Robert E. Siegel is a Lecturer in Management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a venture investor. In his role as an educator, Siegel has taught various courses ranging from Systems Leadership to Financial Management for Entrepreneurs to The Industrialist’s Dilemma to Corporations, Finance and Governance in the Global Economy. He has also led research and written cases on a wide array of companies, including Google, Charles Schwab, Stripe, Target, Instacart, and many others.
Siegel is a Venture Partner at Piva Capital and a General Partner at XSeed Capital. He sits on multiple Boards of Directors and led investments in Zooz, Cirrosecure, and Lex Machina, among others. He is also a Member of the Supervisory Board of HERE Technologies, chairs the Strategic Advisory Board for TTTech Computertechnik AG, and sat on the Board of SmartDrive Systems for 14 years.
Siegel is the author of The Brains and Brawn Company: How Leading Organizations Blend the Best of Digital and Physical. He is the co-inventor of four patents and served as lead researcher for Andy Grove’s best-selling book, Only the Paranoid Survive.
In this insightful conversation with CXO Outlook, Siegel delves into the intricacies of “systems leadership,” a transformative approach that equips leaders to navigate the intertwined challenges of innovation, execution, and societal impact. From actionable strategies for managing cross-pressures to compelling stories of leaders who thrived amidst complexity, Siegel’s insights are a masterclass in leading with purpose, adaptability, and vision.
What inspired you to develop the concept of “systems leadership,” and how did your experiences as a lecturer, venture partner, and board member shape this framework?
Systems Leadership emerged from the realization that today’s business challenges are deeply interconnected, requiring a holistic approach to address. I started the course on Systems Leadership with my colleague, Jeff Immelt, the former CEO of GE. I had been teaching a course called “The Industrialist’s Dilemma” and was looking at how digitization was impacting all products and services. Systems Leadership looked at the personal and leadership side of this technological transformation. During and after the COVID-19 pandemic leaders were grappling not only with the convergence of digital and physical products, but also global and local considerations, societal upheaval, and increasingly rapid technological advancements. Years of research and interviews revealed that understanding systems as a whole—how actions in one area ripple across an organization and its ecosystem – really helped leaders shape their ability to address their challenges.
Your book addresses the “cross-pressures” leaders face today. Could you share a compelling real-world example where these cross-pressures either made or broke a leader?
François-Henri Pinault, CEO of Kering, demonstrates Systems Leadership by aligning the company’s luxury brands with its sustainability goals. He navigates the tension between traditional craftsmanship and innovative, eco-friendly practices, showing how purpose-driven leadership can inspire both teams and customers. Additionally, his organization captures the regional magic of products designed and made in Italy and France with global talent for selling into countries using people who come from and understand each of the locations in which they operate. The go-to-market strategies can vary widely across the world.
Traditional leadership approaches have served for decades. What do you believe makes systems thinking not just relevant but essential for the 21st century, and how does it differ from other leadership philosophies?
Traditional leadership emphasizes isolated skill sets, often taught in silos – finance, marketing, engineering, manufacturing, etc. Systems Leadership is essential in today’s interconnected world because it focuses on understanding how actions in one area impact the entire organization as well as an organization’s ecosystem. Leaders today must balance innovation and execution, navigate global and local demands, and align their decisions with long-term purpose while managing short-term pressures. This framework embraces this complexity and equips leaders to thrive in rapidly changing environments.
For readers looking to apply the principles of systems thinking in their organizations, what first steps would you recommend they take?
Start by understanding the interconnected nature of your organization and its ecosystem. Identify the key cross-pressures of your company—Priorities (innovation and execution), People (strength and empathy), Sphere of Influence (internal and external), Geography (local and global), and Purpose (ambition and statesmanship)—and how they interact. Leaders can then do four things: 1) Operate at Intersections – master the dualities needed to navigate these cross-pressures, 2) Manage context – help your people make sense of the confusing set of facts that they are seeing in their jobs and lives, 3) Think like a Product Manager – understand customer needs, how products are built, and the go-to-market strategies of your company, and finally 4) Run towards business and technological disruptions. Applying these behaviors to the cross-pressures will help address these difficult challenges.
Your book features examples of successful and unsuccessful leadership. Can you share one story that stood out during your research, and what it taught you about navigating today’s complexities?
Harley-Davidson’s approach to electric transportation is a standout example. By spinning off its LiveWire electric motorcycle brand into a separate company, Harley-Davidson ensured that LiveWire could thrive without being overshadowed by the core business. This decision allowed them to maintain the essence of the Harley brand and culture while simultaneously allowing innovation to flourish independently and build on trends in electrification and transportation. The lesson is clear: leaders must stay flexible and open to change, even if it requires rethinking their structures to accommodate innovation.
As someone who has published extensively in academic journals and mainstream platforms, how does writing a book compare? What challenges or surprises did you encounter while crafting The Systems Leader?
Much more than my previous work, this book was harder to write! When I work with companies or teach at Stanford I can see that the challenges I describe resonate deeply with others. But explaining these challenges in a book, and covering the nuances of the issues, was deeply complicated. It’s like that old quote which is sometimes attributed to both Pascal and Mark Twain, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” I had to figure out how to make these issues relatable for the reader, and that was not easy.
Leadership is not just a professional endeavor but also a deeply personal journey. What drives you to continue exploring and teaching about leadership, and what legacy do you hope your work will leave for future leaders?
Over time, education and teaching has transformed from a professional activity to a calling for me. I seek to learn new knowledge and aspire to help others succeed in their goals and journeys. I am so lucky that I get to teach some of the brightest young minds on the planet while having access to amazing global leaders. If I can help draw out some best practices and help both the companies and young students with which I work, then hopefully I will have an impact on others.
Above all, I want my students and readers to walk away believing: I can do this. Leadership is not about perfection or superhuman abilities. It’s not easy, and everything isn’t going to be perfect, but there’s a humbleness in saying, “Let’s understand what we don’t know.” It’s about a way of thinking and addressing hard problems, and not thinking that today’s challenges are too big to confront.
This ties directly to the concept of free will—a powerful, defining trait of leadership. There is nothing that forces a leader to act a particular way; they can choose to be exactly the leader they want to be. It’s a choice, and leaders can do this.