New Leadership Reflexes: The Key to Success in Complex Settings

• In Event: Interactive Roundtable Discussions & Member Community Information Tables
  In Interactive Roundtable: Public Leadership Interactive Roundtable Discussions

Short Description

Are you lost in this increasing complex world? In many cases, old paradigms and ingrained reflexes are no longer helpful or applicable. This discussion will consider the latest insights in the field of system transformation and the instruments that go along with it (e.g. Future Search, appreciative inquiry, and serious gaming) to explore new approaches to leading through complexity.

Detailed Abstract

Complex settings and turbulent times require different leadership reflexes. Our current reflexes are based on the way we have been educated in schools, university’s and business classes. Furthermore we have reflexes based on our nature, as human beings. These reflexes, based on nature and nurture, define the way we perceive complex situations and perform in those situations.

Daniel Kahneman (the famous noble price winner) for example states quite clearly that we, as human beings, have a longing for secure outcomes. Most project management courses are focused on securing outcomes. Our first reflex, based on nature and nurture, would be to secure outcomes. However, in complex situations outcomes are not sure. As a leader you have to embrace this uncertainty, help guide people through the process and create a situation in which results are being achieved step by step.

Another example is the way we handle different views and opinions. The famous Solomon Asch experiment clearly shows what happens in groups. We will agree with the opinion of the group, even if we know they are wrong because we don’t want to be excluded from the group. The same applies to a business situation in which an employee has a different opinion. As a manager we are being taught to handle resistance so employees will comply to our view. The reflexes are based on unification, arguments and debate. In complex situations a different reflex is needed because the “odd voice” often conveys crucial information, because dialogue conveys new insights and forced unification will disrupt processes in which interdependency is a reality. As a leader you have to let go of your own opinion and views and focus on dialogue, mutual understanding, partnership and common ground. If you, for example, want to create an ambition nature and nurture triggers a manager to state an ambition. As a leader in a complex setting you do the opposite: you do not state an ambition. You will facilitate a process in which the ambition emerges through dialogue and partnership.

Leadership is an essential piece of the puzzle if you want to achieve results in complex settings. In a lot of cases our reflexes tend to be disruptive because we are human beings and wired in a certain way. These natural reflexes are often being increased through our professional and educational experiences. In this round table discussion we will explore these leadership reflexes and the crucial differences in complex situations. We will focus on the different roles in these processes such as a manager and a consultant.

Central questions and flow:
1. Short introduction (i.e. the detailed abstract);
2. Emphasizing the scope of discussion: complex situations (multistakeholder, interdependency, volatile context);
3. Focussing the discussion on an example: creating an ambition in a complex situation. (The group can introduce another example if wanted)

4. Questions
a. What is, currently, a manager being taught when creating an ambition?
b. What would the effect of these reflexes be in a complex situation?
c. What reflexes are needed in leadership to create an ambition?

4. Perspectivity
We are a group of professionals fascinated by complex situations. In these situations we work in various roles: as facilitator, as advisor, as trainer and as process manager.
We have achieved successful results with the tools in this workshop in a large variety of situations. From conflict areas in Israel and South Sudan, to Dutch (government) institutions such as the municipality of Amsterdam and different ministries.
Some of the latest assignments in which we used the puzzle are:
• Ministry of Social Affairs (Netherlands);
• Palestinian authority (West Bank);
• Health care organization – GGD Zuid (Netherlands)
• North Irish Government (UK)
• World Bank (US)
• Karuna - NGO on womens’ rights (Nepal);

We make use of the latest insights in the field of system transformation and the instruments that go along with it, such as Future Search, system labs, dialogue, Appreciative Inquiry, serious gaming and Deep Democracy.

Participant

• Maurice van Hoek, Perspectivity