Managing Complexity
by Esther Derby
The Managing Complexity survey helps organizations assess their leadership approach in three critical domains: Steering, Enabling and Enhancing, and Making.
By understanding their team's performance in these domains, organizations can identify areas for improvement and adopt a more effective leadership style suited to today's complex business environment.
Identify concrete areas where you need to improve
The capability is based on the work of Esther Derby, one of the most influential voices within the agile communities when it comes to developing organizations, coaching teams, and transforming management. Organizations need flexible approaches to work and decision-making due to fast-paced change.
Managing Complexity is about creating a workplace where everyone in your organization contributes creatively to solving problems and where people don’t wait to be told what to do.
Steering
Where are we going, how will we get there? How does the organization attract customers – and how does it retain them? What type of behavior is expected of us as employees?
Enabling and Enhancing
How can we support people who create products and deliver services? What is the connection between strategy and execution? To what degree are we organized to create value for our customers?
Making
How can we use our combined skills and work together effectively? How do teams handle conflicts – and how are agreements made? How is work made visible to everyone so decisions can be made quickly?
The three system influencers
Clarity
People understand the big picture and how their work fits in
Constraints
People have the means and support to do great work
Conditions
People understand their bounded autonomy
Rather than think about hierarchical levels, this model identifies domains, which relate to concerns that exist in every organization--whether the organization has ten people or 110,000 people
Sample Survey Items
Jobs and role structures support the way people really work.
Business and technology directions are understood.
Teams, customers, and managers share a definition of done.
There are robust feedback loops that enable everyone to steer and make corrections.
People understand what difference the organization makes for customers.
Managers at all levels understand team and organizational capacity.
Teams know how to handle disagreements.
Teams know what they can decide and which decisions call for conversation outside the team.
The same ethical standards apply to people at all levels.
Sample Survey Items
Jobs and role structures support the way people really work.
Business and technology directions are understood.
Teams, customers, and managers share a definition of done.
Top Features
Leverage proven, peer-reviewed research to quickly identify where your organization needs attention and initiate a conversation to understand how you can help.
Gain insights expeditiously - perform analysis at the team, program and organizational levels.
Give your teams a voice – and allow them to express where you can make a meaningful difference for your organization.
Benchmark Managing Complexity across your teams and organization with other organizations in your industry
Leverage proven, peer-reviewed research to quickly identify where your organization needs attention and initiate a conversation to understand how you can help.
Gain insights expeditiously - perform analysis at the team, program and organizational levels.
Give your teams a voice – and allow them to express where you can make a meaningful difference for your organization.
Benchmark Managing Complexity across your teams and organization with other organizations in your industry
Esther Derby
Consultant, Advisor, Speaker
Esther Derby is one of the world’s most respected thought leaders in agile ways of working.
With four decades of experience in leading, observing, and experiencing organizational change, Esther Derby works with a diverse range of organizations, ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Her approach, informed by both experience and research, prioritizes both the human element and a deep understanding of complex adaptive systems.
Considered one of the most influential voices within the agile communities, Esther has a long-standing reputation for their work in developing organizations, coaching teams, and transforming management. Over the years, her work has had a significant impact, influencing coaches and leaders across numerous companies.
Having been exposed to experiential training by Jerry Weinberg in 1991, Esther has applied experiential learning and adult learning theory to create high-impact workshops. She runs two of the most highly sought after trainings for leaders seeking to apply systems thinking and congruence to their work. Through their work, she has had a lasting impact, influencing a generation of leaders in companies all over the world.
You can reach Esther by clicking here.
Try it out now!
Fuel data-driven continuous improvement efforts at the team, program and organizational levels through uncommon insights and actionable feedback.