Living Organisations
For all complex living systems (including forms of organisations) evolution unfolds through various levels of cognition and awareness developed in relationships, and manifesting in patterns and habits of behaviour. Some patterns we develop in the process of living are conscious and many more unconscious, yet both influence our choices and decisions at every moment through the process of living.
A living system tends to a seemingly paradoxical and simultaneous duality, and this is reflective in our logo: It has a self-organising tendency to preserve its own autonomy, and an integrative tendency to function as part of a larger evolving whole. Yet, this can’t really be separated from each other. Complex living systems evolve through a process called emergence, a constant reach into novelty through cooperation, connectedness and relationship. Through this duality of both stability and change, balance is maintained.
“Organisation” as a verb in all it shapes and forms, are human collective efforts to achieve something that is too difficult to do on your own. Organisation can be as temporary as getting a group of friends together to build a shed, or a large corporate spread across the world. It requires a constant balance of relationships within the nested ecology of relationships in which it operates. Tending to the relationships between people is generative of life, and the contextual fabric of an ecosystem. We are not observers, but active participants in the process of living and the unfolding of life. Our processes of consciousness and reflexive thinking needs variance to find stability.
Life from an eco-systemic perspective is not a process of “survival of the fittest” but a co-operative dance into the creation of the new through this unfolding process. The more denser the relationships, the richer the environment in complexity, the more options, the larger the chance for something new, and the greater the possibilities for survival. Co-operation in nature is the key creative process. Altruism precedes survival.
In organisations three forms of energy flow, that if tended to, creates increasing possibilities and adaptation:
Action: The iteration of reflecting and doing is a key capacity to brings forth the pragmatism required to sustain an organisation.
Relationships: The quality of relationships, how we relate to each can vitalise or reduce cooperation. Communication in all its manifestations are inter dependent.
Context: Connecting the future, present and past and larger wholes into coherence brings forth a sense of purpose and meaning.
So why is this important for organisations?
Many Organisations have responded to the increasingly disruptive and unpredictable environment of the 21st century by emphasising risk and control (stability) at the expense of flexibility and agility (change) based on the assumption of controlling complexity. Paradoxically this stifles resilience. Both people and organisations need an adaptive tension to maintain a balance.
This has contributed to increasingly shorter-term single purposed perspectives and the shying away from longer term commitments to people, the environment and organisational viability. Living systems are multipurposed and aim to optimise rather than maximise.
Living organisations focus on recognising that both humans and organisations are complex adaptive systems nested in relational ecologies. Both need variance to find a balance to adapt.
We assist individuals and organisations to rethink the relationships that provides the context for purpose, learning, possibilities, and coherence that is generative rather than extractive.
Get in touch
We know that finding the right person to support you is a choice not to be taken lightly. We enjoy sharing thoughts and ideas about organisations and change to better understand your needs.