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Attractors & Culture One of the most exciting ideas in complexity theory is the concept of attractors, which completely reframes the phenomena of resistance to change. This concept suggests that the dynamics of a complex system are always following attractors. Nothing is resisting anything, instead, behavior and ideas and attitudes are following the attractors. If that is the case, then the issue is not how to overcome resistance but how to work on the level underlying, or creating, the attractors (complexity suggests that "simple rules" create attractors). (you may know you are working at this level when you seem to be going with the "natural" energy in the system. It also suggests loosening up the bound nature of the existing attractors and self-fulfilling prophecies by fostering far-from-equilibrium conditions. This contrasts with the traditional approach to overcoming resistance - applying more and more pressure (you may know when you are doing this when your frustration and impatience are rising), which then sets up a compensating feedback which pushes back against this pressure.
The group observed that the hold of the status quo can be very strong. In looking at some specific organizations the group commented on the power of the "do nothing" and "not good enough" attractors. The group asked - What makes the status quo attractive? What conditions make it more desirable than anything else? Another observation was that resistance to change seems to be much more a result of how management goes about implementing change than anything else. Managers create resistance. Organizational culture seems to be a powerful determining factor of what the attractor patterns are (in a sense similar to how the climate has a role in determining the attractors for states of the weather). Awareness of culture, and its specific nature, is the starting point. One member of the group noted "We all look at the world through our own glasses. A great sense of freedom attends the recognition that you are wearing glasses at all." If you are not aware of something you cannot facilitate change or appreciate the need for change. A notion proposed by a member of the group was that attractors were a set of ideas in an organization that have value. These ideas influence people’s values and behaviors, which in turn create certain dynamics in an organization. And, it is from dynamic interactions that emergence comes. In this case, from people’s behaviors and values, the kinds of relationships they form, that a culture emerges, which in turn influences people’s behaviors – the feedback loop. Which led to the insight that you can’t change culture, the emergent property, at the macro level, but you can influence what emerges by changing the micro level - people’s behaviors and beliefs. In other words, you don’t change a culture, you create conditions so people can change. And the micro and macro change at different paces. People’s behaviors can change quickly at times, but it takes the culture longer to change. Since the interactions between agents who mutually affect one another is the source of emergence, then relationships are the bottom line. The attractor in complexity thinking is valuing relationships in and of themselves. In the organizations that value relationships, a sense of community emerges. In this context, people spoke of being more able to adapt, better able to deal with ambiguity and uncertainty, willing to be more open-ended and flexible – because there was a web of support. This in turn made the organization more adaptable. The group also briefly explored the use of stories and narratives, notably those which are honest and authentic, as a means of fostering healthy relationships in organizations and in helping people in the organization understand the organization and its culture. Worth pursuing - How to uncover, understand and work with the simples rules underlying current attractors. |
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