Adaptive Cycle
The Life Leaders Digest
SYSTEMIC APPROACHES TO CHANGE - DYNAMIC SYSTEMS
When our world starts to breakdown, we still have a future, but we have no choice but to cope with the current situation and hopefully modify our perspective on going forward. The breakdown may overwhelm us and feel as if we are living in a threatening world. Yet we have choices in that moment of what we will do—we can, in fact, get “bigger” than the breakdown—go beyond the limits of possibilities from our old interpretations of the world. To be a leader for life you become adept at helping yourself and other people to see what you can commit to in the moment to create a new future. We learn best from what we do to make changes in our own lives.
The model of the Adaptive Cycle was derived from the the dynamics of ecosystems. It is based on the work by Crawford Stanley Holling and has become a thinking tool to help focus attention on processes of destruction and reconstruction. Why is this significant in life leadership and transformation? Well, these processes are often neglected in favour of growth and conservation as the mechanism for achieving sustainability. But the inclusion of destruction and rebirth offers a more complete view of system dynamics that helps our understanding of overcoming breakdowns and the role resilience plays in transformational change found in human systems.
This video explains the three key features of a resilient system
"Traditionally ecology has focused on the concept of succession that describes the transition from a time when exploitation (i.e., the rapid colonization of recently disturbed areas) is emphasized to a time when conservation (i.e., the slow accumulation and storage of energy and material) is emphasized." The Resilience Alliance
What seems like an unmitigated disaster in nature, such as a forest fire can often turn out to release trapped resources and promote a new phase of growth. In human systems this type of event can promote, creativity, innovation and release untapped potential. For example, losing a job that you have spent years developing and holding onto to meet your ego or material needs could turn out to release new talents and potential you were not using or denying before. What appears to be a personal disaster can actually give you the time to reflect and the opportunity to reorganise your life for the better.
This principle can be applied to human system dynamics. It is represented by the Adaptive Cycle Model which has four distinct phases identified as:
- growth or exploitation (r)
- conservation (K)
- collapse or release (omega)
- reorganization (alpha)
The adaptive cycle exhibits two major phases (or transitions). The first, often referred to as the 'foreloop', from r to K, is the slow, incremental phase of growth and accumulation. The second, referred to as the 'backloop', from Omega to Alpha, is the rapid phase of reorganization leading to renewal.
In a human system the accumulating potential could as well be from the skills, networks of relationships, and mutual trust that are incrementally developed and tested during the progression from r to K. The potential used in one setting, that could be developed and made available in a new setting where different resources are stimulated or allowed to emerge.
It is possible for individuals and organisations to adsorb shocks as long as they show an ability to adapt to new circumstances which may involve a new way of being. Failure to release the creativity found in breakdowns can cause what Holling describes as the "rigidity gap", when we can only see one way of seeing a problem. That's why exploring possibilities brings new perspectives to a system caught in a rigidity trap. It can mean stopping doing something you have done for years and now requires creative destruction to allow you to move forward.
