Last week, I started to share a number of sparks of engagement and reflections that have been stimulated by my recent explorations in embracing complexity, nurturing relationships and catalysing collaborative learning for social change.
After an introductory post on awareness, resonance, engagement, reflection, I then shared some reflections about continuums, complexities and contexts, beginning with a recent piece by Rachel Botsman, flowing through polarity mapping, and oscillating on to yin and yang!
Between now and the end of March, I plan to share reflections on three additional learning questions, before concluding - for now - with some wider reflections about awareness, inquiry and complexity. I hope that something I share sparks your interest.
So, on to question 2!
To what extent and how can new models of governance, and different organisational forms, help to shift the power dynamics that hold systems in place?
Engagement: Firstly, my comment on a piece on “Decentralizing Organizations”, by the Systems Innovation Network. Secondly, my effort to connect the emerging work of the Systems Innovation Network on governance and complexity, led by Misha Kaur, Adriana Rantcheva and Joss Colchester, to the rich experience of the Open Government Partnership over the last decade and more.
These two sparks of engagement are about patterns, power and systems. Or, more fully, whether and how new models of governance - for instance the open, multi-stakeholder and co-creational model that the Open Government Partnership promotes and nurtures (see their updated strategy), or decentralised and distributed organisational forms (governance at a more micro scale) - can help to shift power, change system dynamics, and generate better outcomes at a more macro scale.
This question, to me, is part of a broader discussion about the role that power plays in shaping the dynamics of systems, or governance, and what that means for system change initiatives. See also my review of “Unpacking systems change philanthropy” by Paulo Savaget and colleagues in my February piece on living, learning and loving systems, and my dream that “systems change initiatives set out explicitly how their modes of intervention are expected to shift the power dynamics that hold problems, and systems, in place.”
My engagement with parts of the anti-corruption community has made me somewhat sceptical of approaches to addressing governance challenges that fiddle with form or implore powerful players who benefit from the status quo to play nicely, rather than seriously engaging with the power dynamics and patterns of incentives that drive actions (see also Dan Hough’s reflections on turkeys, voting and christmas after December’s International Anti-Corruption Conference).
Nonetheless, I do think that exploring more seriously how different models and forms, or patterns, of governance might make a difference to the capacity of actors, the nature of their relationships, the dynamics of systems, and ultimately the outcomes that emerge, would be a fruitful endeavour. The Asia Foundation’s recent reflections on the coalition building initiatives it has been involved in - where the approach has been to foster relationships between powerful actors, while amplifying the voices and influence of those less powerful - provides rich food for thought (see On the Right Tack).
Another interesting path I plan to explore more comes through the work of Anna Birney and Adam Kahane. There are two pieces in particular that I plan to revisit as launch pads to wider exploration.
First, Anna’s piece on power dynamics, a systemic inquiry, in which Anna points to helpful questions around the relationship between new patterns of organising (new system dynamics), changes in the nature of our relationships, and shifts in the dynamics of power. Second, a wonderful conversation on power and systems change between Anna, and Adam Kahane, two people with huge experience of facilitating conversations, and related flows of energy and awareness, in order to nurture healthier dynamics in complex and often conflictual systems.
I very much appreciate Anna’s emphasis on living systems and facilitating the systemic flow of life, and have been inspired by her practice of living the questions. I also feel that Adam’s thinking about the complementary roles of power (autonomy and interdependence, in terms of the polarities of my continuums blogpost), as well as justice, in the emergence of kinder, healthier and more effective systems is a very fruitful area to explore. Given the very strong echoes of polarity management in Adam’s recent book on transformative facilitation (excerpt here), and removing the obstacles to effective collaboration, I’m excited to learn more.
More, soon, on typologies, emergent learning and complexity in context!
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First published on LinkedIn, 13 March 2023.