Russell Ackoff famously stated that “a system is not the sum of its parts, but the product of their interactions.”

This profound insight is a foundation for modern leadership. However, many organisations fail to apply this principle.

In my 10+ years as a consultant, I've observed teams and entire departments:

• Suffering enormous levels of conflict

• Paralysed with unmanaged dependencies

• Engaged in detrimental business politics

These issues are the result of a lack of Interaction Design. And this leads to systems that impede rather than enable value delivery.

I coach Leaders to view organisations as cell-based structures, emphasising the significance of interactions between these 'cells'. Ackoff teaches us that the space between these cells (or work systems) is where the magic happens – or where conflict brews.

When we fail to design these interactions, we encounter:

• Rampant conflict

• Unpredictable delivery

• Last-minute urgent work

• A reactive stance to demand

• Lack of collaboration and agreements

• Siloed priorities without cross-system coordination

Instead, when we intentionally design our organisational interactions, we enable:

• Enhanced transparency

• Defined Business APIs

• Effective Service Catalogues

• The ability to anticipate demand

• Clear agreements on interactions

• Established Service Level Expectations (SLE)

The choice is clear. In the pursuit of Business Agility and sustainable environments, fostering productive interactions isn't just beneficial; it's essential.

Which one of these two types of interaction would you rather have in your organisation?