21st Century Leadership Complexity & Collaboration

21st Century Leadership: Complexity Leadership & Collaboration Presented to the Northeast Conference on Public Administration Presented by David A. Streat, Walden University

Complexity Leadership What is complexity Leadership: Complexity leadership is derived from complexity science, which is a research area that was developed in the 1960s and has continually gained momentum in the 70s, 80, 90s, and 2000s (Simon, 1962, Lichtenstein et al., 2006, Uhl-Bien & Marion 2008). Complexity leadership is a relatively new area of leadership research centered around leaders who embrace organizational situations and environments that are adaptive, emergent, and nonlinear (Uhl-Bien, 2008, Lichtenstein et al., 2006). A leadership framework that enables organizational leaders to manage complex adaptive systems (CASs) such as organizations. It allows leaders to be creative and adapt to various organizational environments that are considered at the “edge of chaos” (Uhl-Bien, Marion, McKelvey, 20008 & Plowman and Duchon, 2008). Complexity leadership involves approaching situations from the entirety of the whole organization and not just from an individual decision making perspective (Lichtenstein and Plowman, 2009,Plowman and Duchon, 2008, & Uhl-Bien et al., 2008).

Complexity Leadership Cont. The complex leader understands that a small decision (“the butterfly effect”) by any one of the links (nodes) in the network could have a monumental effect of the entire enterprise (Lorenz, 1966). Complexity leadership requires a change in how leaders think about the decision making process and the decisions that flow out of it (Uhl-Bien, & Marion, 2008, Uhl-Bien, Marion, & McKelvey, 2008, Uhl-Bien & Marion, 2001). Complex leaders understand that organizations today have limited resources, are globally connected, and have to be adaptive and receptive to constant change (Lichtenstein et al., 2006, Uhl-Bien, Marion, & McKelvey, 2008). The complex leader understands that complexity is a part of how we live, work, and play today (Sargut & McGrath, 2009, Lichtenstein et al., 2006, &Schneider & Sommers, 2006).

Complexity Leadership Cont. The complex leader recognizes that organizations function much like a human organism does (Uhl-Bien, Marion, & McKelvey, 2008, Uhl-Bien & Marion, 2001, and Kurtz & Snowden, 2003). Complex leaders understand that there is a dollar cost associated with complexity that is out of control (Wilson & Perumal, 2010). The complex leader knows how to cultivate organizational relationships that create an outcome that benefits everyone (Uhl-Bien & Marion, 2001, Uhl-Bien, Marion, & McKelvey, 2008). Complexity leadership is the way today’s leaders must think and operate (Plowman, & Duchon, 2008, Uhl-Bien & Marion, 2001). Complexity is a significant part of collaborations (O’ Leary & Vij, 2010)

Collaboration What is collaboration: A process in which independent organizational elements come together to create rules and agreements that multiple parties abide by ( Thomson, 2001). Collaboration is also a process where multiple organizations such as government, public-private, for-profit, not-for-profit, and other multi-party entities come together to complete a project or manage a crisis (Donahue, 2004, Thomson et al., 2007, Gray, 1989, and Wood & Gray, 1991). Collaboration includes multiple arrangements, rule enforcement, and financial arrangements that alliances agree to abide by (Gudergan & Gudergan, 2002). Collaborations are a way to minimize costs, increase productivity, increase efficiencies, and manage challenging social and political problems (Czajkowski, 2006, Erickson et al., 2003, & Thomson et al., 2001).

Collaboration Cont. Considerations for choosing collaborative partners: Think about the purpose or mission of the collaboration. What are the interests of the partners being considered? Consider the level of individual and organizational structure that the collaboration affects. What are the communication flows from an individual organization and collaborative perspective? What is the leadership (governance) set-up going to be like and who will have ultimate decision making power within the collaborative? What role will technology play in the collaborative?

Collaboration Cont. The negative side of collaboration: Complexity- In collaborations leaders must consider all aspects of the collaboration from an individual and multi-party perspective (O’ Leary & Vij, 2010). Collaborations are networks that Include many members and organizations that often have conflicting views and ideas about what should transpire, who is in charge, and what is the proper protocol to be followed in the collaboration (O’ Leary & Vij, 2010, Donahue, 2004, Thomson et al., 2007). There are multiple motivations for participating in collaborations- For example, gaining a financial advantage, market share, resource and power advantages, and leadership dominance are a few (Huxham, 2000, Donahue, 2004, Gray, 1989). Lack of trust- Causes problems for individuals and organizations to build good relationships, keep commitments, attain goals, and share knowledge (Huxham, 2003, Gray, 1989).

QUESTIONS

References Donahue, J. (2004). On collaborative governance. Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative Working Paper No. 2. Cambridge, MA: John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 1-8. Gray, B. (1989). Collaborating: Finding common ground for multiparty problems. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Huxham, C. (2000). The challenge of collaborative governance. Public Management, 2(3), 337-357 Kurtz, C. F. & Snowden, D. (2003). The new dynamics of strategy: Sense- making in a complex and complicated world. IBM Systems Journal, 42(3), 462-483. doi: 10.1147/sj.423.0462

References Lichtenstein, B. B., Uhl-Bien, M., Marion, R. Seers, A., Orton, J. D., & Schreiber, C. J. (2006). Complexity leadership theory: An interactive perspective on leading in complex adaptive systems. Emergence, Complexity, and Organization (ECO), (8)4, 2- 12. O’Leary, R., & Vij, N. (2012). Collaborative public management: Where have we been and where are we going? The American Review of Public Administration, 42(5), 507-522. doi: 10.1177/0275074012445780 Plowman, D. A. & Duchon, D. (2008). Dispelling the myths about leadership: From cybernetics to emergence. In M. Uhl-Bien & R. Marion (Eds.), In Complexity leadership, Part 1: Conceptual foundations, (p. 129-153). Charlotte, North Carolina: Information Age Publishing. Sargut, G. & McGrath, R. G. (2009). Learning to live with complexity. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from http://hbr.org/product/learning-to-live-with- complexity/an/R1109C-PDF-ENG. Schneider, M. & Somers, M. (2006). Organizations as complex adaptive systems: Implications of complexity theory for leadership research. The Leadership Quarterly, 17, 351-365.

References Thomson, A. M. & Perry J. L. (2006). Collaboration processes: Inside the black box. Public Administration Review, 66(s1), 20-32. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2006.00663.x Thomson, A. M., Perry, J. L., & Miller, T. K. (2007). Conceptualizing and measuring collaboration. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, (19)1, 23-56. doi: 10.1093/jopart/mum036 Uhl-Bien, M., Marion, R., & McKelvey, B. (2008). Complexity leadership theory: Shifting leadership from the industrial age to the knowledge era. In M. Uhl-Bien & R. Marion (Eds.), Complexity leadership, Part 1: Conceptual foundations, (p. 185-224). Charlotte, North Carolina: Information Age Publishing. Uhl-Bien, M., & Marion, R. (2008). Complexity leadership: A framework for leadership in the twenty-first century. In M. Uhl-Bien & R. Marion (Eds.), Complexity leadership, Part 1: Conceptual foundations, (p. xi-xxiv). Charlotte, North Carolina: Information Age Publishing. Wilson, S. A. & Perumal, A. (2010). Waging war on complexity costs. New York, New York: The McGraw Hill Companies.