Butterfly Theories – Details, episodes & analysis

Welcome to Butterfly Theories – a podcast where we explore how leaders can take on complex problems and find sustainable solutions. I am your host, Anne-Marie Parent, a very curious individual interested in understanding how we, as leaders, can help solve problems that have been challenging and will continue to challenge our organizations, communities, and society. The goal of this podcast is to share knowledge from the literature and experts from all areas – business, politics, social issues, and more – and get to the heart of how leaders can tackle the difficult problems facing their organizations, communities, and the world. Through our conversations, we'll uncover the strategies, tactics, and tools that can help leaders make an impact. Given that most of my career has been in healthcare, many examples and content in this podcast will be about healthcare. Healthcare is likely one of the most complex sectors there is. In fact, given this complexity, healthcare cannot be solved by only addressing issues in healthcare, it is impacted by what is happening in other sectors. This is why we’ve decided not to narrowly focus the topics and examples we will explore in this podcast.

Given that this podcast is about exploring how leaders can solve complex problem, I thought it would be good to define what we mean by complexity. In this episode, we compare the differences between simple, complicated, complex and chaotic problems. Examples are provided for each type of problem. The rest of the episode focuses on a few basic tips to solve complex problem, and I share and example of a past client who tried to solve a complex problem using approaches that would work for a complicated problem. The episode ends with 9 indicators that we are facing a complex problem. If you are interested in reading the article referenced in the podcast, you can find it here: https://hbr.org/2007/11/a-leaders-framework-for-decision-making

In this video we explore who are the leaders that are solving complex problems. We start by exploring the traditional definitions and unpacking them with examples. Leadership is commonly defined as the ability to influence a group of people towards the achievement of a common goal. What does it mean to influence? What do we mean by common goals? Is leadership based on a title or position? What do leaders of complex problems clearly demonstrate through their behaviours? By answering all these questions, we will get to my definition of who are the people with the leadership skills necessary to solve complex problems? You might be surprised by the take I have on this podcast OR I might be able to ignite what you also believe to be true about leadership. Either way, I would love to know what you think of this episode. In the video, I make reference to an article by Joanne B. Ciulla. You can find her article through this link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265568882_Ethics_and_Leadership_Effectiveness And if you want to watch the original short video of the compelling story I recounted, you can find it here: https://www.tiktok.com/@giagoodrich/video/7205330660565814570 If you enjoyed this episode, or if you have a different perspective to share, send me an email at curiosity@butterflytheories.org. For the transcript of the show, or to sign-up to my newsletter, visit https://www.butterflytheories.org. Remember if you found this episode helpful and think someone else might benefit from listening, please share them a link, and don’t forget to follow this show to stay informed as new episodes are released. Stay open and curious my friends, it is the only way to lead in complexity!

In this fourth episode, we explore how the starting point to being able to lead teams to solve complex problems starts with leading self. First, I’ll start off by sharing stories about how not investing in leading ourselves can lead to more problems and why it matters. Then, I will share examples of bad behaviours that can actually make the problems worst. Finally, I will share what tangible practices and habits we can adopt to lead self. If you practice any of these, or if you would like help getting started, send me an email at curiosity@butterflytheories.org. I would love your feedback. Also, visit my website to view the show transcript and sign-up to my newsletter at https://www.butterflytheories.org.

Welcome to Butterfly Theories – a podcast where we explore how leaders can solve complex problems by creating sustainable solutions. This is episode 5 where we will explore how planning for change in complex environments requires different approaches. In this fifth episode, we will explore how we can plan for changes in complex environments and why they require different approaches. Together, we will answer the questions about who should be leading projects, how do you get the requirements to guide the project development or the design of the solutions, and how you can prepare timelines within uncertainty presented by the complexity of the situation. Obviously, this episode won’t be a complete “How to” in 20 minutes, but we have enough time to focus on a few things that could make important differences. If you enjoyed this episode, or if you have a different perspective to share, send me an email at curiosity@butterflytheories.org. For the transcript of the show, or to sign-up to my newsletter, visit https://www.butterflytheories.org. While I try to release an episode weekly, my newsletter will be a good way to let you know when new episodes are available and to share additional information. Remember if you found this episode helpful and think someone else might benefit from listening, please share them a link, and don’t forget to follow this show to stay informed as new episodes are released. Stay open and curious my friends, it is the only way to lead in complexity!