All executives strive for better results in their organisations and they are always dependent on others to achieve these results. This article is concerned with the ways in which these better results might be achieved and the role senior management might play in this process. The traditional view is that senior executives design and control the way their organisations function and better results therefore depend upon getting the design and the controls "right". This view, supported by many authors, is often far from reality. In this article the author illustrates, based on personal experiences, an alternative view of how organisations function, namely, the theory of complex responsive processes of relating. How can senior executives become more effective and how can they encourage the taking and emergence of local responsibilities? From a complexity view, the impact of leaders on the organisation can be successfully different.