Managing Polarities
Some challenges are not meant to be solved—rather, leaders need to be able to navigate them with polarity thinking. Here’s what we mean by ‘the art of polarity management’…
The current financial climate and ongoing uncertainty mean that many enterprise leaders are necessarily getting more involved in everyday cost decisions. Reducing delegated authorities, recruitment freezes, and more rigorous processes for cost approvals are examples of practices executive leaders introduce to increase control of decisions of where to invest and to enable them to manage costs more actively.
Yet, these approaches can have unintended impacts. For example:
Approval processes take longer, and the workload for leaders seeking approvals increases, impacting their capacity and decreasing productivity.
Under pressure, leaders often revert to tried-and-true practices, sidelining innovative or unproven approaches, regardless of potential.
Increased pressures can lead to increased anxiety and stress, affecting a leader's ability to manage capacity and resilience.
When left unchecked, survival mindsets can emerge, with leaders feeling they need to work harder to prove their own and their teams' value. This invites perfectionism, driving greater control and/or overthinking (and the cycle repeats at the next layer of leaders).
These necessary controls and the unintended consequences of cost controls versus people can often feel in direct conflict with the mindsets and practices that help organisations and their people thrive in complex times.
Problems to solve versus Complex Challenges
Some leadership challenges are simply problems to solve, like choosing the right supplier for services or products. Leaders solve these issues by using tried-and-true practices.
Yet today’s rapidly evolving context and increased complexity mean increasingly leadership challenges are more complex and require different approaches and ongoing attention from leaders.
Leaders need to be able to solve problems and leverage polarities – where they are not problems to be solved. While our dominant paradigm is problem-solving through Either-Or thinking, another necessary paradigm for leaders is leveraging polarities through Both-And thinking.
Our dominant paradigm is problem-solving through Either-Or thinking
Another paradigm is leveraging polarities through Both-And thinking
Solving problems and leveraging polarities are both critical leadership skills.
What is Polarity Management?
Management consultant Barry Johnson created the Polarity Map and the concept of Polarity Thinking, a framework for understanding and managing situations where there is "truth and wisdom" on both sides of an issue. Barry Johnson’s Polarity Management framework provides simple and effective guidance for leaders and teams to navigate these complex challenges.
Polarities are defined as two or more opposing and interdependent challenges within an organisational system. Common examples include change and stability, task and people, or centralisation and decentralisation.
Consistent application and building a Both-And polarity mindset can help leaders and teams create the habits essential for successfully navigating between both poles. This, in turn, can help reduce tensions across teams, build a more flexible, positive organisational culture, and create sustainability and outcomes for the people and communities you serve.
Why does Polarity Management Matter for Leaders?
Attempting to address complex challenges with traditional problem-solving approaches often only makes things worse. Leaders and teams with good intentions push hard to solve the parts of the system they are accountable for, not understanding or seeing the unintended impacts in the opposing parts of the organisational system.
We often hear things like: “Why can’t we get clear on our priorities?” or “Leaders just need to decide what is most important here?”
For example, a drive for business improvement can result in human resources, finance, and sales introducing multiple changes for frontline teams simultaneously. This results in overwhelm for these team members and can slow the progress of core delivery as teams grapple to adapt to changes.
Change and stability are both important in this situation, and polarity mapping can help leaders develop the mindsets and habits to achieve both effectively.
What are the Benefits of Polarity Thinking for Leaders?
Building your leadership muscle to navigate polarities effectively can help:
Navigate Complexity and Uncertainty: Many leadership challenges involve multiple, interdependent values that can't be resolved by choosing one over the other. Polarity management helps leaders balance these opposing forces, enabling them to navigate complex and uncertain environments more effectively
Build Sustained Effectiveness: By appreciating and leveraging the strengths of each pole, leaders can develop solutions and systems that remain effective and sustainable over time. This approach ensures that individuals, teams and organisations can adapt and thrive amid changing circumstances.
Enhance Decision-Making: Polarity management encourages Both-And thinking, which allows leaders to consider multiple perspectives and make more balanced decisions. This leads to more comprehensive and innovative solutions
Improve Organisational Culture: Effective polarity management fosters a culture of collaboration and mutual respect. Leaders can create a more inclusive and connected work environment by recognising and valuing different viewpoints.
Encourage Personal Growth and Resilience: Leaders who master polarity management develop greater self-awareness and emotional intelligence. This personal growth enhances their ability to handle stress, build strong relationships, and lead with empathy.
Example of Polarity Mapping: What does it look like?
Polarity mapping is the visual tool that teams can use to map the organisational system and opposing poles (tensions). The structure of the map and associated questions help you identify actions and articulate both the benefits and downsides of each pole. Along with early warning signs and required feedback mechanisms, the map helps you recognise an overfocus in one area over the other, helping leaders adapt as needed.
We love this short and simple video from Jennifer Garvey Berger, from Cultivating Leadership, explaining polarity mapping using centralisation versus decentralisation as an example. Take a moment to view it and consider:
What polarities do your leaders and teams need to be paying attention to right now?
How might this tool help you build the mindsets and habits that ensure optimal performance and a more satisfying team experience?
Download our Free Leader Guide: Navigating Polarities
Download our FREE leader guide from our Human-Centred Leaders Kete: The Art of Polarity Management: Essential Skills for Today’s Leaders.
The guide includes a helpful overview of polarities, a list of common polarities within organisations, and an example polarity map template.
If you or your team might benefit from exploring this work further, please feel welcome to contact us. We offer half-day workshops on this topic and extended leadership development support where required.
Additional resources, videos, and articles about Polarity Management:
Polarity Management - By Cultivating Leadership
What is a Polarity? - By Andiron
TedTalk: The Power of Polarities - By Shoshana Boyd Gelfand
How to Manage Polarities and Paradoxes - Harvard Business