“Everything is the way it is because it got that way”
Is your business environment complicated, complex or pure chaos? “Figure out what type of problem space you’re in so that you can get un-stuck”.
Lead Into the Future Today (LIFT) is brought to you by Louise Mowbray of Mowbray by Design, the Creative Conscious Leadership Consultancy. If you’re reading this and haven’t yet subscribed, you can do so here:
Complicated, Complex or Pure Chaos?
Every day we talk or read about the complex challenges in our business lives or the complexity in our world of work. Terms and words seem to rise in popularity in the business world and right now we’re using complex and complexity to explain just about anything we can’t seem to wrap our heads around!
However, we might be missing the point entirely. More importantly, if we understand the type of challenge we’re dealing with, we can do something about it.
Every now and again I come across something that explains things in an incredibly elegant way and I wanted to share Sue Borchard’s short animation on complexity with you. It’s designed to help you to “figure out what type of problem space you’re in so that you can get un-stuck”.
It’s based on David Snowden’s sense-making framework Cynfin, which some people also use as a decision-making framework.
I think it’s pretty useful to understand where we are and what to do about it. I also love the quote Sue mentions, which is used by Paul Bloom, Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Yale University, which he attributes to biologist and classicist D'Arcy Thompson:
“Everything Is The Way It Is Because It Got That Way”
Has this helped you refine your thinking about complexity? I’d love to hear your thoughts:
Leadership Team Cohesion
Our experience during the pandemic has given us invaluable insight into what can be achieved when we work well, together. It has also revealed inherent weaknesses, potential blind spots and areas for urgent development.
By their nature, leadership and executive teams, c-suite and boards are living systems. They are the powerhouses of our organisations. Bright, smart, experienced, high-value people who have a clear mandate to drive business performance, build cultures we want to work in and lead effectively.
We need deeper connections, stronger communication skills and greater cohesion. Above all, we need exceptional leaders who can come together to work as one.
At this time of the year, it’s always good to take stock of where we are as we envisage what’s to come in 2022.
It’s been a tough couple of years and many teams are inadvertently stuck in semi-crisis mode - a reactionary, tactical, transactional collective mindset, which will hinder their ability to grow and succeed in the year ahead.
Explore more and send me an email or book a time in my diary to discuss setting up a Cohesion Session for your leadership team.
London Calling
Calling London friends, colleagues, leaders, big thinkers, change agents, innovators, futurists, sense-makers, academia and the curious.
Every month the Grey Swan Guild shines a spotlight on a major city and this November it’s all about London (arguably one of the greatest cities in the world - yes, I am biased) and those who call it home.
Come and meet the interesting and the interested for what promises to be an insightful conversation next Wednesday the 24th November at 4pm GMT. All are welcome - register here.
“Perhaps the secret of living well is not in having all the answers but in pursuing unanswerable questions in good company.” Rachel Naomi Remen
🔎 You have goals, objectives, dreams, ambitions - a vision for yourself.
Start now. There is no time like now.
Are you ready to set your vision for yourself in motion? I’m taking on a small number of new coaching clients at the moment - book a time in my diary to discuss what you want to achieve and to discover whether we would work well together.
FAQ’s: If you have any questions and queries about coaching, I have answered those that most frequently pop up here.
Please feel free to comment and share your insight with us and if you know of someone else who would also enjoy this edition of LIFT, why not share it?
Until next time, take good care of yourself.
Best, Louise