Complexity of Thinking and Levels of Self-Complexity Required to Sustainably Manage the Environment

Complexity of thinking and levels of self-complexity required to sustainably manage the environment Keith Norman Johnston January 2008 A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the Australian National University Keith Johnston: Complexity of thinking and levels of self-complexity required to sustainably manage the environment Certification of Originality This is to certify that this thesis is an original piece of work. The only material that is not all my own work is an excerpt from a paper jointly authored with my Principal Supervisor, included as Appendix Two. Keith Johnston 8 January 2008 2 Keith Johnston: Complexity of thinking and levels of self-complexity required to sustainably manage the environment Abstract Few decision makers face complexities that are as persistent and pervasive as those who are tasked with managing the environment or managing human impacts on the environment. This thesis investigates the capabilities of environmental managers to engage with the challenges they face. I address the over-arching question: What is the level of complexity of thinking and self-complexity that might be required to sustainably manage the environment and how does this compare with the current situation? I approach this question through consideration of relevant theories of environmental management and through the work of two theorists who have been prominent in the field of positive adult development, the study of the positive aspects of the further growth and development of people in adulthood. I consider two aspects of managers’ capabilities and development. The first is their capability as systems thinkers. In this I am primarily applying the theories and research about dialectical thinking of Michael Basseches (1984). My second focus is on the way managers make meaning, or their self-complexity. In this I am applying the theories of Robert Kegan (1982; 1994). The thesis addresses four specific research questions: 1. What is the relationship between the complexity of the thinking of senior managers and assessments of their success? 2. How do the selected environmental managers understand the performance of their organisations as effective environmental or conservation managers and the challenges they face? 3. What is the level of systems thinking and self-complexity exhibited by a selection of senior managers responsible for the management of the environment within New Zealand? 4. What might this imply for the complexity of thinking and self-complexity required to manage the environment well? What does it imply about the work that is being done now? What does it imply about what needs to come next? The research involved in-depth qualitative interviews with a total of thirty one managers from two different types of environmental management agency in New Zealand. Three streams of data from these interviews are analysed in the study: the assessments by the managers of the effectiveness of their environmental management and the major challenges they face; the level of systems thinking present in the way the managers make these arguments; and an assessment of the self-complexity demonstrated by the managers, using the subject-object interview technique and method of analysis. From the data and the review of the main theories, a framework for environmental management and leadership is developed, providing indicators of systems capability and self- complexity at different levels of management. Each of the research questions is addressed, an agenda for change is identified, and further research approaches are suggested. 3 Keith Johnston: Complexity of thinking and levels of self-complexity required to sustainably manage the environment Acknowledgements According to the African proverb (and Hillary Clinton), “It takes a village to raise a child.” It has taken a few villages to raise this doctoral dissertation. I live in a village by the sea, just north of Wellington, New Zealand. There are many friends in this village who have helped me along this path, and many more in a larger net of national and global villages who have helped nurture this study to fruition. The central support has come from my wife, Patricia Sarr, who has been steadfast in backing me in this work. She was an enthusiast for this project from the beginning, encouraging me as I stepped away from a management career, and generously serving as the ‘grants committee’ for much of the time that I was a full-time student. Trish clarified with me the central themes, and we worked through ideas together. She brought her own love of the environment, her experience in environmental campaigns, and years of work with non- government organisations and, most recently, with the Department of Conservation. As the project reached its later stages, she was fully involved. She read drafts, commented on the logic (or its absence), suggested edits, and, finally, proofread the whole text, including fixing my inconsistency with serial commas – a failing she has been unable to fix in more than 30 years. She also kept the household running when the project was in its most intense phases. I am grateful for all her efforts in support of this project and delighted we have shared this exploration. I chose to study at the management school at the Australian National University (ANU) because that is where Dr Paul Atkins, my supervisor, is based. I knew what I wanted to study and went looking for a supervisor in Australasia who was as interested as I was in these theories, ideas, and their applications. Paul has been an enthusiast for investigating in this field and I have also been blessed with his curiosity, engagement, and intellectual rigour. We discovered a shared interest in the Buddhist ideas and practices of mindfulness and non- attachment and have worked together on the application of adult development theories in organisations and in coaching individuals. The bonus of being based at the ANU was Steve Dovers from The Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies. Steve combines the pragmatism of the land manager he once was with the powerfully analytical mind he now brings to the study of environmental policy and institutions. This is a combination to be treasured and Steve has helped me to ground my study in the policy and practicalities of sustainable management. There was another treasured combination on my committee: Gerald Midgley and Wendy Gregory, both formerly of the Centre for Systems Studies at the University of Hull and now with Environmental Sciences and Research, a New Zealand Crown Research Institute, based in Christchurch. To have two leading systems thinking researchers based in New Zealand is a rare privilege and I was grateful for their joining my panel. One other researcher and practitioner made an enormous contribution to my work. Jennifer Garvey Berger came to Australia to conduct training into the subject-object method of interviewing and analysis and then returned to co-host the Meaning-Making in Organisations seminar, with Paul Atkins and me. We held a second seminar in Washington DC in 2006. 4 Keith Johnston: Complexity of thinking and levels of self-complexity required to sustainably manage the environment She became our friend and then our neighbour. Sportspeople talk about finding the ‘sweet spot’ on a racquet or bat, the place where you can hit the ball most effectively. Jennifer helped me find the sweet spot in my thesis work; she engaged with my volume of material, reading half-formed drafts, and suggesting more effective ways to shape this mass into a qualitative research dissertation. All the while, she understood the fuller dimensions of the project and helped to ground it in adult development theories and their applications. I am grateful for all the care and attention she brought to this on so many occasions. I was generously supported with funding for my research expenses from the Department of Conservation and Landcare Research Manaaki Whenua. Thank you to Hugh Logan, Julie Craig, and Felicity Lawrence from the Department for their backing and to Dave Choquenot at Landcare. Peter Cooper, at the Australasian management consultancy Advanced Dynamics, has been a supporter, challenging me over many years to explore these theories and think more about their application to the leadership of organisations. It was Peter who pointed me toward Paul Atkins. Paul Atkins and I were also honoured to enjoy the time of many of the leading theorists and practitioners in the adult development field on a study tour to the United States in April 2005. They gave time, insights, and their curiosity: Robert Kegan, Michael Basseches, William Torbert, Suzanne Cook-Greuter, Jennifer Garvey Berger, Jim Hammerman, Michael Commons, Theo Dawson-Tunik, Carol Zulauf, and Otto Laske. In Canberra, I was welcomed and hosted lovingly by Bernadette Hince and Nick Drayson, and Paul and Khia Atkins. At home I was supported by my close friends in the pizza group, Dinah Hawken, Bill Mansfield, Rhonda Pritchard, Julian Parsons, Kate Clark, and Al Morrison, and also by my sister-in-law, Marianne Ackerman. The fast and accurate transcription of some 1600 pages of interviews was largely the work of the indefatigable Linda Scott Palmer. Julie Wintle and her staff provided backup. For help in the village with EndNotes and mutual encouragement on our doctoral journeys, thanks to Sarah Te One. This thesis would not have been possible without the time and openness of my 31 interviewees, who were liberal with their time, squeezed out of busy schedules, and engaging as subjects. Those interviews were also enabled by the commitment to the project from the Regional Council chief executives and Department of Conservation Conservators. The arrangements for all this were made easier by the efforts of the executive assistants of each of the six leaders. The members of the expert panels, whose assessments formed the basis for my choice of Regional Councils and Conservancies, provided their time and insights.

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