Paradox: Complexity VS Simplicity

This week's blog was written by Edwin Trevor-Roberts, PhD.

I was recently discussing with the CEO of an NGO in the human services sector about their organisational structure which had been implemented two years previously.  As with any restructure, some parts were working well while other parts were not. The people the organisation serve - clients in need - were receiving fantastic service as seen in the increased growth of the organisation, however, internally there is a lot of noise.

We had facilitated a session with the broader management team to gather their feedback about what was working well and what was not. The themes that emerged were not dissimilar to what other organisations struggle with: systems and processes; volume of work; lack of capability in some leaders; lack of clarity on strategy; and decision making.

Viewed together, the challenges facing the organisation are complex. Throw in a shared services model and issues of accountability and responsibility become blurred.  Our conversation was far reaching and intense, as we fluidly used our systems approach to restructures to guide our thinking. The more we discussed the complexity, a fascinating paradox emerged:

The greater the complexity, the simpler the solution.

In this case the simple solution was to focus on the key goals that connect the purpose of the organisation with the operational strategies. Managers and staff knew what to do, knew the mission and values but lacked understanding of the connecting piece so that they could prioritise, and make, decisions.

I'm not suggesting that there won't be complications in implementing the solution, however, the focus is simple.

In viewing the next period of transition for your organisation, division or team, work hard to identify and create a simple focus. Creating complexity is easy. Crafting eloquent simplicity is not. As Mark Twain said: “Sorry I wrote you a long letter, I didn't have time to write a short one".