The Being and Doing of reflective Leadership Chrissie Godfrey and Paul Birch.

The Being and Doing of reflective LeadershipChrissie Godfrey and Paul Birch

Single, double and triple loop learning

Are we doing things right?Here's what to do

Procedures or rules

Are we doing the right things?

Here's why this works

Insights and patterns

How do we decide what is right?Here's why we want to be doing

thisPrinciples

Self patterning

Think slower

Alpha

Theta

Delta

Beta 14 - 28 cycles per second

0 - 3 cycles per second

3 - 7 cycles per second

7 - 14 cycles per second

1 Sec

Cultivate your inner observer

Lumina

Lumina

Facet 5

Silhouettes

Characteristics of your world

Stacey’s “Edge of Chaos”

Clo

se t

oag

reem

ent

Far

from

ag

reem

ent

Close tocertainty

Far fromcertainty

SIMPLE

COMPLICATED

COMPLICATED

COMPLEX

CHAOTIC

Simple

Clo

se t

oag

reem

ent

Far

from

ag

reem

ent

Close tocertainty

Far fromcertainty

Consistent events

Clear cause and effect

Right answer exists

Known knows

Complicated

Clo

se t

oag

reem

ent

Far

from

ag

reem

ent

Close tocertainty

Far fromcertainty

More than one right answer

Known unknowns

Expert diagnosis required

Complex

Clo

se t

oag

reem

ent

Far

from

ag

reem

ent

Close tocertainty

Far fromcertainty

Flux and unpredictability

No right answer

Unknown unknowns

A need for creative and innovative approaches

Chaotic

Clo

se t

oag

reem

ent

Far

from

ag

reem

ent

Close tocertainty

Far fromcertainty

High turbulence

Unknowables

No point looking for right answers

Imm

ediate action to re-establish order

The Context’s Characteristics

Clo

se t

oag

reem

ent

Far

from

ag

reem

ent

Close tocertainty

Far fromcertainty

High turbulence

Unknowables

No point looking for right answers

Imm

ediate action to re-establish order

Flux and unpredictability

No right answer

Unknown unknowns

A need for creative and innovative approaches

More than one right answer

Known unknowns

Expert diagnosis required

Consistent events

Clear cause and effect

Right answer exists

Known knows

Snowden and Boone - ComplicatedThe Context’sCharacteristics

The Leader’s Job

Danger Signals

Response To Danger Signals

Expert diagnosis requiredCause-and-effect relationships discoverable but not immediately apparent to everyone; more than one right answer possibleKnown unknownsFact-based management

Sense, analyze, respondCreate panels of expertsListen to conflicting advice

Experts over confident in their own solutions or in the efficacy of past solutionsAnalysis paralysisExpert panelsViewpoints of nonexperts excluded

Encourage external and internal stakeholders to challenge expert opinions to combat entrained thinkingUse experiments and games to force people to think outside the familiar

Com

plic

ated

Snowden and Boone - ComplexThe Context’sCharacteristics

The Leader’s Job Danger Signals Response To Danger Signals

Flux and unpredictabilityNo right answers; emergent instructive patterns Unknown unknownsMany competing ideasA need for creative and innovative approachesPattern-based leadership

Probe, sense, respondCreate environments and experiments that allow patterns to emergeIncrease levels of interaction and communicationUse methods that can help generate ideas: Open up discussion (as through large group methods); set barriers; stimulate attractors; encourage dissent and diversity; and manage starting conditions and monitor for emergence

Temptation to fall back into habitual, command-and-control modeTemptation to look for facts rather than allowing patterns to emergeDesire for accelerated resolution of problems or exploitation of opportunities

Be patient and allow time for reflectionUse approaches that encourage interaction so patterns can emerge

Com

plex

Snowden and Boone - ChaoticThe Context’sCharacteristics

The Leader’s Job Danger Signals Response To Danger Signals

High turbulenceNo clear cause-and-effect relationships, so no point in looking for right answersUnknowablesMany decisions to make and no time to thinkHigh tensionPattern-based leadership

Act, sense, respondLook for what works instead of seeking right answersTake immediate action to reestablish order (command and control)Provide clear, direct communication

Applying a command-and-control approach longer than neededMissed opportunity for innovationChaos unabated“Cult of the leader”

Set up mechanisms (such as parallel teams) to take advantage of opportunities afforded by a chaotic environmentEncourage advisers to challenge your point of view once the crisis has abatedWork to shift the context from chaotic to complex

Cha

otic

Creating the environments for emergence• Having a strong overall sense of purpose and direction

• Having the capacity to flex and change in quick response to changing environments

• Having strong internal and external networks that recognise their interdependence

• Having effective communication systems that stay current

• Having the ability to innovate and pilot new ways of working

• Enabling new directions and ideas to emerge from any part of the organisation

• Having the capacity to circumvent bottlenecks

• Having the capacity to make “not knowing” a strength rather than a weakness

• Being able to let go of old paradigms if they no longer serve

• Being alert to the present

Spheres of Influence

Control

Influence

Concern

The Being and Doing of reflective LeadershipChrissie Godfrey and Paul Birch