Naming Complexities and Getting Vulnerable
In our Doctoral program, there has been ample space to think through the models of leadership that exist, and how we as leaders will shape our influence to meet the complexities of the world. But what can be learned by not beginning with the leader or their qualities, but with the complexities themselves? This is where Joseph Bentley and Michael Toth take us in Exploring Wicked Problems [1]. They build upon the classic, well-used distinction between two types of problems: tame and wicked, developed by Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber in the early 1970s [2]. First, I will interact with their insights into the wicked nature of problems, and then on the crucial skills for leaders to address them.
Is this a wicked problem?
In unpacking the nature and challenge of wicked problems, Bentley and Toth give language to categorize the challenges and predicaments we face, whether confusing, dynamic, ill-structured, ambiguous, multi-faceted, bewildering, or without a final solution [3]. All of these descriptors help us understand that not all problems are the same, neither are they all tame, solved by a very clear, right answer. These build upon David Ehrlichman’s description of complex problems in Impact Networks which are “difficult to define, as they have no clear beginning or end. They also have no readily apparent solution, and we cannot accurately predict the path ahead” [4]. The alignment here between complex and wicked problems comes not just from the understanding we have about the problems themselves, but also from the limits of our understanding.
Bentley and Toth’s Chapter 12 – Wicked is a Thinking and Acting Tool, is their response to this. They argue that people get bogged down in misunderstandings and don’t get to the deeper issues that lie underneath [5]. This getting bogged down is presented by Daniel Kahneman in Thinking Fast and Slow. Our brains default to quick and automatic responses to situations, or what he calls “WHAT YOU SEE IS ALL THERE IS” ( WYSIATI) [6]. In their work on the difference between technical and adaptive problems, Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky in Leadership on the Line argue that the deeper the change and the greater the amount of new learning required, the more resistance there is, and so rather than patiently dealing with the unknowns as they come, adaptive challenges are treated as if they are technical, where the right answer can be applied [7]. The mastery of slowing down and assessing real complexity or wickedness is important work, according to Bentley and Toth [8]. In the complex landscape in our world, taking the time to describe the wicked nature of situations allows for better, deeper processing of involved factors, humble appreciation of the complexities, and active resistance of moving to quick solutions, opting for making positive incremental positive changes.
So what is the way through?
Earlier, I used the phrase “to get bogged down” to describe what it feels like to lead through wicked problems. The Cambridge dictionary explains this idiom as “to be/become so involved in something difficult or complicated that you cannot do anything else” [9]. Bentley and Toth’s language for this is the swamp. They invite us to envision ourselves both in and out of the swamp, seeking higher ground, and then returning [10] The Psalmist declared, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand”(Psalms 40:1-2 NIVUK). We must address wicked problems by “mastering the skills needed in order to own them, to get into the midst of them, and to work constructively on them with others in order to make a difference” [11].
As leaders, we can feel the desire to avoid swamps. Getting down in the swamp, and entering into the depth of the complexity of wicked problems is a place of vulnerability and humility, traits that emerge as “I don’t know the way but let’s discover it together”. David J. Snowden and Mary E. Boone, in their article “A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making” write about this moment of assessment and sensing when responding to the complex domain of emergence. “[This] is why, instead of attempting to impose a course of action, leaders must patiently allow the path forward to reveal itself. They need to probe first, then sense, and then respond” [12]. The same less is taught by Ehrlichman, whose model for leading through complexity involves both divergence (expressing different perspectives) and convergence (bringing ideas together), in order to achieve emergence (of new possibilities) [13].
And so, wicked problems are an invitation to work at lessening the impact of impossible situations that may not be solved in my lifetime, but which require a hopeful resolve in order to guide people through them. I’m in. Who’s with me?
__________
[1] Joseph Bentley and Michael Toth, Exploring Wicked Problems: What They Are and Why They Are Important, (IN: Archway Publishing, 2020), .
[2] Wicked, xiv.
[3] Wicked, 24.
[4] David Ehrlichman, Impact Networks : Create Connection, Spark Collaboration, and Catalyze Systemic Change, (Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2021), 3.
[5] Wicked, 108.
[6 ] Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow, (Doubleday Canada, 2011), 85.
[7] Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky, Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading, (Harvard Business Review Press, 2002. Kindle edition), 15.
[8] Wicked, 36.
[9] “Be/Get Bogged Down.” 2025. February 26, 2025. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/be-get-bogged-down.
[10] Wicked, Part 3.
[11] Wicked, 36-37.
[12] David J. Snowden and Mary E. Boone, “A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making,” Harvard Business Review, November 2007, https://hbr.org/2007/11/a-leaders-framework-for-decision-making.
[13] Impact Networks, 77.
About the Author
Joel Zantingh
Joel Zantingh is a catalyst for peacemaking and intercultural teams, speaker, theologian and consultant. He is the Canadian Coordinator of the World Evangelical Alliance's Peace and Reconciliation Network, and the Director of Engagement with Lausanne Movement Canada. He has served in local and national roles within the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada, and led their global mission arm. He has experience teaching in formal and informal settings with Bible college students and leaders from various cultures and generations. Joel and Christie are parents to adult children, as well as grandparents. They reside in Guelph, Ont., situated on the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, and home to many past, present and future First Nations peoples, including the Anishinnabe and Hodinöhsö:ni'.12 responses to “Naming Complexities and Getting Vulnerable”
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Joel, in your discussion of wicked problems, you highlight the importance of resisting quick solutions and embracing complexity. However, in real-world leadership scenarios, where time-sensitive decisions must be made, how can leaders balance the need for deep, adaptive thinking with the urgency of action?
Chad, thanks for this question.
There are many factors that contribute to the time-sensitivity of decisions, but how many times has the problem been misdiagnosed, with utter confidence, because of the “when everything looks like a nail” trigger?
Leaders who are able to help people quell their appetite for immediate, concrete answers and direction, and settle instead for intermediary measures, process goals, etc, demonstrate the adaptive thinking.
This is akin to Carol Dweck’s growth vs Fixed Mindset.
I’d love your thoughts. Does this satisfy your inquiry?
Hi Joel,
Wondering if you have a paragraph about a particular aspect of a wicked problem that you have constructively addressed (or are addressing) with others that you can celebrate?
I thought of a couple, but cannot post them here on this public blog. I’ll PM you…
Joel,
I have been in the swamp and I have been looking for you? Just kidding. I know you have been in it also. Being in the swamp can be tiring and yet so rewarding. How do you maintain doing work in the swamp while at the same time being rested enough to continue on?
Adam, I think this question is important, because we all have to learn to not take our rest from the success of solving the problems, but from other metrics that are achieved within ambiguity, such as having more voices who weighed in, or whittling down 8 possible outcomes to 4.
I constantly go to sleep knowing the work will be there in the morning.
Hey Joel, a thought provoking post. My question is how do you remain settled and and inspired when there is a chance that your wicked problem may outlive you
Daren, I am more convinced that all the work I give myself to, including any successes by my own measures, are but a breath (Ecclesiastes). But it’s still worth doing, just with the sense that we’re all just taking turns, participating with God’s mission in the here and now.
Is that too jaded?
Hi Joel, First, to answer your question, I’m with you! I appreciated your thoughts on slowing down and what I felt from your post: honoring the complexities that accompany wicked problems. When reflecting on this book, I felt a weight lifted when I realized that there are problems that, as you say, may not be solved in our lifetime. When you are tempted to jump into action to “solve” a problem, what helps you take a step back and slow down?
See below…
Yeah, Elysse!
I love the pragmatism of this quote from Bentley and Toth:
They have no final solutions, only temporary arrangements. Yet most of the important problems we face in our lives are wicked rather than tame. As parents, leaders, managers, colleagues, spouses, and friends, we have no real choice except to face up to them and do our best [Wicked, 24].
Thank you, Joel, for the ‘getting into and out of the swap’ concept that you used as a means of illustrating dealing with ‘wicked problem.” You also mentioned ‘divergent’ and ‘convergent’ as a means of lessening the impact of the dealing with ‘wicked problem.’ Is this what you referring to as ‘mastering tools?’ Thanks again, Joel!