Here is an article, featuring content from Chapter 6 of my forthcoming book, Leading Change: The 5 Tensions to Manage for Successful Transformation.
COMPLEXITY – A thorough analysis and deep understanding of the system or situation that leads to a comprehensive and detailed change management strategy.
SIMPLICITY – The art of distilling complex ideas, processes, and strategies into clear, understandable, and actionable concepts.
Here are a few tips on how you can embrace both innovation and consistency in the season ahead:
A Home. A Job. A Friend.
During my nine years at the helm of a 40-bed homeless shelter, I quickly learned that eradicating homelessness and getting individuals off the streets and into safe, sustainable housing involved staggering complexity. Our change management strategy, which applied to each person who walked through our doors, encompassed a dizzying array of elements—housing, employment, healthcare, community reintegration, education, and at times, addiction, mental health challenges, and past trauma.
The list seemed endless, and here’s the harsh truth: every component mattered. There was no silver bullet solution, no easy answer. The path to lasting life change demanded a holistic, personalized approach that wove together all these intricate threads.
As a team, we had to become well-versed—or partner with experts who were well-versed—in each of these areas. However, trying to explain this intricate web of services to those seeking our help was overwhelming for them, even paralyzing. And communicating our model for change to staff and volunteers in a way that inspired understanding, buy-in, and excitement seemed like an insurmountable task.
That’s when a mentor and homelessness expert, Dion Oxford, shared a profound truth that changed everything: For individuals to move away from a situation of homelessness, they need three things—a home, a job, and a friend. Deceptively simple yet deeply powerful.
A home didn’t necessarily mean home ownership, but it did mean a safe, secure place to experience community. A job might not equate to gainful employment, but it did mean the opportunity to contribute skills and energy in a meaningful way. And a friend represented authentic, supportive relationships, not just a transactional connection with a caseworker.
Suddenly, the overwhelming complexity of our work could be distilled into this incredibly straightforward framework. The 1,000 moving parts all fell under one of the three headings. And once we embraced this simplicity, everything shifted.
Those seeking our services understood the path forward. Staff and volunteers rallied around a shared language and vision. The community grasped our approach, leading to heightened volunteerism, donations, and partnerships. By holding the complexity and simplicity in tension, we unlocked a transformative synergy that propelled our mission forward.
Real-Time Assessment
Reflect on your recent change management experiences. Have you fully leveraged the advantages that come from leaning into complexity? Have you shown the flexibility required to achieve the benefits of simplicity? Check out the chart below and determine which quadrant your team has been spending the most time in.
This article contains content from Chapter 6 of my forthcoming book, Leading Change: The 5 Tensions to Manage for Successful Transformation.
Click here to download the first chapter for free now!
DIY Team Icebreaker
ME TOO!
This icebreaker is great for helping team members go a little deeper in getting to know their colleagues, discovering similarities and strengthening relationships.
STEP ONE:
Give each team member a list with each person’s name on it.
Explain the instructions:
- Over the next 10 minutes, talk with your colleagues 1 on 1, discovering something that you both have in common and then writing it next to their name.
- You cannot have the same ‘thing in common’ with more than one person (ex. if you wrote down for Jane that you both live in Toronto, you can’t also write that down for Jamal).
- When you find something in common, you can both exclaim ‘ME TOO!’ as loudly as you are comfortable.
STEP TWO:
Set a timer for 10 minutes (flex the length depending on the size of your group) and let people mingle. Once the timer expires, have people return to their seats.
STEP THREE:
When everyone is settled, ask if anyone discovered anything new and/or interesting that they have in common with another team member. Share an example to start if you don’t get any responses right away.
HAVE FUN!
Monthly Inspiration
“As a useful rule of thumb, whenever you cannot describe the vision driving a change initiative in five minutes or less and get a reaction that signifies both understanding and interest, you are in for trouble.”
John Kotter
Harvard Professor, Author, and Thought Leader
leadership development plan that will energize your team and drive results.
keynotes and workshops are designed to make your fall meetings, conferences, or events truly
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Reach out to us today, to schedule a call to discuss how we can tailor our services to your
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The concept around leadership tensions and that it’s “and” not “but”, really resonated with this audience. They’re looking forward to diving deeper into this with Tim’s book.”
