{"id":40857,"date":"2025-02-28T09:59:19","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T17:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=40857"},"modified":"2025-02-28T09:59:19","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T17:59:19","slug":"naming-complexities-and-getting-vulnerable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/naming-complexities-and-getting-vulnerable\/","title":{"rendered":"Naming Complexities and Getting Vulnerable"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/em> beginning\u00a0with the leader or their qualities, but with the complexities themselves? This is where Joseph Bentley and Michael Toth take us in Exploring Wicked Problems<\/em> [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.<\/p>\n

Is this a wicked problem? <\/strong><\/p>\n

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 \u00a0without 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\u2019s description of complex problems in Impact Networks <\/em>which are \u201cdifficult 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\u201d [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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bentley and Toth\u2019s 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\u2019t get to the deeper issues that lie underneath [5]. This getting bogged down is presented by Daniel Kahneman in Thinking Fast and Slow.<\/em> Our brains default to quick and automatic responses to situations, or what he calls \u201cWHAT YOU SEE IS ALL THERE IS\u201d ( WYSIATI) [6]. <\/span>In their work on the difference between technical and adaptive problems, Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky in Leadership on the Line<\/em> 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]<\/span>. The mastery of slowing down and assessing real complexity or wickedness is important work, according to Bentley and Toth [8]. <\/span>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.<\/span><\/p>\n

So what is the way through?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Earlier, I used the phrase \u201cto get bogged down\u201d to describe what it feels like to lead through wicked problems. The Cambridge dictionary explains this idiom as \u201c<\/span>to be\/become so involved in something difficult or complicated that you cannot do anything else\u201d [9]. Bentley and Toth\u2019s 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, <\/span>\u201cI 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\u201d(\u202d\u202dPsalms\u202c \u202d40\u202c:\u202d1\u202c-\u202d2 \u202dNIVUK). We must address wicked problems by \u201cmastering 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\u201d [11].\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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 \u201cI don\u2019t know the way but let\u2019s discover it together\u201d. David J. Snowden and Mary E. Boone, in their article \u201cA Leader\u2019s Framework for Decision Making\u201d write about this moment of assessment and sensing when responding to the complex domain of emergence. \u201c[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\u201d [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].<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019m in. Who\u2019s with me?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

__________<\/p>\n

[1] Joseph Bentley and Michael Toth, <\/span>Exploring Wicked Problems: What They Are and Why They Are Important<\/em>, <\/span>(IN: Archway Publishing, 2020), .<\/span><\/p>\n

[2]\u00a0Wicked,<\/em> xiv.<\/p>\n

[3]\u00a0Wicked,<\/em> 24.<\/p>\n

[4] David Ehrlichman, <\/span>Impact Networks\u202f: Create Connection, Spark Collaboration, and Catalyze Systemic Change<\/span><\/em>, (Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2021), 3.<\/span><\/p>\n

[5] Wicked, <\/em>108.<\/p>\n

[6 ] Daniel Kahneman, <\/span>Thinking, Fast and Slow<\/span><\/em>, (Doubleday Canada, 2011), 85.<\/span><\/p>\n

[7] Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky, <\/span>Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading<\/em>,<\/span> (Harvard Business Review Press, 2002. Kindle edition), 15.<\/span><\/p>\n

[8] Wicked,<\/em> 36<\/span>.<\/p>\n

[9] \u201cBe\/Get Bogged Down.\u201d 2025. February 26, 2025. https:\/\/dictionary.cambridge.org\/dictionary\/english\/be-get-bogged-down.<\/p>\n

[10] Wicked,<\/em> Part 3.<\/p>\n

[11] Wicked,<\/em> 36-37<\/span>.<\/p>\n

[12] David J. Snowden and Mary E. Boone, \u201cA Leader\u2019s Framework for Decision Making,\u201d Harvard Business Review, November 2007, https:\/\/hbr.org\/2007\/11\/a-leaders-framework-for-decision-making.<\/p>\n

[13] Impact Networks,<\/em> 77<\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u00a0with the leader or their qualities, but with the complexities themselves? This is where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":203,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3425],"class_list":["post-40857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bentley-toth-dlgp03","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/203"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40857"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40933,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40857\/revisions\/40933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}