Complexity and Its Discontents
What does it take to lead beyond human scale?
Volatile. Uncertain. Complex. Ambiguous.
In an era defined by polarization, fracture, disruption and shifting power centers, a rare point of consensus may be the realization that VUCA forces set the terms of engagement in all domains of life, for all of us, all at once.
The world around us is changing faster than – and at a scale beyond – our ability to comprehend and adapt. What to do about that reality is up for debate and a central challenge for leaders of all stripes to address.
The examples of leaders failing to meet the moment are legion. Why is it so difficult for contemporary leaders to clarify what matters and rally people behind a collective vision for how we might effectively navigate complexity, calamity and constant change?
Is a bias for survival in an uncertain environment reducing many (all?) decisions to the immediate context at the expense of possible scenarios that may unfold tomorrow?
Is the post-truth information ecosystem rife with #fakenews, AI slop and endless scroll content overload making it difficult to parse the signal from the noise?
Is the mysticism (and lack of specificity) surrounding artificial intelligence creating an irresistible shiny object syndrome paired with FOMO (fear of missing out)?
Is the magnitude and existential nature of the challenges we face overwhelming our capacity to care about the future, let alone act in our long-term best interests?
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
What does it take to lead beyond human scale?
These paradoxes define leadership in this time of interconnected crises. Good leadership should be able to expand the capacity to grapple with multifactor complexity and objectively define how and where to take the next right action.
We must first start by expanding our individual tolerance for complexity, intellectually but also (and mainly) physically.
Our default human settings are biased toward simplicity and homeostasis. So when complex, adaptive, or ‘wicked’ problems come along, they overwhelm our nervous systems. At the very moment we need to summon our most evolved capacities and resilience to deal with uncertainty, ambiguity and change, our reptilian brain overrides those capacities with stress and anxiety. If we give into those base instincts, we’ll get caught in a doom loop and remain subject to our fear and confusion.
So how do we override our reptilian brain and hack our nervous system for a better outcome? Two of the founders of Cultivating Leadership, a noted leadership development consultancy, have some ideas.
RESOURCE: Unleash Your Complexity Genius: Growing Your Inner Capacity to Lead by Jennifer Garvey Berger and Carolyn Coughlin
Jennifer and Carolyn summarize the innate wisdom we all can tap into as we face the ‘everything, everywhere, all at once’ nature of what it means to be a human right now. Their advice sounds simple but requires patience and practice to actually override our physiology. Here are the three main insights from their work:
Pay close attention to your body: practice presence, notice your default response patterns and then rewire your breathing and movement habits to instill more effective default patterns.
Redefine your emotional experiences: bring an experimental learning mindset to decision making with a focus on creating the conditions for new solutions to emerge and releasing attachment to specific outcomes.
Connect more deeply to others: lean into positive emotions and stories of shared humanity to reframe complexity and empower others to tap into their physical and emotional wisdom in the face of overwhelm and anxiety.
For a quick take on the book, listen to the authors in conversation on the Not Simple podcast. I also recommend exploring a series of conversations curated by Brené Brown on the theme of living beyond human scale. Brené invited thinkers from the worlds of technology, business, psychology and the humanities to deconstruct why it feels so overwhelming to navigate this era.