{"id":40928,"date":"2025-02-27T23:32:24","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T07:32:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=40928"},"modified":"2025-02-27T23:32:24","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T07:32:24","slug":"though-wicked-a-leader-can-be-effective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/though-wicked-a-leader-can-be-effective\/","title":{"rendered":"Though Wicked, A leader Can be Effective!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cEXPLORING WICKED PROBLEMS<\/em><\/strong>: What They Are and Why Thet Are important<\/em>,\u201d by Joseph Bentley, PhD and Michael Toth, PhD not only gave us different perspectives on how we look at problems, but some practical ways to deal with it. In the introduction, they gave us the reason this book is necessary by stating that life acquaints all with goodness along with disappointment, pain and disorder and since the world gives us both possibilities and challenges.[1]<\/a> To further elaborate, problems were classified as \u2018wicked problems\u2019 and \u2018tame problems.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThose problems that lent themselves to straightforward solutions they called tame problems. Those that were inherently too difficult to solve they named wicked problems.\u201d [2]<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Since problems (both wicked and tame) are normal part of everyday life, it is crucial that those in leadership must be aware of, acknowledge its existence, and learn how to deal and live with it. Wicked Problem is defined as, \u201ca problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize.\u201d[3]<\/a> On the other hand, tame problems is the opposite of wicked problems.<\/p>\n

Wicked Problems and Effective Leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n

Effective leadership is crucial in addressing wicked problems; however, to lead through wicked problems, it is important to have basic idea of what is a \u2018wicked problem.\u2019 A wicked problem are not easily solvable; they\u00a0 are enormous and complicated. Following are some basic characteristics: (1.) it is difficult to to frame, define and describe, (2.) it is hard to understand without trying to solve it first, (3.) it is not solvable as in, \u2018finally solved, once-and-for-all\u2019 perspectives, (4.) it does not have a \u2018true-or-false\u2019 solution, (5.) those trying to solve it, are fully accountable for the aftereffect, (6.) trying to solve it is very risky, it may not work, (7.) there is no specific, or immediate solution, (8.) Each of them is unique, can not be broken down, and does not have a specific mode of operation, (9.) with each wicked problem, is the result of another, and finally (10.) no specific theory for it, for the causes varies, making solutions difficult.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

Due to the wickedness of the situation, how would a leader navigate or set his\/her map-making. Dr. Kate Isaacs[5]<\/a>, in her response to the question of how great leaders tackle these [wicked problems] challenges now, she mentioned six winning practices; and following are the 6 winning practices: (1.) Bring the whole system to the table, (2.) First, to build and sustain trust among everyone, (3.) Ensure short-term wins, then to longer-term system solutions, (4.) Build ongoing and adaptive learning into the process, (5.) Be aware of your power and share it responsibly, and finally (6.) Manage relationships at home in tandem with those of your problem-solving community, or the stakeholders.<\/p>\n

Conclusion:<\/p>\n

To conclude, I would say that leading and finding solutions to wicked problems is nearly impossible. However, as we looked to some of the great leaders in history, it gives us the hope that it could be manageable, though not totally solved. Following are some examples of great leaders that have tackled with wicked problems:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Nelson Mandela [6]<\/a>, the Apartheid in South Africa.<\/li>\n
  2. Winston Churchill [7]<\/a>, WWII and the Nazi threat.<\/li>\n
  3. Eleanor Roosevelt [8]<\/a>, Human rights and social inequality.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    These are but few of them. And though these are but World leaders, it gives us hope that any leader could tackle wicked problems!<\/p>\n

    [1]<\/a> Bentley PhD, Joseph; Toth PhD, Michael. Exploring Wicked Problems: What They Are and Why They Are Important (p. 9). Archway Publishing. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n

    [2]<\/a> Ibid (p. 10).<\/p>\n

    [3]<\/a> Yourdictionary.com. Definition of Wicked Problem. Accessed February 27, 2025.<\/p>\n

    [4]<\/a> Simpleandclever.com. 10 Characteristics of Wicked Problems. Accessed February 27, 2025.<\/p>\n

    [5]<\/a> Experienced researcher and facilitator, MIT Center of Biomedical Innovation and The Center for Highet Ambition Leadership. https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/brookmanville\/2016\/05\/15\/six-leadership-practices-for-wicked-problem-solving\/<\/a>. Accessed February 27, 2025.<\/p>\n

    [6]<\/a> Nelson Mandela. https:\/\/www.biography.com\/political-figures\/nelson-mandela<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    [7]<\/a> Winston Churchill. https:\/\/www.history.com\/topics\/european-history\/winston-churchill<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    [8]<\/a> Eleanor Roosevelt. https:\/\/www.un.org\/en\/about-us\/eleanor-roosevelt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Introduction: \u201cEXPLORING WICKED PROBLEMS: What They Are and Why Thet Are important,\u201d by Joseph Bentley, PhD and Michael Toth, PhD not only gave us different perspectives on how we look at problems, but some practical ways to deal with it. In the introduction, they gave us the reason this book is necessary by stating that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":181,"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":[],"class_list":["post-40928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40928","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\/181"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40928"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40929,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40928\/revisions\/40929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}