Complexity Stalls Action

I recently overheard a sales clerk ask a young customer about her plans for school. She replied that she was majoring in arts until she could get a handle on what she wants to do with her life.

With a deep sigh the young woman went on to say, “There are just so many options”.

While school isn’t on my agenda this year, I too often flounder when the decisions, options, and tasks become overwhelming. Even though I know it is somewhat irrational, I sometimes put things on the list even though I’ve already done them - just so I have something to cross off.

As with most planning, some items on my list are straightforward and easy to check off, whereas others are far more complex. Like others, I am more apt to ignore the more complicated tasks on the list.

This is a significant learning for anyone developing strategies and action plans for organizations, businesses, or even entire communities. Quite simply, when directions and tasks aren’t clear, the items on the to-do list don’t typically get done. As a rule, we humans don’t like ambiguity. When there are too many options or things are too complex, we move into overload mode and stall.
This means effective leaders need to work really hard to make things simple. Simplicity begets action.

However it is a delicate dance because as Enstein once said, ‘Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.’

We live in a complex and often chaotic world. If our direction is not clear, decision-making is hampered. Despite the best of intentions, we might just head in the wrong direction, lose our sense of initiative, or place too much emphasis on gathering more research and studies to reduce the ambiguity and instead fall prey to ‘analysis paralysis’.

Albert Einstein also addressed this need for simplicity within his “Three Rules of Work”. The first rule was ‘Out of clutter find simplicity’; ‘From discord find harmony’; and ‘In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.’

Ensuring simplicity is a key leadership responsibility – for ourselves as well as our organizations, businesses, or communities. If your strategies and action are going to be clear and simple, make sure the vision, values, and outcomes are clear, ensure open and honest communication, and minimize distractions and diversions that could get in the way and detract from clear thinking and simple action. Keep reinforcing the key priorities, because if everything is important, nothing is important. Do fewer things but do them really well.

Ensure the strategies and action plans are written down, reviewed on a regular basis, and assigned with deadlines attached. Think about the action plans as a to-do list for each strategy. Ensure they have the potential to be achievable within the next year, build on strengths, address challenges, and capitalize on opportunities.

If you want to see the successful implementation of strategy and action plans you also need to ensure they are supported with people, resources, time, systems, and above all, communication.

Communicate the plan to everyone involved. Hold monthly or quarterly strategy meetings to report on the progress that has taken place and to adapt to changes in the environment.

Strategies and action plans need to be seen as a work-in-progress. It doesn’t have to be perfect or 100 percent complete. Think of it instead as making a list and determining priorities.

It’s not always easy but even crossing one item off a list feels like progress.

#changemanagement #complexity #simplicity

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