Adaptive Action Labs

Las relaciones humanas son complejas. Y el mundo en el que vivimos es complejo y cambiante. La colaboración es ese ingrediente que facilita el cambio en sistemas complejos.

The face and function of facilitation have changed in today’s complex landscape. In uncertain and ambiguous challenges, groups are asked to take creative action, even when they cannot predict or control what will happen. Their issues and challenges are unpredictable (at worst) and ambiguous (at best). Your job, as a facilitator, is to support people as they engage in exploration and decision making in these chaotic times.

Are you curious about human systems dynamics? Do you want to see how this new approach to complexity will help you thrive in a world that grows more challenging every day? Come with us and explore what it takes to navigate change that emerges at the speed of thought. Find a path through turbulence and toward your vision or the future.

When the future is clear, planning is easy. Traditional planning assumed stable markets and slow-changing technology. Few stakeholders and long-term investment made it possible to plan a linear path toward predictable ends. For most people today, the future is not clear, and planning is as risky as it is hard. You don’t know what you don’t know. The rules keep changing. The clock is running. Expectations are challenged by multiple social, economic, cultural, and environmental forces. In spite of these challenges, you have to prepare for a future you don’t predict nor control.

Your narratives—the stories you tell about your world and your life—represent your experience in the world. They frame your expectations and assumptions. They motivate and inform action in all areas of your life. But in the today’s turbulent world your old, simple narratives are not enough; they cannot capture your past you remember or the future you hope for. Sometimes, existing narratives lock you into patterns of the past rather than your emerging future. On the other hand, powerful narrative can explore the complexity you face today and inform your next wise action. It can inspire new perspectives and innovative responses. It can help you move beyond today and discover tomorrow.

In simpler times, change came slowly, if at all. Consultants could learn approaches in graduate school and use them throughout their careers. They took a solution that worked with one client and confidently transferred it to another. In the current unpredictable and uncertain world, that no longer works. Today, consultants must be master learners and experts at inquiry. HSD-informed consultants bring adaptive capacity to help clients tame the wicked issues that emerge from their complex environments.

Personal and professional stress wear us down. Political and environmental disasters draw attention and resources from day-to-day activities. Crumbling infrastructures and out-of-control media chip away at our sense of stability and safety. In these challenging times, we need a big dose of resilience.

Systemic racism tears at the fiber of individual, organization, community, and family relationships. The insidious impact of historical decisions effects almost every aspect of your life, regardless of your race or ethnicity. You may be aware of this fact but feel overwhelmed by the challenge of bringing about change. You recognize that change is needed at all scales and across diverse settings, but you do not know how to make a difference.