Adaptive Leadership in today’s Modern Society

Adaptive Leadership in today’s Modern Society

By Dr Tony Mobbs, Associate Partner, Cynefin Centre for Organisational Complexity

IBM Business Consulting Services

Disposing of yesterday’s ineffective management styles

Learning from nature to redefine the notion of leadership
Chaos as the spark for creativity and innovation
Cynefin & Leadership

Abstract

Today’s business environment is becoming increasingly dynamic,

complex and socially aware. Organisations have to become more agile

and responsive to survive and succeed. This in turn is placing a different

emphasis on the type and style of leadership required to create

innovation for business advantage.

Unfortunately, current management theory is proving wilfully inadequate

for addressing this task. This is because it draws on the mechanistic

world view that has dominated Western culture since the emergence of

Newtonian physics. The main problem is that this model assumes a

known cause and effect which can be researched, understood, and

thereby managed. Furthermore, by assuming that human organisations

are best understood and managed as if they were machines, Taylorism

has imposed a pessimistic and unconstructive blue print on

organisational behaviour that underestimates nature’s capacity to

innovate.

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In response to these inadequacies, an alternative school of thought has

come to the fore. Based on the “science of complexity”, it views all living

things as examples of complex adaptive systems, whether they are rain

forests, ants, humans or businesses. In all these systems, independent

participants interact to continually reform and shape their future. This

new paradigm no longer sees companies as unemotional environments

with simple causes and solutions, but embraces them as uncertain

milieus, brimming with the inherent innovative capacity we associate with

all life.

By demonstrating how much there is to learn from nature, this work has

opened up new thinking for today’s business leaders. For example, if we

treat organisations as adaptive organisms that thrive on change, rather

than as machines that need reengineering, an innovative, social aware

culture becomes a natural habitat rather than a constant uphill battle.

Interaction between people, not structures and processes, are at the key

to understanding any organisation.

Keywords
Leadership, Complexity Thinking, Pattern Management, Narratives

Four key principles

There are four key principals that can be distilled from the science of

complexity that are inherent to businesses and organisations: (1)

1. Equilibrium is a precursor to death. When a living system is in a state

of equilibrium, it is less responsive to changes in its environment.

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2. In the face of threat, living things move towards the edge of chaos.

This invokes high levels of mutations and experimentations, from which

innovative solutions are more likely to emerge.

3. When this excitation occurs, the components of living systems self-

organise and new forms or patterns will emerge from the turmoil.

4. Living things cannot be directed along a linear path – unforeseen

consequences are inevitable. The challenge is to disturb or disrupt

them to provoke the desired outcome.

Strong adaptive leaders who apply these key principals to their business will

allow their enterprises to develop and thrive in a complex, modern world, but

at the same time being aware of their social responsibilities.

Leadership Characteristics in a complex and innovative enterprise

The romantic image of a lone leader working late into the night to conjure up

groundbreaking innovation that will invigorate a company’s performance is

enticing, but dangerous. People lie at the heart of an organisation, but it is

people acting within teams, networks and communities that are the basis of

culture and corporate values in today’s business environment. Far reaching

and complex cultures are not the result of creative entrepreneurs, but the

outcome of effective teamwork. The heroic vision of leadership puts too much

emphasis on an individual, making a distinct contribution, at a particular

moment in time. Leadership is not always dramatic, and everyone does not

sit below simply waiting for something truly significant to happen. The

centuries old rhetoric therefore needs to be toned down, and in the new model

that is emerging, leaders become a critical part of the team, and sit in the

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heart rather than at the head of an organisation. According to this approach,

one of the most important characteristics required to lead a socially aware

company is connectivity – the capacity to connect with employees, customers,

suppliers, & competitors, and the desire to connect them with one another.

A connected leader is vital for innovation, because meaning is critical for

creativity. People have to care about a problem in order for them to be

sufficiently motivated to innovate. The most effective way to find out what is

meaningful to people is to work with them and listen to them. By getting to

know their stories, leaders will appreciate and benefit from each unique

perspective. Diversity is critical for innovation, and it is an advantage, not a

hindrance, that no two people will see the world in the same way. The key is

finding a way to connect with, and harness, these diverse perspectives.

Leaders also need to be connected because no one person can understand

all the intricacies of a complex system. By connecting to as many aspects of

the business as possible, leaders can place themselves in a unique and

valuable position. They can stand on the boarder-lands between different

areas of the business, imagining the possibilities, breaking down traditional

boundaries, and spotting where unexpected collaboration could yield results.

Connectivity can also lead to innovation because much of an organisation’s

knowledge and intelligence is invisible, and remains in the head and hands of

particular employees and networks. By engaging as many participants as

possible in the innovation process, this invisible knowledge will be brought to

bear. Adopting an inclusive approach towards innovation also increases the

number of co-creators and champions. Sharing in the achievement provides

a common ground for the innovators, and increases the sense of camaraderie

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within a team of diverse employees. This camaraderie can be further

bolstered by a strong sense of corporate culture, which helps employees to

feel connected, and inspires them to perform to the best of their abilities. The

leader of any organisation must be the clearest embodiment of this culture,

and it should be evident to all employees that the corporate principles are not

mere slogans, but should imbue all work.

As well as being connected, a leader should also strive to connect creative

people to the entire organisation, whilst also protecting them from

bureaucracy and legalism. Layers of management often thought necessary

for orderly review and direction can, in fact, stifle and limit innovation. So,

leaders should not insist that every innovation has to go through several lines

of management before it can be considered by someone who has the

authority to act. Innovation requires fast approvals, not only to ensure an idea

is not stifled and the innovator not demotivated, but also to make certain it

reaches the market before a competitor.

Effective innovation is also customer driven so leaders need to be externally

connected to their customers and suppliers. These external sources provide

a further perspective on market needs and open up new possibilities for

collaborative innovation. To borrow the analogy of Rosabeth Moss Kanter,

the more eclectic the picture with it’s Kaleidoscope of colours, the more likely
(2)
that innovations will result. As CEO of IBM, Louis Gerstner was well

known for spending a great deal of time collaborating with customers to drive

strategic insights.

All the best intentions to achieve connectivity will fail, if employees and

customers do not believe a leader is willing to listen and learn. Connectivity

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will increase when leaders have the courage to be curious rather than certain,

and admit they don’t know everything about the business. Professor Joseph

Badaracco of Harvard Business School agrees that heroic accomplishments

(3)
are not always the key to an innovative company. Instead, he argues that

they are the sum of millions of small yet consequential decisions made by

many leaders within an organisation. Badaracco calls them ‘quiet leaders’,

those who don’t want to be a gutsy hero, but want to do the right thing,

inconspicuously, and without casualties.

The Cynefin model for leadership

Are you an adaptive leader?

According to the science of complexity, effective leadership within a complex

environment relies on making sense of the relationships between its

interacting components. One of the techniques, developed by IBM over the

last three years, has been the use of a “common sense making model”. It

describes the business environment in a way that creates clearly marked

boundaries between different levels of uncertainty. This, in turn, allows the

definition of a variety of leadership styles that recognise the diversity found in

modern organisations. This model is called the Cynefin model for leadership

and is shown in the following figure.

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Complex Knowable
Cause and effect coherent in Cause and effect separated over time &
retrospect do not repeat space
Pattern management Analytical/Reductionist
Perspective Lens Systems Thinking
Probe – Sense – Respond Sense – Analyse - Respond

Chaos Known
No Cause and effect relationships Cause and effect relations repeatable
perceivable and predictable
Enact the seeds of order Legitimate best practice
“Attractor Intervention” Process Re-engineering
Act – Sense – Respond Sense - Categorise – Respond

Cynefin (pronounced cun-ev-in) is literally translated from Welsh as habitat, or

as acquainted or familiar. It demonstrates that in order to understand the

current context of a business, an effective leader must first understand its

history. Only then will they have the capability to change its future and create

build a culture that nourishes innovation and social obligation.

The Cynefin model defines four main phases that can best be described in

terms of the relationship between cause and effect:

1. The known space. The relationship between cause and effect are

known and repeatable. This is the domain of common procedures,

universal processes and information systems.

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2. The knowable space. The relationship between cause and effect can

be deduced and, over a period of time, given the necessary resources

of time and effort. This is the space of experimentation and expert

opinion.

3. The complex space. This is the domain of complex adaptive systems.

Relationships between cause and effect can be perceived through the

patterns that will emerge, but the form of these patterns cannot be

predicted.

4. The chaotic space. There are no known relationships between cause

and effect. Within the chaotic domain the most important thing to do is

to act, then sense and react accordingly. Being in this domain is not

comfortable and can lead to high levels of stress. However, if

managed appropriately, the adaptive leader can use this space to their

advantage and this can prove to be the most innovative environment

as humans strive to create new ideas to ensure their survival.

Standing on the edge

As well as understanding the characteristics of the domains, the successful

adaptive leader will also need to understand the nature of the boundaries

between these domains. This is best explained through the use of simple

metaphors. The boundaries between the various domains can be thought of

as being one of the following:

1. A chasm. This is a clear boundary between two spaces. You are quite

safe to walk up to the boundary but it is painfully obvious when you

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have crossed the edge. A chasm may be crossed via bridges

positioned at strategic locations where the chasm may be crossed

safely in a controlled fashion.

2. A river. Again, there is a clear boundary between two domains. Rivers

may be crossed at designated crossing points, but may also be

crossed at unauthorised points. Again, in both cases you are aware

that you have crossed the boundary.

3. A forest. Here the boundaries are very defused. There are no clear

boundary lines that indicate any transition. And, like being lost in a

forest, you are never sure where you will emerge and in what domain

you will be in!

The adaptive leader must be aware of the nature of these boundaries, what

actions should be taken to move closer to them, or what needs to be done to

cross the boundary. Often, moving to the edge of chaos, while very

uncomfortable, can lead to conditions that will drive innovation and creativity.

Application of the Cynefin model

By way of a simple application of the Cynefin model, consider a situation

where a business has to innovate as result of a new challenge. This brings

into play the fifth space within the Cynefin model – the space at the centre

that represents the domain of confusion.

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Marketing Experts

Leader in waiting? Bureaucrats

Once in this state of confusion, leaders must be aware of the potential

dynamics that may appear:

1. The bureaucrats will try to take control and solve the problem by

forming committees or proposing modifications to existing processes

and procedures to define the solution. Such bureaucracy stifles

innovation and slows down any response.

2. The experts will propose a research programme to investigate the

problem and to derive a solution. While goal based innovation of this

kind is vital, it would be even more effective if it were seamlessly

integrated within a programme that also fosters ‘eureka’ based

innovation in the bottom left hand quadrant of Cynefin.

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3. The marketing group will like to discuss the problem with many people

and establish relationships with various customers and partners.

External connectivity is critical, but will only be successful if driven by a

leader who acts as the conduit for internal and external ideas and thus

stands on the boarder-lands between different perspectives.

4. The potential leader in waiting will look at it as an opportunity to come

to the fore through the confusion. This should be harnessed as an

opportunity to refresh leadership thinking.

Concluding Remarks

Businesses are complex adaptive systems and, as such, decisions made

using traditional business management thinking are not only wrong, they

could lead to disastrous consequences. Lessons from nature and complex

adaptive systems demonstrate that for businesses to become more agile and

innovative, the adaptive leaders of the future will have to become used to

“surfing the edge of chaos” and thriving in uncertainty. Strong leadership is

about making decisions. In making these decisions, it is important to acquire

a common view of the context within which any action is to be made. The

Cynefin model provides a simple, yet powerful, approach to determining the

context within which decision-making occurs and the range of options

available.

References

1. “Surfing the Edge of Chaos” – Richard Pascale, et al, Texere, 2000

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2. “Creating the Culture for Innovation” R. Moss Kanter, in F. Hesselbein,

M. Goldsmith, & I. Somerville (eds.), Leading for Innovation (San

Francisco, 2002), pp.73-8

3. , Leading Quietly: An Unorthodox Guide to Doing the Right Thing

(Harvard, 2002), J.J. Badaracco.

Biography

Dr Tony Mobbs is an Associate Partner within the Cynefin Centre for

Organisational Complexity at IBM, where he is the World-wide Consulting

Leader. His responsibilities include the development of a number of innovative

Cynefin offerings for clients. He is one of IBM's leading workshop facilitators,

Tony has pioneered several creative workshop approaches for use in IBM's E-

business Innovation Centres. He may be contacted at

tony.mobbs@uk.ibm.com.

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