6.2.3 Creativity And Uncertainty

Werner Heisenberg, (who we referred to when we mentioned chaos) and who is credited with hypothesising the Uncertainty Principle, has a lot to answer for!

When uncertainty began to replace certainty in theories in physics, and then in scientific enquiry in general, the world began to change – and has been changing since. Over the past century or so all the old certainties have been undermined or eroded.  Anyone who is my age or older will have experienced some of them. These include religion, economics, nationality, politics, family, marriage, royalty, media, art, music, dance, poetry, strata of society, who is in charge, and people’s place in society. 

Because humans love certainty, this has caused us a lot of problems.

Uncertainty brings insecurity, as we struggle with freedom when choosing our own destiny!

While research in neuroscience shows that our brains love certainty – research also shows that creativity and the ability of the brain to accept uncertainty are linked.

So it follows that if we want to promote creativity in our organisation, and encourage staff to take risks, we need to model behaviour that shows that we can allow a healthy amount of uncertainty.

This can be a challenging balance to achieve because, of course, too much uncertainty is harmful. Emotional intelligence is relevant here because generally the more of it that there is in our organisation the less will be the need to weld down the manholes.

Getting back to uncertainty, it has led to violent revolutions as oppressed peoples refused to accept that they were inferior within the old certainties that were ordained for them by their betters.

Mostly, that was (as we noted in the Chapter on Power and Control in Society) the certainty that we are entitled to everything and you are entitled to a lot less, (or nothing – in the case of slavery).

Dealing with insecurity is truly the biggest challenge of living with uncertainty, and the accompanying anxiety and self-doubt (will I make it, am I right, can I trust myself) is one of its major down-sides.

And uncertainty, of course, also implies an increase in complexity.

The reason for this is that things can have different meanings as people have the freedom to interpret them subjectively instead of being told what the meaning is. (I spent some time already describing how difficult it is to define spirituality and how, throughout history, it was defined for us by people who we considered to have the inside track to a better life after we die).

Religion (and politics) are important top-down systems that have always been used to maintain the order necessary for society to function.

To illustrate this, think of the uncertainty that the political reforms of the second half of the 19th century brought to the world as people realised that they could be creative in determining their own destiny.

All that change, trouble, strife, hardship, poverty, even huge loss of life.

Is it worth it at all? Are we not better off with everything certain?

After all, take just one really important example. In healing our physical body, are we not delighted with the certainty that an antibiotic, or an anaesthetic brings?

But uncertainty has an up-side too – as will be described in the next post.

The previous post largely posited the problematic side of uncertainty.

However, a major up-side of uncertainty spreading through society has been that creativity became available to the general public.

The old certainty that only educated or well-connected people could be creative was shattered.

Like many aspects of humanity, creativity was once thought to be confined to brilliant minds, prodigies, and highly intelligent or highly educated people. 

When mass communication (first radio, and then TV, and now the Internet) came along, the democratisation they offered opened up opportunities for people who never had such opportunities before.  Creative individuals whose recognition would never have spread beyond their own village now had the possibility of becoming world famous.

Relevant to the subject of this website, person centred therapy (and the human potential movement) is the embodiment of the principle of uncertainty in emotional healing, which is fundamentally different to the traditional medical model that assumes that someone is a closed system, not an open, living, emerging, autonomous being.

Consider the practitioner’s implication that is at the heart of person centred therapy, that is, ‘you know better than me what’s best for you’.

What can be more uncertain?

What can introduce more complexity into the relationship?

What can be more challenging both for the person in distress and the practitioner? 

Even to consider vulnerability (and fragility) as capacities that can be creatively tapped into rather than undesirable qualities thought to be weaknesses is to challenge the traditional meaning of such terms.

Person centred work also implies the democratisation of creativity in healing of distress, i.e. of the psyche.  This is particularly evident in the research (readily available) which shows how little our qualifications matter in respect of easing distress – and how important relationship is.

While we would love to be absolutely certain that our distress will be eased, we intuitively know that it is our responsibility, and no matter how many external, professional experts we go to for help, the ultimate decisions in respect of healing are our own.  

In these Closing Remarks, and in the context of the link between uncertainty and creativity I would like to briefly revisit the Chapter on Leadership where I explored the nature of invitational leadership.

I believe that if we are leaders who are invitational we are reasonably comfortable with uncertainty, ambiguity and creativity in the organisations that we lead.

We generally tend to trust more than we fear, i.e. trust the process of growth (the root foundations) and particularly emergence – the hallmark of self-organisation.  We acknowledge that while specific elements have to be certain; there is significant value, in respect of growth, in uncertainty.

‘Keeping the predictable going’ and the reductionism which I described earlier is anathema to the creative leader who wants openness, safety, freedom of thought, argument and a questioning atmosphere.

I do believe though that the dangers that many practitioners see in too much uncertainty are learned – not innate, and can be unlearned if one is open to change.

But a bit like sharing power, uncertainty is not for everyone!

Some see it as an opportunity to be creative; others fear the lack of control that inevitably accompanies it.

Remember the post on how we protect ourselves from trauma? I believe that the best favour that I can do myself and those I lead is – in a supportive environment – firstly acknowledge, identify and then, when it is safe, take the risk of gently removing the protective layer, the armour as we called it, and welcome in the uncertain world of the emotions.

In the world of helping people, I believe that creativity and uncertainty correlates with resilience and flexibility, confidence to have the willingness to bounce back and take that risk.

There is probably a continuum from a very coercive, fearful and obedience-based leadership style and the more invitational trusting type (linked above) that tolerates uncertainty and self-organisation.

And all of us leaders are somewhere along the continuum.

But it is also important to remember that even the most creative person must be willing to, sometimes, respond with certainty and no ambiguity – if the situation demands it.

When to do this and how to do this has to come from experience, and a good support structure.

A leader can be authoritative without being authoritarian……….

The previous Chapter, Getting The Pillars To Believe proposed that we community workers need to be willing to engage with workers within the Pillars who are empathic with and supportive of different ways of working that are inclusive of very hurt people in the Focus Group.

In doing that, this website promotes collaboration and partnership.

Implicit in it is a desire to improve systems and processes that protect children and other vulnerable members of our society whose distress is often hidden.  Creative alternatives to current methods are proposed which include working with organisations whose norms and practices may have been, traditionally, based more on the coercion and obedience model than on the invitational one proposed.

This will, of course, bring a lot of challenges. I am sure that there will be uncertainty in our commitment to uncertainty! 

And I believe that the biggest challenges are transformation and dialogue – as distinct from trying to force change – within an environment of trust and uncertainty.

Transformation implies that we have a willingness to adjust our beliefs and certainties and accept new developments as well as ancient wisdom. The coercion and obedience (and the fear that often accompanies them) can all be challenged by compassion within a trusting relationship.

We do not want to throw out the baby with the bathwater, (as is often said), or try to construct some unattainable Utopia.

Dialogue implies creativity and complexity, respect and trusting the other, and (our two old friends at this stage) two-way knowledge flow and emergence.

Our work needs to acknowledge that the low-level conflict within the Pillars (that I mentioned in this post) exists, but we need to take great care, in our dialogue, firstly to be understanding and not to be drawn into it – and the competition and comparison that always seems to accompany it.

Even basic knowledge of anthropology will alert us to the fact that our evolution happened because of our overwhelming desire to further our education in the broadest sense.

What we aim for is generation of new thinking and action which focuses on our humanity and all the positive aspects of same – particularly emotional and relational.

Natural selection reinforced and affirmed the traits (which we may also call gifts) to do this and it is very foolish and wasteful of us to ignore them when it comes to helping people in distress.

What might emerge is shaking up of old and apparently conflicting perspectives and forging a new approach that involves courage and patience.

Now I said a number of times that I would try and focus on the positive and I’d like to finish on a positive note!

In Ireland, in respect of protecting the vulnerable, we are not at all the worst in the Western World. Imprisonment is always a good indicator of a population’s attitude to such matters. And in Ireland we have about half the imprisonment rate as our nearest neighbour, England, and one-eighth the rate of another of our major cultural influences, the USA.

For some reason we seem to resist the binary approach of these countries where different belief-systems, traditions and stances on important issues of social justice and human rights are diametrically opposed to each other, thereby making progress in either area very difficult. I don’t really know why this is. Perhaps there is something positive in our much criticised ah-sure-it’ll-do culture. (Though Japan – which can hardly be described as an ah-sure-it’ll-do kind of country – has half our rate of imprisonment again)!

It is also heartening for me as a practitioner who has toiled away in the voluntary sector for many decades to have met and worked with people within the Pillars (of whom there are many – and some in very senior positions) who are enthusiastic about solutions. And it is particularly heartening to see how many younger people are enthusiastic and open to creative ways of working.

In this, I believe – as I have said already – that we on the community side have an opportunity, (and I know this sounds a bit heavy) but sometimes I feel that we have a responsibility to offer our assistance and promote our solutions.

Shakespeare notes in his oft-quoted phrase that there is a tide in the affairs of men.

Despite my fears expressed in the post on modern trends, I believe that the tide of complexity and interconnection, uncertainty and ambiguity, networking – and communication on a level never thought possible – has now turned and is coming in – and will not turn in the foreseeable future.

This is good news for our work in communities – and it is up to us to make the most of it!