| The world is complex! ("Ooooo")
Leaders, you need to embrace complexity! ("Got it")
You’ve probably heard that complexity is just a new kind of challenge that modern leaders should embrace. Master it and you’ll future-proof your team. Steer it and you’ll unlock innovation.
Unfortunately, that’s not how complexity works. (By the way, if you're looking for a definition of complexity, here's an article I like)
Management science has spent decades convincing us that good leaders can understand, influence and even control outcomes in organisations.
VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) catapulted the concept of complexity into the mainstream but flattened it to a 2x2 matrix. And when we got bored of VUCA, we invented BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear and Incomprehensible). Those nice neat boxes brought comfort and the idea that we can 'handle' complexity somehow.
And make no mistake, acronyms and model can help socialise ideas for busy leaders in helpful ways.
In reality, in a complex system, outcomes are unpredictable and sometimes undesirable. And this is a problem for management which is all about controlling things.
(I wrote extensively in my PhD thesis about the dogged persistence of the idea that organisations are rational, goal setting machines)
The reality: you're in charge but not in control
As soon as we bring humans into the equation, we have a complex system. So that's pretty much everything.
Complex systems are unpredictable by definition. You don’t get to master them or even steer them with any high degree of predictability.
This means giving up the fantasy that with enough expertise or clarity or frameworks, you’ll be able to tame or domesticate complexity and control the outcomes. Which is pretty hard to swallow for us consultants who charge money on a promise to make your business better!
For leaders, that's the paradox: you’re accountable to make things better, but not in control. UNcomfortable.
Welcome to the world of farmers who work in a complex system with which we are all familiar: weather. The weather is the single biggest determinant of crop yield and quality. And there is absolutely nothing they can do to influence it. Try suggesting to a farmer that they "embrace" the weather or develop their skills in "handling" the weather and come back and tell me how that went....
Anything with people is complex and working with people is weird
Back in our suits and ties and the world of typing and talking, our 'weather' includes what's going on outside our business - and also crucially that towering asset inside our business... people.
Trying to get things done with other people (i.e. a social system) is inherently threatening and anxiety-producing.
You don't need to lead a FTSE 250 company to know this! You just need to attempt to cooperate with another human being, whether that's a colleague, partner or child.
That's why work is so highly political - allies, rivalries, land grabs, gossip. All serve as attempts to preserve or undermine power dynamics.
Threat - or relief?
For some people, all this is destabilising - it's not what we were taught at management school! But for most people there is sigh of relief.
This is the vocabulary that finally explains their everyday experience.
If this is you: you're not going mad. It genuinely is not possible to 'control' the things you are supposed to be in control of. Attempting to do so is extremely stressful.
"So what, I just do NOTHING if I can't influence ANYTHING?"
First, there is no destination, end point or milestone when complexity will finally give way to order. Work will continue to be a mix of irritations and fulfilment; connection and frustration.
When operating in complexity and uncertainty, we can't design something to predictably get more of what you want. But this doesn’t mean we can’t notice and describe its effects or consider what might be helpful in dealing with it.
Complex systems are all about relationships. Productive collaborative work comes from good relationships. By good, I mean the ability to sit with differences in opinion or style and cooperate effectively anyway.
So noticing patterns, making good strategic decisions and building good relationships are central to working in complexity. But these three 'correct' inputs don't guarantee the outcome you planned. And there is a certain freedom in letting that into your worldview.
In case further confirmation was required: you do not need all the answers. You do, on the other hand, need to be able to accept the reality of complexity and help others accept it too.
With huge acknowledgements to Chris Mowles, Professor of Complexity and Management at Hertfordshire Business School who inspires and informs a lot of my work in this area. Here is his very accessible article on his critique of VUCA that you might find interesting.
That's all for this week. Let me know what you think.... |
