Program Page

See related courses:

Frameworks and processes to understand and enable adaptive change in complex and uncertain policy environments. 

How to lead and manage in a complex and uncertain business landscape. 

A range of global and national forces inter-relate with each other and surge and decline at different times and at different scales to create the complexity and uncertainty that we experience on a day-to-day basis. Much of what we witness is self-organising and emergent which means that it is unpredictable. The increased level of uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity creates a highly challenging environment for policy and strategy developers. 

To be able to lead and manage effectively in such a dynamic world, decision-makers in government and business need new frameworks and processes to better understand complexity and uncertainty. These frameworks and processes will enable them to perceive this emerging landscape in new ways that enable them to be adaptive and responsive to a volatile social, business and policy landscape. 

This course enables participants to build their current and future capability and expertise to better understand complexity and uncertainty and develop programs and processes that will support adaptation within the organisation and the society that they serve. The principles and practices of complex adaptive systems will be presented. Participants will use these principles to explore contemporary and emerging issues to develop adaptive responses. 

Course overview

Topics include: 

  • An overview of the concepts and principles of complex adaptive systems; 
  • Application through group-work of those principles to contemporary issues identified by participants to better understand complexity and how to respond to it; 
  • An overview of how we can use the concepts of complex adaptive systems (CAS) to better understand human behaviour relating to decision-making, strategy and policy development and the implications for leading and managing as adaptive organisation and projects

 

Learning outcomes:

  • Recognise how to lead and manage in a complex and volatile environment 
  • Recognise how to lead and support cultural change 
  • Apply skills and techniques that will assist adaptive policy and strategy development 
  • Apply the principles of complex adaptive systems to better understand complex environments 
  • Identify how people work together using the frameworks and principles of complex adaptive systems 
  • Identify the worldview of complex adaptive systems 

 

Who should attend?

  • Managers who are required to develop strategy and policy in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous operating environment. 
  • Project leaders who are responding to complex problems, yet do not believe nor feel that they are gaining a sense of satisfaction through their efforts. 
  • This course is suitable for APS6 - SES, or equivalent level. 

Testimonials

…I currently work in a strategic role to which I can immediately apply my increased understanding of how to operate in complex environments or with complex policy issues. Importantly the course equipped me with better understanding and narratives on how to support a team to navigate through and achieve results in the inherent uncertainty of complex environments.

… there are several large scale reforms on the way and I feel more prepared to ensure we can adapt to what I suspect is coming as well as what I might not expect.

Presenter

Dr Gary Saliba

Dr Gary Saliba

Dr Gary Saliba is the Director of Strategic Journeys, a management consulting company, which assists people in organisations in strategy development work.

The unique role of Gary and his company is the integration of systems thinking, complex adaptive systems with futures studies and strategy development. This approach has enabled him to consult extensively across a range of government and commercial enterprises to develop organisational strategy that is based on plausible futures, using the scenario development methodology.

Gary’s approach is to work with people to enhance their processes in understanding their organisation’s operating environment and their own ways of operating. This leads to more informed decision-making and improved responsiveness and flexibility in an increasingly complex environment. 

Gary holds a BSc(Hons), PhD in Applied Mathematics and Dip Ed from the University of Sydney. He is a Fellow of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.