the Myth of the Perfect Leader

11:00 – The 4-CAPS+ Framework: Capabilities that Define Modern Leadership

20:40 – Rethinking Servant Leadership: From Humility to Leadership Signature

24:08 – The Case for X-Teams and External Sensemaking

36:28 – Cross-Industry Learning and the Power of Exploration

43:14 – Augmented Leadership: Sensemaking and Smart Collaboration with AI

54:52 – Strategic Mindset in the Age of AI: Anchors, Alignment, and Always-On Leadership

01:01:20 – New Trust Architectures: Redefining Relationships in Human-AI Teams

01:08:09 – Adapting Organizational Systems for a Fast-Moving Future

01:16:54 – The Power of Pause: Navigating Change with Humanity and Calm