Driving Forces that Generate and Sustain Patterns

Abstract

The driving forces within an organisation are the collective efforts of all participants to realise the implicit goals of the organisation within the limits of a situation that satisfies our system 1 needs. Implementing changes creates uncertainty that threatens system 1, who’s needs are formed by genetic factors, early childhood experiences and the “tribe” one belongs to. The experienced threat generates the genetic reaction of fight, flight or freeze, the early childhood asks for a strong hierarchy, and the tribe will exclude ‘others’. The rational system 2 should act as a counterweight to the structures and behaviour of the intuitive system 1. But system 2 always faces an uphill battle, because we are often not even aware that we are blindly following our instincts cleverly disguised in notions of “rationality”. To create an environment conducive to the smooth functioning of system 2 we have to create the space and the safety to question the “obvious” that was generated by system 1.