cameron and green making-sense-of-change-management

Complex changeemerges, that is, the purposes and inspirations for carrying on being togetherare continually reproduced and potentially transformed, causing themselves.Stacey, 2001Forms of communicatingIn complex systems, communication occurs between near neighbours. Itis short-range. The effects of an agent’s actions are fed back andresponded to through local interactions. These effects can be amplifyingor dampening. In organizational life therefore, the more important interactionsare the day-to-day things that happen in an individual’s neck ofthe woods. Grand statements and visions may be made by senior people,but it’s the local version of that which really influences behaviour. Howdoes the local boss respond? What sense are we making of this locally?Polarities and the management of paradoxSystems that are moving from one dominant attractor toanother experience struggles with paradox. As a systembegins to fundamentally change, ‘bifurcation’ or ‘choicepoints’ present themselves which can have a draining effecton existing energy for change.For instance, imagine that an organization is trying to create moreheadroom for middle managers to take part in decision making. The oldway of operating involved being given a non-negotiable annual target,and putting a great deal of energy into making it work. The new waymeans more discussion and more engagement. However, old patterns ofperformance management and career progression rely on a reputationfor ‘toughness’ and high personal achievement. So the polarity between‘toughness’ and ‘cooperation’ starts to be an important one. This is whereleaders who manage paradox well can be most useful. What elements ofboth toughness and cooperation are useful in the new order?The necessity for either/or thinking is one of the great myths of Westernculture. This occurs when two seeming opposites in any situation areseen as one ‘good’, one ‘bad’. For instance, cooperation is ‘good’ andtoughness ‘bad’. This can easily lead to the assumption that ‘I am right,and you are all wrong’. Either/or thinking demands that for something tobe the ‘right answer’, there must be no contradictions. Combining optionsor blurring the boundaries is seen as illogical and muddled.319