In a living system, order emerges from self-organising interactions. There is no leader or one source of direction. Our state of mind and the plasticity of our nervous system is what makes it possible to create new and adaptive forms of being and relating. The connections are made automatically without conscious thought.
To quote Stuart Kauffman we get “order for free“.
When you watch birds in flocks or people in crowds engaging in spontaneous behaviour they are self-organising. When the nervous system receives data from our senses, the meaning we generate, the emotions we feel and the way our body moves is the result of the self-organising patterns from billions of neurones in our system.
What brings order to this self-organising system are the pathways, rules or structures that determine how we are likely to interact when the right conditions are met. These structures and the relationships between them create habitual connections which make our Way of Being predictable and controllable. Yet we can still be spontaneous and unpredictable, which makes our world seem ordered and our response flexible. We have freedom within limits.
“The world is not to be put in order the world is in order. It is for us to put ourselves in unison with this order” – Henry Miller
In the same way that the duck at the front of a flock is not the designated leader, it’s a role each duck takes on that is expected of them when they find themselves in that position. The duck adapts to the situation it finds itself in. As a result of the emergent and self-organising rules being followed by the flock, order emerges that serves a common interest.
So what does that mean?
Human beings possess high levels of consciousness that enable them to observe themselves observing the world and coordinating their actions with others. This ability has its self-organising and emergent properties.
In teams, for example, we can act collaboratively whilst maintaining our identity and autonomy. We feel the need to perform well enough to stay in touch with others to make a contribution to a shared goal by learning together.
We also seek to belong and use our talents and skills to compliment each others and feel appreciated and valued by them. It is these qualities or initial conditions that will enable a team to self-organise its actions and deliver a shared goal.
Complex Systems can have Simple Rules
It seems that complex behaviour does not have to have complex rules to be effective. The dynamic and flexible nature of each free ‘agent’ in the system can cooperate and perform in a self-organising way to ensure that a shared goal is achieved. For animals it is instinctive, but for humans, it is often a conscious choice. However, when our behaviour gets ‘locked-in’ by habits and beliefs, then the benefits of self-organisation are more difficult to realise, so we must create agreed rules and procedures to get coordinated action.
Leadership can be the ’emergent’ behaviour that exists within each individual. When this is evident, then anyone can be the ‘attractor’ around which others will flock and self-organise around a shared objective. All they need is the ‘attractor’ to set the rules around which self-organised behaviour can flourish. This can be the leader’s integrity, values, ethics or authenticity.
It is possible to explain the role of self-organisation as it applies to human systems when everyone develops the capacity to adapt to change by shifting their way of seeing, being and acting to secure a more viable outcome for the system as a whole.
Our performance improves when we are more responsive, productive and happy. It’s about helping each other observe, understand and influence patterns of interaction and decision-making that serve our common concerns and intentions. As human beings, we benefit from a clear focus of our attention on connecting common interests and seeking shared visions of the future.
The thing about self-organised behaviour is that it does not have to have a complex explanation. Order emerges from the complex interactions of the “actors” in the system that adapt to changing circumstances and adopt similar codes or rules for action.
When a disaster happens, if everyone knows how to respond, to produce what the situation requires, a new order emerges that better fits the new situation and makes the system viable again. The “agents” have adapted to what the situation demands of them without the need for centralised control. when networks of conversations see a need for a change, coordinated action emerges as individual actors write a new script and make commitments or promises to each other to make things work better.
Now what?
It appears that order emerges from self-organisation. A new way forward is opened up to an adapted form of organisation in which individual actors manage themselves as their Inner Director sees where the boundaries lie and where improvements in action are possible to create a coherent story.
It is possible to explain the role of self-organisation as it applies to human systems as everyone develops the capacity to adapt to change by shifting their way of looking, being and acting to secure a more viable outcome for the system as a whole.
Our performance improves when we are more responsive, productive and happy. It’s about helping each other see, understand and influence patterns of interaction and decision-making in order to resolve common concerns.
As human beings, we can self-organise when we can focus our attention on coordinating our actions around common interests and focusing on a shared goal or intention.
References
Navigating Complexityby Arthur Battram. Industrial Society 1998
The Turning Point by Fritjof Capra. Harper Collins 1983
