Leading in complexity
Like many of our colleagues—that is, staff here at the U—we have developed strengths in getting things done. We like organizing things, managing projects, and solving complicated problems. Along the way, we have built up a robust repertoire of skills, tools, and habits that fit ordered challenges, and we readily apply this expertise to new situations. The sense of accomplishment we feel is our reward for finding the right answer—we’re good at our jobs.
The problem is not all environments are a good fit for our preferred methods. Increasingly, we’re confronted with situations that are not ordered and there is no single right answer, the way forward is uncertain, and cause and effect are ambiguous. These are complex problems.
To lead in complexity, we need to learn and apply different methods.
How do you know which type of environment you’re in?
First, reflect on your situation and write down all the things you need to do or decide. This is best done with others to get multiple perspectives.
Next, categorize your list according to the following statements.
- “It’s obvious what to do and anyone can do it.”
- These things are ordered. Assign the work and get them done. You should know immediately if things were done correctly.
- “We need experts who know how to fix this. We can tell when they are done and if they did it right.”
- These things are also ordered but more complicated. Determine the experts you need and assign the project to them. You should be able to evaluate the success of their work based on the expected outcomes.
- “Evidence suggests multiple and perhaps conflicting ways to do this, and it will be impossible to know if we did the very best thing.”
- Here are the complex issues, and we’ll need to work things out as a group. See below for more.
- “Everything is random, chaotic, or a crisis.”
- In these unexpected or emergency situations, there isn’t time to figure things out before taking action. Make a decision and then adjust as you learn more.
Foundational concepts of complexity practice:
- Work with patterns. Problems can’t be “solved” but we can shift patterns towards more beneficial states
- Work at a fine level of granularity. Collect many diverse anecdotes and observations about the system and look for patterns.
- Action is iterative and moves us in a direction, not towards a goal. There is no final end state in complex systems, but we should be able to break off some ordered projects and tasks as we learn more.
- Awareness is critical. Developing more objective awareness both individually and collectively.
- Inquiry and curiosity. Complex problems defy easy answers. Context is critical and we can’t rely on experts or “best practices”
- Working in complexity requires dialogic practice. Engage in dialogue, honor voices, and acknowledge that action needs to be co-created.
- Diversity is required. Opening up to diverse perspectives and voices leads to finding new ways to approach the situation.
- Obliquity as a source of action. Interrupt entrained thinking and find ways to work indirectly towards “better.”
- Polarities and paradoxes abound. Developing the inner capacity to allow and consider paradox enables us to see more than when we assume everything needs to make logical linear sense.
- Stories are the vehicle of meaning-making. Sharing our stories and hearing the stories of others can be a powerful and important part of making change.
Career-long pursuit
There is a lot to digest and work on in the list above. We are still learning and developing our complexity practices, and we’d love to work on challenging issues with you.
Where to learn more
Much of our understanding of complexity comes from the Cynefin Framework by David Snowden, and we have been heavily influenced by the Art of Hosting community and the trainings of Harvest Moon consultants Chris Corrigan and Caitlyn Frost. Most of the content on this page comes from their recent course, Working in Complexity Inside and Out—highly recommended! Our facilitation practices are based on these principles and practices.