Why freedom leads to order, not chaos

It feels counterintuitive - the idea that more freedom in our organisations leads to more order.

In many organisations, the default response to complexity is control — tighten the rules, clarify the hierarchy, centralise the decisions. But if we take our cues from self-organising systems in nature, the opposite is true. The most resilient systems create order not through control, but through freedom within a clear, shared identity. In organisations which have taken on this principle, and loosened their centralised 'grip', what emerges isn't chaos but self-organisation.

Self-organising systems thrive when local parts are free to adapt, experiment and respond to what’s happening around them. There’s a structure, but it’s built around a strong sense of self. In organisations, this strong identity might be captured in your purpose, values and culture. When people are free to act within this shared frame, the system becomes more coherent, not less. Freedom isn’t a threat to order, but the generator of it.

This has implications for how we lead. Instead of focusing energy on trying to control everything from the centre, the question becomes: how do we create the conditions for people to self-organise well? How do we share enough of the “why” and the “who we are” so that teams and individuals can confidently move on the “how”?

When people have clarity and freedom, the whole organisation becomes smarter, faster and more adaptive. So how can you 'let go' a bit more, and observe the new kind of order which emerges?