I offer a third alternative suggestion. We might move beyond both systems and intentions to focus on the future. We pose a new question: “which initiative will yield the greatest learning for all of us?” If John Dewey (1929) is correct in suggesting that we tend to learn about something only by trying to change it, then we might want to first engage something that is likely to provide the most immediate and clear feedback. That which is most “learning-ful” comes first. We are being appreciative. We appreciate the “kick-back” from a controversial move forward. We ascend one of the difficult peaks in the range, learn from this ascent, then move to second peak. And on to the other peaks in the range. This somewhat radical approach provides us with not only a way to sequence various initiatives but also with the opportunity to “learn into the future.” (Scharmer, 2009).
The fruit might not be low hanging, but it could be quite juicy and nourishing to the soul . . .
Polarity Management
I opened this essay by suggesting that competing priorities are often facing us. They are often contradictory—this being one of the conditions of VUCA-Plus. We don’t know what is essential because each competing priority is Essential in one way or another. While we might wish to prioritize or sequence, there is also a way in which we manage and benefit from the contradictions that exist. We engage in the management of polarities—a novel and contemporary strategy.
In introducing this alternative way of managing two contradictory Essential pathways and outcomes, I turn to the work of Barry Johnson (1996), the “dean” of polarity management. Johnson’s perspectives and his related tools can guide our actions in the future. Johnson suggests that polarity management can be used in handling everyday dilemmas. It can also be of great value in addressing major societal challenges associated with the condition of contradiction in a VUCA-Plus environment. Polarity management is of great value in settings where two or more legitimate but opposing` forces reside.
I offer a specific example regarding the use of polarity management by turning to the ongoing personal and collective struggle regarding personal rights and collective responsibilities. Polarity management provides important guidance in addressing these two major Essentials in our mid-21st Century society (and in most contemporary societies).
Both/And Rather Than Either/Or
Many of those involved already in the deliberation regarding individual rights and collective responsibilities have framed the policy regarding these two Essentials as an either/or option. I will frame our analysis around these two polar-opposite Essentials as a both/and. I begin by identifying some of the benefits and disadvantages associated with each Essential. The benefits in both cases yield both short-term (tactical) and long-term (strategic) outcomes.
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