Together We Improve — By Learning To Embrace Chaos

We may have learned about the Second Law of Thermodynamics for a Physics’ exam in high school—we may have since forgotten how profound the principle can be for our work and life today. The Second Law states that all bodies in motion tend toward entropy, which is the cessation of motion or death. The classic example was our childhood top—we threw it onto the driveway happily expecting it to spin for minutes. But sure enough, after ten seconds or so, it began to lose its momentum and wobble, and eventually fall over. The proof of the Second Law lay sadly before us!

The principle of entropy might well remain in the recesses of our childhood minds if it did not have such a profound implication for our lives as leaders today. For the phenomenon of entropy applies not only to physics but also to our work and life. Everything is subject to the affects of entropy—especially individuals and organizations. Whether we realize it or not, left to ourselves we are all on our way to “slow death.” Individuals embark on the path to slow death when they stop learning and listening, and when they make excuses for their behavior rather than taking steps to improve their performance. Organizations travel imperceptively on the road to slow death when they fall in love with the status quo, content themselves with false harmony, and sustain the mistaken belief that their present growth guarantees their future success.

What can we do to stop entropy as it applies to our teams and ourselves? One of the best answers is to introduce chaos into the systems of our teams and our own lives. Chaos interrupts slow death by injecting new energy and momentum into any body in motion. The presence of chaos forces us to question the status quo and look for new solutions. Chaos forces us to change. Albert Einstein was right when he said, “No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it.” Chaos forces us to think differently about our work and life. Chaos is necessary to new creative ordering. Disorder can be the source of the new and better order.

The problem with actively seeking and adopting chaos as the remedy for entropy is that the cure can feel worse to us than the ailment! Who in the their right mind would ever welcome chaos in their work and life? We might see examples of how chaos can serve to interrupt slow death in others but we usually prefer the safety of predictability and familiarity of controlling our circumstances for oursevles. What can we do to look past the deceptive lure of what we know to the unfolding promise of what might be?

One of the essentials ingredients for becoming a leader who can embrace chaos is build a strong CORE. A strong CORE enables us to embrace a world of inherent orderliness. Margaret Wheatley says this:

“In life, the issue is not control, but dynamic connectedness. I want to act from that knowledge. I want to trust in this universe so much that I give up playing God. I want to stop struggling to hold things together. I want to experience such security that the concept of “allowing”—trusting that the appropriate forms will emerge ceases to be scary. I want to surrender my fear of the universe and join with everyone I know in an organization that opens willingly to its environment, participating gracefully in the unfolding dance of order.”

Strong and secure leaders learn to embrace chaos for their growth and for the improvement of their team.