Читать книгу Leadership in Veterinary Medicine - Clive Elwood - Страница 50

Leadership in complex situations is not linear and cause‐effect‐solution pathways are rarely useful. Good leadership requires an ability to appreciate complexity, that there may be more than one potential solution or where optimal outcomes overall may have unwelcome, unpredictable and/or unintended consequences elsewhere in the organisation. Developing the capacity to accept and hold this complexity without being crippled by doubt, fear, and the need to understand is necessary to be able to function and take action. In complex systems, seeing the effect of action, and being prepared to adapt accordingly, might be the only way to move forwards.

Overthinking complexity can lead into a maze of overcomplication that is difficult to get out of. On the other hand, not recognising complexity can lead to a failure to account and plan for, and adapt to, unpredictable outcomes. The simplicity minded leader will carry on with the same approach even when it is clear to those looking on that it is not having the desired consequences and that a different tack might be needed. In a veterinary context this is akin to increasing the dose of an antibiotic in the face of anti‐microbial resistance.