Complexity Science in Human Terms: A Relational Model of Business - 0 views
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It�s amazing how far we have been able to take the linear model for understanding the world, both in science and in business. But in the new connected economy, the limitations of the mechanistic model are becoming starkly apparent and
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Enrique Rubio Royo on 24 Oct 11Es increíble lo lejos que hemos podido llevar el modelo lineal para entender el mundo, tanto en la ciencia como en los negocios. Pero en la nueva economía conectada, las limitaciones del modelo mecanicista y la necesidad de una nueva forma de pensar, son cada vez mas evidentes.
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Changing Landscapes
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Enter Complexity Science
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The science is still in its infancy
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The realization that much of the world dances to nonlinear tunes has given birth to the new science of complexity, whose midwife was the power of modern computation which for the first time allows complex processes to be studied
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complex adaptive system
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The avenue most relevant to understanding organizational dynamics within companies and the web of economic activity among them is the study of
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La vía más relevante para la comprensión de la dinámica organizacional en las empresas y la actividad económica web es el estudio de los sistemas adaptativos complejos
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complex adaptive systems are composed of a diversity of agents that interact with each other, mutually affect each other, and in so doing generate novel behavior for the system as a whole
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But the pattern of behavior we see in these systems is not constant
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the system is constantly adapting to the conditions around it. Over time, the system evolves through ceaseless adaptation
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el sistema se adapta constantemente a las condiciones que le rodean. Con el tiempo, el sistema evoluciona a través de la adaptación incesante
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Complexity scientists are learning about these dynamics of complex systems principally through computer models, but also through observation of the natural world
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Complex adaptive systems are
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ecosystems
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business organizations are also complex adaptive systems
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fundamental processes and characteristics of complex adaptive system
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by understanding the characteristics of complex adaptive systems in general, we can find a way to understand and work with the deep nature, that is, the fundamental processes, of organizations
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constant innovation
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constantly adapting
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continual evolution
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if they are to survive
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companies in a fast-changing business environment need to be able to produce
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Thus if companies are to work with change optimally, they are better able to do so if they understand their organizations as complex adaptive systems and the processes that underline these systems.
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Así, si las empresas pretenden trabajar de forma óptima en un entorno cambiante, estarán mejor capacitados para hacerlo si comprenden sus organizaciones como sistemas complejos adaptativos , así como los procesos que caracterizan dischos sistemas.
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requires a different mind
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complex and largely unpredictabl
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Because the dynamics of complex adaptive systems are
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more organic than mechanistic
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Managers and executives cannot control their organizations to the degree that the mechanistic perspective implies; but they can influence where their company is going, and how it evolves
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understanding that businesses are like living organisms
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and tend to fluctuate between different states
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zone of creative adaptability
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from static to chaotic, with the edge of chaos, or the
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a chaotic state
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a static state
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and the zone of creative adaptability,
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the place to be when innovation is necessary.
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complex adaptive systems are
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dynamic
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diversity
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with abundant connections
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something new will emerge
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will build towards a critical mass from which
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small changes can have a big effect
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multiple experimentation on small scales
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which means that
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is the most productive way and offers the greatest potential for creating big changes in an organization
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the rules of the business game have changed. Indeed, the game itself has changed.
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A Naturalistic Study of Business as Complex Adaptive Systems
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a naturalistic study, which involved interviewing people
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We were interested in companies that were following principles from the new science of complexity in running their business
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using complexity principles
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We found these organizations mostly by word of mouth.
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Companies whose management is guided by principles of complexity science are
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organizationally flat
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diversity
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promote
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open and plentiful communication
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these properties enhance a system�s capacity for adaptability
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The companies we chose for our study therefore shared the properties of being organizationally flat and having rich, open communication
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But we had no idea what our study would find in the realm o
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organizational dynamics, of management style, and people�s work experience.
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Relationships: A New Bottom Line
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In a nonlinear, dynamic world, everything exists only in relationship to everything else, and the interactions among agents in the system lead to complex, unpredictable outcomes.
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In a linear world, things may exist independently of each other, and when they interact, they do so in simple, predictable ways.
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agents interact, and when they have a mutual affect on one another something novel emerges
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Anything that enhances these interactions will enhance
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the potential creativity and adaptability of the system
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agents as people
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mutuality
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relationships that are grounded in a sense of
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We know from complexity science that
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interactions and connections among agents of a system are the source of novelty, creativity, and adaptability
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relationships are the organizing principle in businesses as complex adaptive systems.
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In this way
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the power of relationships
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positive relationships
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positive relationships
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e weak
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poor flow of information, limiting feedback loops and thus adaptability
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a more robust, adaptive system.
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Open and prolific communication
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context of genuine care
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task of caring for their employees seriously, and this manifested itself as people caring about their work, caring for fellow workers, caring for the organization and its shared purpose, caring about their community
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the power of caring and connected relationships for creating constructive change
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we are talking about genuine relationships based a sense of care and connection.
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By attending to the quality of relationships,
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the non-linear processes of the organization
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a new way of working
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by self-organizing around the most immediate problems
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people�s desire to contribute and their need to belong
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accommodating people more in terms of their interests and skills.
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people felt more personally fulfilled
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"a potential in everyone to get excited about what they do at work."
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it was the strength of these caring and connected relationships that provided
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an ethical foundation and continuity for people during difficult times of flux, unpredictability, and change
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it was the strength of these caring and connected relationships that provided
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A Community of Care and Connection
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complex adaptive systems generate emergent, creative order and adapt to changes in their environment, through simple interactions among their agents
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what kind of culture emerges
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has everything to do with
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in business, how we interact and the kind of relationships we form has everything to do with
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the emergence of creativity, productivity, and innovation in the workplace.
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In turn
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a feedback loop
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Similarly in business,
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the culture that emerges in a company will influence people�s behavior
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There is a constant interplay between people�s behavior and the emergent culture, a dynamic feedback loop.
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a sense of community, guided by shared values and a shared purpose, helped the organization to be more adaptable
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People said that when they felt part of a community they were more willing to be flexible and adapt, which in turn, made their organizations more flexible and adaptable
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organizational dynamics
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levels of relationships that created a web of interdependence
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interdependence
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levels of relationships
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a web of
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relationships between individuals
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among and within teams
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with other companies
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relationship to the natural environment.
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within and outside the organization.
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the source of creativity and adaptability
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, to the CEO who embodied the organization�s purpose and values
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in business
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a new theory of business
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the quality of these relationships
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as a means towards business success
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a new understanding of what organizations are and how they work, informed by the science of complexity
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A relational view of business
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we are an ecosystem of different relationships."
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Business is bigger than your own organization..
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a linear structure of hierarchy and bureaucracy, which impedes agility and flexibility,
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Most organizations
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The most effective way to change a linear structure to a nonlinear process is
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to attend to the nonlinear world of relationships
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Feedback loops
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relationships need to feed into those loops
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the root of organizational problems is often "abysmal relationships
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it was strong, positive relationships that maintained his global organization at a high level of a creativity and adaptability.
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design for working with nonlinear processes
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effort to deliberately change the hierarchy and structure
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from which a new structure could and did emerge
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in a spirit of mutuality and experimentation,
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a new way of working emerged and the organizations evolved from there
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Each company had its own distinct way of working with nonlinear processes
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Companies have to find their own way by working organically with their people, their collaborators, and their competitots; that is, working with where they are, rather than imposing plans of where you might want them to be.
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Complexity and a human-centered approach to management
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management practice guided by complexity science will focus on
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relationships that leads to a very human orientation of the workplace
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human-centered approaches in management
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For more than half a century, there has been a constant battle between human-oriented management and scientific, or mechanistic, management, with the latter prevailing.
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But it is only now, and for the first time, that there is a science behind the human-oriented approach
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With complexity science, we have a human-oriented management practice emerging from science, a novelty.
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Peter Seng
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notes that the prevailing mechanistic model of business encourages managers to see people as machines, not as people
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knowledge-based economy
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when people are treated as replaceable parts, as objects to control, are taught to be compliant, are used as fuel for the existing system�inevitably the organization will be fraught with frustration, anger, and isolation, which ultimately is detrimental to the business.
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managers focus exclusively on producing goods and services and forget that the organization is a community of human beings
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if people are treated as machines, not as people, they are unlikely to give loyalty and trust and they will not give of their best.
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"When an organization loses its shared vision and principles, its sense of community, it is already in a process of decay and dissolution even though it may linger with the outward appearance of success for some time
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The companies we worked with, that engaged their organizations as complex adaptive systems, whether consciously or intuitively, were al
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very successful in traditional bottom line terms, not despite being human-oriented, but rather
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Management guided by the principles of complexity science
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therefore
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constitutes a style that is very human oriented in that it recognizes that relationships are the bottom line of business, and that creativity, culture, and productivity emerge from these interactions
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And when those interactions are more connected and caring than not,
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a sense of community emerges
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increasing an organization�s potential adaptability.
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A human-centered approach to management is not new
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What is new is that the science of complexity gives a scientific foundation for a human-oriented management approach;
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that is, it gives an explanation of why a human oriented management practice is successful, and a rationale for why to take this approach.
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The complexity-guided style of management is hard to do,
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especially for managers who seek safety in a command-and-control practice
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It is hard even for those who embrace its principles
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because the everyday urgency of business can make time spent interacting and nurturing relationships seem like a waste of time,
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it requires strong interpersonal skills, and constant vigilance of one�s own behavior and the behavior of others
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Emerging Patterns in Management Behavior
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complex patterns are typically generated from a few simple rules of behavior for the individual agents in the system
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There was for a long time the belief in science that complex order in the world was generated by complex processes.
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Contrary to this belief, however, complexity scientists have discovered that
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We saw common behaviors for sustaining constructive relationships within the organization
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which generated
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a different way of working and being
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We saw particular ways of thinking and behaving
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that cultivated conditions for a more adaptable system, from which a collective sense of connection and care emerged.
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We call these
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different ways of being in the workplace
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paradoxical leadership
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a way of leading change
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emergent teams
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relational practice
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a way of working together that keeps organizations on the edge; and
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a way of developing trust and loyalty through rich connections.
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Paradoxical leadership
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From a complexity perspective, paradoxes are not problematic
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Instead paradoxes are indicative of being on the edge; paradoxes create a tension from which creative solutions emerge
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All the leaders had come from a command and control tradition
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They had come to recognize that they had limited control; that they depended and needed others to achieve their aims; and that they didn�t, nor should or could, have all the answers
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This perspective expanded their style of leadership, rather than replaced it.
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They didn�t manage people
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They acted more as cultivators than managers.
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Instead leaders cultivated conditions to increase positive connections in their organizations, and in their economic web, from which nonlinear results could emerge.
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four common behaviors
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that guided their leadership style and how they related others:
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Allow
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Accessible
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Attuned
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allowed things to unfold, allowed mistakes, and open experimentation
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They gave a strong direction in terms of purpose and values, and then allowed people to find their own solutions according to these guidelines.
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physically accessible to the people in the organization, to customers, to partners
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Being accessible helped these leaders to have a finger on the pulse of the organization
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Leaders were simultaneously aware of the organization as a whole and as a living organism--at the macro level, but also attuned to the interactive level; that is, the micro level of connections and disconnections within the organization.
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Emergent Teams
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emergent teams are self-organizing, self-selected, and self-governing
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Rather than teams being imposed on workers
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Emergent teams are a democratic approach to problem solving and opportunity seeking
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People organize around tasks rather than positions
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The manager�s task shifts from managing people to cultivating conditions for teams to emerge by
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2, cultivating an information-rich context,
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1, cultivating group relationships,
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3, cultivating connections
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The emergent teams themselves had three characteristics
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The purpose of emergent teams are primarily experimental
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Relational Practice
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Relational practice strives towards creating positive and rich connections that lends itself to
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Prácticas relacionales (de socialización) se esfuerzan hacia la creación de relaciones positivas y profusas que se prestan a fomentar la confianza y un sentido de comunidad. Hay cuatro formas de comportamiento en relación con los demás, pequeños gestos, que marcan una gran diferencia en el desarrollo de relaciones afectuosas y de conectividad.
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building trust and a sense of community
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Be authentic
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4 comportamientos en las relaciones con los demás que marcan una gran diferrencia a la hora de crear relaciones afectuosas: 1.- Ser auténtico- ser uno mismo es mas eficiente en el trabajo y cuesta menos, para uno mismo, llevarlo a la práctica 2.- Reconocer los méritos de los demás- apreciar a las personas por lo que son y por lo que hacen, enriquece las conexiones y el sentido de pertenencia. El reconocimiento a lo que hacen los demás, promueve lalealtad y el compromiso 3.- Rendir cuentas- desplaza la cultura de culpas/víctimas, y cuando las personas asumen su responsabilidad, puede facilitar la solución de situaciones difíciles y complejas 4.- Ser atento- tener u profundo y genuino interés hacia los demás, conociendo sus historias, y reconocinedo el valor d eescuchar, ayuda a crear sistemas robustos y bien informados
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Acknowledge others
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Be accountable
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Be attentive
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There were four ways of behaving in relationship to others
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being authentic makes for greater efficiency at work�it takes less time and energy to be yourself. It is also a practice
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appreciating people for who they are as well as what they do
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, enriches connections and a sense of belonging. Acknowledging others promotes loyalty and commitment
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being recognized as people by managers.
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moves the culture out of a blame/victim cycle
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when people take responsibility for themselves, it can simplify difficult and complex issues
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Many aspects of these management practices
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are already alive and well in organizations
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a way of working with organizations as complex adaptive systems that is relationship- and human-centered
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What we have done is
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identify an intellectual framework for all these aspects of behavior collectively
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into a coherent whole based on a scientific understanding of the dynamics of business organizations
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the science of complexity
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a scientific understanding of the deep nature of business organizations
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It is not just tha
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but rather,
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the science shows us, that certain behaviors engage the dynamics of complex adaptive systems in a positive way
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to contribute to the collective purpose of an organization
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Complexity science validates a focus on human relationships
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and in a sense, turns things inside out
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interpersonal skills
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What was once regarded as "soft,"
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is actually "hard."
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What was once regarded as a distraction and not work, that is cultivating relationships, is the nexus of business success.
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the emergent understanding of our organizations as complex adaptive systems in human terms
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new business environment
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to bring complexity to the business world,
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In the connected economy of the twenty-first century, management cannot afford to try to succeed with management methods that were developed in a different age and for a different type of business environment
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complexity-guided management
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doesn�t just toss out traditional mechanistic management models, but rather encompasses and expands them
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the principles of complexity science add to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of business organizations
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however, we would argue that
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the experience of working with organizations as complex adaptive systems has advanced the science in a way, too; that is, in the human dimension.
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Science, by tradition anyway, needs to be analytical
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which is why scientists often choose to work with simple systems
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computer simulation models
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such as, in the complexity realm
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Human social systems
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including the business environment
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are far more complex than computer models
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seeing organizations through new eyes
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The science
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intuition
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But management no longer need constantly to seek the validation of the science for each new way we might fee
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through
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is right to work with organizations as complex adaptive systems
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We cannot describe organizational behavior with the rigor that complexity scientists
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But we can now claim to have a deeper sense of organizations
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as complex adaptive system
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Organizations have found, and are finding
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new ways of working with nonlinear processes
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that have led to bottom line success
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twenty-first century
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we are experiencing unprecedented structural shifts in our economy brought about by the revolutions in computation and communication technologies
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the connected economy-
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A new kind of economy is emerging
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a shift that rivals the onset of the Industrial Revolution
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Where once companies felt themselves to be the master�s of their own destiny,
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in a connected economy, companies find themselves as interdependent players
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The change is not only real, but it is also accelerating, driven by rapid technological innovation, the globalization of business, and, not the least of it, the arrival of the Internet
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the new domain of Internet commerce
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Consequently, business leaders are preoccupied with change itself�how to generate it, how to respond to it, how to avoid being overcome by it.
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During these changing times
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leaders and managers are finding
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many of their background assumptions and time-honored business models inadequate
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Tayloresque mechanistic model of their world,
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linear thinking, control, and predictability
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Where managers once operated with a
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they now find themselves struggling with something more
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nonlinear, where limited control and a restricted ability to predict
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are the order of the day
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Consequently, many managers and executive professionals are