Edge-of-chaos projects
When managing complex projects in the ‘edge-of-chaos’ zone, it is important to bind the team’s decision-making together by propagating a cohesive set of common values and fostering a common vision of the ultimate purpose of the undertaking.
Managers need to move from playing a god-like role above the process and descend into it with little more authority than anyone else. For the ‘edge of chaos’ to be effective, managers need to participate in and facilitate free-flowing conversations which are absolutely critical to success. They need to encourage diversity of thinking and of interactions, and break down hierarchical organisational and contractual structures. Mistakes will be made and must be tolerated, and this will give rise to emotion and anxiety, which must also be allowed. Managerial focus should be on constraining group dynamics to keep the project’s broad objectives in mind, rather than on controlling the work.
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Priorities:
Participate in and facilitate free-flowing conversations
Provide focus
Encourage diversity of thinking and interactions
Underpin with clear and simple values & rules
Allow emotion and anxiety
Tolerate mistakes & allow extinctions
Constrain rather than control |
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An emergence model can be used to develop creative, workable and co-ordinated conceptual solutions to address the stream of business needs that arise continually both from outside the enterprise and internally from the outcomes of previous change initiatives. The keys to its successful operation lie in providing a bounded focus for its creative work, enabling ready access to all relevant information, and allowing unstructured interactions between participants with open minds – click here to view |
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