Boids, Butterflies and Bacteria

1. Boids, Butterflies and Bacteria How can insights from the new science of complexity help local partnership working?

2. What brought me to this? Dissatisfaction with traditional explanations of how organisations work in real life:: • Dominated by machine/military images of organisation • Lacking authenticity - offer simplistic solutions based on “ideal models” • Ignore importance of context and history • Based on private sector/multinational/product based examples • Unrealistic expectations of available resources • Anecdotal studies/lacking in evidence base

3. Attraction of Complexity ideas • Views partnerships as “complex adaptive systems” • Interacting with environment • Provides a language and way of seeing to support this perspective • Accepts that control and knowledge are distributed across the system – not centrally located • Acknowledges capacity for self organisation • Stimulates creative thinking/novelty

4. Barriers? • Off putting title – but complex does not mean complicated • People are frightened by “chaos” • Radical departure – well out of comfort zone • Emergent/incomplete science • Can be a bit new age • Very little written on social care/education • Challenges management orthodoxy • Challenging to distribution of power

5. CAS • Complex – made up of a number of diverse parts • Adaptive – capable of change and adaptation • System – parts are connected and therefore interdependent

6. A shoal of fish

7. A flock of boids

8. A stock market

9. A colony of ants

10. VHA Principles of Management • Choose appropriate metaphors • Build “good enough” vision • Choose “clockware” and “swarmware” • Tune to the edge • Uncover and work with paradox • Go for multiple actions, let direction emerge • Listen to the shadow system • Grow the system by chunking • Mix cooperation with competition Edgeware – Ingights from complexity science for health care leaders, Zimmerman, Lindberg & Plsek

11. “All theories of organisation and management are based on implicit images or metaphors that persuade us to see, understand, and imagine situations in partial ways…there can be no single theory or metaphor that gives an all-purpose point of view." Gareth Morgan, 1986

13. Divisions Front-line Tactics Targets Strategy Campaign Officers Headquarters Frontline Going over the top Keeping your head down Command and control Loose canons “Wars” on drugs/crime Holding the line Rear guard action Work is war

14. Life is Theatre • Centre stage/Back stage/staged event/set the stage • Acting like a … • “a role to play” • Rehearse our lines… • Going off script • Drama queen • In the spotlight • Audience • Theatre • Performance management • Director

15. “Winners” and “losers” Level playing field Touching base Ideas from left of field Balanced scorecard “state of play” Ball-park figures Game plan Coaching Moving the goal posts Managers being sidelined Work is a game

17. Delivery mechanism Management Tool Kit Process re-engineering Getting things “on track” Leverage Spanner in the works Well-oiled machine Out of control Chains of command Hands to the wheel Engine room Bolting things down Human Resources Vehicle of change Think-tank Nuts and bolts Fine tuning Breakdowns Management dashboard Quick-fix Running smoothly Policy “launch” Driving seat An organisation is a machine

19. Limitations of the machine metaphor • Machines don’t learn • Machines don’t adapt • Machines can’t cope with variety • Machines don’t make new friends • Machines don’t have good ideas • Machines run out of steam • Machines can be replaced by new models • Machines don’t care...

20. Machines can’t adapt

21. Machines can’t cope with variety

22. Machines don’t have good ideas

23. Machines have Fat Controllers

24. to control us…

25. or so they think…

26. Organisation is a jazz band • Improvisation rather than song sheets • Solos and ensemble • Personal mastery • Interrupts habit/cliché • Learn from mistakes • Listen intently • Minimal structure • Informal learning For further exploration of this idea see: http://www.newdirections.uk.com/Cuttings%2051.pdf

27. Evolution Life cycle Growth Maturity Cross fertilisation Root and branch Environmental change Green shoots Nurture Test bed Fruition Cherry picking Ripe ideas Blight Grass-roots Roots of a problem Over-manuring An organisation is a eco-system

28. “In all aspects of life ... we define our reality in terms of metaphors and then proceed to act on the basis of the metaphors…we in part structure our experience, consciously and unconsciously, by means of metaphor”. Lakoff and Johnson, 1980

29. Further possibilities… • Change is an adventure • Common destination • Direction of travel • Uncertainty of what lies ahead • Team with variety of skills/knowlwdge • Avoid maps and mapping

30. Implications • Don’t assume standardisation of inputs • Don’t expects standardisation of outcome • Don’t expect perfect conformity • Don’t expect perfect communication • Don’t think you can stop when you run out of “fuel” • We can’t predict the future • We can’t specify every step in our plans

32. Community strategy Commissioning Strategy C&YP Plan Service plans Team plans Employee Plans My Care plan

34. Ideas from complexity science • Planning as you go/good enough planning • Self organisation • Values diversity within the system • Clockware and swarmware • Acknowledge the inevitability of paradox and uncertainty

35. What does it mean for planning? • Light strategic plans to set direction • Detailed SMART action plans to manage progress • Borrow from programme planning ideas • Web-based documents • Inspectors judge outcomes rather than process - or move from archaeology or anthropology • Manage the shelf life of your data • Data rich, analysis poor

36. Culture • Changing conversations • Changing rewards/sanctions • Create time for reflection • Sceptical optimism • Authenticity - Avoid dissemblance • Choosing appropriate metaphors