The Red Queen effect in Coaching and in Leadership

While I was listening to Telmo Pievani's podcast, he was explaining the Red Queen hypothesis. He was talking about the evolution of species in biology, how different competing species need to evolve to survive if they want to continue to exist. After a few days I was reading his book “Imperfection" (Telmo Pievani, 2023), where he explained in detail this phenomenon. Professor Pievani is a philosopher of science and an evolutionist. He holds the first Italian position in philosophy of biological sciences at the University of Padua (at the department of biology).

The Red Queen character appeared in Lewis Carroll’s novel: “Through the Looking Glass”. The connection between Evolutionism, Lewis Carroll’s Red Queen and Coaching is what she said to Alice, during the race she was running. She said: “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"?

Maybe we need a little more clarification on what it means and how the Red Queen hypothesis can be related to leadership model and coaching. An Epiphany came to my mind when I rethought a specific team I have worked with. This client was behaving as the Red Queen. I went back to my reflective notes where I wrote down: feelings, emotions, ideas, questions and “what I could have done differently?” I reflected on how many times have we encountered a client or a team that was behaving as the Red Queen??

Sometimes the clients or teams come to coaching as they need to move fast, change direction and run, run away from something or toward something else.?

I believe this situation has happened to many of you as coaches or managers and I hope the topic is starting to intrigue you.?

I was able to identify the case, the situation, what the client was experiencing. I asked myself this question again: “How often do clients approach us and not realise they are running to try to stay still?” In other words “…can't find calm amidst the challenges they face?” The client can be a person or a team in an organisation. In different words this is a metaphor for a situation where it is required to exert continuous effort just to maintain the status quo (survive).

I started to explore and understand deeper how we could see the process and the situation from a different angle, perspective and to help our clients. I looked online and found an interesting article by William Barnett. He explained a similar dynamic occurs when organisations compete with each other and change, as well as how companies and industries evolve over time. And this behaviour is visible and similar to what happens in Nature and Biology.

I would suggest for those who love learning about coaching outside the classical sources, to read Stefano Mancuso as well. One of his interesting books is “Brilliant Green” (2015). In this book the author discusses how organisations and their teams, by adopting structures resembling plants, can enhance their potential and performance. Instead of frequently adopting structures akin to other inflexible organisms like mammals, which are characterised by concentrated organs and functions: a singular head, a centralised heart, etc. I think we can draw inspiration from plants to work with teams and organisations and learn a lot from them. But this is another story to explore further …

The NUUR quadrant matrix

How can we help our clients to “FREE” themselves from the useless burden they carry around? This tool, the NUUR quadrant matrix is an interesting and useful instrument that can help to collect and rearrange ideas.?

Stop for a moment, look around, change direction, go in the opposite way. What happens? Where are you going? But above all, what are you carrying? How much of this is necessary, useful, useless and rubbish?

This allows us to reflect, reevaluate and unburden ourselves of what we have put aside over time. On a metaphorical level, what we have crammed into the tool shed or closet over the years and we don't even know that it is there or what it could be used for and perhaps no longer functional.

Visualisation

Another tool that we can use in addition to or as an alternative to the NUUR matrix is the use of images, that is, leveraging the power of visualisation. For example, I really like Keith Haring’s paintings and I often borrow some of his beautiful abstract, colourful and sometimes surreal images to create a narrative and flow with clients or teams.?

Art and paintings are so rich in terms of quantity and quality that we can range where and how we want: for instance from the Renaissance (Botticelli and Da Vinci, …). To the cubist or great impressionist. Another interesting example that can easily be linked to the Red Queen is Escher's lithograph “Ascending and Descending”. As it helps to reflect and understand when we run around trying to go nowhere or stay still.

Only if we stop for a moment can we see that we are all moving because otherwise we risk being overwhelmed. It is important to ask the team: Where are you running? What drives you to move? What is the ideal speed? Who is falling behind? What is the ideal direction? These questions have been buzzing in my head for a long time and thanks to this reflection my thoughts have cleared up.

Paper and pen

Another interesting visual way is to take a white sheet of paper with two small circles. The first with the letter S (as Starting point) and the second with the letter F (Finish point).

At this point ask the customer what can you do?

If we are in front of our client we can give a pen or pencil and the customer can draw a path, other circles with intermediate stages etc.

If we are online it is better to share a digital whiteboard and explain how it works. Then carry out the same procedure remotely.

At this point we can use the tool that we think can be more effective with what is coming out from the client or the team: CIA, Eisenhower matrix etc.

Alternatively, for those who want to use one of the most famous and romantic instruments, they can use the GROW which is perfectly suited.

References

Telmo Pievani (2023). Imperfection. MIT Press.

Lewis Carroll, L. (2022). Through the Looking-Glass. Oxford University Press.? Chapter 2

Barnett, W.P. (2016). Red queen among organisations : how competitiveness evolves. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Stefano Mancuso and Viola, A. (2015). Brilliant green: the surprising history and science of plant intelligence. Washington: Island Press.

The Red Queen’s race, Improving Data Quality, Dr. Hauke Bartsch. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=2fI3tNUGGQ8

The Red Queen among Organizations. (2016). [online] press.princeton.edu. Available at: https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691173689/the-red-queen-among-organizations.