Synopsis

Making Sense of Complexity focuses on the very nature of our working contexts today, arguing that the work we do is more complex than ever and that this complexity demands new approaches. Participants will learn how to recognise, diagnose and respond appropriately to complex environments and situations in a highly interactive course setting. The course serves as an introduction and touch point to the rest of the courses in the programme.

Making Sense of Complexity introduces participants to a number of models, all geared towards helping them understand the effects of complexity on our working environments, teams, projects and how we operate as individuals. It also introduces the PSC (perceiving, sensemaking, choreography) framework to help participants respond to complexity by seeing the situation correctly, re-wiring how you think and re-configuring what you do in iterative cycles of problem-solving. The course demonstrates how different mindsets, tool sets and skill sets play a role in navigating complex contexts and begins and ends with simulations that help participants apply these in unique and innovative ways.

Learn

• Explain the criteria for recognising the context in which your project-based work exists
• Utilise lenses and frames to diagnose the context within which our project-based work resides
• Identify opportunities to leverage the context for success
• Select the most successful approach to match your response to the environment
• Utilise mindsets, skill sets, and tool sets that will enable success in working in complex environments
• Identify and align the stakeholders necessary for successful execution in complex environments

Topics

• Perceiving Complexity in Context

  Defining “Complexity”

  How Did We Get Here?

  The Co

  PSC and Complexity

  Complexity and the SELF model

  Complex vs. Complicated

  Complexity Conditions and Variables

  Connectedness of Components

• Sense-making Lenses and Frames

  Systems Thinking

  Decision Making

  Problem Solving

• Choreography: Mindsets, Tool sets and Skill sets

  Mindsets

  Skill sets

  Tool sets

• Choreography: Responding to Complexity

  Complexity Response Process

• Course Summary and Call to Action

  Perceiving, Sensemaking, Complexity

  Response to Complexity