Practice

Engaging with Complex Problems

Arriving:

Noticing what is going on for us - our thoughts, emotions, sensations, what we've been doing. Setting our intention for how we show up.

Sense-making:

Understanding that people make sense of things in a social context. Making sense of things so we can see and act on them. Coming up with a plausible understanding of a shifting world.

Readying:

Intentionally creating the conditions for desired outcomes to emerge.

Combining:

Recognising we are intraconnected. Synthesising and integrating perspectives, understandings, moments. Embracing paradox. Integrating our heads and our hearts.

Futureing:

Actively and hopefully thinking about the future. Considering multiple possible futures and taking action to create better futures.

Having Striking Conversations

Engaging with Complex Problems

Dialogue:

Initiating and facilitating dialogue that builds trust, enables shared sensemaking and supports effective collaboration.

Social fields:

Creating nurturing spaces for open, vulnerable and courageous conversations that generate ideas, challenge assumptions and allow constructive disagreement.

Choosing mindsets:

Adopting mindsets that support connection and effective collaboration, including gratitude, acceptance, curiosity, empathy and humility.

The power of questions:

Asking powerful questions that stimulate new perspectives and generate new possibilities.

Stories:

Crafting and telling stories that build bridges from the challenges of today to the possibilities of tomorrow.

Bringing Authentic Presence

Engaging with Complex Problems

Bringing Authentic Presence

What matters:

Identifying what really matters to you and connecting with your core values, beliefs and highest purpose.

Centreing:

Consciously shifting attention back and forth between that which is around us and that which is within us.

Setting intention:

Setting your intention for how you want to show up in relation to yourself, others, and the world around you.

Awareness of habits:

Understanding what you default to when you are under stress and pressure and choosing to interrupt yourself and change your behaviours in real time.

Encountering others:

Seeing and making contact with the humanity of those we are working with.

Using human energy:

Becoming aware of your own energy levels, and how they affect the energy of others. Mobilising, focusing and sustaining energy effectively.

Together

Appreciating that Complex Messes require us to work with a diversity of others, that we must actively seek different perspectives and ideas, and consciously challenge our biases.

Understanding that we need to foster dialogue, have empathy, cultivate trust, and create the conditions for authenticity and good controversy.

Recognising that we are connected, that we exist in relationship with others, that we sensemake together, and that in each moment we shape each other.

Being aware of how we are together and committing to stay in relationships and community, even when things are getting harder and darker.

Slowing

Together

Appreciating the wisdom of slowing down to:

Notice what is going on for us in each moment.
Connect with our values and intention.
Make sure we don't automatically default to unhelpful habits under stress and pressure.
Check our assumptions.
Really understand the problem before jumping to solutions.
Listen deeply to others and ask useful questions.
Consider who is missing from the conversation.
Consider possible consequences (intended and unintended) of our actions and decisions.

Moving

Together

Intention

Appreciating the paradox that while we need to slow down in complexity, we also need to keep moving in order to avoid "stuckness".

Recognising the importance of setting a direction to travel in rather than a defined end-state.

Identifying small adaptive moves to take us forward. Conducting little experiments, and seeing what new information emerges before identifying the next small step.

Continually checking that we are still on course, and making course corrections as required.

Intention

Creating Conditions

Intention

Appreciating that in each moment we make choices. We choose how we respond to our thoughts, our feelings, what other people say and do, and what happens in the world around us.

Taking responsibility for our choices. Being deliberate and purposeful in what we say, what we do, the decisions and choices we make, our attitude and mindset. Considering how these things will impact and influence others, how we influence their energy.

Accepting that we can't control the past, perhaps we can influence the future, that the only moment we have any real control over is the present. Being clear, in this moment, "what is my intention?" Is it my intention to make this situation better or worse? Is it my intention to make things easier or harder? Is it my intention to help or to hurt? Connecting with our values and taking action in line with our intention.

Creating Conditions

Appreciating that in complexity outcomes are not predictable or controllable, and the focus therefore needs to shift from finding solutions to creating conditions for new and unexpected solutions to emerge.

Creating conditions for what you want to see:

Creativity.
Innovation.
Expansion.
Learning.
Engagement.
Integration.
Generative social fields.
Positive emotions.
People to use their strengths.
Friendships to emerge.
Community.
Different ways of working.
New perspectives.
Social change.
Transformation.

Acknowledging this is effortful work.

Noticing

Creating Conditions

Appreciating that when things aren't clear, we need to become well-practiced in the art of noticing.

Deliberately directing our attention to different sources of information and using this information to guide our actions:

Noticing what is going on inside us from moment to moment - our thoughts, emotions, sensations.
Noticing our habits when we are under stress and pressure and choosing a different way of responding.
Noticing what is going on for others - their emotions and experiences, how they are responding to us.
Noticing what is happening between people - dynamics, energy.
Noticing what is going on in the world around us, looking broadly and in unusual places.
Noticing patterns and perceiving systems.

Care

Willingness

Awareness of, and care about, our impact on other people and the world around us.

Taking action to increase wellbeing.

Treating others with kindness. Being attentive and present. Doing the smallest, kindest thing.

Looking after ourselves, finding joyful experiences, setting boundaries, taking care of our own needs. Self-compassion.

Willingness

Living into complexity, challenges and uncomfortable emotions.

Willingness to:

Engage with complex problems.
Approach complex problems in new and different ways.
Embrace tensions and paradox.
Persevere when things get tough.
Engage in respectful dialogue with others, especially when they hold different beliefs, perspectives and worldviews.
Manage ourselves and our emotions.
Be both vulnerable and courageous.

Playfulness

Willingness

Playfulness

Recognising that humans are naturally playful, and that we learn and solve problems through play.

Finding ways to approach even very serious and tricky problems with joy, curiosity and creativity.

Energising ourselves and others through fun, humour and laughter.

Appreciating that not being weighed down by the problem takes courage and energy.

Hope

Generosity

Playfulness

Believing that there can be a better future.

Intentionally generating positive feelings about the future, cultivating a sense of potential.

Believing in the ability of humanity to rise to the challenges ahead.

Believing that your actions can make a difference.

Believing that possibility is precious.

Grace

Generosity

Recognising our own smallness and seeking to contribute to something bigger than ourselves.

Believing people are doing their best. Giving people the benefit of the doubt, another chance, an opportunity to learn and change. Forgiving to move forward.

Treating others with compassion, empathy and an open heart.

Generosity

Giving our time, ideas and energy to others in the belief that together something bigger will be created, that was impossible to create on our own.

Sharing experience, resources and connections to help others realise their potential.

Making the effort to stay focussed and engaged, to maintain patience and hope, when we want to give up.

Complex Mess

engaging effectively with complex problems

complexity practice

How to go about working on Complex Messes

Pillars of Complexity Practice

Engaging with Complex Problems

Engaging with Complex Problems

Engaging with Complex Problems

Having Striking Conversations

Engaging with Complex Problems

Engaging with Complex Problems

Bringing Authentic Presence

Engaging with Complex Problems

Bringing Authentic Presence

Principles for engaging with Complex Messes

Together

Together

Together

Slowing

Together

Together

Moving

Together

Intention

Intention

Creating Conditions

Intention

Creating Conditions

Creating Conditions

Creating Conditions

Noticing

Creating Conditions

Creating Conditions

values for engaging with Complex Messes

Care

Willingness

Willingness

Willingness

Willingness

Willingness

Playfulness

Willingness

Playfulness

Hope

Generosity

Playfulness

Grace

Generosity

Generosity

Generosity

Generosity

Generosity

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