A633.5.3.RB_SchreterPaul

After watching the exercise being done I quickly realize that sometimes it’s better to just let things run their course without trying to meddle with it too much. (Obolensky, Who needs leaders?, 2008) To describe the situation in the video the following rules were given to those involved:

Pick two individuals to be your reference points

Move until you are of equal distance to your reference points

Take the shortest path possible

The more people that are involved with this exercise the more and more complex the exercise becomes. Everyone who’s never participated in the exercise almost always assumes the process will go on forever, but as it turns out, it settles and enters a stable state very quickly. Everyone had the authority and ability to get done what he or she needed to get done without any sort of bureaucratic control. Put the same scenario into the hands of one leader and nothing would get done.

What this means to me is that in a highly complex environment, we need to be able to trust our employees to handle any situation and to make the calls needed to get the job done. Two of the key features that Obolensky points out in his book that allow for this exercise to complete with such success are (Obolensky, Complex Adaptive Leadership, 2010):

Skill/Will of Participants: As leaders we need to ensure that those under us have the proper training and skill to accomplish a task. If they don’t have the knowledge, they won’t have the will to proceed.

Discretion and Freedom of Action: Assuming they have the skill, then we as leaders need to be able to trust them to accomplish what needs to get done. Having to wait for permission will halt the organization in its tracks.

There are other important factors as well that include:

Clear individual objective

Simple rules

Clear boundaries

Continuous feedback

Purpose

Tolerance for ambiguity/uncertainty

All of these play a role in building an organic organization over a machine. I’m glad I’ve seen this exercise because it puts things into perspective for me. Trust is huge and sometimes we just need to have that faith in others to end up on a more prosperous path.

References

Obolensky, N. (2010). Complex Adaptive Leadership. London, UK: Gower/Ashgate.

Obolensky, N. (2008). Who needs leaders? Retrieved 2015, from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41QKeKQ2O3E