The Paradox of Emergence: Balancing Doing and Allowing

We often speak about change as something that must be driven, pushed, accelerated. As if progress only happens through constant motion, pressure, and effort. In a world shaped by urgency, it can feel almost irresponsible to slow down.

And yet, the more I observe how real change happens, in systems, in organisations, in people, the more I see a different truth emerging.

Change does not only come from doing. It also comes from allowing.

This is the paradox of emergence: transformation requires action, but it cannot be forced. It asks for intention and restraint at the same time.

The Two-Loop Model developed by the Berkana Institute captures this beautifully. It shows how new ways of working do not replace old ones overnight. Instead, they begin quietly, alongside existing systems, growing in the margins while the dominant structures slowly lose relevance. The new does not overthrow the old, it emerges as the old can no longer sustain itself.

This kind of change demands a different posture from us.

It asks us to act, but not rush.To invest, but not control. To lead, without gripping too tightly.

There is effort involved, but it is a different kind of effort. It is the effort of paying attention, of creating the right conditions, of nurturing relationships and ideas before expecting outcomes. It is the discipline of patience.

In practice, this can feel uncomfortable. We are used to equating movement with progress. But some of the most important work happens quietly: in conversations that shift perspectives, in experiments that don’t yet have clear results, in trust that builds slowly over time.

This is not inaction. It is purposeful restraint.

The paradox is that by doing less of the forcing, we often allow more meaningful change to take place. When we stop trying to control every outcome, space opens for learning, adaptation, and growth.

Emergence asks us to trust that change can unfold when the conditions are right. It asks us to focus not only on outcomes, but on the quality of the soil, the relationships, the structures, the values, in which new ideas are planted.

Balancing action and allowing is not easy. It requires patience in a culture that rewards speed, and humility in systems that value certainty. But it may be the most responsible way to build change that lasts.

Because some of the most powerful transformations don’t arrive through force or urgency. They arrive when we learn how to act, and when to let things grow.