Adaptive Leadership and Cultures

In these three videos, Sue Borchardt with Michael Muthukrishna explore cultural evolution and how we can build the capacity to respond to the (adaptive) challenges of our time:

• Part One - Competition, cooperation and the human tendency to copy others without knowing it! Limits of competition as a driver of performance. The value of cooperation. Cultural evolution researchers seek to understand emergence resulting from our evolving biology. Social learning as a key enabler of collective intelligence. Genetic evolution through transmission of genes. Cultural evolution via transmission of tools and know how - copying others (to fit in, successful others). 
• Part Two - Game Theory and the Illusion of Explanatory Depth. Game theory puts the tensions of competition and cooperation into context. Zero vs. Positive Sum (mutually beneficial) Games. Influence of scarcity or abundance - perception, trust and reality influencing levels of cooperation/competition. The illusion of explanatory depth = tendency to overestimate our understanding of the world. Our desire to make things concrete. Copying creates taboos/traditions (application without understanding)
• Part Three - Entangled layers of organization and implications. Genes and culture evolve slowly over time via transmission, variation and selection. Convergent and divergent features, mechanisms and systems. Understanding this meta pattern might help us understand how to respond to adaptive challenges. Self organising hierarchies as 'tangled layered networks' - the messy reality. Lower levels of organising can negatively impact higher levels (i.e. cancer cells impacting a human, or corruption impacting an institution). healthy aspects of lower levels/stages must be embedded for higher stages to emerge. Disruption drives innovation and new possibilities. To flourish, we must invite others in - shared problems, diverse perspectives to open up possibilities. Sharing constantly invites rapid evolution and the solution to our biggest challenges....

This article explores the differences and connections between culture and engagement. I like how the article reinforces the idea that purpose and strategy drive the identification of the aspirational culture and given that the organisation must evolve to adapt to the changing market/world, so too must culture evolve. 

This video explores the exponential changes occurring in the world and threats/opportunities for humans. It could be useful as part of setting the scene with a group of people/leaders as part of building awareness about the need to evolve organisational culture and build capacity

The world around us is evolving rapidly, so we (individuals, teams, organisations) need to evolve as well. A good article about people and organisations who refused to believe the world could/would change and felt they were safe maintaining the status quo.