complex adaptation
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With the Cycle of Change model we can appreciate why:
Complex adaptive systems are self-organising, learn and adapt, and develop emergent strategies to perform at the ‘edge of chaos’ (McMillan & Carlisle, 2007, p. 576).
Successful leaders according to this model operate between two states of instability: Chaos vs. Mechanistic stability. Rather than attempting to exert control, a more effective approach is to embrace flexibility.
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Chaos is:
- irregular
- sensitive to small changes which amplify over time
- unpredictable, but with regular patterns
- creating new, adaptive strategic directions
- “an inseparable intertwining of order and disorder” (Stacey, 1993, p.14).
Image source: Figure 3 Transition Strategy Model (McMillan & Carlisle, 2007, p. 589).
Where does your school sit?
Our community is undergoing transition. This can feel turbulent, and emotional reactions are likely as a result of doubt, confusion and fear. Uncertainty prevails. I prefer to adopt a half-full-glass view of change.
Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.
– Eckhart Tolle
This is more hopeful.
I am reminded of the failure of top-down imperatives in education which tend to stifle creativity and ossify learning cultures; as leaders, then, living the moment-to-moment flow of daily dynamics is a survival strategy of adaptive innovation. Enervation seems a likely result of this balancing act.
Resilience = gold medal standard.
Reference
McMillan, E. & Carlisle, Y. (2007). Strategy as order emerging from chaos. Long Range Planning, 40(6), 574-593. Retrieved October 27, 2012 from Science Direct: http://onesearch.library.uwa.edu.au/View Abstract
Stacey, R. Strategy as order emerging from chaos. Long Range Planning, 26(1), 10 – 17. Retrieved October 27, 2012 from Science Direct: http://onesearch.library.uwa.edu.au/
