When we break down a large wicked problem into numerous adaptive challenges and technical problems, and when we then plan numerous solutions to these various challenges and problem, most leaders will default to the notion that the best thinking, and thus the best solutions, can only be found in the executive suite rather than through out the organization. Now, one reason why most leaders default to this line of thinking is that they believe engaging the collective intelligence of employees at all levels would just take too much time and energy before implementing the desired series of simultaneous solutions and interventions. However, I believe this line of thinking has a built in miscalculation that will cause more significant problems during execution of the desired solutions.
Many years ago, James Belasco and Ralph Stayer in their book, Flight of the Buffalo: Soaring to Excellence, Learning to Let Employees Lead (Grand Central Publishing, 1994), wrote, “The primary purpose of strategic planning is not to strategically plan for the future, although that's an important purpose of the exercise. It is primarily to develop the strategic management mind-set in each and every individual in the organization. The purpose of the process is not only to produce a plan. It is to produce a plan that will be owned and understood by the people who have to execute it.”
In one short paragraph, Belasco and Stayer summarize one of the most important points related to planning and execution. And I believe one of the most important insights related to dealing with a wicked problem. First, while planning how to deal with a wicked problem is important, the overall goal for a problem of this nature is to develop a strategic mindset that permeates all levels of the organization. With enough time, focus, and resources, a series of solutions and interventions will be created, but the missing link to overall success, especially when accelerated convergence is taking place and there is incomplete and highly dynamic information involved, is for these solutions and interventions to be owned and understood by everyone who has to execute them. While this course of action may be slow in the beginning, over time and with enough people participating in empowered teams, it will make a huge difference.
Robert Sutton and Huggy Rao in their fascinating book, Scaling Up Excellence: Getting To More Without Settling For Less (Crown Business, 2014), write, “Slow down to scale faster - and better - down the road.” These two authors understand something very important. As they explain, “Effective scaling depends on believing and living a shared mindset throughout your group, division, or organization. Scaling is analogous to a ground war rather than an air war because developing, spreading and updating a mindset requires relentless vigilance. It requires stating the beliefs and living the behavior, and then doing so again and again.”
I believe it is the same when working with this particular wicked problem. We need to remember that a wicked problem is never solved by a singular solution. There will always be multiple problems that come together to make up the wicked problem, and how we define the problems that have generated a wicked problem is part of the challenge for all involved. Still, when we try a lot of stuff and keep what works, referencing Collins and Porras’ work from earlier, and when we create ownership and understanding at all levels of the company, we create the capacity at the “ground war” level of the company where the bigger differences related to recruitment and retention can be solved.
Furthermore, a wicked problem requires us as leaders to state the beliefs and live the key behaviors over and over again. Because as we embrace this insight, we also remember that a wicked problem continues to evolve over time. Thus, a highly interactive and collaborative approach at all levels is essential to working with a wicked problem. As Howard Zinn, historian author, professor, playwright and activist, noted years ago, “When enough people do enough things, however small they are, then change takes place.” And this is why we need to create ownership and understanding when dealing with a wicked problem.
FYI: To be concluded on Friday.
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