Ritual
Rituals are structured practices that shift collective attention and patterns of thinking during transitions, such as responding to emergencies or exploring strategic opportunities. Simulation exercises serve as rituals that prepare organizations for the unexpected.
THE IDEA
On ritual
Rituals usher in important transitions in our patterns of thinking as our environment changes. (22)
Activating emergency response structures is a ritualized way of responding to threats in real time. Through pre-agreed protocols, we take on temporary roles, and our collective attention shifts to what is important in the moment. Distributed response structures afford an organization the ability, through this changed attention, to deal rapidly with multiple threats as and where they arise.
Similarly, we can deploy rituals to enhance our ability to notice possibility and respond to opportunity in the moments that matter most. Such rituals can take the shape of day-long strategy games or small intentional moments in the boardroom. Our intent is to create the conditions necessary for beneficial emergence. A transition is necessary when decision makers move from dealing with audit and compliance issues on a meeting agenda, to immersing themselves in strategic risk discussions. (22)
Well-crafted simulation exercises are a form of ritual that help us prepare for the unexpected. These ‘as if’ interventions disrupt our day-to-day patterns of thinking – allowing us to construct a new reality temporarily. (22) Such exercises can result in new patterns of thinking being carried back to the front line and into the boardroom. An executive might think differently about broader consequences in day-to-day decision-making. A technician might engage differently with a routine, but safety-critical, test in a power station.
The Cynefin Framework helps us consider what rituals to incorporate into our risk practice in order to shift patterns of thinking and decision-making in an organization.
When to use it
Emergency response teams using pre-agreed protocols to rapidly coordinate during incidents.
Executive strategy sessions that begin with a ritual to shift focus from operational issues to long-term risks.
Safety-critical industries using simulation exercises to prepare for rare but high-impact events.
Organizational change initiatives that use rituals to mark the transition from old to new patterns of thinking.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Emergency Response Protocols as Ritual
Activating an incident command system marks a shift from routine work to emergency response. Team members take temporary roles, use agreed communication channels, and direct attention to the threats as they arise.
Strategy Game in the Boardroom
A board uses a day-long strategy game to move from routine compliance questions into strategic risk discussion. The game creates a temporary scenario in which members can try unfamiliar responses and consider consequences they might overlook in an ordinary meeting.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
In what moments does your organization need to shift its collective thinking, and what rituals could facilitate that transition?
How might a well-designed simulation change the day-to-day decision-making of executives and technicians?
Which routine could help your team notice a change in circumstances and shift its attention deliberately?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Cynefin - Weaving Sense-Making into the Fabric of Our World ED02 (Dave Snowden Sonja Blignaut Zhen Goh)