A633.5.3.RB - Reflections on Chaos

 A633.5.3.RB - Reflections on Chaos

I took this assignment running because this was the perfect exercise I used with half of my company in unit. I am in the headquarters headquarters company and took personnel from the different sections and applied this exercise. I will not lie this what quite difficult to make them understand what I was trying to do, but I had to thank them for their efforts. I brought my commander out in this exercise and showed him how complex systems operate, the chaos theory, and share the learning process of this course. This exercise showed me that no matter how different the personalities are in an organization a complex system can always set a tone and control situations moving forward. Sull & Eisenhardt (2012) stated that “Once they understood the rules and their underlying rationale, ALL employees generated a series of innovative proposals based on what they had to work with.” (p. 3) 

My soldiers dealt with what they had to work with which was minimal guidance and minimal understanding of my objective. The pieces were moved and in place during the exercise. Obolensky (2014) discusses the 8 principles of unifying a common purpose, clear explicit individual objectives, the freedom to act, boundaries, skill/will of an individual, few rules, ambiguity, and unambiguous feedback. (p.2422) I used this as my gage during this exercise.

I have come to realize that my organization (although highly structured being that it is a military component) is that as complex as the organization is, there is really minimal directive needed to accomplish a task. When the soldier were able to move themselves in the positions they were it showed me that things can fluidly move into place. Collins (1999) discusses about BHAG, which stands for “Big, Hairy, Audacious goals.” (p. 3) As he discusses this concept he explains an example of climbing Mt. Everest and contemplating how you’re you going to climb the mountain then BHAG does not exist, which is how I interpreted this exercise as well. To me this ties into the implications of strategy by seeing your organizations goal and moving forward with it instead of just contemplating about it.

Giving my soldiers the boundaries yet freedom to act by them choosing the two individuals also brought this to some clarity. Hirschorn & Gilmore (1992) wrote, “Yet knowing how to recognize these new boundaries and use them productively is the essence of management in the flexible organization.” With this exercise the moving pieces at a slow pace, notifying their left and right limits of space, and lining parallel with their two subjects represents this idea. No matter how they lined up it was their decision on how they wanted to it. After this activity understanding Chaos theory has showed me a new way of understanding human relationships, opening up a new dynamic of leadership, and implementing new exercises in understanding how an organization works.

References:

Collins, J. (1999). Turning Goals Into Results: The Power of Catalytic Mechanisms Harvard Business Review, 77(4), 70-82.

Hirschhorn, L., & Gilmore, T. (1992). The New Boundaries of the 'Boundaryless' Company Harvard Business Review, 70(3), 104-115.

Obolensky, N. (2014). Complex adaptive leadership (2nd ed.). Surrey, England: Gower Publishing Limited

Sull, D., & Eisenhardt, K. M. (2012). Simple rules for a complex world. Harvard Business Review, 90(9), 68-74