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Simple Habits for Complex Times: Powerful Practices for Leaders
When faced with complex challenges or uncertain outcomes, many leaders believe that if they are smart enough, work hard enough, or turn to the best management tools, they will be able to find the right answer, predict and plan for the future, and break down tasks to produce controllable results. But what are leaders to do when this isn't the case? Rather than offering one-size-fits-all tips and tricks drawn from the realm of business as usual, Simple Habits for Complex Times provides three integral practices that enable leaders to navigate the unknown. By taking multiple perspectives, asking different questions, and seeing more of their system, leaders can better understand themselves, their roles, and the world around them. They can become more nimble, respond with agility, and guide their organizations to thrive in an ever-shifting business landscape. The more leaders use these simple habits, the more they enhance their performance and solve increasingly common, sticky business issues with greater acumen. Whether in large or small organizations, in government or the private sector, in the U.S. or overseas, leaders will turn to this book as a companion that helps them grow into the best version of themselves.
271 pages, Hardcover
First published February 25, 2015
220 people are currently reading
1566 people want to read
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December 6, 2022
The world is increasingly complex, ambiguous, volatile, and uncertain. How do we as leaders deal with that? The book is part business novel, part standard non-fiction. It explores tools that we can use to get a handle on these complexities. To be honest, I mostly ignored the business narrative part of it. It was useful for illustrating the concepts, but not more than traditional examples and case studies would have been.
Determine what's predictable and what's not, and lean in to leading in unpredictable settings. We evolved to handle mostly simple problems. Sitting around looking for shades of gray was more likely to get us killed than to get the right solution. The problems we need to address today — at least the hard ones — tend to be more nuanced. We need to resist our tendencies to ignore complexity and look for simple solutions.
One way we can embrace complexity is by resisting our tendency to jump to the solutions. Create spaces where people spend time talking about the problem. Focus on curious inquiry. If people start thinking about solutions, have them note them down and save them for later. Asking different questions helps us better understand the problem and the situation that's emerging. This can get us unstuck from solutions that might have worked in the past.
Create a feedback rich organization in which you and others can constantly learn about what needs to change. Most organizations give too little feedback and give it badly. Building a culture of continual feedback can create conditions for healthy organizations. Feedback helps organizations to react more quickly in the face of change. Feedback should separate out the situation from our internal story about the situation and clearly state the data that led to the feedback, the feelings that we had in response, and the impact of the action. E.g., move from "X is argumentative and disruptive" to "When X disagrees with others, they interrupt and raise their voice (data), this makes me uncomfortable (feelings), which makes me less willing to bring up challenging issues when they are in the room (impact)".
Leaders can talk about the ways feedback shapes the organization and change systems to support giving feedback. Feedback systems need to include feedback about what is going well in addition to what needs improvement. There's a tendency to believe only negative feedback is constructive, but feedback given well is constructive feedback whether it is positive or negative.
We can take the time to share the positive impact that feedback has had so that people are encouraged to give feedback to others. We can make feedback of regular part of the work day. In addition to performance reviews we can utilize forums like operating reviews and other meetings.
Choose a direction and build guardrails. The balance between alignment and directional diversity is a polarity that can only be managed — never fully resolved. Leaders can help manage this polarity by setting a direction and defining guardrails for safe experimentation. The direction and guardrails should be relatively stable. Change them if they're not working, but don't change them frequently or arbitrarily. A lot of the substance of the book revolves around how to effectively implement safe-to-fail experiments.
Examine the present and look for attractors. Leaders have traditionally been called upon to create a vision of the future. However, in a world of complexity, ambiguity, uncertainty, and volatility we also need to spend more time understanding the present. Leaders need to fight the temptation to focus on solutions. Instead, they need to look for patterns in the space. What are the attractors that feed into broader behavioral patterns? How can we clump together related but different ideas rather than reducing to a singular root cause? By looking at the present and at how the conditions of the present create the outcomes of the present we can find ways to change that are more effective than pointing to a future that does not take the present into account.
Experiment and learn. Organizations in complex environments need to focus on experimentation and learning. This can be hard for leaders who have been successful through problem solving and execution. Experimentation means giving up control. One type of organizational problem solving that often indicates failure is reorganizations. Reorgs can be useful, but most do not deliver what was promised. Instead, the authors suggest creating change through a number of smaller experiments. These experiments can shift the culture in the desired direction. Some experiments will fail. That can be hard to accept when we assume that the reorg would have succeeded. However, given the track record of reorgs, a mix of smaller failures and successes is likely better than one large failure that creates a bunch of disruption and ruins productivity in the meantime.
Communicate clearly in uncertain times. Communicating clearly means something different in complex times than it does in more orderly times. We need to communicate a mindset shift as well as a direction. We need to emphasize experimentation and adaptability. We need to call on both logic and emotions to communicate the change we want to enact. We need to listen carefully to people so we can hear the concerns underneath their words. Listening closely also helps us understand the types of stories that we can communicate to help make change successful. Where can we find past stories of experimentation and of change within the organization? Listening deeply will help us connect to others and learn.
All the while, develop a growth mindset in yourself and others. At the root of all of this, at the root of dealing with complexity, uncertainty, volatility, and ambiguity, is a reminder that we need to see ourselves as capable of growth. We need to move beyond our very human desire for clarity and simplicity, for straightforward cause and effect. We need to replace it with a mindset which helps us see the beauty of new perspectives, see what we know we're not previously able to see in systems, and ask questions which unlock doors that we didn't even know existed.
Learning needs to be seen not as something that is separate from the day-to-day work of getting things done but instead is integrated into daily productivity via effective feedback, problem solving focused peer coaching, and meetings which focus on learning and problem solving rather than status updates.
Overall, this book is full of valuable insights and practical takeaways. Despite the only semi-successful business novel elements, it's well worth the read.
Determine what's predictable and what's not, and lean in to leading in unpredictable settings. We evolved to handle mostly simple problems. Sitting around looking for shades of gray was more likely to get us killed than to get the right solution. The problems we need to address today — at least the hard ones — tend to be more nuanced. We need to resist our tendencies to ignore complexity and look for simple solutions.
One way we can embrace complexity is by resisting our tendency to jump to the solutions. Create spaces where people spend time talking about the problem. Focus on curious inquiry. If people start thinking about solutions, have them note them down and save them for later. Asking different questions helps us better understand the problem and the situation that's emerging. This can get us unstuck from solutions that might have worked in the past.
Create a feedback rich organization in which you and others can constantly learn about what needs to change. Most organizations give too little feedback and give it badly. Building a culture of continual feedback can create conditions for healthy organizations. Feedback helps organizations to react more quickly in the face of change. Feedback should separate out the situation from our internal story about the situation and clearly state the data that led to the feedback, the feelings that we had in response, and the impact of the action. E.g., move from "X is argumentative and disruptive" to "When X disagrees with others, they interrupt and raise their voice (data), this makes me uncomfortable (feelings), which makes me less willing to bring up challenging issues when they are in the room (impact)".
Leaders can talk about the ways feedback shapes the organization and change systems to support giving feedback. Feedback systems need to include feedback about what is going well in addition to what needs improvement. There's a tendency to believe only negative feedback is constructive, but feedback given well is constructive feedback whether it is positive or negative.
We can take the time to share the positive impact that feedback has had so that people are encouraged to give feedback to others. We can make feedback of regular part of the work day. In addition to performance reviews we can utilize forums like operating reviews and other meetings.
Choose a direction and build guardrails. The balance between alignment and directional diversity is a polarity that can only be managed — never fully resolved. Leaders can help manage this polarity by setting a direction and defining guardrails for safe experimentation. The direction and guardrails should be relatively stable. Change them if they're not working, but don't change them frequently or arbitrarily. A lot of the substance of the book revolves around how to effectively implement safe-to-fail experiments.
Examine the present and look for attractors. Leaders have traditionally been called upon to create a vision of the future. However, in a world of complexity, ambiguity, uncertainty, and volatility we also need to spend more time understanding the present. Leaders need to fight the temptation to focus on solutions. Instead, they need to look for patterns in the space. What are the attractors that feed into broader behavioral patterns? How can we clump together related but different ideas rather than reducing to a singular root cause? By looking at the present and at how the conditions of the present create the outcomes of the present we can find ways to change that are more effective than pointing to a future that does not take the present into account.
Experiment and learn. Organizations in complex environments need to focus on experimentation and learning. This can be hard for leaders who have been successful through problem solving and execution. Experimentation means giving up control. One type of organizational problem solving that often indicates failure is reorganizations. Reorgs can be useful, but most do not deliver what was promised. Instead, the authors suggest creating change through a number of smaller experiments. These experiments can shift the culture in the desired direction. Some experiments will fail. That can be hard to accept when we assume that the reorg would have succeeded. However, given the track record of reorgs, a mix of smaller failures and successes is likely better than one large failure that creates a bunch of disruption and ruins productivity in the meantime.
Communicate clearly in uncertain times. Communicating clearly means something different in complex times than it does in more orderly times. We need to communicate a mindset shift as well as a direction. We need to emphasize experimentation and adaptability. We need to call on both logic and emotions to communicate the change we want to enact. We need to listen carefully to people so we can hear the concerns underneath their words. Listening closely also helps us understand the types of stories that we can communicate to help make change successful. Where can we find past stories of experimentation and of change within the organization? Listening deeply will help us connect to others and learn.
All the while, develop a growth mindset in yourself and others. At the root of all of this, at the root of dealing with complexity, uncertainty, volatility, and ambiguity, is a reminder that we need to see ourselves as capable of growth. We need to move beyond our very human desire for clarity and simplicity, for straightforward cause and effect. We need to replace it with a mindset which helps us see the beauty of new perspectives, see what we know we're not previously able to see in systems, and ask questions which unlock doors that we didn't even know existed.
Learning needs to be seen not as something that is separate from the day-to-day work of getting things done but instead is integrated into daily productivity via effective feedback, problem solving focused peer coaching, and meetings which focus on learning and problem solving rather than status updates.
Overall, this book is full of valuable insights and practical takeaways. Despite the only semi-successful business novel elements, it's well worth the read.
April 13, 2023
Hannah tried one last time to smooth her unruly curls into a neat braid. She hadn't had time to change after leaving Jarred's house, so she was working with limited material to change her comfortable Saturday clothes into something that would work with Squint and Arlen and their three favorite board members. Luckily, she tended to be overprepared for most situations, and it was easy to trade her yoga pants for a long skirt that would match her sandals, and a silk scarf that would dress up her plain T-shirt. Her hair, however, was simply going to have to be tousled rather than controlled. She smiled to herself at the thought that she had spent the day talking about how to lead when you were not able to control things. All very well, but flyaway hair was in the chaotic domain!
There are, I'm sure, some very useful tips in here, as summarised on these blog posts from Neela Bettridge here, here, here, here, here and here.
However the book itself I found unreadable due to the unfortunate decision to illustrate the authors' points by embedding them in a cheesily written story that runs throughout the book - and if one skips these parts one not only misses half the book, but the rest is hard to follow as the points are all illustrated with what we learned from the story (such as having a skirt to change in to from your yoga pants it seems).
There are, I'm sure, some very useful tips in here, as summarised on these blog posts from Neela Bettridge here, here, here, here, here and here.
However the book itself I found unreadable due to the unfortunate decision to illustrate the authors' points by embedding them in a cheesily written story that runs throughout the book - and if one skips these parts one not only misses half the book, but the rest is hard to follow as the points are all illustrated with what we learned from the story (such as having a skirt to change in to from your yoga pants it seems).
September 20, 2022
Not what I expected it to be. It seems like a analytics of the current situation and the mistakes we have made but not a guide book as the name suggests.
July 27, 2020
This book tries to be helpful, but is very unspecific and also, dull.
I read this book thanks to Blinkist.
The key message in these blinks:
The world is not as simple as it once was. Our increasingly interconnected, fast-paced, and technologically-advanced society is becoming more and more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. These conditions require a new form of leadership that is flexible, fluid, and agile. Successful leaders should embrace change, welcome feedback, and empower their organization to continually experiment and explore as they pursue the probable and the possible.
Actionable Advice:
Mix it up.
Sometimes the best way to cultivate creativity is by creating new space for conversation. When approaching a problem, try creating working groups composed of unusual combinations of people. Diversity is key. Mix together senior members and young upstarts from across departments. You may be surprised by what unconventional solutions will emerge.
What to read next:
The Simplicity Principle, by Julia Hobsbawm
You just picked up some simple approaches to dealing with the complexity of the contemporary professional world. Learn how keeping things simple can improve your personal life as well with The Simplicity Principle.
These blinks lay out six easy methods for managing even the most complicated aspects of life at work and at home.
I read this book thanks to Blinkist.
The key message in these blinks:
The world is not as simple as it once was. Our increasingly interconnected, fast-paced, and technologically-advanced society is becoming more and more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. These conditions require a new form of leadership that is flexible, fluid, and agile. Successful leaders should embrace change, welcome feedback, and empower their organization to continually experiment and explore as they pursue the probable and the possible.
Actionable Advice:
Mix it up.
Sometimes the best way to cultivate creativity is by creating new space for conversation. When approaching a problem, try creating working groups composed of unusual combinations of people. Diversity is key. Mix together senior members and young upstarts from across departments. You may be surprised by what unconventional solutions will emerge.
What to read next:
The Simplicity Principle, by Julia Hobsbawm
You just picked up some simple approaches to dealing with the complexity of the contemporary professional world. Learn how keeping things simple can improve your personal life as well with The Simplicity Principle.
These blinks lay out six easy methods for managing even the most complicated aspects of life at work and at home.
April 18, 2021
Takeaways:
Leaders have grappled with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) for millennia, but circumstances differ today.
Get used to asking new and genuine questions.
Complexity abounds. Address it, but don’t add to it. Sort your challenges into one of two categories: probable or possible.
Strive to see complex systems as a whole. Ask how the components combine to lean toward certain outcomes.
Though you may know little of what the future holds, set a clear and unambiguous direction.
People think rationally and emotionally. The mix of many people’s logic and feelings adds up to the best decisions.
Help people develop greater capacity to accept and engage with VUCA.
Eons of natural selection coded you to act first and think later. You must adapt to a new world that demands the opposite.
Summary:
Leaders have grappled with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) for millennia, but circumstances differ today.
Today, unlimited information and data confront leaders, much of it flowing in real time and changing by the minute. Leaders must consider more factors than they can predict by relying on the past. Consider what is possible in an unknown future.
This rise in complexity, ambiguity, volatility and uncertainty is not just lingering around the edges of our workdays; it’s everywhere.
Evolution made people pretty good at making decisions according to what worked in the past. But in many circumstances, previously reliable understandings no longer apply. Now you must consider a range of possible scenarios, but knowing when and how to do that kind of thinking doesn’t come naturally to many people. Mastering this necessary new skill means forming new habits of mind.
Get used to asking new and genuine questions.
Avoid asking questions whose answers you think you know or questions whose answers you’ll ignore. Ask considered questions you truly want answered to open a broader range of possibilities and paths. People want to find a problem’s cause and make changes to fix it. This might work for a simple problem, but often fails in complex systems. Many problems defy simple solutions.
It’s totally possible that this task of leading in times as complex and volatile as today is a bigger stretch for us humans than anything else we’ve ever had to do.
Think through your organization’s system and consider how changing something in one part might affect other parts. Don’t expect to solve complex, systems-based challenges alone. To get into the right mind-set, ask different questions, and force yourself to consider other people’s perspectives, especially those that differ from yours. Resist classifying people into allies and enemies. Realize that people believe in the truth and efficacy of their own position. Stay curious.
Complexity abounds. Address it, but don’t add to it. Sort your challenges into one of two categories: probable or possible.
Adding more processes, rules, forms and procedures often make so-called solutions worse than the problem itself. If you have a simple problem, don’t seek complexity. You might, for example, believe that your firm suffers from a weak leadership pipeline. A new, complicated HR system to address it could cost a lot of money and frustrate the situation even more by requiring managers to create extra paperwork, track more metrics, hold more discussions and so on, taking even more time away from identifying and mentoring potential leaders.
In many cases, the past provides sound guidance. But just because tulips bloomed in mid-April last year doesn’t mean they will bloom this April, and a volcano that erupted 100 years ago and has a record of erupting only every 1,000 years or so could still blow tomorrow. Some problems fall into the category of probabilities, and that makes them simpler. Others depend on many variables within complex systems. Those reside in the more complex world of possibilities.
In every complex system, feedbacks are the lifeblood, the way that evolution and change begin and spread.
Before looking for solutions, consider where the problem falls: probability, or possibility? Even complicated systems respond predictably to adjustments and refinements across many components. Recognize these systems, and apply solutions that you base on past knowledge.
Problems within complex systems don’t yield to discrete cause-and-effect-based solutions. Multiple variables cascade, combine and change. This level of complexity requires continual research, data models, investigations and experiments. You must detect even weak signals. Instead of seeking cause and effect, look for subtle, emerging patterns so you can intervene before they become steamrollers. Traditional planning matters – but in complex systems considering multiple perspectives, gathering diverse ideas and experimenting can replace the search for solutions to specific problems.
Strive to see complex systems as a whole. Ask how the components combine to lean toward certain outcomes.
Complex systems incline toward some things and resist others. A system of child protective services, for example, inclines toward the collective, prevailing habits and behaviors of many organizations, people, processes, rules, culture and practices. When it fails, it results in a spike in foster child abuse. Unless you find something specific, like an employee who deliberately ignored child protection rules, no single solution or silver bullet will fix it. Most problems in such a system are systemic problems.
To address systemic problems, seek multiple perspectives on the issues and try to see the big picture before you start testing solutions. Nurture an environment of feedback, experimentation and openmindedness. Emphasize learning, and reward people for testing, failing, adjusting, trying again and iterating their way to improvements. These problems require a series of experiments that you follow up with learning, adjusting and additional experiments that will nudge you closer to understanding possible solutions.
Clarity is a core communication goal, and you can be clear about your direction even if you can’t be clear about your destination.
Agile organizations must master giving and receiving feedback up, down and throughout the organization. Difficult conversations don’t come naturally. They take practice. Fight the notion that you know everything, though leaders resist this attitude change. Don’t view the people to whom you give feedback as problems you have to solve. Approach all conversations as learning opportunities. Ask, “What do I have to learn here?” This mind-set shift – whether in a performance review, casual conversation or meeting – changes how you perceive others and the questions you ask.
Enter every interaction with the attitude that you will learn something. Remember that what you know, no matter how right it feels, is always only part of the truth. Ask other people for facts and evidence first, without judgment. Get them to say how they feel about an issue, and ask them to describe its impact. You may have good information, but you still have to learn from it by truly listening, which can be as difficult as providing sound feedback. The secret to good listening is to shift from thinking about what people’s words mean to you and considering what their words mean to them. Learning to listen deeply – not while planning what you’ll say next – takes conscious effort and time.
Though you may know little of what the future holds, set a clear and unambiguous direction.
The people you lead crave clear direction and priorities, especially in volatile, changing times. But in complex systems, leaders can’t know enough to articulate a clear vision, define a precise course of action or set the priorities that their people need to go forth and execute. Given many perspectives and ideas, leaders must set a clear direction – a path on which people can experiment and learn constantly, within boundaries their leader defines.
Start with a shared vision, not a snapshot of the future or a set of targets, but establishing a direction that moves your organization toward the story you want to tell. Connect your vision to purpose and values. Listen to people, collect their viewpoints and ideas, and be aware of their signals, even weaker signals. Consider what your organization and system lean toward doing – the inclinations – and how they may need to change. Move inclinations through change gradually, with nudging and experimentation.
You need to understand that the future you’re moving toward is so ambiguous that you couldn’t possibly know what will happen, yet you have to be clear enough about what it is that you can get people off the course to which they have become accustomed.
Consider the boundaries within your organization. These boundaries – explicit and implicit – define people’s behaviors and your culture. Get people’s perspectives on the boundaries, and then define and document these parameters. Decide which to keep and which to discard. Make sure everyone knows the boundaries within which to conduct “safe-to-fail” experiments. To inspire trust, communicate a clear direction, admit what you don’t know and explain how you feel about it.
Describe what you mean by a safe-to-fail experiment using examples from the past – celebrate what leaders and employees did that worked, and explain what they did that failed. Emphasize learning, and align people around the boundaries so that their efforts move in the broad direction you set.
For example, Facebook rolls out changes continuously to small percentages of its users to gauge the impact of its experiments. These safe-to-fail experiments protect current attractors – their user interface, for example – and test new ones, such as a possible Facebook cryptocurrency.
Run small experiments in parallel, and choose some that turn out contrary to your expectations. Repeat them at different times and in different contexts. Make them fast and cheap, invite as many diverse perspectives as possible, and design them to produce clear, measurable results.
Motivate people by describing the journey as one of stages rather than one with a structure of due dates or specific financial objectives. For example, if you aim to cut costs by 10%, instead of announcing that goal, talk about experimenting in a direction of greater efficiencies. Acknowledge the fundamental role that emotions and feelings, as well as rationality and irrationality, play at work.
People think both rationally and emotionally. The mix of many people’s logic and feelings adds up to the best decisions.
You may think you can divorce your feelings and subjective notions from your decisions, but you can’t and you don’t, so acknowledge the role of emotion and utilize it. Even your so-called rational brain falls prey to many biases. Among the most prevalent, confirmation bias makes you unconsciously seek only information that supports your position. Recency bias puts undue importance on the latest thing you’ve seen or read.
The human brain has an enormous capacity not only to not see the whole picture but also to not notice that it hasn’t seen the whole picture.
A bias toward the visceral makes you worry more about low-risk dangers – like a shark attacking your child – than about dangers that occur much more often, such as drowning. When you are leading, fundamental attribution errors can cause you to ascribe good or bad events and outcomes to people while you underestimate the influence of circumstances. You can’t detect these and other biases. Remain aware of them, and seek other perspectives and viewpoints to counter them.
Help people develop greater capacity to accept and engage with VUCA.
People evolve through stages of development. Some leaders and employees will continue to rage against uncertainty while others mature, accept it and know the firm must adapt. A few will welcome and celebrate VUCA. These people have leadership potential because they tend to adopt the most creative solutions after synthesizing many people’s perspectives.
Don’t hire only the smartest people. Look for those who have demonstrably learned from failure. Encourage people to mature and grow in the way they deal with uncertainty by supporting their interests as well as the organization’s goals. Hold people accountable for their results, but not to the degree that you limit experimentation and risk taking, or leave no time for learning and development. Encourage healthy competition among your workforce, but not at the expense of collaboration or of stifling people’s willingness to listen and consider other perspectives.
A core desire people have from their leaders is direction and a sense of safety that someone knows where they’re all going. This is especially true in times of change.
Learning and work are not separate. Weave learning into personal work and teamwork, all the time. Assign work that stretches people and teams. Encourage genuine questions in meetings. Ask people to share at least one thing they’ve learned.
Eons of natural selection coded you to act first and think later. You must adapt to a new world that demands the opposite.
Create a curious, learning-first, “feedback-rich organization.” Make it safe to share positive and negative feedback – good and bad news – up, down and across the firm. Share a constant flow of information with all employees. Communicate with logic and emotions, facts, feelings and honesty. Listen deeply.
Leaders have grappled with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) for millennia, but circumstances differ today.
Get used to asking new and genuine questions.
Complexity abounds. Address it, but don’t add to it. Sort your challenges into one of two categories: probable or possible.
Strive to see complex systems as a whole. Ask how the components combine to lean toward certain outcomes.
Though you may know little of what the future holds, set a clear and unambiguous direction.
People think rationally and emotionally. The mix of many people’s logic and feelings adds up to the best decisions.
Help people develop greater capacity to accept and engage with VUCA.
Eons of natural selection coded you to act first and think later. You must adapt to a new world that demands the opposite.
Summary:
Leaders have grappled with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) for millennia, but circumstances differ today.
Today, unlimited information and data confront leaders, much of it flowing in real time and changing by the minute. Leaders must consider more factors than they can predict by relying on the past. Consider what is possible in an unknown future.
This rise in complexity, ambiguity, volatility and uncertainty is not just lingering around the edges of our workdays; it’s everywhere.
Evolution made people pretty good at making decisions according to what worked in the past. But in many circumstances, previously reliable understandings no longer apply. Now you must consider a range of possible scenarios, but knowing when and how to do that kind of thinking doesn’t come naturally to many people. Mastering this necessary new skill means forming new habits of mind.
Get used to asking new and genuine questions.
Avoid asking questions whose answers you think you know or questions whose answers you’ll ignore. Ask considered questions you truly want answered to open a broader range of possibilities and paths. People want to find a problem’s cause and make changes to fix it. This might work for a simple problem, but often fails in complex systems. Many problems defy simple solutions.
It’s totally possible that this task of leading in times as complex and volatile as today is a bigger stretch for us humans than anything else we’ve ever had to do.
Think through your organization’s system and consider how changing something in one part might affect other parts. Don’t expect to solve complex, systems-based challenges alone. To get into the right mind-set, ask different questions, and force yourself to consider other people’s perspectives, especially those that differ from yours. Resist classifying people into allies and enemies. Realize that people believe in the truth and efficacy of their own position. Stay curious.
Complexity abounds. Address it, but don’t add to it. Sort your challenges into one of two categories: probable or possible.
Adding more processes, rules, forms and procedures often make so-called solutions worse than the problem itself. If you have a simple problem, don’t seek complexity. You might, for example, believe that your firm suffers from a weak leadership pipeline. A new, complicated HR system to address it could cost a lot of money and frustrate the situation even more by requiring managers to create extra paperwork, track more metrics, hold more discussions and so on, taking even more time away from identifying and mentoring potential leaders.
In many cases, the past provides sound guidance. But just because tulips bloomed in mid-April last year doesn’t mean they will bloom this April, and a volcano that erupted 100 years ago and has a record of erupting only every 1,000 years or so could still blow tomorrow. Some problems fall into the category of probabilities, and that makes them simpler. Others depend on many variables within complex systems. Those reside in the more complex world of possibilities.
In every complex system, feedbacks are the lifeblood, the way that evolution and change begin and spread.
Before looking for solutions, consider where the problem falls: probability, or possibility? Even complicated systems respond predictably to adjustments and refinements across many components. Recognize these systems, and apply solutions that you base on past knowledge.
Problems within complex systems don’t yield to discrete cause-and-effect-based solutions. Multiple variables cascade, combine and change. This level of complexity requires continual research, data models, investigations and experiments. You must detect even weak signals. Instead of seeking cause and effect, look for subtle, emerging patterns so you can intervene before they become steamrollers. Traditional planning matters – but in complex systems considering multiple perspectives, gathering diverse ideas and experimenting can replace the search for solutions to specific problems.
Strive to see complex systems as a whole. Ask how the components combine to lean toward certain outcomes.
Complex systems incline toward some things and resist others. A system of child protective services, for example, inclines toward the collective, prevailing habits and behaviors of many organizations, people, processes, rules, culture and practices. When it fails, it results in a spike in foster child abuse. Unless you find something specific, like an employee who deliberately ignored child protection rules, no single solution or silver bullet will fix it. Most problems in such a system are systemic problems.
To address systemic problems, seek multiple perspectives on the issues and try to see the big picture before you start testing solutions. Nurture an environment of feedback, experimentation and openmindedness. Emphasize learning, and reward people for testing, failing, adjusting, trying again and iterating their way to improvements. These problems require a series of experiments that you follow up with learning, adjusting and additional experiments that will nudge you closer to understanding possible solutions.
Clarity is a core communication goal, and you can be clear about your direction even if you can’t be clear about your destination.
Agile organizations must master giving and receiving feedback up, down and throughout the organization. Difficult conversations don’t come naturally. They take practice. Fight the notion that you know everything, though leaders resist this attitude change. Don’t view the people to whom you give feedback as problems you have to solve. Approach all conversations as learning opportunities. Ask, “What do I have to learn here?” This mind-set shift – whether in a performance review, casual conversation or meeting – changes how you perceive others and the questions you ask.
Enter every interaction with the attitude that you will learn something. Remember that what you know, no matter how right it feels, is always only part of the truth. Ask other people for facts and evidence first, without judgment. Get them to say how they feel about an issue, and ask them to describe its impact. You may have good information, but you still have to learn from it by truly listening, which can be as difficult as providing sound feedback. The secret to good listening is to shift from thinking about what people’s words mean to you and considering what their words mean to them. Learning to listen deeply – not while planning what you’ll say next – takes conscious effort and time.
Though you may know little of what the future holds, set a clear and unambiguous direction.
The people you lead crave clear direction and priorities, especially in volatile, changing times. But in complex systems, leaders can’t know enough to articulate a clear vision, define a precise course of action or set the priorities that their people need to go forth and execute. Given many perspectives and ideas, leaders must set a clear direction – a path on which people can experiment and learn constantly, within boundaries their leader defines.
Start with a shared vision, not a snapshot of the future or a set of targets, but establishing a direction that moves your organization toward the story you want to tell. Connect your vision to purpose and values. Listen to people, collect their viewpoints and ideas, and be aware of their signals, even weaker signals. Consider what your organization and system lean toward doing – the inclinations – and how they may need to change. Move inclinations through change gradually, with nudging and experimentation.
You need to understand that the future you’re moving toward is so ambiguous that you couldn’t possibly know what will happen, yet you have to be clear enough about what it is that you can get people off the course to which they have become accustomed.
Consider the boundaries within your organization. These boundaries – explicit and implicit – define people’s behaviors and your culture. Get people’s perspectives on the boundaries, and then define and document these parameters. Decide which to keep and which to discard. Make sure everyone knows the boundaries within which to conduct “safe-to-fail” experiments. To inspire trust, communicate a clear direction, admit what you don’t know and explain how you feel about it.
Describe what you mean by a safe-to-fail experiment using examples from the past – celebrate what leaders and employees did that worked, and explain what they did that failed. Emphasize learning, and align people around the boundaries so that their efforts move in the broad direction you set.
For example, Facebook rolls out changes continuously to small percentages of its users to gauge the impact of its experiments. These safe-to-fail experiments protect current attractors – their user interface, for example – and test new ones, such as a possible Facebook cryptocurrency.
Run small experiments in parallel, and choose some that turn out contrary to your expectations. Repeat them at different times and in different contexts. Make them fast and cheap, invite as many diverse perspectives as possible, and design them to produce clear, measurable results.
Motivate people by describing the journey as one of stages rather than one with a structure of due dates or specific financial objectives. For example, if you aim to cut costs by 10%, instead of announcing that goal, talk about experimenting in a direction of greater efficiencies. Acknowledge the fundamental role that emotions and feelings, as well as rationality and irrationality, play at work.
People think both rationally and emotionally. The mix of many people’s logic and feelings adds up to the best decisions.
You may think you can divorce your feelings and subjective notions from your decisions, but you can’t and you don’t, so acknowledge the role of emotion and utilize it. Even your so-called rational brain falls prey to many biases. Among the most prevalent, confirmation bias makes you unconsciously seek only information that supports your position. Recency bias puts undue importance on the latest thing you’ve seen or read.
The human brain has an enormous capacity not only to not see the whole picture but also to not notice that it hasn’t seen the whole picture.
A bias toward the visceral makes you worry more about low-risk dangers – like a shark attacking your child – than about dangers that occur much more often, such as drowning. When you are leading, fundamental attribution errors can cause you to ascribe good or bad events and outcomes to people while you underestimate the influence of circumstances. You can’t detect these and other biases. Remain aware of them, and seek other perspectives and viewpoints to counter them.
Help people develop greater capacity to accept and engage with VUCA.
People evolve through stages of development. Some leaders and employees will continue to rage against uncertainty while others mature, accept it and know the firm must adapt. A few will welcome and celebrate VUCA. These people have leadership potential because they tend to adopt the most creative solutions after synthesizing many people’s perspectives.
Don’t hire only the smartest people. Look for those who have demonstrably learned from failure. Encourage people to mature and grow in the way they deal with uncertainty by supporting their interests as well as the organization’s goals. Hold people accountable for their results, but not to the degree that you limit experimentation and risk taking, or leave no time for learning and development. Encourage healthy competition among your workforce, but not at the expense of collaboration or of stifling people’s willingness to listen and consider other perspectives.
A core desire people have from their leaders is direction and a sense of safety that someone knows where they’re all going. This is especially true in times of change.
Learning and work are not separate. Weave learning into personal work and teamwork, all the time. Assign work that stretches people and teams. Encourage genuine questions in meetings. Ask people to share at least one thing they’ve learned.
Eons of natural selection coded you to act first and think later. You must adapt to a new world that demands the opposite.
Create a curious, learning-first, “feedback-rich organization.” Make it safe to share positive and negative feedback – good and bad news – up, down and across the firm. Share a constant flow of information with all employees. Communicate with logic and emotions, facts, feelings and honesty. Listen deeply.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
December 28, 2023Berger offers up some tips about how to lead in complexity: setting direction and safe-to-fail experiment guardrails, creating a culture of inquiry and feedback, communicating clearly. After the first case study section, I skipped all of the rest.
Read
September 20, 2022Jennifer Garvey Berger and Keith Johnston are founding partners of Cultivating Leadership, a global leadership consultancy. Jennifer is the author of Changing on the Job (Stanford, 2011). Keith is the former Global Chair of Oxfam International. Follow them on CultivatingLeadership.com.
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Our complex world requires new approaches to leadership.
Here’s a tough scenario: Yolanda just became the head of a government agency responsible for placing children in foster care. It would be a great gig, but the agency is a mess. In her first year on the job, multiple children are hurt or go missing.
She does everything she can to solve the problem. She commissions reports, internal investigations, and fact-finding missions. In the end, all this research turns up tons of information but no answers. There are just too many variables to consider and no patterns to be found.
The world is a very different place than it used to be. There are more people, more ways to communicate, and everything from supply lines to personal networks can now span the entire globe. All this intricate interconnection gives rise to a set of conditions we can abbreviate to VUCA: volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.
VUCA poses a particular challenge to leaders, a category that includes everyone from the heads of big businesses to parents and teachers. Leaders have traditionally made decisions about the future by examining the past. However, in our VUCA world, the past is no longer a great predictor of what is to come.
Think about it. 500 years ago, there were only a handful of careers to choose from. Today, choosing the right course of study means anticipating a career that might not even exist yet.
Under these conditions, an effective leader needs to cultivate three crucial mental habits.
First, they need to practice asking different questions. You should always ask questions that broaden your thinking rather than narrow it. For instance, if something goes wrong, don’t just ask “what happened?” also ask “what else could have happened?”
Second, leaders need to take multiple perspectives. Don’t simply rely on your own point of view. Make an effort to understand how others see a situation. Even if you disagree, the difference in thinking or reasoning could provide valuable insight.
Third and finally, leaders need to see systems. This means taking a step back and looking for unexpected connections. It’s easy to look at the world as a series of single causes and effects, but it’s more accurate to see the world as a web, where each action has multiple causes and multiple effects.
Let’s look at how this all plays out in action.
---
Understanding complex systems involves seeing beyond cause and effect.
Let’s return to Yolanda, the head of our government agency. She’s sitting at her desk surrounded by stacks of files and folders. Each stack contains in-depth reports about an individual case of a missing child. Each report is filled with details, dates, and descriptions.
Reading the reports is heartbreaking, but not illuminating. They each provide an intimate story about what happened to an individual child, but give no insight as to why multiple children had to suffer.
What Yolanda is dealing with is a complex system. Such systems are so full of variables and interconnections that they can produce a whole range of possible outcomes. And since there are so many moving parts involved, predicting these outcomes becomes difficult.
If Yolanda wants to understand the system she’s dealing with, she has to change the way she thinks.
The ability to understand the basic concept of cause and effect was a huge advantage to our ancestors. For early humans, connecting some past actions to positive outcomes and others to negative ones was the difference between life and death. As a result, our brains evolved to see this simple narrative everywhere.
Sometimes, the past really is an excellent predictor of the future. If you got sick last time you ate expired sushi, there’s a good chance that will happen if you try it again. However, this pattern doesn’t always hold. Just because people bought tons of VHS tapes last decade, doesn’t mean they’ll do it again ten years from now.
If a system defies the linear cause and effect pattern, then it’s a complex system – and it requires a different way of thinking. To fix a broken complex system, you can’t just analyze individual negative results. The exact circumstances that produced them may never occur again. Instead, focus on the processes a system makes possible.
To do this, first, analyze the present arrangement of the system. Map out all its nodes and connections. Then, use this information to project into the future. What outcomes are possible? Which ones are more likely than others?
This approach can be tricky. However, it can also reveal the inherent tendencies within a system – that is, what a system has been doing without you even realizing it. By experimenting with small changes to the system, it’s possible to shift those tendencies to be more beneficial.
---
Feedback should form loops, not lines.
Picture this scene: It’s performance review time at a high-powered consulting firm. It’s been a rough year with a lot of change. The stressed-out senior director sits at her desk. Across from her is her equally frazzled employee. Now, here’s a question: In this situation, who would you rather be?
As it turns out, most people would rather be neither. Giving and getting feedback is an essential yet unpleasant part of any job. It can be tense and tedious. If done poorly, it can even result in more problems down the road. However, these issues can be avoided if you let feedback become a two-way street.
Unfortunately, most people tasked with providing feedback adopt the wrong strategy. They see the process as a straightforward, one-way operation. In this model, the supervisor knows the truth, and they must simply pass it on to their subordinate.
However, this approach is too linear, and does not create the feedback loop necessary for an organization to evolve.
Instead of this hierarchical model, feedback sessions should be approached as a space of mutual exchange. Both parties should be empowered to provide information into a shared pool of knowledge – and, crucially, both parties should take care to understand the other person’s contributions.
Of course, this is easier said than done.
To make things run smoothly, it’s best to separate your pool of information into three separate streams.
The first stream is the facts. This is just a pure distillation of empirical data: numbers, events, and concrete details. The second stream is feelings. This is how each person perceives these facts. Which ones are positive, and which ones are a source of frustration? The third and final stream is impacts, or, the actions that resulted from these perceptions.
When each party shares their assessments this way, it’s possible to create a more accurate picture of the world – without creating tension. Both the supervisor and the employee have a chance to receive new information, and both become potential points of change. As a result, the organization is much more likely to remain agile and responsive in uncertain situations.
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Planning for an uncertain future requires room to experiment.
Spaghetti, string, tape, and a marshmallow. Give these same materials to three groups: a group of architects, a group of consultants, and a group of children. Now, tell them to build the tallest tower possible. Which team will come out on top?
Obviously, the architects. But, most of the time, the children are a close second. While the architects have all the technical knowledge, the kids benefit from a wealth of creativity and a carefree attitude to try out wacky ideas. After all, if their tower falls, they can still eat the marshmallow.
These days, what first seems like a crucial goal may be irrelevant by the time you reach it. Or, the steps you planned to take may end up leading in the completely wrong direction. The future is uncertain, so your path forward must be flexible.
Before our VUCA dominated times, leadership was a more linear process. A successful manager had a clear roadmap to success. They just needed to collect all the relevant information, decide on the best direction, communicate a clear goal, and then help the rest of the team reach it. However, in our volatile world, information is always in flux, and the goal can be a moving target.
With the world more slippery than ever, having a rigid plan just won’t cut it. In this context, it’s better to have an overarching vision and a flexible approach to achieving it.
What exactly does a flexible approach look like? For one, it means avoiding strict targets. These are fixed metrics like, “keep customer calls below ten minutes.” While such stats are easy to measure and comforting to hit, they can be overly prescriptive. An organization with static targets will develop stagnant approaches to meeting them. It won’t adapt if the outside world changes.
Instead, try setting a looser goal and experiment with approaches to achieving it. Ensure your experiments are “safe to fail” by setting clear boundaries about acceptable outcomes. For instance, to meet a loose goal like “more satisfied customers” it may be okay to lose X amount of revenue, but completely unacceptable to break the law.
With clear boundaries in place, a team will be free to try out bold, novel ideas with sometimes unpredictable results. Such an arrangement will help your organization move toward their overall vision while still being open to new paths forward. You might be surprised where you end up.
---
A complex world demands new approaches to communication.
Years of practice, a written score, and an able conductor leading the way. It takes a lot for an orchestra to do justice to a beautiful symphony. But this complicated task is made simpler by having a clear goal: to play a faithful rendition of a composed piece.
A jazz band has a different challenge. Each time they play a song, it can be, and is supposed to be, completely different. This improvisational approach takes a unique type of communication. There’s no fixed score to lead the way, and each musician has to be open to subtle cues and unexpected riffs.
There’s risks and rewards to this dynamic musical style. Sometimes the band will lose their spark, but when they’ve got it, what results is incomparable.
In the old, uncomplicated world, a leader’s job was to communicate in clear and simple narratives. Like a conductor, their task was to make sure each member of an organization knew the group’s precise destination. Then, they had to spell out exactly the steps everyone needed to take to get there. This was a very linear, hierarchical model of communication.
The VUCA world is more like jazz. The destination can’t be given in definitive detail because the desired outcome is still unknown.
But that doesn’t mean complex organizations should be aimless. They should still know the general direction they want to go. A company may know they want to digitize more services, for instance, without setting in stone exactly which services should become digital.
To communicate more flexible goals, leaders need to change their language. A helpful approach is to reframe discussions to be less about final destinations and concrete steps, and more about journeys and processes. Metaphors can be helpful. Is your organization looking to “blaze a new path” or simply “tack slightly starboard?” Don’t fixate on the ends, but focus on how you want the organization to move in the present.
If your organization is used to clear messages, adapting to this approach can feel unnerving or strange. Don’t be afraid to tap into those sentiments. Be clear with your team members that embracing uncertainty can be both scary and a bit exciting. Being comfortable feeling these conflicting emotions is essential to working under VUCA conditions.
---
Approach every change as a chance to grow.
Think back to the biggest changes in your life. Were they intentional and planned, like a move to a new city? Or, were they unexpected surprises, like a sudden accident or business failure? Maybe, the changes were so gradual, you didn’t even notice them happening until they were over.
There’s no denying that change can take many forms. But, no matter what form it does take, change itself is inevitable. So, handling it in the right way is a crucial skill for any leader.
The individuals best suited to confront change and complexity are those that adapt to shifting conditions. They grow to meet new realities, see new challenges as a chance to cultivate new skills, and approach an unstable world with agility.
According to Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, there are two types of people in the world. The first type see themselves as completely stable. They think their identity is fixed and static. The second type of person sees themselves as dynamic. Their identity is a work in progress.
It’s no surprise that the second type of person, the one with a flexible self-conception, is better suited for the ever-changing world of VUCA.
But don’t despair if you see yourself belonging in the first category – anyone can become this second type of person. The trick is adopting a self-transforming mindset. This mindset recognizes that, while the world is volatile and out of our control, how we respond to this uncertainty isn’t.
Asking different questions is a great way to cultivate a self-transforming mindset. Don’t focus on “what am I?” or “what have I done before?” Instead, ask yourself, “what can I change?” and “what do I want to be in the future?”
Organizations as a whole can adopt this mindset, too. Examine your organization’s rules and values. Do they rigidly enforce a status quo, or, do they invite experimentation, variation, and adaptability? Even seemingly common-sense rules like “only hire the most qualified person” can stifle a self-transforming mindset. Bringing in talent with a little less experience or a unique background could provide the fresh energy and new perspective needed to adapt to changes.
The important thing to remember is that – for both individuals and groups – development and growth is an open-ended process. There is no final end point or ultimate finishing line to cross. The VUCA world is always changing, and your community needs to be open to change with it.
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Organizational change can’t be forced, it must be cultivated.
When you flick a light switch, your lamp turns on instantly. But, when you plant a seed, you don’t expect to be harvesting fresh fruit in a matter of minutes. Instead, you must till the soil, water the earth, and make sure your young sapling gets just the right amount of sunlight.
Just like growing a verdant garden, developing an organization ready for the VUCA world takes patience. There’s no magic button to press or lever to pull. It’s all about creating the right environment, and then letting nature take its course.
By now, you probably recognize the importance of adapting to our more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world. You’re probably even itching to rise to the new challenges it presents. And that’s great!
But it’s important to remember that you can’t overhaul everything overnight. In fact, there’s a benefit to taking things slowly.
It might be tempting to treat every potential problem like a crisis that needs immediate action. But this approach has two serious downsides. For one, it can lead us to adopt the solutions we already know without considering novel alternatives. And two, it can cause us to implement changes without understanding the potential range of outcomes.
Avoid these issues by creating a space for slow contemplation. For smaller subjects, this could mean setting aside the first part of a meeting to unpack a topic without offering any solutions. For larger projects, this could mean explicitly preparing for weeks of experimentation, trial and error, and open exploration without expecting any results.
In either case, the key is to create an environment that is flexible and free, not rigid and hierarchical. Make sure feedback flows smoothly back and forth. Communicate the direction you’re heading in without setting a final destination. And, understand that each setback, failure, or unexpected twist is an opportunity to learn.
Don’t be discouraged if things don’t feel different immediately. Adopting these habits is not a one-time event, but a process that happens over time. The more you make the effort to shift your organization’s mindset, the more it will feel at home in our volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world.
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The world is not as simple as it once was. Our increasingly interconnected, fast-paced, and technologically-advanced society is becoming more and more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. These conditions require a new form of leadership that is flexible, fluid, and agile. Successful leaders should embrace change, welcome feedback, and empower their organization to continually experiment and explore as they pursue the probable and the possible.
Actionable Advice:
Mix it up.
Sometimes the best way to cultivate creativity is by creating new space for conversation. When approaching a problem, try creating working groups composed of unusual combinations of people. Diversity is key. Mix together senior members and young upstarts from across departments. You may be surprised by what unconventional solutions will emerge.
---
Our complex world requires new approaches to leadership.
Here’s a tough scenario: Yolanda just became the head of a government agency responsible for placing children in foster care. It would be a great gig, but the agency is a mess. In her first year on the job, multiple children are hurt or go missing.
She does everything she can to solve the problem. She commissions reports, internal investigations, and fact-finding missions. In the end, all this research turns up tons of information but no answers. There are just too many variables to consider and no patterns to be found.
The world is a very different place than it used to be. There are more people, more ways to communicate, and everything from supply lines to personal networks can now span the entire globe. All this intricate interconnection gives rise to a set of conditions we can abbreviate to VUCA: volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.
VUCA poses a particular challenge to leaders, a category that includes everyone from the heads of big businesses to parents and teachers. Leaders have traditionally made decisions about the future by examining the past. However, in our VUCA world, the past is no longer a great predictor of what is to come.
Think about it. 500 years ago, there were only a handful of careers to choose from. Today, choosing the right course of study means anticipating a career that might not even exist yet.
Under these conditions, an effective leader needs to cultivate three crucial mental habits.
First, they need to practice asking different questions. You should always ask questions that broaden your thinking rather than narrow it. For instance, if something goes wrong, don’t just ask “what happened?” also ask “what else could have happened?”
Second, leaders need to take multiple perspectives. Don’t simply rely on your own point of view. Make an effort to understand how others see a situation. Even if you disagree, the difference in thinking or reasoning could provide valuable insight.
Third and finally, leaders need to see systems. This means taking a step back and looking for unexpected connections. It’s easy to look at the world as a series of single causes and effects, but it’s more accurate to see the world as a web, where each action has multiple causes and multiple effects.
Let’s look at how this all plays out in action.
---
Understanding complex systems involves seeing beyond cause and effect.
Let’s return to Yolanda, the head of our government agency. She’s sitting at her desk surrounded by stacks of files and folders. Each stack contains in-depth reports about an individual case of a missing child. Each report is filled with details, dates, and descriptions.
Reading the reports is heartbreaking, but not illuminating. They each provide an intimate story about what happened to an individual child, but give no insight as to why multiple children had to suffer.
What Yolanda is dealing with is a complex system. Such systems are so full of variables and interconnections that they can produce a whole range of possible outcomes. And since there are so many moving parts involved, predicting these outcomes becomes difficult.
If Yolanda wants to understand the system she’s dealing with, she has to change the way she thinks.
The ability to understand the basic concept of cause and effect was a huge advantage to our ancestors. For early humans, connecting some past actions to positive outcomes and others to negative ones was the difference between life and death. As a result, our brains evolved to see this simple narrative everywhere.
Sometimes, the past really is an excellent predictor of the future. If you got sick last time you ate expired sushi, there’s a good chance that will happen if you try it again. However, this pattern doesn’t always hold. Just because people bought tons of VHS tapes last decade, doesn’t mean they’ll do it again ten years from now.
If a system defies the linear cause and effect pattern, then it’s a complex system – and it requires a different way of thinking. To fix a broken complex system, you can’t just analyze individual negative results. The exact circumstances that produced them may never occur again. Instead, focus on the processes a system makes possible.
To do this, first, analyze the present arrangement of the system. Map out all its nodes and connections. Then, use this information to project into the future. What outcomes are possible? Which ones are more likely than others?
This approach can be tricky. However, it can also reveal the inherent tendencies within a system – that is, what a system has been doing without you even realizing it. By experimenting with small changes to the system, it’s possible to shift those tendencies to be more beneficial.
---
Feedback should form loops, not lines.
Picture this scene: It’s performance review time at a high-powered consulting firm. It’s been a rough year with a lot of change. The stressed-out senior director sits at her desk. Across from her is her equally frazzled employee. Now, here’s a question: In this situation, who would you rather be?
As it turns out, most people would rather be neither. Giving and getting feedback is an essential yet unpleasant part of any job. It can be tense and tedious. If done poorly, it can even result in more problems down the road. However, these issues can be avoided if you let feedback become a two-way street.
Unfortunately, most people tasked with providing feedback adopt the wrong strategy. They see the process as a straightforward, one-way operation. In this model, the supervisor knows the truth, and they must simply pass it on to their subordinate.
However, this approach is too linear, and does not create the feedback loop necessary for an organization to evolve.
Instead of this hierarchical model, feedback sessions should be approached as a space of mutual exchange. Both parties should be empowered to provide information into a shared pool of knowledge – and, crucially, both parties should take care to understand the other person’s contributions.
Of course, this is easier said than done.
To make things run smoothly, it’s best to separate your pool of information into three separate streams.
The first stream is the facts. This is just a pure distillation of empirical data: numbers, events, and concrete details. The second stream is feelings. This is how each person perceives these facts. Which ones are positive, and which ones are a source of frustration? The third and final stream is impacts, or, the actions that resulted from these perceptions.
When each party shares their assessments this way, it’s possible to create a more accurate picture of the world – without creating tension. Both the supervisor and the employee have a chance to receive new information, and both become potential points of change. As a result, the organization is much more likely to remain agile and responsive in uncertain situations.
---
Planning for an uncertain future requires room to experiment.
Spaghetti, string, tape, and a marshmallow. Give these same materials to three groups: a group of architects, a group of consultants, and a group of children. Now, tell them to build the tallest tower possible. Which team will come out on top?
Obviously, the architects. But, most of the time, the children are a close second. While the architects have all the technical knowledge, the kids benefit from a wealth of creativity and a carefree attitude to try out wacky ideas. After all, if their tower falls, they can still eat the marshmallow.
These days, what first seems like a crucial goal may be irrelevant by the time you reach it. Or, the steps you planned to take may end up leading in the completely wrong direction. The future is uncertain, so your path forward must be flexible.
Before our VUCA dominated times, leadership was a more linear process. A successful manager had a clear roadmap to success. They just needed to collect all the relevant information, decide on the best direction, communicate a clear goal, and then help the rest of the team reach it. However, in our volatile world, information is always in flux, and the goal can be a moving target.
With the world more slippery than ever, having a rigid plan just won’t cut it. In this context, it’s better to have an overarching vision and a flexible approach to achieving it.
What exactly does a flexible approach look like? For one, it means avoiding strict targets. These are fixed metrics like, “keep customer calls below ten minutes.” While such stats are easy to measure and comforting to hit, they can be overly prescriptive. An organization with static targets will develop stagnant approaches to meeting them. It won’t adapt if the outside world changes.
Instead, try setting a looser goal and experiment with approaches to achieving it. Ensure your experiments are “safe to fail” by setting clear boundaries about acceptable outcomes. For instance, to meet a loose goal like “more satisfied customers” it may be okay to lose X amount of revenue, but completely unacceptable to break the law.
With clear boundaries in place, a team will be free to try out bold, novel ideas with sometimes unpredictable results. Such an arrangement will help your organization move toward their overall vision while still being open to new paths forward. You might be surprised where you end up.
---
A complex world demands new approaches to communication.
Years of practice, a written score, and an able conductor leading the way. It takes a lot for an orchestra to do justice to a beautiful symphony. But this complicated task is made simpler by having a clear goal: to play a faithful rendition of a composed piece.
A jazz band has a different challenge. Each time they play a song, it can be, and is supposed to be, completely different. This improvisational approach takes a unique type of communication. There’s no fixed score to lead the way, and each musician has to be open to subtle cues and unexpected riffs.
There’s risks and rewards to this dynamic musical style. Sometimes the band will lose their spark, but when they’ve got it, what results is incomparable.
In the old, uncomplicated world, a leader’s job was to communicate in clear and simple narratives. Like a conductor, their task was to make sure each member of an organization knew the group’s precise destination. Then, they had to spell out exactly the steps everyone needed to take to get there. This was a very linear, hierarchical model of communication.
The VUCA world is more like jazz. The destination can’t be given in definitive detail because the desired outcome is still unknown.
But that doesn’t mean complex organizations should be aimless. They should still know the general direction they want to go. A company may know they want to digitize more services, for instance, without setting in stone exactly which services should become digital.
To communicate more flexible goals, leaders need to change their language. A helpful approach is to reframe discussions to be less about final destinations and concrete steps, and more about journeys and processes. Metaphors can be helpful. Is your organization looking to “blaze a new path” or simply “tack slightly starboard?” Don’t fixate on the ends, but focus on how you want the organization to move in the present.
If your organization is used to clear messages, adapting to this approach can feel unnerving or strange. Don’t be afraid to tap into those sentiments. Be clear with your team members that embracing uncertainty can be both scary and a bit exciting. Being comfortable feeling these conflicting emotions is essential to working under VUCA conditions.
---
Approach every change as a chance to grow.
Think back to the biggest changes in your life. Were they intentional and planned, like a move to a new city? Or, were they unexpected surprises, like a sudden accident or business failure? Maybe, the changes were so gradual, you didn’t even notice them happening until they were over.
There’s no denying that change can take many forms. But, no matter what form it does take, change itself is inevitable. So, handling it in the right way is a crucial skill for any leader.
The individuals best suited to confront change and complexity are those that adapt to shifting conditions. They grow to meet new realities, see new challenges as a chance to cultivate new skills, and approach an unstable world with agility.
According to Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, there are two types of people in the world. The first type see themselves as completely stable. They think their identity is fixed and static. The second type of person sees themselves as dynamic. Their identity is a work in progress.
It’s no surprise that the second type of person, the one with a flexible self-conception, is better suited for the ever-changing world of VUCA.
But don’t despair if you see yourself belonging in the first category – anyone can become this second type of person. The trick is adopting a self-transforming mindset. This mindset recognizes that, while the world is volatile and out of our control, how we respond to this uncertainty isn’t.
Asking different questions is a great way to cultivate a self-transforming mindset. Don’t focus on “what am I?” or “what have I done before?” Instead, ask yourself, “what can I change?” and “what do I want to be in the future?”
Organizations as a whole can adopt this mindset, too. Examine your organization’s rules and values. Do they rigidly enforce a status quo, or, do they invite experimentation, variation, and adaptability? Even seemingly common-sense rules like “only hire the most qualified person” can stifle a self-transforming mindset. Bringing in talent with a little less experience or a unique background could provide the fresh energy and new perspective needed to adapt to changes.
The important thing to remember is that – for both individuals and groups – development and growth is an open-ended process. There is no final end point or ultimate finishing line to cross. The VUCA world is always changing, and your community needs to be open to change with it.
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Organizational change can’t be forced, it must be cultivated.
When you flick a light switch, your lamp turns on instantly. But, when you plant a seed, you don’t expect to be harvesting fresh fruit in a matter of minutes. Instead, you must till the soil, water the earth, and make sure your young sapling gets just the right amount of sunlight.
Just like growing a verdant garden, developing an organization ready for the VUCA world takes patience. There’s no magic button to press or lever to pull. It’s all about creating the right environment, and then letting nature take its course.
By now, you probably recognize the importance of adapting to our more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world. You’re probably even itching to rise to the new challenges it presents. And that’s great!
But it’s important to remember that you can’t overhaul everything overnight. In fact, there’s a benefit to taking things slowly.
It might be tempting to treat every potential problem like a crisis that needs immediate action. But this approach has two serious downsides. For one, it can lead us to adopt the solutions we already know without considering novel alternatives. And two, it can cause us to implement changes without understanding the potential range of outcomes.
Avoid these issues by creating a space for slow contemplation. For smaller subjects, this could mean setting aside the first part of a meeting to unpack a topic without offering any solutions. For larger projects, this could mean explicitly preparing for weeks of experimentation, trial and error, and open exploration without expecting any results.
In either case, the key is to create an environment that is flexible and free, not rigid and hierarchical. Make sure feedback flows smoothly back and forth. Communicate the direction you’re heading in without setting a final destination. And, understand that each setback, failure, or unexpected twist is an opportunity to learn.
Don’t be discouraged if things don’t feel different immediately. Adopting these habits is not a one-time event, but a process that happens over time. The more you make the effort to shift your organization’s mindset, the more it will feel at home in our volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world.
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The world is not as simple as it once was. Our increasingly interconnected, fast-paced, and technologically-advanced society is becoming more and more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. These conditions require a new form of leadership that is flexible, fluid, and agile. Successful leaders should embrace change, welcome feedback, and empower their organization to continually experiment and explore as they pursue the probable and the possible.
Actionable Advice:
Mix it up.
Sometimes the best way to cultivate creativity is by creating new space for conversation. When approaching a problem, try creating working groups composed of unusual combinations of people. Diversity is key. Mix together senior members and young upstarts from across departments. You may be surprised by what unconventional solutions will emerge.
June 10, 2019
There are fantastic ideas and provocations in this book about what leaders need to do to embrace complexity. It has sparked a lot of useful thoughts and I’ve started following threads to articles and books as a result of reading it.
The mixing of fictional illustrations with conventional business book format didn’t work for me. I was impatient to get through these and I didn’t enjoy the story or like the characters. It’s a tough trick to pull off – probably best avoided.
+ + Update + +
On finishing *Simple Habits* I’ve immediately started reading Garvey Berger’s Stanford Brief monograph *Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps* and the introduction includes this:
“I learned after Keith and I wrote Simple Habits that the single case study that weaves through the text is the cilantro [coriander] of business book ingredients. Some readers love the story and say it helps the ideas land; others hate it and prefer smaller examples to bring the ideas to life.”
Two things: (a) it wasn’t just me, then; and (b) who doesn’t like coriander?
The mixing of fictional illustrations with conventional business book format didn’t work for me. I was impatient to get through these and I didn’t enjoy the story or like the characters. It’s a tough trick to pull off – probably best avoided.
+ + Update + +
On finishing *Simple Habits* I’ve immediately started reading Garvey Berger’s Stanford Brief monograph *Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps* and the introduction includes this:
“I learned after Keith and I wrote Simple Habits that the single case study that weaves through the text is the cilantro [coriander] of business book ingredients. Some readers love the story and say it helps the ideas land; others hate it and prefer smaller examples to bring the ideas to life.”
Two things: (a) it wasn’t just me, then; and (b) who doesn’t like coriander?
April 21, 2022
I read the first few chapters of this, wasn't really drawn in, then started into other books, and then it was due back at the library and I didn't feel compelled to continue on. I flagged this to read a few years ago when I was working in leadership development, and while I think it's interesting and covers useful topics, I've since read a number of other books that are similarly-themed (but just not specific for leaders) and have enjoyed more. Some thoughtful ideas for sure, but I didn't think it was written in a compelling and clear way, so I just set it aside.
May 22, 2018
Told through a fictionalized account of a business and an nonprofit learning the principles in the book, and through real life examples and evidence from research. The authors make a case that in these complex times, we need to ask different questions, get multiple perspectives, and think systems rather than linear solutions. All of that fits nicely with the work I do, so obviously I thought they were spot on :)
December 15, 2019
Overall quite good but reading it felt like an exercise in complexity. For some reason it was hard to switch back and forth between the story and the lessons for me
October 17, 2019
The case study sections had to be skipped - the authors are clearly not fiction writers.
The regular content was good but probably could have been condensed into a much shorter form.
The regular content was good but probably could have been condensed into a much shorter form.
January 4, 2022
You know how sometimes you read a book and it seem like the author is speaking directly to you? This one was like the opposite of that: It was like the author was speaking to someone else in the room and I had to keep putting in a steady amount of work to try to get into the conversation or something. Not quite sure why. Perhaps the whole fiction thread illustrating in practical ways what the book was talking about? But also the core text was difficult too.
Good news: tons of valuable gems inside there, and they're absolutely worth the work for me to dig them out and extract them and clean them and polish them so I could look at them clearly and make good sense of them. Totally worth it! :)
I learned a lot and have applied a lot and it's making a difference. I recommend this book if you are willing to trust me that there are gems in there and put in the work to extract them for yourself.
Good news: tons of valuable gems inside there, and they're absolutely worth the work for me to dig them out and extract them and clean them and polish them so I could look at them clearly and make good sense of them. Totally worth it! :)
I learned a lot and have applied a lot and it's making a difference. I recommend this book if you are willing to trust me that there are gems in there and put in the work to extract them for yourself.
September 18, 2023
The more I read about complexity, the more curious I am about its application to our biggest challenges and to the development of leaders. Jennifer Garvey Berger is among the most influential complexity thinkers. A quote included in the book by Jewish physicist Neils Bohr sums up complexity. "The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. The opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth."
This book has several key lessons for navigating complexity with a couple of stories that help explore them:
- Determine what's predictable and what's not, and lean in to leading in unpredictable settings.
- Create a feedback-rich organization in which you and others can constantly learn about what needs to change.
- Choose a direction and build guardrails.
- Examine the present, and look for attractors.
- Experiment and learn.
- Communicate clearly in uncertain times.
- All the while, develop. growth mindset in yourself and others.
This book has several key lessons for navigating complexity with a couple of stories that help explore them:
- Determine what's predictable and what's not, and lean in to leading in unpredictable settings.
- Create a feedback-rich organization in which you and others can constantly learn about what needs to change.
- Choose a direction and build guardrails.
- Examine the present, and look for attractors.
- Experiment and learn.
- Communicate clearly in uncertain times.
- All the while, develop. growth mindset in yourself and others.
March 11, 2025
A must-read leadership book on complexity / adaptive leadership, compellingly crafted and engagingly presented. The book is well sourced and researched, but not too academic, which is always a plus for leadership writing. Highly recommended.
That said, I found this book hard to get into. For the longest time I found the approach quite cringey - presenting leadership techniques but then presenting narrative stories. I'm so glad I persevered, this book is chock full of wisdom about leading change particularly in large organisations.
The one drawback: some of the choices the authors made, especially around language is.... weird. For example, the leadership techniques are interspersed between a leadership vignette of a leader's journey...but the two white authors have for some inexplicable reason made her black? And keep coming back to her skin colour (described in more than one place as "mocha skin"?!?). This is the only reason its not a full four stars
That said, I found this book hard to get into. For the longest time I found the approach quite cringey - presenting leadership techniques but then presenting narrative stories. I'm so glad I persevered, this book is chock full of wisdom about leading change particularly in large organisations.
The one drawback: some of the choices the authors made, especially around language is.... weird. For example, the leadership techniques are interspersed between a leadership vignette of a leader's journey...but the two white authors have for some inexplicable reason made her black? And keep coming back to her skin colour (described in more than one place as "mocha skin"?!?). This is the only reason its not a full four stars
March 31, 2019
Some good take-aways, some repeat material.
Good take-aways:
- Complicated: A problem that you can think and reason about and come up with a solution. E.g., designing a software system.
- Complex: Some systems are so hard to reason about that you can't plan or really predict the future. Examples: human systems (orgs), weather, health.
- Orgs and businesses are often complex (not complicated). Just recognizing that is powerful, because it means that we shouldn't expect to have clear goals and reach them linearly.
- How to deal with it?
-- Think hard about your vision of where you want to be.
-- Consider many different perspectives
-- Set up "safe to fail" experiments where you try different things and see how the system reacts.
Repeat material: biases such as confirmation bias; grow your leaders.
Good take-aways:
- Complicated: A problem that you can think and reason about and come up with a solution. E.g., designing a software system.
- Complex: Some systems are so hard to reason about that you can't plan or really predict the future. Examples: human systems (orgs), weather, health.
- Orgs and businesses are often complex (not complicated). Just recognizing that is powerful, because it means that we shouldn't expect to have clear goals and reach them linearly.
- How to deal with it?
-- Think hard about your vision of where you want to be.
-- Consider many different perspectives
-- Set up "safe to fail" experiments where you try different things and see how the system reacts.
Repeat material: biases such as confirmation bias; grow your leaders.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 3, 2019
I thought this job did a more effective job than her previous book (Changing on the Job: Developing Leaders for a Complex World) in providing concrete advice. I especially appreciated the delineation between complicated and complex situations. Also valuable was her suggestions to tie future actions to past efforts, both successful and unsuccessful. I reiterate the outline in the summary because it provides the core of what is helpful. In complex times, leaders need to:
take multiple perspectives,
ask different questions, and
see more of their system
take multiple perspectives,
ask different questions, and
see more of their system
July 2, 2019
Practical complexity theory
Complexity theory is great, but it’s hard to put into practice meaningfully. This is a very practical way to being to start thinking through that process as a leader. While it’s still a bit abstract the examples attempt to ground it in “real life”. It falls a bit short of a guide, but is skewed away from the theory into narrative. If that’s your thing, you will enjoy this book like I did.
Complexity theory is great, but it’s hard to put into practice meaningfully. This is a very practical way to being to start thinking through that process as a leader. While it’s still a bit abstract the examples attempt to ground it in “real life”. It falls a bit short of a guide, but is skewed away from the theory into narrative. If that’s your thing, you will enjoy this book like I did.
July 26, 2020
The new world is not simple. In fact, the increasingly interconnected, fast-paced, and technologically-advanced nature of today is making our society more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. These conditions need a new form of leadership that is flexible, fluid, and agile. Successful leadership, according to the author, should embrace change, welcome feedback, and empower their organisation to explore and experiment as they pursue the probable and the possible.
June 5, 2022
Highly recommend this books content, 5 stars. The story, as fiction, is just horrible, although I can appreciate it is occasionally useful for exposition.
Like the Phoenix project, or the Lean Startup, this book delivers its central ideas by weaving them into a story. Technical writing interleaved with story craft. The technical writing consistently delivers, there are an abundance of useful ideas and compelling insights. I learned a lot of useful mental models.
Like the Phoenix project, or the Lean Startup, this book delivers its central ideas by weaving them into a story. Technical writing interleaved with story craft. The technical writing consistently delivers, there are an abundance of useful ideas and compelling insights. I learned a lot of useful mental models.
articles
September 19, 2022The world is not as simple as it once was. Our increasingly interconnected, fast-paced, and technologically-advanced society is becoming more and more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. These conditions require a new form of leadership that is flexible, fluid, and agile. Successful leaders should embrace change, welcome feedback, and empower their organization to continually experiment and explore as they pursue the probable and the possible.
September 19, 2022
The world is not as simple as it once was. Our increasingly interconnected, fast-paced, and technologically-advanced society is becoming more and more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. These conditions require a new form of leadership that is flexible, fluid, and agile. Successful leaders should embrace change, welcome feedback, and empower their organization to continually experiment and explore as they pursue the probable and the possible.
January 30, 2023
More well-intentioned than well done. Still, while reading this, a few thoughts came up that I want to remember:
- Most problems in complex systems are systemic problems, not people problems.
- Remember that you have biases. To see the whole picture, ask genuine questions.
- Set a direction (e.g., greater efficiency) and define boundaries (e.g., no new IT systems) then let people experiment towards your vision.
- Most problems in complex systems are systemic problems, not people problems.
- Remember that you have biases. To see the whole picture, ask genuine questions.
- Set a direction (e.g., greater efficiency) and define boundaries (e.g., no new IT systems) then let people experiment towards your vision.
July 19, 2020
I started reading this book during the lockdown. I thought it is the best time to read because I have never had this kind of different and complex circumstance. There are quite a few pieces of advice in the book however, I would like to see more solid advice. I felt most of them were a bit shallow and not unique to the situation or hard times.
If I sum up:
The world is not as simple as it once was. Our increasingly popular interconnected, fast-paced, and tech-savvy society became much more unstable if not volatile and complex. These circumstances require a new form of leadership that is flexible and agile. Successful leaders should embrace change, welcome feedback, and empower their organization to continually experiment and explore as they pursue the probable and the possible.
When addressing a problem, try creating working groups composed of extraordinary combinations of people. Diversity is crucial. Mix together senior members and young upstarts from across departments. You may be surprised by what unconventional solutions will emerge.
If I sum up:
The world is not as simple as it once was. Our increasingly popular interconnected, fast-paced, and tech-savvy society became much more unstable if not volatile and complex. These circumstances require a new form of leadership that is flexible and agile. Successful leaders should embrace change, welcome feedback, and empower their organization to continually experiment and explore as they pursue the probable and the possible.
When addressing a problem, try creating working groups composed of extraordinary combinations of people. Diversity is crucial. Mix together senior members and young upstarts from across departments. You may be surprised by what unconventional solutions will emerge.
February 25, 2022
An enjoyable account of applying Complexity Theory to modern management.
I didn't love the weaving of a fictional story through the book as a case study to illustrate the ideas, but by the end it worked well enough, and I suspect it's the element I'll remember more (whether that's a good thing or not for remembering its message).
I didn't love the weaving of a fictional story through the book as a case study to illustrate the ideas, but by the end it worked well enough, and I suspect it's the element I'll remember more (whether that's a good thing or not for remembering its message).
March 17, 2023
3.5 The title is misleading - there is nothing simple about this book. It had a lot of good ideas and the use of business fiction was one of the best I've ever seen. The story helped illuminate the concepts and wasn't trite. However, a lot of this book was dense and is something to be returned to over time.
October 30, 2023
A lot of solid information to process. The authors embedded actual scenarios to provide context to the concepts. The notes, bibliography, and index included at the rear of the book was extremely helpful.
It is about changing current reflex and norm into a new set of reactions. It won't come without thinking about implementation.
It is about changing current reflex and norm into a new set of reactions. It won't come without thinking about implementation.
November 4, 2017
A practical guide for acting as a leader in increasingly complex environments. Effective storytelling, and tactics that connect very well to what I see day-to-day in my organizational development work.
October 2, 2020
Society is becoming complex, and requires flexible leadership that embraces change. By empowering our organization, and having better communication, we can lead better to experiment and face the fast-faced modern times.
March 26, 2022
Incorporating a story about two organizations helps break up the content into more digestible pieces and see it in action. The main three lessons - ask different questions, seek multiple perspectives, and see in systems - are incredibly useful tools for working in complex environments
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