Create a reflection blog on what this exercise meant to you and how it
impacts your understanding of chaos theory, include the implications that this
has on strategy.
Video Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41QKeKQ2O3E
Until this week, I really had a hard time seeing how this
all might play out in the practical application in my organization. Currently,
we are made up of a corporate office and the personnel there that are
responsible for being “that leader’ in this exercise. What I’ve found to be
interesting is that in some ways we need the structure but in most applications
we do not. The reading describes leadership this way this week “many leaders do
not fully understand the concept of allowing others to take the lead”
(Obolensky, 2014). I think that is true from the corporate level down to where
we are. Most of the leaders there, I think, have forgotten what it is like to
deal with all of the side distractions and personal issues associated with
being in the schedule platform we are and to deal with the constant change in
hours.
The chaos theory was hard for me to visualize happening in
practical understanding until this week. After watching the video, I’ve come to
understand two things. First, initially things will be crazy and people will
have to adjust to their surroundings. Second, although it took a small amount
of time, everything seemed to work itself out relatively quickly. I relate that
directly to the work place. If things are crazy or chaotic for a small time, it
is worth the rewards of fluidity and communication lines improving. After
watching the video, I see the actual leadership role being the actual guy who
laid out the activity to the group. He simply told them what to do and they did
it. In my organization, that is sort of how things work but there is a lot of
oversight and skepticism. I feel as though if one thing went wrong and we were
at fault, we would have to fear the repercussions. I understand that fear is coupled with intention
and unawareness (Obolonesky, 2014) but I wonder how much fear can really derail
the willingness of a participant.
When a lot of change occurs there is growing pains. I took
away from this exercise though that growing pains will resolve themselves
overtime and everything will fix itself. That is the point of the process
anyhow. One source talked about changes in the workplace this way “The first
thing managers must appreciate before considering any change initiative is how
change affects employees – both how readily they will accept the change and the
emotional 'pain' that always accompanies change” (Group, 2015). I
think that is something important to understand. People are resistant to change
but if they knew the outcomes, they’d be more willing to cooperate in the
process. Lastly, one source mentioned that “Being
open-minded means you have a willingness to listen to other ideas and opinions
and consider the possibility that you are wrong or may change your own
perspective” (Kokemuller, 2012). I perceive that if everyone in the
organization from top to bottom really took on the task of moving into a
chaotic approach, everything would work itself out and be a lot more effective
and beneficial to the organization.
References
Group, F. (2015). How to manage organisational change.
Retrieved September 11, 2015, from
http://www.fortunegroup.com.au/managing-change-in-the-workplace
Kokemuller, N. (2012). Is it Important to Be Open Minded in
the Workplace? Retrieved September 9, 2015, from http://work.chron.com/important-open-minded-workplace-6124.html
Obolensky, N. (2014). Complex adaptive leadership:
Embracing paradox and uncertainty (2nd
ed.). Burlington , VT
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