The Cynefin Framework is a powerful decision making tool for managing change strategies. Creating social impact can be a challenging task. The traditional strategic approach is to ‘create a big plan to solve a problem’. This approach to project management often falls short when dealing with the complexities of the real world. This is particularly the case when it comes to working with people, communities and social problems. Using the Cynefin framework for leading social impact empowers you to tailor your strategy make decisions to recognise and respond to an ever changing world.
Use the Cynefin Framework for leading social impact to see the world in a new way and impact the world with clarity and purpose.
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What is The Cynefin Framework
The Cynefin Framework was created by Dave Snowden. It is pronounced (kuh-NEV-in) and means ‘place of many beings’. It offers a powerful tool for making sense and understanding the environments we wish to change. This framework encourages us to view the world through different lenses. Enabling us to approach problem solving in a more efficient and effective way. Helping us create a social impact strategy. By utilising the Cynefin Framework for leading social impact we can understand what elements of social projects are predictable and easy to manage and what elements require expertise or a more nuanced approach.
An Ordered vs Disordered World
The Cynefin framework is a tool that helps to categorise problems and systems based on their complexity and uncertainty. The framework divides our view of the world up. On the one side we have ‘Order’, where things are mostly predictable. On the other side there is ‘Disorder’ where things are mostly unpredictable. In today’s fast paced, ever changing world we are all too often planning our projects with tools created for unchanging processes or production lines. So we need to create a strategy to identify where and how that doesn’t fit the real world we are faced with.
Understanding Your World Using the Cynefin Framework for Leading Social Impact
As an introduction the Cynefin Framework can be understood as having five main domains: Clear, Complicated, Complex, Chaotic, and Confused.
The Confused Domain in the Cynefin Framework for Leading Social Impact
The Confused domain is in the middle. If you are unsure, this is the place where you probably are. It is a good strategy to start here. It is characterised by a lack of understanding of the environment itself. Here though there is the opportunity for connecting with new ideas and setting direction. You need to break down problems at this stage into their constituent parts and put them in each of the other domains.
In most cases if you are confused it is a complex problem. If you can’t break the problem down, then it is likely to be a complex problem. Generally if there is still doubt and if it does not appear chaotic, and there is no obvious experts in the problem, then it is usually fair to assume it is a complex problem. (If were simple you would know the answer). As an example: At the start of the covid vaccination we were in a confused state not knowing who how when or where to distribute the vaccine.
The Clear Domain in the Cynefin Framework for Leading Social Impact
The Clear domain is characterised by a high degree of certainty and control. Cause and effect are known and reliable. These are problems that can be easily defined and solved. These are systems that are often protected or isolated from the complexity of the outside world. (Such as the walls of a factory) There are well understood solutions and ‘best practice’. The focus on this domain is a strategy of compliance with process. Examples of Clear projects include baking a cake. If the cake is no good, you properly didn’t manage to follow the process. Alternatively, in the case of the covid vaccination it would be creating the process of giving the jab.
The Complicated Domain in the Cynefin Framework for Leading Social Impact
The Complicated domain is the domain of experts. It is characterised by a high degree of predictability. Problems are connected and related meaning they can be isolated to ‘root causes’. These are problems that can be solved repeatedly with expert management and good practice. However, solving them requires a great level of knowledge and skill as well as judgement. Examples of Complicated projects may include building a rocket. For covid a complicated project would be the distribution plan for the vaccine. Keeping supplies in date and below certain temperatures.
The Complex Domain in the Cynefin Framework for Leading Social Impact
The Complex domain is characterised by a high degree of uncertainty and interconnectedness. It is not clear what is connected to what or how. The complex domain is very different to the complicated domain. These are problems that are mostly unknown and require a navigational approach. Understanding what is working and steering into or away from problems. Many problems in this area can often be typified as being ‘wicked problems’. In the complex domain there is no single solution. Change often requires a strategy of working and balancing several different actions at once. Examples of Complex include the functioning of people across a city. In the case of the covid vaccine, a complex issue would be persuading people to get the jab.
Complex and Complicated Are NOT The Same In The Cynefin Framework For Leading Social Impact
It is important to be aware that the complicated and complex domains despite having similar names, are very different places and behave very differently. You can take a complicated system apart and put it back together and it will function the same you cannot do that with a complex system. In reality you can take a motorbike apart and put it back together and it should work the same. Whereas you cannot do that with a child. Nor can you look at a bee and understand a bee hive. It is not possible to reduce a complex problem to a set of parts and know how the system will behave.
The Chaotic Domain In The Cynefin Framework For Leading Social Impact
The Chaotic domain is characterised by a complete lack of predictability and a high degree of randomness. These are problems that require crisis management and are typically restricted in scope and time. They rarely last long as they burn off so much energy. Examples of Chaotic problems include natural disasters or sudden market crashes. The scrambles and shortages of equipment and supplies during the early stages of covid could be seen as chaotic. Whilst the draconian imposition of rules was a response strategy to manage and control the situation and prevent further chaos.
Beware falling off the Cliff In Cynefin.
A warning Dave Snowden who created the Cynefin Framework describes the boundary between Clear and Chaos as a cliff edge. If things go wrong in the clear domain. It can result in chaos and require a lot of fixing! E.g. the cake catching fire!
Creating Social Projects Using The Cynefin Framework For Leading Social Impact
So, how can the Cynefin framework help you approach projects in a new way? By understanding the category of a problem, you can tailor your approach to best suit the situation. For example, if a problem is Clear, you can use best practice process control methods to solve it. If a problem is Complex, you’ll need to take a more navigational approach. Furthermore, tasks as we become familiar and knowledgeable about them change. Generally moving from Complex, through to Complicated then to clear. An injection is a good example. Early needles were hollow reeds. Even when they were invented it took some time to learn to use them without spreading disease.
I created the Journey of Social Impact to take into account that social change is complex. We therefore need to navigate it, responding to the environment as it happens. Using Cynefin Framework for leading social impact, the 11 stage journey is a journey that you navigate finding your path between the points. Testing is a core part of the journey as it allows for the probe sense respond in the complex stage. Steps can be skipped temporarily if some parts our simpler than others, although this is likely to cause problems later on.
One area i disagree with Dave Snowden on in using the Cynfin Framework for leading social impact, is that he dislikes leader’s ‘visions’ as you can’t predict the future of a social system. I don’t disagree with that. But for me having an ‘inspiring vision’ is key to motivating people up the winding path to social impact. We can always update and renew the vision as we learn more. But people need motivation and inspiration.
If you want to learn more about creating social impact projects please check out my full guide.
Strategy and Decision Making Using the Cynefin Framework for Leading Social Impact
How does using the Cynefin Framework for leading social impact help us with strategy and decision making for social impact? The Cynefin Framework I would argue is the most powerful tool that a leader and a decision maker has for making social impact. To be blunt it helps us to distinguish fantasy from reality. It helps us to recognise the fantasy of a simple world that we are all taught at school is mostly not the reality we live in. It then gives us an approach to respond to test and respond to the world as it is.
The Cynefin Framework also plays nicely with other tools leadership and decision makers can use to understand and respond to the world. In particular the OODA Loop. However, leaders and decision makers can also use The Adaptive Cycle to recognise our place relative to our environment and Polarity Management to view manage tradeoffs as complementary tools to using the Cynefin Framework for leading social impact.
Making Sense of the World Using the Cynefin Framework for Leading Social Impact
By viewing the world through the lens of the Cynefin Framework, you can shift your mentality from focusing on finding solutions to understanding the problems. Using the Cynefin Framework for leading social impact helps us scale up projects by maintaining clarity of ideas. By having a better understanding of what is clear and what isn’t. This allows you to approach projects with a more open mind and be more responsive to change. Crucial if you want to have a social impact. By using the example of the covid jab you can see how a larger project can go through different aspects of the Cynefin Framework. Whilst at the same time sharing a single objective.
Whilst the Cynefin Framework can be tricky to get your head around, it is invaluable in understanding the complex world around us and when and how to act. I would suggest thinking about the problems you have in the world right now and how you might treat them differently.
Summary
In summary, the using the Cynefin Framework for leading social impact lets us approach problems and systems with a new mentality. It gives us a strategic lens where we can make sense of the world and respond to how it is changing appropriately. By understanding the category of a problem, you can tailor your approach and be more responsive to change. Start seeing the world in a new way and approach projects with clarity and purpose.
Are your problems in challenges you face more simple, complicated or complex?
Learn to create change that flows: Discover more at edgeofpossible.com
Other relevant articles:
Social Projects: A Complete Guide
What is the Best Leadership Style for Great Social Projects
What is Social Innovation? The Unpredictable, Beautiful Truth.