A thought paper on leadership development within complex adaptive systems

1. Leadership & Complexity
Leadership and
Complexity
Leading Through Turbulent Waters – A Thought Paper
Mike Kitson, Chartered MCIPD, FInstLM, M.Ed
Senior Consultant, Dove Nest Group
Mike Kitson, Dove Nest Group, 2014
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2. Leadership & Complexity
Leadership & Complexity
Introduction
“IT is a truth universally acknowledged that a single
man in possession of a good fortune must be in
want of a wife;” so writes Jane Austin at the start
of “Pride and Prejudice. In 1813 when this was
first published there were many “truths” that
would have been “universally acknowledged” as
the philosophy of the age was generally centred
on the premise that the world was pretty well
ordered – as Robert Browning summarised in
1841 in “Pippa Passes”: “God’s in his heaven – all’s
right with the world!”
However fast forward to the year 2014 and we
find that the post-modern, post-structuralist,
post-most-things, world in which we live is
described far better through the apocryphal
“ancient” Chinese curse of “may you live in
interesting times,” this, whilst probably coming
from the 1930s rather than Confucius, probably
does still sum up today’s world for many people,
most of whom would probably agree with the
curse part rather than the word “interesting”.
grip of social media, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
etc. only to find that younger generations are
starting to abandon these for yet newer forms of
connectivity.
The
world
of
organisations,
business strategies, market segmentations and
the like are no different; except that as senior
leaders within business, or, like myself, people
who are involved in helping develop both current
and future generations
of senior business
leaders, we need to try and understand what is
happening – at least the concept if not the fine
detail – in order for us all to do what we are
employed to do.
This paper makes a brave attempt to try and
provide some thoughts, ideas and possible
solutions about this new world and how current
and future leaders need to be in order to have
others follow them. The paper first tries to briefly
explain the difference between Complexity,
Chaos and Complication and then attempts to
place the concept of Leadership within such an
environment, firstly by describing what sort of
leadership is necessary within a complex system.
If there are any universal truths these days then
Then the paper proposes some ideas as to how
one of them is sure to be that the world we are
such leadership can be developed and the
all living and working in is constantly changing,
changes that may be necessary to “traditional”
growing, evolving; and often far faster than many
leadership development practice.
of us are able to keep track of. We start to get a
Mike Kitson, Dove Nest Group, 2014
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3. Leadership & Complexity
In order to try and illustrate some of the points
end users and customers. I am afraid that the
made in this paper I will, at times, use examples
day went downhill fast from there onwards.
from organisations I have worked for and with
over the past years; in particular I will use the
Water Industry as a prime example, I have
worked a lot with managers and leaders within
three of the leading UK Water companies over
the past four years and this industry provides an
excellent case study of a “traditional” business
being faced with increased complexity, such that
it will fundamentally change how the senior
managers within the business lead and manage.
The potential reform of the Water Industry,
especially
around
markets
will
completely
transform the environment within which this
industry
operates;
managers
and
leaders
recruited, trained, developed and experienced in
running such businesses within a complicated
but closed system will suddenly find themselves
thrown into a maelstrom of differing forces,
stakeholders, barriers, opportunities and drivers.
Making sense of all of these, whilst moving the
business
forward,
and,
delivering
excellent
service and value for money will place increasing
pressure on senior managers, pressures they
have not been trained or recruited for.
What was happening here was the confusion,
often
made,
between
complication
and
complexity, they were right (to a point) their
roles, lives and jobs were not complicated, they
were senior players in the sales world, had lots of
experience and totally knew what they were
doing. We have lived within a complicated world
for many many years, we are surrounded by
complicated things, most of which we take for
granted and hope that there are experts around
who understand them when they need mending;
however we tend to refer to such people as
mechanics
rather
than
leaders;
it
is
this
mechanistic outlook that helps to provide a
distinction between the three words that get so
often
confused:
Complexity,
Chaos
and
Complication.
The first thing to note here is that we are talking
about “systems” – these are a sets of interacting
or interdependent components that constitute
some form of integrated whole; a whole that we
recognise, an organisation for example.
Let us deal with the (ironically) simplest of these
terms first – Complication. We are surrounded
by many things that are complicated, I am typing
this on a laptop that contains many components,
all of which are interlinked, take the case off and I
am faced with something that looks complicated,
but not Complex.
A complicated system is
mechanistic, it has structure, is designed, is
predictable (at least to experts – my laptop does
appear to have a life of its own sometimes) and
controllable. It may look complicated by such a
system is understandable and (when working)
does what it says on the tin; if you look at the
Complex,
Chaotic
Complicated Systems
and
on “Working in Complexity” by asking the
all
senior
sales
managers,
to
describe how complex their roles were, and
being faced with the answer that there was no
complexity, they sold the products their company
made to retailers who wanted to sell the goods to
Mike Kitson, Dove Nest Group 2014
these are complicated to all but the uninitiated;
they do not have a life of their own.
I will long remember starting a one-day module
participants,
water or sewage networks in a large town or city,
Chaotic and Complex systems however, do have
lives of their own; by their very nature they are
dynamic, however this dynamism is non-linear
and so unpredictable when compared with
Complicated Systems. A Chaotic System is one,
such as a flock of Starlings in the autumn sky or a
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4. Leadership & Complexity
shoal of fish, where the long-term behaviour is
new
unpredictable and just examining one part of the
introduced. The introduction of computers and
system will certainly not indicate the end
then the internet has changed the very ways in
outcome, or indeed exactly what might happen
which we (as social systems – a Complex
on the way. A Chaotic System may have fairly
Adaptive System) live, work and interact. With a
simple rules but are such that these generate
complicated system we can use past and current
complex behaviours – for example in the flock of
behaviour
Starlings all that is happening is that each bird
unfortunately the same is not true for complex
needs to maintain the distance between itself
systems – an understanding of the past will not
and its neighbours and fly in the average
enable you to predict the future. In a complex
direction that they are flying. Chaos theory has
system connections happen in unpredictable
given us many metaphors that illustrate the
ways, with unpredictable consequences.
principle; chief among these is probably Edwards
Lorenz’s “Butterfly Effect” – the fluttering of wings
in
the
Amazon
affecting
weather
patterns
thought
processes
to
predict
or
tools
future
being
behaviour;
A possible example of this from the Water
Industry has been the introduction of Water
thousands of miles away.
Meters; introduced as both money and water
Out of Chaos Theory came the understanding
other
about Complexity, Complex Systems, and what
customers save money by only paying for the
are
Systems.
water they use and supported by the Water
Complexity describes the interaction of many
Companies as a means of helping to save water
parts such that the system itself creates new
by helping to reduce leakage and manage
structures and the non-linearity means that
supplies more effectively.
things become emergent as the interactions
probably not recognised was the potential effect
happen; a Complex System is one that is not
of changing the paradigm of the end user from
describable by a simple rule, the structure exists
that of consumer to that of customer.
on many scales and the characteristics are not
consumer simply uses the end product and by
reducible to only one level of description. The
definition tends to be perhaps rather a passive
term Complex Adaptive System is given to a form
player, on the other hand a customer is a far
of system that contains many autonomous parts
more dynamic term, and this person makes a
that self-organise, have individual values that
choice to purchase; being put in control of their
they seek to optimise. We are surrounded by,
water may mean that customers do decide to
and constantly live with and in, Complex Adaptive
save water – and – they might choose, because
Systems; example of these include the biosphere,
they can afford to do so and place their priorities
the ecosystem, our brains, our immune systems,
in this area, to use more water, perhaps by
the internet, economic markets, organisations,
having power showers or wanting to use their
social systems, the list goes on.
hose pipe on their lawn or car during a period of
known
Among
the
as
Complex
determining
saving devices, recommended by Ofwat and
Adaptive
factors
within
regulators
as
a
means
of
helping
What, though, was
A
drought and shortage.
Complexity and Complex Adaptive Systems is the
By installing meters the Water Industry has given
constant process of emergent change; the
the customer (someone who traditionally has
replacement of a part within a Complicated
had no choice) considerable power, something
System will mean that the system works as
that does not appear to have registered with
before, it is mended and returns back to its
many of the companies at the moment. From
former equilibrium.
However the change of a
being passive users householders now have had
part within a Complex System will lead to a new
their mind-sets changed in irrevocable ways; at
future, it is irrevocably changed and can never go
the moment we may not be able to choose
back to the old equilibrium; this is the same
exactly which company delivers our water, or
whether a part is changed (such as a person
takes away our sewage, however we have
leaving a work team) or a paradigm shifts due to
permission to think as customers.
Mike Kitson, Dove Nest Group 2014
Ironically
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5. Leadership & Complexity
Thames Water uses the statement “If the
trying to provide information based on a
customer has a choice they would choose
traditional,
Thames” as a way of showing that they have a
organisations and people.
focus on their customers, but what they haven’t
realised is that their bill payers do have choices,
the choice to complain about poor service, the
choice to demand a better return on their
linear,
view
of
leadership,
Within such a paradigm leadership is epitomised
by the concept of the leader being at the front
(indeed some leadership competencies within
investment (their bill).
organisations are called “Leading from the Front”)
As we start to understand and recognise
goal in which to invest and aspire to; here the
Complex Adaptive Systems we need to start to
leader should be charismatic, visible, orientated
adopt new behaviours and ways of thinking
towards action, able to influence whilst being
about
considerable
able to provide structure and security for their
and
followers. These concepts are firmly grounded
them
implication
organisational
and
for
providing their followers with a shared vision, a
this
has
a
education
development.
adult
Starting
to
within a mechanistic and bureaucratic framework
recognise the complexity and adaptation within
that may have been applicable to an industrial
organisations, and the markets within which they
age but not for the age of knowledge within
operate, means that the old ways of training and
which we currently abide.
educating leaders and managers needs to
correlation in this paradigm between leadership
change, and change quickly.
This means that
and control – control over both the environment
leaders and leadership in the future needs to
and the people within it. As we enter 2014 the
look and feel very different, especially at the
way
senior levels within an organisation.
taught/trained leadership at senior levels may
that
we
have
There is a deep
viewed,
fined
and
now be better suited to those lower down in the
organisation, which means that HR and L&D
professionals need to reconsider exactly what is
needed for those that lead the business. It could
be said that, in the future, what is needed is
“Leadership not Leaders.”
What the old way of thinking fails to recognise, or
acknowledge, is that any, and all, acts of
leadership do not occur within a vacuum, rather
they occur within a dynamic and complex
interplay of numerous interacting forces; what is
needed within organisations and social systems
in the 21
Adaptive Leadership
The concept of Leadership is complicated, if not
chaotic (but not a ‘c’ system); with a single word
entry (Leadership) into Google returning “about
136,000,000 results”, and entering the same
search term into Amazon.co.uk returning 83,037
results, with 799 having arrived in the past 90
1
days.
All of these books and webpages provide
information about how to be a leader, what
leadership should be about, examples of good,
and bad, leadership and with many of them
1
st
Century are leaders who are
themselves dynamic, decisive and agile (no
change there then) but that go beyond that core
and who are able to recognise connections
between things as well as being able to identify
the space that lies in-between, and make use of
the that gap; to fully
understand themselves,
and their fellow human beings, in all their guises
and personalities; and, above all, be open to
learning and adaptation.
Only in this way can
senior players within organisations start to create
the environment within which true leadership
can thrive, adapt and develop.
st
Statistics taken on 31 December 2013
Mike Kitson, Dove Nest Group 2014
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6. Leadership & Complexity
In order to help an organisation, and its people
only partially!
navigate
its
way
successfully
through
Even leadership theories!
The
the
83,000 books in Amazon’s warehouse all show a
Century
small part of a whole. One way to start to change
business world senior managers and business
one’s thinking on this is to change the lens
leaders need to be able to do three main things
through which one views such concepts – try
(as
starting to ask where a particular theory or
permanent white water of the 21
well
as
all
the
other
st
administrative,
bureaucratic and leaderly things) :
model falls in relation to others.

Think in terms of systems
Systems’ thinking also requires ways of looking

Be very self-aware
at problems in different ways – Generative

Be able to learn
Thinking. This differs from how we were taught
Systemic
Thinking
and
Generative
means being able to think in terms of systems
and networks rather than in purely linear
fashions; for most of us our education and
training has led us to think systematically, here
want
to
break
things
down
to
their
constituent parts so that we can understand each
bit, see where it fits into the whole and where it is
in relation to the previous and next step. Rather
adaptive
leaders
need
to
be
able
think
systemically to look at things as wholes not
parts,
to
encouraged to utilise “convergent thinking” as a
means of getting to that one correct answer,
Being able to recognise connections and spaces
we
at school to look at problems, there we were
recognise
the
complexity
and
interconnectedness between the components of
a system.
although you could get marks for showing your
workings provided they indicated that you were
on the “right direction”. Generative thinking, on
the other hand does not necessarily provide a
“correct” answer, rather it is involved in the
generation of original views or multiple solutions
to problems.
It begs having open-ended
questions at the start; these seek possibilities
rather than answers.
Self – Awareness
The concept of Emotional Intelligence has been
with us for many years now and unfortunately is
often relegated to a box labelled “soft skills” and
seen as either a “nice to have” or something to be
“A system maintains a certain
avoided
fluid
because
it
is
too
“touchy
feely”
be
potentially embarrassing, would mean showing
destroyed by a misstep in just
weaknesses (or the fact that we are simply
one niche. A system has order, a
human), or that development in this area is so
flowing from point to point. If
hard to quantify.
something dams the flow, order
important in the development of leaders who are
collapses. The untrained might
able to operate effectively within complexity and
miss that collapse until it was
complex systems is to have a deep awareness of
too late. That’s why the highest
one of the complex systems that impact on all of
function
us – our selves.
stability
of
that
can
ecology
is
understanding
the
of
consequences.”
I have deliberately written “our selves” as
2
opposed to “ourselves” as part of what makes us
One way to start to think systemically is to realise
that
most
of
the
“universal
However, what is extremely
truths”
being
propounded as the right way are not false, on the
contrary the vast majority of them are true – but
2
From Frank Herbert, (1965) Dune, probably one
of the first fictional accounts of ecology and
systems thinking
Mike Kitson, Dove Nest Group 2014
so complex as human beings is the interaction
between the various “selves” that make up the
person acting as leader. We are not talking about
disassociated personality disorder but rather the
fact that there are very few of us who are exactly
the same at home, at work, with friends, on our
own etc. In each of these situations I may have
slightly differing values, beliefs and roles that are
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7. Leadership & Complexity
brought to bear on whatever I am doing; many of
this is not the mechanistic, one dimensional,
these are unconscious and out of my awareness.
skills learning that we have all been exposed to at
The “self” can be thought of as the internal
representation
that
emerges
from
our
experiences with others – self is therefore always
known in relation to others – which may mean
that there are as many “selves” as there are
interactions. These all somewhat overlap and get
smoothed
over
with
an
illusory
sense
of
continuity – “it’s just me!”
of how I, as a leader, am made up; rather than
seeking for a “core self” I need to try and identify
these factions and start to reconcile the differing
composites. This will lead me to not only better
understand myself and what drives me (and why
I respond to certain situations in particular ways)
through
understanding
based learning and development programmes.
Such learning is designed to move us along a
particular pathway (probably predetermined), we
are “taught” how to exams, to get credits, grades,
pieces of paper that we can put on our wall etc.
very little of this has actually enabled us to cope
with the complexity that surrounds us, apart
from trying to get us to attempt to reduce it
So what is needed here is first an understanding
and
school, university and in professional and work
this
to
have
a
far
of
all
the
other
better
human
down to its simplest components, i.e. make it
seem complicated rather than complex.
Rather
than
this,
the
effective
leaders
of
tomorrow, those who can start to think in
systems and networks see both the connections
and the spaces in between will be experts at
learning at far deeper levels and across three
distinct areas.
constituents of the various systems I am involved
in. From this perspective an organisation can be
viewed as a collective of many selves held within
a particular boundary.
Recognising the ever changing mutuality of the
world around us, accepting and welcoming the
constant regeneration and shifting complexity,
and understanding that the same happens for us
as people, rather than rejecting and fighting
against it, will provide us with a far greater
window from which we can view and recognise
the complexity of leadership within the 21
Century.
st
This all requires leaders to begin to
explore the “me” and “not me” that happen in
As shown in this diagram what is needed is the
ability (and willingness) to learn from the past,
the present and the future. Doing this requires
three distinct skills:

their daily experiences, something that requires
both interest and deep self-reflection.

The leader who develops this capacity to adapt,
to take in and explore these aspects of the self

and the whole will be better able to understand
the existence and creation of environments
within which they, and all the others under their
charge, can thrive, learn, grow and prosper.
Openness to Learning
By their very nature complex systems learn and
adapt and if we are to try and lead within such
complexity then we must do the same. However
Mike Kitson, Dove Nest Group 2014
Reflexivity - Understanding the circular
relationships between cause and effect that
have made us who we are.
Focus and Mindfulness – the ability to
be in the here and now, to be aware and
observe what is all around us
Presencing – To sense, to tune in and act
from one’s highest future potential – a
future that depends on us to bring it into
existence. Presencing blends the words
“presence” and “sensing.”
Each of these needs to be employed at three
levels of learning:

Single Loop Learning – reflecting on our
actions or experiences, but not on the deep
assumptions that govern them
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8. Leadership & Complexity


Double Loop Learning – learning that
goes beyond the single loop and reflects on
the governing variables and deep
assumptions that guide the normal
experiential learning process
Triple Loop Learning – reflecting on what
these rules and assumptions mean for us,
contextualising them and asking “what do
they say about me as a human and a
leader?”
that we need to also radically rethink how we
develop such leaders and how we design such
programmes.
Obviously there are some particular skills and
abilities that such leaders need (as I have
outlined above) and these could be dealt with
through attendance on modules as part of a
programme, and perhaps enhanced by coaching,
action
learning
and
other
such
practices.
However these are normally viewed through a
fairly linear lens.
One answer may be to try and emulate the very
elements of complexity that we are asking
participants
on
such
a
programme
to
understand. Such a programme would need to
be emergent, co-designed by the participants
and faculty/L&D department, and unique for
each individual and group.
opportunities
Developing Adaptive Leaders
All of the above begs the big question on how
you develop the sort of leader that can not only
cope with such complexity, make sense of it and
also harness the potential of the system to
generate
the
future
necessary
for
the
organisation to thrive and survive?
One of the chief problems we are faced with is
the fact that training and development tends to
be thought of along linear and mechanistic lines;
they are designed to meet objectives set at the
start of the programme, irrespective of the length
of the programme.
Using such deterministic
models are, admittedly, the best way of trying to
“sell” the concept of the development to higher
management, only though having measurable,
determined objectives can the L&D function
evaluate the effectiveness of the programme, let
alone establish a positive and quantifiable return
on investment.
But how can potential leaders
learn how to operate within complexity and
complex systems without the very programme
itself, at least, attempting to replicate such a
system and process?
Not only do we need to radically rethink how
leadership exists within such systems, I believe
Mike Kitson, Dove Nest Group 2014
for
through
use
the
especially
Intelligence,
those
There would be
diagnostic
of
360°
based
work,,
around
supplemented
perhaps
Questionnaires,
by
Emotional
coaching,
knowledge forums (both across cohorts of
participants and perhaps across businesses),
experiential modules would enable participants
to deepen their insight and practise in the areas
of Reflexivity, Focusing and Presencing. The use
of such complex processes as Open Space
Technology could be used to help the co-creation
and emergence of the programme.
The major trouble with all of this is how do you
raise a budget for such a programme, and then
how do you evaluate it? Here, again, I believe
that we need to radically rethink such processes.
Both of these presume that training and
development is “done unto others” and operates
within a controlled environment.
I believe that both of these items, budget and
evaluation, can be co-created and also be
emergent throughout the programme. As with
most things there will need to be some “seed
money” to help kick-start the whole enterprise;
this can fund the identification of participants
and perhaps run an initial event, perhaps an
“Open Space” event where participants start to
co-create the programme.
Following that all
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9. Leadership & Complexity
monies could be found by the participants
develop; surely it should just emerge by itself?
themselves,
Well, yes it probably will; but when and where
having
to
think
through
their
development needs and the impact that these
from?
might have on the organisation should certainly
accelerate
help with starting to identify systems and
probably does not go down too well on the stock
consequences.
market or with stakeholders, so we need to do
Evaluation
should
also
be
constant and on-going; again here the model
needs to change – Kirkpatrick’s level’s one and
two are almost unnecessary within such an
environment – if people aren’t enjoying the
programme, or able to cope with it they either
have the personal power to change it, or leave.
Individuals should be able to show the impact
that the development is having on them and on
the
business,
again
this
is
on-going
and
emergent, so doing will show greater and greater
levels of understanding of the complexity that
surrounds them. Using 360°s as well as other
sources of feedback will be vital to each
participant if only to show them exactly where
they are sitting within the whole system.
Most businesses need to try and
such
processes,
relying
on
fate
something.
I hope that this article has not given the
impression that we need to throw the leadership
baby out with the bathwater; on the contrary I do
believe that all the “traditional” leadership
training,
especially
development
is
experiential
extremely
leadership
important.
All
businesses will still need “traditional” leadership
skills, except that these may have to be pushed
down to lower levels within the organisation.
What this means is that senior managers and
leaders
need
something
to
that
do
will
something
enable
such
different,
“normal”
leadership to thrive and flourish without being
controlled from above, and without egos getting
involved.
And this means a radical rethink of
how we undertake such development at senior
level.
The thoughts are here, but who will be brave and
radical enough to take that first step?
Mike Kitson
Mike is a senior consultant with the Dove Nest
Group, having worked within the Learning and
Development field for nearly 30 years. He has
worked across most market sectors, has a deep
Emergence
How can one have a “Conclusion” to an article on
complexity?
The subject itself is incapable of
being closed down; indeed any such attempt to
interest in leadership development and a passion
for trying to understand people.
Mike
can
be
contacted
at
mike.kitson@dovenest.co.uk or on 015395 67878
control this will lead to the emergence of new
systems. So instead let us look at what might
emerge.
I suppose that in a true adaptive manner we
would do nothing to help such leadership
Mike Kitson, Dove Nest Group 2014
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