Making the complex simple

Perhaps the most critical work of my career thus far was shepherding the education mission within one of Canada’s largest polytechnic institutions — first to help steady the ship as COVID-19 rocked the world, and then to bring hope, optimism, and a vision for a positive future to the organization in which I served.

A big part of this work was making sense of complexity and communicating in a way that helped others navigate and respond to the challenging and ever-changing context.

Recently I was asked how I do this kind of work, how I make the complex simple. While it’s difficult to fully articulate, I have identified 4 phases that define my process — and some practices, frames, and questions I rely on in each.

Phase 1: Chaos

Chaos might be too strong a word for this phase, although that’s what it generally feels like. There’s something afoot, and it’s difficult to articulate. There’s a lot of chatter, much of it repeated, and often a drive towards potential solutions without fully understanding the problem that needs to be solved or the issue that needs to be understood. These practices can help:

• Listen deeply.
• Make connections using non-linear means. Capture words, phrases, and images — ideally on a whiteboard, and ideally in conversation with others. This is not a time for bullet points. Connect related ideas with arrows. Underline the bits that don’t make sense. Circle things your intuition tells you are important. Capture seemingly unrelated concepts off to the side (but on the same page), but don’t dismiss them at first. They may just hold the key to understanding once the dust settles.
• Ask a lot of questions, even if (perhaps especially when) the answers seem obvious.
• Keep at it. It will be messy. It won’t make sense at first. The ideas will swirl around for some time. Just get them down. Invite others into the process of writing, drawing, and connecting. Don’t worry about being Picasso.
• Trust. Eventually meaning will begin to emerge.

Phase 2: Concept

Here the problem or issue begins to take shape. It still feels like a many-headed monster partially submerged within a churning sea, but at least the monster can be seen, even if it can’t be fully described. These questions can help:

• Who is most impacted by this situation? Give them a name and talk about them in a way that turns the issue into a story: “Kelly has a problem …”
• What do we assume everybody already knows? Say it out loud.
• What are we taking for granted?
• What different lenses do you need to peer through to understand the situation from multiple angles?
• Is there political or reputational risk? Why? Who might be impacted?
• How might the situation look different from an equity/diversity/inclusion perspective? Which stories are being told? Who benefits? Where might there be silence?
• Is there financial risk? How likely? What would the consequences be if the worst-case scenario came to pass?
• What is known for certain?
• What isn’t known? What can be found out? What simply can’t be known
• Ask “So what?” and “Why should anyone care?”

Phase 3: Clarity

Now to distill the situation into a simpler form. This phase is a bit like reducing fractions or simplifying an algebraic equation — it may look complex at first, but with some work, it can be expressed in a way that makes the problem much easier to understand, and therefore identify solutions for. These questions can help:

• How would a beginner need this explained to them?
• How would you explain it to someone with absolutely no background knowledge and no expertise in the area?
• How would you explain it to a 12-year-old, using simple vocabulary?
• Are there images, stories, or metaphors that might help people connect to the ideas in a different way?
• Now that you understand the problem, what steps will be taken to address it?
• What’s the bottom line? Start there.

One of the important considerations in this phase of the work is to always own the unknown. To the extent you can, be truthful about what can’t be known and why. Don’t make things up or speculate in your search for clarity. Resist the urge to make it seem tidy if it isn’t. Have courage and trust that people value authenticity over false assurances everything fits into a nice, neat package. If the way forward is to iterate towards success (as it so often is with highly complex issues), say that out loud.

Phase 4: Communicate

Communication is about so much more than the 7 Cs — clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, and courteous — as important as these are. My experience has taught me that what lies at the heart of meaningful and purposeful communication, particularly for leaders who are communicating to those within their organizations, are 4 additional Cs:

Conviction — Internal communication is the lifeblood of any organization. There are few things more critical than sharing information that matters with the people who serve as the heart, mind, and engine responsible for achieving the mission. For more on this topic, seek out the work of Roger D’Aprix. His book Communicating for Change: Connecting the Workplace with the Marketplace profoundly impacted my approach to leadership and communication.

Courage — Communicate what you know to be true, even when the narrative is messy or undesirable. Choose authenticity, even when it feels scary. And, when required, say the thing that is difficult to say.

Compassion — Remember there are real people who receive your communications, people with hopes, dreams, frustrations, and fears. Consider the impact your words will have on them.

Commitment — Put in the time and effort required to communicate well, including the hard work required to sort through when communication is required, and as importantly, when it isn’t. Create a plan with multiple audiences in mind and stick to it. Be as proactive as possible.

Chaos. Concept. Clarity. Communicate. While there is no easy way to make the complex simple, I hope the practices, frames, and questions from my own leadership practice will help. Based on my experience, the rewards are worth the effort.

Sue Fitzsimmons is an experienced executive leader who has spent her career cultivating excellence in leadership, strategy, and communication. She believes creativity and the arts help us engage the imagination and deepen our understanding of ourselves, our professional practice, and the world around us.