Complexity Theory and Management: A Balance Complexity theorists to indeed recommend that organizational leaders not focus so strongly on command-and control styles of management but rather establish performance goals and set simple rules that their team members can follow. This approach truly does offer the potential to open the doors for creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, but it can also foster discord and waste—if abused by destructive employees. Managers have the challenge of finding a way to let go of control, yet still ensure that there’s a level of coordination still involved. In this manner the others goals of the organization should still be met. This is delicate balance and achieving such objectives is something that many managers struggle with their entire professional careers. However, this paper will explore the ways that managers can take their hands off the proverbial wheel and give their employees greater freedom, yet still make sure that all actions are in alignment with organizational objectives. Furthermore, this paper will explore how managers really need to be “one step ahead” and find a way to mollify the possible negative impacts that are in connection with the advice of complexity theorists, if misused. Finally, this paper will discuss how this can all occur without putting patients at risk, and taking reasonable professional precautions.

One way that managers can release control, yet ensure organizational goals...

This is particularly useful in the arena of professional health care. Telling members of the healthcare team what the goals and expectations are, but still allowing them to self-organize, gives them some autonomy within the fast-paced world of professional healthcare. Experts within the field support this wholeheartedly: “First, business structures work best when they are self-organized. Rather than impose shape upon the organization, managers should simply allow the organization of people and effort to evolve in response to ongoing messages from customers” (Hout, 1999). This shows that the manager has faith in team members to handle things as they come up and as they see fit. This shows that the manager has confidence in the staff team, and this confidence just continues to trickle down further. However, within this self-organization, there needs to be a final level of communication or record-keeping with the manager that is reported weekly or monthly, so that the manager can be certain that goals are indeed being met. The arena of professional healthcare is a complex system, one that reflects the intricacies of many low-level exchanges. “No intelligence from on high can match the quality of solutions to market problems that arise from players who are constantly communicating with one another on the ground level” (Hout, 1999). Nurses for example, are on the…