Change is a leadership imperative—without it, leaders and their organizations become stagnant and fall behind. However, too much change and a neglect of stability and continuity creates chaos and scattered energy in the organization. Being able to navigate polarities like Stability::Change is central to a leader’s ability to preserve the core as they simultaneously work to stimulate progress. And like other polarities in this piece, it’s a double-dip: it’s not just essential in complex situations, it’s how great leaders use Both/And Leadership to make great organizations.
How Does it Help with Complexity?
Utilizing Both/And thinking to successfully navigate Stability::Change is key to leading in complexity. Complex systems are constantly shifting, adapting, and evolving. And navigating complex issues requires experimenting with different solutions and changing our approach as we learn and progress. To thrive, teams need leaders who are comfortable and adept at change.
But it’s not quite that simple. Our brains, while nimble, crave a level of certainty and experience stress when it’s absent. Too much change taxes the system and the people in it, so leaders have to find the stability and continuity needed to provide solid footholds along the way. This means anchoring to the core, finding points of continuousness, and holding true to the vision of success—all while shifting and adapting along the way.
Stability—The Benefits and Overuses
Leaders who lean into Stability provide consistency, predictability, and order—all important elements to success. But when overused, it can lead to inflexibility, slow responsiveness, and inadaptability which all hinder our success in complex situations. That’s what happens with polarities—when overused the good stuff turns bad. Because complex situations have no clear solution, we are constantly identifying the next step, evaluating, and then shifting as needed. Leaders who hold tightly to Stability with an either/or mindset struggle to be comfortable or capable of leading in complexity.
Change—The Benefits and Overuses
Change efforts aren’t always complex, but complexity always involves adjustment and change. Leaders who have a preference for Change over Stability bring new possibilities and fresh energy required for systems to evolve and adapt—vital in complexity. But when Change dominates over Stability, teams lose their footing and we make complexity more complicated.
Whether anchoring solidly in the direction of success or sticking with an experiment long enough to see its multiple impacts, leaders who pride themselves on driving change must use Both/And thinking to expand and create the stability teams and organizations need to reduce the stress and anxiety that impede high performance.
Creating the Conditions with Both/And Leadership
Complex environments ask for a firm foundation and purposeful evolution. These conditions take shape when leaders find a healthy rhythm between being both adaptable and anchored. They maintain continuity and grounding as they take the next best step and introduce shifts to keep the system responsive and open to what comes next.
This requires leaders to recognize their natural preference for Stability or Change and intentionally work to build their Both/And leadership capability to do both. Otherwise, under the stress created in the midst of complexity, it’s tempting to retreat to what feels familiar, default to either/or, and overuse the pole they prefer.
The Key Polarity Indicator surfaces these tendencies and offers a practical path for navigating polarities like Stability::Change in ways that build resilience and long-term effectiveness.
Ways to Create the Conditions with Stability::Change
Here are three simple practices to help Stability and Change strengthen each other and navigate polarities to create the conditions needed to thrive in complexity.
Make Stability Visible
It sounds simple but has a big impact. To mitigate anxiety, actively name and remind people of what will stay consistent—do not assume they will recognize it on their own. What core strengths, structures, and values will you continue to rely on for the next step of the journey? What things won’t be changing or going away—and what’s the commitment to letting people know if that should shift? Perhaps most importantly, what is the direction you are committed to advancing towards even as your plan evolves from what you learn along the way?
Prime the Pump to Prepare for Shifts
Unlike complicated problems, complexity can’t be navigated with an expertly crafted 93-step plan. It requires things like experiments and next best actions. A lot of frustration comes from being asked to shift when we think we’re executing on a locked-down plan. Intentionally and incessantly communicate the difference. Let people know, “These are the next ‘few’ steps that will move us toward the goal—but this is complex not certain, so be ready to pause, learn, and adjust along the way. Our approach will shift; our goal will not.”
Change is the New Stability
In complex environments, things are always shifting and evolving. Don’t hold your breath waiting and hoping for things to “get back to normal.” And help others not to do it either. Find ways to help your team realize that in a complex situation things will always shift and evolve. Start using the phrase, “for now” to help build the mindset on your team. “This is the way we’ll approach it, for now.” “For now, we’ll need to continue doing X.” “Based on what we know, we should experiment with it, for now.”
Manage Your Preference, Change Your Approach
There’s nothing wrong with having a preference for one pole or the other, but we need Both/And Leadership to help ensure we navigate the polarity effectively.
Preference for Stability? For a complex issue, look at your plan. After the first few steps add a check-in to ask: What signals are we getting that suggest we need to shift our approach? And work to detach yourself from the rest of the plan until you know more—try hiding all but the next three steps of your plan once it’s created.
Preference for Change? In complexity, don’t fall into the trap of changing things that don’t need to change. If you’re wired for change, practice sitting in the discomfort for just a bit to look under (and above!) the thing you think needs to shift. Complexity usually requires nudging something that wasn’t our first instinct. That’s why Action::Reflection is a key Both/And leadership capability for complexity.
Read about the Key Leadership Polarities in the Complexity Series:
Posted In: Complexity Series