Leading for Sustainable Success Our current mental model of organisation prevents us creating the adaptable, fluid and innovative culture that businesses need to face the ever-increasing change. Here, Mike Bell suggests an alternative way to see organisation, that opens up more possibilities. Lao Tzu, the father of Taoism is reported to have said1:  "In pursuit of knowledge, everyday something is acquired; In pursuit of wisdom, everyday something is dropped." More recently, the 21st century business revolutionary, Gary Hamel says2:  "Today the competitive environment is changing so fast as to make experience irrelevant or dangerous." This article explores what is needed from leaders to create more sustainable, successful organisations. How can they evoke more wisdom, their own and that of their members? For surely we have sufficient information and knowledge. Organisations as Machines Lao Tzu suggests that things need to be dropped and, from my perspective, our mental model that sees an organisation as a machine could be dropped. The image of an organisation or business as a machine is a very powerful meme. It is so deeply ingrained in our cultural collective unconsciousness that not only do we fail to question it, we often don't even notice the effect it has on our behaviours. For example, when the author was a manager at a multinational consumer company, he was given two thick volumes entitled 'Management Guidelines'. They were intended to contain most of the information needed to manage your staff. Much like you get an operating manual when you purchase a new piece of machinery. In practice, they weren't really guidelines at all, but rules. However, it seemed that my part of the business did not always operate to these rules. I can recall many failed attempts at trying to get the 'Guidelines' modified to meet new situations I was facing. There are some situations, of course, where a mechanistic organisational model is of value - for example surgical wards, aircraft maintenance, finance departments - where precision, safety and clear accountability are at a premium. However, as Morgan points out in Images of Organization3, organisations designed from machine theory thinking: (a) can create organisational forms that have great difficulty in adapting to changing circumstances, (b) can result in mindless and unquestioning bureaucracy, (c) can have unanticipated and undesirable consequences as the interests of those working in the organization take precedence over the goals the organization was designed to achieve, and (d) can have dehumanising effects upon employees, especially those at the lower levels of the organizational hierarchy.  These are precisely the types of outcomes that hamper the levels of imagination, innovation, fluidity and adaptability needed to create sustainable success when the world around is changing at an ever-faster pace. If the machine model does not work for us now, what are the alternatives? Where do we look for new models of organisation that hold the qualities we now desire. Organisations as Organisms One alternative is the image of organisations as organisms with the capacity for self-organising. This idea has been with us for a very long time. It was re-discovered in the 1920's when it was suggested that 'employees are people with complex needs that must be satisfied if they are to lead full and healthy lives and perform effectively in the workplace'3 Consider, for example, a tree with the elements of roots, trunk, branches and leaves. No one needs to tell the tree how each of these should manifest. A tree, like all of nature, has the capacity for self-organising. The shape and size of each of the elements depends on many factors that cannot be pre-programmed or controlled - the soil, wind, temperature, water etc. If we are to release the self-organising power of our organisations we need to discover the principles or patterns that will inform new ways of organising. Peter Senge has suggested we look back into our history: "Poised at the millennium, we confront two critical challenges: how to address deep problems for which hierarchical leadership alone is insufficient and how to harness the intelligence and spirit of people at all levels of the organization. Our responses may lead us, ironically, to a future based on more ancient - and more natural - ways of organizing." The understanding of self-organising systems predates this century by many millennia. All the indigenous cultures of the world studied the patterns and cycles in nature around them and learned how they applied to their lives and communities also. By adopting and adapting natural patterns and designs they built in sustainability to a high degree. The difference between these old cultures and our own can be heard in language. I once listened to a Native American Elder speaking about some of the differences he saw between our culture and theirs. He noted that we have a language that is full of nouns - a result of our belief that we can understand the whole by breaking it down into smaller and smaller parts, all of which need names. By contrast, his language was full of verbs, for they made sense of their world as a continuing flow of patterns and needed verbs to describe these processes. If there are deep natural patterns of organising, it would make sense to look for them in the indigenous cultures that discovered and practiced them. The indigenous cultures of the Americas are a rich source of ancient wisdom about self, life and community. The EHAMA Institute of California teaches old wisdom ways and for the last five years I have been studying with them. In particular this study has focused on the adaptation and practical application of this old wisdom to our modern organisations. The Wheel of Sustainable Success The Wheel of Sustainable Success has evolved from the seeing of our world and communities and people from more natural perspectives. All self-organising systems rely on the interconnectedness of eight design elements (or energies) for their survival and growth:             One of the amazing benefits of self-organising is the vast range of outcomes that can be created from a relatively small number of design elements. The English language is a good example. Think of all the works of literature that have resulted from 26 letters and the rules of grammar. Lets explore how the eight design elements outlined above can contribute to the self-organising of sustainable success. Nothing new comes into existence without there being Freedom and Creativity. For human self-organising systems, Freedom and Creativity is the start point for the imagination, vision and passion that is vital for creation . Whether we are talking about a new business, a new product or an innovative solution, without the freedom to think new and outrageous thoughts and the creative spark to give them life, nothing happens. Without an energy of Freedom and Creativity, there is no impetus to change the status quo. It is this energy that gives human systems the power to recreate, reinvent and rebirth themselves to survive when the environment around them is changing. Without this energy organisation cannot be sustained. However, the new creative idea does not exist in a vacuum. It is informed by a deep understanding of the Present Condition. The deeper the understanding, the better the chance of the new idea succeeding. Think, for example of all the new products that have failed through inadequate understanding of the Present Condition. Think, for example of all the new products that have failed through poor understanding of the Present Condition. As well as the depth of understanding, the quality of the understanding is also important. Frequently we view the Present Condition with an energy of blame or judgment. This can lead to a distorted interpretation and actions that then come from distortion. A manager who blames his staff for making too many errors is unlikely to be open to exploring how the systems he has put in place may be contributing to the mistakes. So an energy of Appreciation, and by this I do not mean 'liking' but more a detached position, is much more useful. There are also Power and Danger implications of anything new. There is an openness and trust needed to explore these. Often the Dangers are not fully assessed and inadequate preparations are made to manage them should they arise.  One of the biggest Dangers in human organisations is our reactions as humans. New ideas imply change and this can lead to conflict and resistance that severely limits the successful implementation of many good ideas. Even one's that might be needed for the survival of the organism.  The chances of a new idea being accepted and implemented are greatly improved if everyone can see how it fits with the Purpose and Direction. But how many people in an organisation understand their Purpose and Direction and own it sufficiently to be able to align their ideas, decisions and actions with it? Purpose and Direction may be described in vision statements, strategies and plans. But it is also embodied in the sense of identity, the values that are lived, and the stories that are told that reinforce these. An organisation desiring sustainable success will ensure that the Purpose and Direction are clear to everyone by aligning stories and identity with the values and behaviours. All acts of creation are also acts of destruction. If something new is coming into existence then something has to die. Maintaining what's needed for survival whilst at the same time Balancing the new systems and processes to support and nurture the new idea can be a delicate task. To remove the systems or resources that are no longer required often occurs when the organisation's survival is under threat and it even more difficult to maintain balance. Achieving Maintenance and Balance in an environment of desperation can have an great impact on the sustainable success of any organisation. In the downsizing over the last twenty years, so much valuable talent, knowledge and wisdom was removed that many organisations found they had to hire people back on a consultancy basis just to survive. Organisations are made of interconnected processes, so the acceptability of any new idea will also depend upon how it affects other parts of the system. Interelatedness covers a wide area both within and outside of the organisation. Increasingly leaders are being asked to take into account the needs of all stakeholders. As well as employees and shareholders, this might include customers, suppliers, local community and Mother Nature. To sustain success, an organization must predict how its actions will impact the wider world and bring this understanding to the decision-making process. Too often decisions backfire because the impact on a key stakeholder group has not been accurately predicted. Timing is also a key element in implementation. We are familiar with the concept of 'an idea whose time has come' but we must also identify ideas, however sound in themselves, that the time is not right for. When an organisation has been through a period of rapid change, for example, you often hear people calling for a time for consolidation before the next new initiative is launched. When attention has been given to all of the design elements discussed so far, there is a much greater chance that Clarity and Action will contribute to sustainable success. The Clarity comes from seeing the idea holistically. Using a design such as the Wheel of Sustainable Success, that encourages thinking in a more whole and balanced way, also avoids what might be missed through a random or a 'functional' centred approach. From the new Clarity, decisive Action can flow from gathered resources and simple strategies that engage the hearts and minds of people. And lastly, before any action is taken, a perspective of Integrity and Vitality is invaluable. Before any action is taken it is important to be sure that all the voices have been heard - not just the words of the all the people, but all the internal voices of, perhaps, concern and doubt. The organisation must ensure that there is the Vitality, the enthusiasm, to implement the new idea. We all have experience of what happens when plans are pushed through but few people have the energy to make it work. If Integrity and Vitality are not present, then a further cycle around the Wheel is called for. The new insights and deeper thinking generated in the first round will lead to more powerful insights and thinking the next time. Emergent Solutions Although, for the purposes of this explanation, we have followed the Wheel in a linear pattern, in practice, the interdependence of each design element cannot be ignored. For example, the survival of new ideas depends upon the structures to maintain, balance and nurture them; our ability to predict future effects of our actions is informed by our understanding of the present condition, moment by moment. Also, from a basic understanding of the Wheel, it is possible to imagine how it might be of value at all levels of the organization from personal decision-making to strategic planning. Here are some examples of how our clients benefited from the Wheel of Sustainable Success. In one case, the Wheel was used to assess a range of different strategy options that directors had created. One client saw how the Wheel could be used by eight cross-functional teams to decide on the implementation of new HR initiatives, for example, 360o feedback. Another used the Wheel to identify what was needed to create a more innovative culture. They identified over 30 recommendations for action. The Wheel brought new insights and resolution to a long-standing issue for another client Implications for Leaders It is clear that the 'command and control' and 'tell and sell' strategies often used by leaders will not contribute to self-organising or release the collective intelligence and wisdom. We can expect leaders of self-organising systems to be: Communicating their vision and passion and evoking the creative and expressive energies of people. Deeply in touch with the present, not blaming and keeping open communication so all are in touch. Building strong communities that can embrace change, alert to power and danger issues and not getting trapped by emotions. Keeping everyone focused on the purpose and direction, telling the stories that keep it alive for people. Ensuring that the organisation is taking care of itself, at all levels, in a way that promotes sustainability. Seeing the patterns and trends, connecting all the dots and making the future implications of action clear to everyone. Making courageous and decisive decisions that engage the hearts and minds of the people. Ensuring everyone feels a part of the whole and generating an energy of enthusiasm Leading from Within This is not an easy challenge for leaders, as it requires them to 'bring more of who they are to what they do'. It has been said that leadership is a 'science' and a 'craft'. Most current leadership programmes develop the science. But leaders wishing to succeed in today's environment need to develop their craft as well and the main instrument or tool of their craft is the leader him/herself. This requires a deep inner learning journey of self-discovery leading to self-knowledge and personal mastery. Then with openness and courage, leaders can explore the sources of the opinions, beliefs, attitudes and images that shape their current behaviours and let go of those that hinder their leadership. Specific tools and practices can enable leaders to experience themselves and their organisations in new and more powerful ways so their leadership becomes an expression of who they are. Leaders can develop their natural talents for creativity, adventure, nurturing and decisiveness. They can become more perceptive, focused, predictive and energetic. And as they follow the old maxim 'know thyself', they will also come to know their organisations and lead them in a more appropriate and balanced way towards sustainable success.   Mike Bell 2001 1. Cited in Muller, W. (1999). Sabbath: restoring the sacred rhythm of rest. p134. NY: Bantam 2. Hamel, G. (2000). Leading the Revolution. p148. Harvard Business School Press 3. Morgan, G (1986) Images of Organization. p35. Sage Publications 4. Senge, Peter M. Harvard Business Review. Sept-Oct 1997 Top © The Wisdom Meme 2007