I want to add a few points to last week’s post about the complicated versus complex article in Harvard Business review. The article distinguishes between a decision-making context that is complicated, versus one that is complex. Complicated contexts, along with simple ones, are what the authors call "ordered," where complex contexts (and chaotic ones) are unordered. Finding our way in the unordered contexts is not typically something we’ve been trained to do (business schools and organizations look to equip leaders with skills for operating in the ordered contexts).

So they have some interesting tips for managing in a complex context:

• open up the discussion
• set barriers
• stimulate attractors
• encourage dissent and diversity
• manage starting conditions and monitor for emergence

Here’s some detail on the first bullet:

Complex contexts require more interactive communication than any of the other domains. Large group methods, for instance, are efficient approaches to initiating democratic, interactive, multi-directional discussion sessions. Here, people generate innovative ideas that help leaders with development and execution of complex decisions and strategies.

I agree, but I will state from experience that these types of methods often frustrate people in organizations (particularly Boards of Directors!). While they are doing it, it doesn’t feel like they are making progress. We often don’t want to spend time in divergent conversations that don’t produce immediate answers. This limits our effectiveness.