How do we assess and gain a full appreciation of complex interdependencies operating in a rugged landscape? We sample points and prepare a “terrain mesh” (or network) of points and connections between the points. Meshes are made up of triangulations. And in the case of landscapes there are not only horizontal triangles (links between points in the landscape that show up on a flat map), but also vertical triangulations (between high and low points). There are, in other words, multiple triangulations and multiple levels of triangulation. This is what makes measurement of a rugged landscape very difficult—and makes accurate and useful measurement of the various operations in a complex organization also very challenging. Accurate assessments of landscapes and organizations by a leader and her coach require multiple measurements at many points in the organization, using a variety of assessment tools—what assessors often call a multi-trait/multi-method approach.
There is another important challenge for leaders (and coaches) with regard to triangulation: Because rugged landscapes (and complex organizations) are a set of triangulations, they tend to be very strong and stable—that is what makes organizational change so difficult. Rugged landscapes and complex organizations are hard to measure and even more difficult to change. On the other hand, once you have shifted one element in a rugged landscape or complex organization, the other elements will tend also to shift—and shift in unpredictable and profound ways. All of the triangulations must adjust in order to accommodate the change in any one triangle. This is the irony inherent in rugged landscapes and complex organizations: they are hard to change, but once they begin to change—watch out. We witness the profound power of geological earthquakes that can change an entire landscape and we similarly witness the profound operational and psychological earthquakes that are experienced inside a complex organization. Both systems are vulnerable and tippy, while at the same time being stable and hard to change.
