Six Strategies for Leading During Complex Times
Note: This article is from Katy Mamen is a senior partner with Ag Innovations and founder of Water Bear Collaborative, a consultancy that supports leaders in the social sector to envision and implement system-informed strategies in service of social justice and ecological health. Mamen was previously Director of Programs with Ag Innovations, where she managed state policy roundtables and led the California Food System Alliance Network. Prior to Ag Innovations, she founded the California Agricultural Water Stewardship Initiative.
We often see signs of complexity within our daily work lives. We might find that the program we worked so hard to implement isn’t having the desired impact, that we don’t understand the power dynamics playing out in our organization, or that the context in which we’re operating is changing faster than our strategic plans are able to keep up with.
Complex systems have many moving parts with lots of interconnections. They are dynamic, adaptive, and inherently unpredictable. Yet, as leaders, our training typically sets us up to think, act, and lead from a linear, control mindset. We’re told if we just work harder to achieve our goals — create more detailed plans, provide further directions, push harder — we’ll make progress. We’re frustrated when these efforts fail or lead to unforeseen outcomes.
One of the most powerful gifts of complexity thinking is understanding that being effective doesn’t come from working harder to advance our own interest, but instead cultivating the capacity to work with uncertainty in a different way. Complex systems lack clear, linear, cause-and-effect relationships, and their behavior can’t be predicted. It can come as an incredible relief to realize that, not only do you not have to have all the answers, but that you can’t in fact know the answer. This realization is the real gateway to becoming a true systems leader, one that leads to a more powerful mindset for working with complexity.
Re-orienting to complexity is an ongoing practice, particularly in a dominant culture so governed by linearity. Working with the following lines of inquiry can serve as a framework to help you navigate.
From cultivating a learning mindset to building better relationships to taking feedback seriously, click here to learn more about six questions that need answering before you can become a better leader.
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