The Law of Requisite Variety is a presupposition of NLP. It states that the system/person with the most flexibility of behavior will control/have the most influence on the system. This applies to organizations too.
Judith Delozier, the Mother of NLP and a great teacher and wise woman, explained this law by saying: to create within a system, we should commit ourselves to entering the system without any limitations within us as creators. We start with no preconceptions, and since we are connected to the system, eventually, the system will shape our edges. Though that doesn’t mean we can’t also push the edges frequently.
She said: “I truly believe that the world will define the limitations, my job is to stay fluid, fluid in states, strategies and the actions involved.”
I reflected on the times when I thought I was least effective as an executive or a human being, and I realized that it was during the times when I cleverly understood a system’s/organization’s limitation from the first encounter. I allowed myself to internalize them and accept them as my personal limitations immediately.
I started my life as a software developer, and I loved analyzing real-world systems and deciphering how they worked, their structures, constraints, and possibilities. That gave me a talent for recognizing a system and its boundaries very quickly all through my career. However, reflecting now, I seethat was a double-edged sword. I realize now that there were times when I allowed myself to internalize those barriers while stepping into a new system, thus not allowing myself to stay objectively independent from the system’s limitations. I forgot to hold the fluid space of infinite potential long enough to think/strategize with no perceived limitations.
I wonder how many times I could have pushed the system’s edges that I had to create within, but I didn’t; Or maybe I just didn’t push enough. How would that creation looked if I did?
In today’s world, with its volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, flexibility is crucial, and with many of the systems that we know collapsing or shifting, flexibility is needed more than ever.
Where do you as a leader carry the old systems’ limitations within you though you intend to create from a new perspective?
What practices do you utilize within your organization and with your teams to make sure you step out into that space of fluid potential and endless possibilities?
