With a complex problem, what actions can you take to nudge things in the right direction?”
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“A friend shared a Rebecca Solnit article, When the Hero is the Problem, where she observes that American stories center on heroes who save the day…and how hopelessly wrong that model is when dealing with complex problems. She writes “Our largest problems won’t be solved by heroes. They’ll be solved, if they are, by movements, coalitions, civil society.””
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“When I previously saw structural racism, I didn’t see how to solve it, so I stayed paralyzed and did nothing, as if those were the only two options (hero or nothing). Solnit’s article reinforced for me that such problems are not solved by a hero, despite the Great Man view of history. These are complex problems where different actions perturb the system in unknown and unpredictable ways, so acting in the desired direction can resonate within the system. In other words, I am reminding myself to take the antiracism actions available to me, and to do that work in public as my contribution to the necessary movement.”
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“This applies to any complex system. By acting with integrity, and trying small experiments to see what resonates, you can create outsized impact within your network. So what will you try?”
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“#complexity #leadership #coaching