Book synthesis

Accepting paradoxes

When you are faced with a paradox, your brain frames the alternatives as a binary choice: it comes down in favor of one option and rules out the other. But this creates conflict, since resolving a paradox cannot be simplistic. Quite the opposite, in fact: the solution lies in incorporating possibilities that appear to be mutually exclusive but that are actually interdependent – like the two sides of a coin. So, looking after your team means you have to look after yourself, and planning for the future means not side-stepping the present (and vice versa). Paradoxes, in short, are double-edged. If you deny their existence, they give rise to anxiety and frustration – and they only get stronger.If, on the other hand, you take these paradoxes on board,they can be used as an opportunity to create, innovate and grow.

Coping with an increasingly paradoxical world

The concept of the paradox – defined as the simultaneous, persistent co-existence of contradictory, interdependent elements – is not new.It has been the subject of study for millennia, and gave birth to the symbolism of Yin and Yang in China.

Paradoxes are now more acute, and leave no area untouched:

• Performing paradoxes bring to light (seemingly) irreconcilable priorities. In a business, for example, this would be the need to reconcile CSR and profits.
• Learning paradoxes with a temporal dimension lay bare the tensions between the short and long term, tradition and modernity, the need for stability and the need for change.
• Belonging paradoxes underline the struggle for identity for individuals with torn loyalties between groups with opposing ambitions and interests.
• Organizing paradoxes refer to problems in the way activities are structured. How can you encourage risk-taking without throwing caution to the wind? How can you exercise effective control while retaining your agility? And how can you decentralize without creating silos?

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