Research shows 48% of employees are unhappy in their current job, 43% frequently think about quitting, 51% arent engaged, and 16% are actively disengaged.

Why?

According to Aaron Dignan, its because the problems we face today are **complex** and we use an out-of-date toolbox to deal with them.

We do time tracking, annual budgets, and loads of meetings, we work in silos, refer matters to big committees, sit at big boardroom tables, have strict holiday leave policies, and maintain command-and-control leadership.

[**Free Download** : 10 Leadership Qualities That Will Help Solve Challenges in 2023](https://thegrowthfaculty.ac-page.com/leadershipqualities)

Yet we rarely ask: **Is this serving us in a complex world?**

Like bad [habits](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/makinghabitsstick), any onerous or clunky practices or policies that no longer serve you in this complex world should be seen as **organisational debt** , he says, because they cost the company dearly.

Aaron told this weeks masterclass **work systems need to change** for companies to succeed into the future.

Below we list the highlights of what he said, and 3 examples of companies whove changed

At the heart of _Brave New Work_ is knowing the difference between complicated versus complex operating systems, says Aaron.

A **complicated operating system** \(such as that in watch or a car engine\) is knowable and problems can be solved with checklists.

_Sense \(give me the data\)  Analyse \(look at the data\)  Respond \(heres the solution\)._

A **complex operating system** \(such as the weather, traffic, a garden, or a young child\) keeps surprising you.

It cant be fixed; rather it is managed, and managed in a relationship.

_Probe \(try, experiment\)  Sense \(Is that what I wanted?\)  Respond_

In the modern complex workplace, this experimenting and questioning is largely what is needed.

Complicated versus Complex

Unlike a set of traffic lights \(a **control and compliance** system\), a roundabout works using **trust and autonomy**. It requires a driver to participate in the solution. It asks us to show up differently.

Neither the control and compliance system nor the trust and autonomy system are appropriate in _every_ situation.

However, just as roundabouts are 90% more effective in reducing fatal collisions, trust and autonomy systems can be more effective.

When considering aspects of your own company, ask yourself Where can we show up differently?

- **Purpose**  How we orient and steer

- **Authority**  How we share power and make decisions

- **Structure**  How we organise and create teams

- **Strategy**  How we plan and prioritise

- **Resources**  How we invest our time and money

- **Innovation**  How we learn and evolve

- **Workflow**  How we divide and do the work

- **Meetings**  How we convene and coordinate

- **Information**  How we share and use data

- **Membership**  How we define and cultivate relationships

- **Mastery**  How we grow and mature

- **Compensation**  How we pay and provide

Showing up differently

Many companies and organisations around the world are moving away from the command and control systems to that of trust and autonomy.

3 examples of Brave New Work

Buurtzorg, a Dutch healthcare company specialising in in-home nursing, understood the value in giving nurses as much autonomy as they were seeking for their elderly patients.

Buurtzorg broke their large workforce into **teams of 10 to 12 nurses** , with each team taking over full responsibility for what they charged and how they cared for clients.

With a lean administration of just 15 employees, Buurtzorg employs 15,000 nurses and is expanding throughout the world.

Buurtzorg

Haier Group Corporation is a Chinese multinational home appliances and consumer electronics company.

Its moved away from siloed teams of HR, Finance, Customer Service etc. to introduce **autonomous self-managed operation units** , called ZZJYTs \(Zi Zhu Jung Ying Ti\).

Running like a micro-enterprise, every employee can create and manage his own ZZJYT to implement a project and become the leader.

Haier now has 100,000 employees and acquired GE Appliances in 2016.

Haier

In our interviews on [_Leadership is Language_](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/LeadershipisLanguagesummaryDavidMarquet) and his bestselling book _Turn the Ship Around_ , former U.S. Navy submarine captain David Marquet told us how he was given command of the worst-performing crew in the fleet.

By ditching the command and control [leadership style](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/leadershipstyles) and adopting a **more empowering** approach, David lifted the team from bottom-of-the-pile to the number one position. This trust and autonomy method wasnt easy, but everybody changed how they showed up to work and became leaders in their own right.

As all the leaders of these companies will tell you, change is often met with resistance and chaos before it leads to transformation and the new status quo.

So, lets change how we change\! says Aaron.

Santa Fe Nuclear Submarine

To thrive in a complex world, Aaron suggests a loop of **Continuous Participatory Change** : Tension  Practice  Experiment.

- **Tension**  Ask the team Whats stopping you from doing the best work of your life? \( _Too many meetings, boss is a jerk_ \). Dont respond negatively to ideas big or small.

- **Practice**  What are all the things you could try to get to the adjacent possible? \(Look at innovations adopted by other teams\) Or "What can we try that is novel \(i.e. something you invent\)?"

- **Experiment**  Probe, try something, create a safe place to take risks.

Aaron suggests trying radical things done on a non-radical scale \(and perhaps in a non-radical timeframe\).

**So, tomorrow, try this.** Instead of going through the motions, accept that your company operates in a VUCA \(Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous\) world, and reassess an aspect of your work policies and practices.

Start with the job at hand. What is stopping you from doing the best work of your life? Start there, and start experimenting\!

Change how you change

Want to keep up with the latest ideas and thinking from the brightest minds in the world?

Discover your potential by learning from the best with [Growth Faculty annual membership](https://join.thegrowthfaculty.com/#plans).

- Unlimited access to dozens of **live virtual masterclasses** on trending topics around work, career, leadership, and culture; such as psychological safety, burnout, difficult conversations, strategy and execution, micromanaging, accountability and more, with opportunities to chat, ask questions of the speaker, and interact with your peers.

- Unlimited access to our **multi-module leadership programs** at both emerging and senior leader level.

- Discounts on tickets to be in audiences at our **Global Headliner in-person events** featuring top name speakers.

- Year-round **leadership content on demand** with replays of our live events, highlight reels, interviews with top business authors, and more.

Join a community of knowledge seekers who are inspired by the best. See our [latest program of live virtual and in-person events](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/event.php?eventId=a1J4G000008xoC7&promoCode=Blog&utm_source=TGF&utm_medium=blog).

Keep informedStay Inspired

Keep informed
Stay Inspired