Creating Supportive Environments

Abstract

A key factor that supports individuals, teams and organisations to honour and work with the complexities of varied responses to transitions is to create supportive environments. Creating contexts of safety, mutuality and facilitating partnerships are key attributes that contribute to creating supportive environments in organisations. Supportive environments reduce the risks of complexity and ambiguity overwhelm generating contexts for facilitating creativity and innovation. These are key factors that enable organisations to use complexity and ambiguity to create competitive advantages in today’s environments. In this chapter we will be exploring the transition leadership practices that contribute to creating and sustaining supportive environments. We will begin by inquiring into the distribution of power and how it can be utilised to facilitate mutuality, followed by practical approaches for holding discomfort and concern.