Is it Time to Rethink Change Management Models? Exploring Complex Adaptive Systems as an Additional Framework

Are additions to traditional change management approaches now required that can better accommodate the complexity of organisations and advance on the previous assumptions of linear and top-down strategies?

Numerous change initiatives have become large-scale interventions involving multidisciplinary organisations and cross-sector participation. For successful broad-scale adjustments and large system transformations to be realised, the current models of change management can have a limited scope for incorporating frameworks of complexity and emergent outcomes. This includes ambiguity, and the adaptive and self-organising behaviours of individuals and the organisation.

Particularly when faced with addressing increasingly frequent and wicked problems, traditional change management approaches are often inadequate to deal with the complex interdependence and changing nature of these types of problems. Wicked problems are generally defined as being firstly, an unclear problem, not easy to define, and are linked to other problems thus creating a web of complexity. Second, there is no definitive solution and rather solutions are realistically more about managing outcomes than solving the problem entirely.

Third, the problem evolves and changes as new information or factors arise. Finally, multiple stakeholders or systems are involved or implicated which conflicts interpretations and responses to the problem. Therefore, organisational transformations (and change methods implemented) in response to wicked or complex problems must be as dynamic as the challenges they aim to address.

An evolving approach to change management

Traditional change management models such as those developed by Kotter, Prosci, and Leeuwin evidence successful and multi-sector popularity by offering structured methods to guide organisational change. However, they were developed during a time when organisations were very hierarchical and assumptions of stable structures and top-down control facilitated a linear approach to decision-making and change initiatives.

More recently, organisations have become increasingly large and intricate, facing frequent uncertainty, disorder, and are confronted by wicked problems. Thus, traditional change management methods that assume predictability and stepwise implementation have become challenged to solve these more complex multi-sector and wicked problems.

More proactive models to change management are emerging that incorporate principles of complex adaptive systems. These approaches deliberately harness system unpredictability, feedback loops, and the dynamic interactions within and between organisations and systems. The intricacy and purpose of a desired change will influence the selected change implementation method and supporting frameworks for that approach (see Table 1).

Common organisational changes such as digital transformations and operational and process transitions can range from being incremental to transformative, all requiring a suitable approach. Adaptive resilience is a different type of change, the type of transformation that requires the organisation to bolter its adaptive capacity under conditions of uncertainty and disorder. Many complex changes require an agile outcome, that considers broad scale and multi-system involvement and unpredictability. This includes building organisational resilience and innovation for significant change initiatives such as cultural shifts, reporting and governance changes, or organisational restructures and unforeseen crisis such as a pandemic responses.

Desired change	Incremental	Reform	Transformation	Adaptive Resilience
Core questions	What can we do more of or how can we do it?	What new rules or roles are needed?  How do we reward the new behaviour?	What is the purpose? How do we understand this need for change? How do we know the best plan forward?	What assumptions are we making? What is the real problem we need to solve?
Purpose	Augment performance	Understand and modify parts of system	Create new resolutions and strategies	Build system resilience through iterative experimentation & learning
Authority and connections	Utilises existing rules, relationships, & established power structure	Creates opportunity for new rules, suspends & revises authority during reform	Requires new system-wide relationships & networks to promote a new identity	Utilises distributed authority, seek out new relationships for sensemaking and information
Action frame	Facilitation	Negotiation	Visionary	Exploratory

Table 1: Adapted from Waddell (2011)

Why a complexity framework is now required for adaptive transformations

By applying theorical concepts of complex adaptive systems to change management approaches, the reality of the problem or desired changes are more accurately represented and understood within that organisational context. Here is how:

1. Non-linearity- implementing change is not a straight path, rather small interventions can lead to disproportionate and unexpected effects elsewhere in the organisation or with affiliated organisations (think of the butterfly effect!).

2. Emergence- instead of forcing a specific change, leaders create environments and cultures for change to evolve organically.

3. Self-organisation- employees, teams and organisations adapt in real time rather than follow rigid plans and timelines.

4. Phase transitions- organisations shift between phases of stability and chaos, making it crucial to recognise opportunities for optimising change and learning.

5. Feedback loops- continuous adaptation and agile mindsets are key for sustainability rather than a one-time change implementation plan.

A recent case study on successful transformations in complex organisations found that when leaders utilised a complexity framework to change management and deliberately placed no expectations of prescriptive actions or goals on employees, but rather adopted a complex adaptive systems approach. The employees reported feeling trusted by their leader to showcase their expertise and thus contributed to an appropriate or innovative solution being found.

This additional complexity approach to change management models from the leadership to guide collaborative group-learning and explore information from an organisation-specific context, reinforces that leaders play a crucial role in guiding innovation and transformation practices.

When addressing critical and complex changes and of course- wicked problems, current change management models offer a well-established and trusted foundation. An additional complexity approach to transformation provides a robust, resilient and agile approach.

References:

1.Birkstedt, T., Minkkinen, M., Tandon, A., & Mäntymäki, M. (2023). AI governance: themes, knowledge gaps and future agendas. Internet Research, 33(7), 133-167.

2.Head, B. W., & Alford, J. (2015). Wicked problems: Implications for public policy and management. Administration & society, 47(6), 711-739.

3.Lönngren, J., & Van Poeck, K. (2021). Wicked problems: A mapping review of the literature. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 28(6), 481-502.

4.Riaz, S., Morgan, D., & Kimberley, N. (2024). Using complex adaptive systems (CAS) framework to assess success factors that lead to successful organizational change: a new way to understand change implementation for success. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 37(6), 1295-1321.

5.Waddell, S. (2011). Global action networks: Creating our future together. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.