Gobernar lo ingobernable: autopoiesis y liderazgo en organizaciones transcomplejas

Abstract

Contemporary organizations face a scenario characterized by technological acceleration, globalized interdependence, and multifaceted crises that challenge traditional administrative paradigms. This reality transcends conventional complexity to enter what is called "transcomplexity"—an ontological space where multiple systemic logics, diverse epistemologies, and competing ethics intertwine. This essay argues that autopoietic theory, originally developed by Maturana and Varela to explain living systems, offers a revolutionary ontological foundation for rethinking administration in these contexts. From this perspective, organizations are not entities that can be "controlled" through hierarchies and protocols, but autonomous systems that continuously self-generate through their own internal dynamics. The central paradox explored in this work is how to exercise leadership in systems that are inherently autonomous and "ungovernable" according to traditional standards. It is proposed that effective leadership in transcomplex organizations emerges not from external control but from practices that "enable" organizational autopoiesis: facilitating recursive communication, cultivating epistemic humility, and nurturing adaptive identities. This reconceptualization radically transforms the leader's role: from a hierarchical figure imposing order to a relational steward who cares for the conditions that allow the system to maintain its autonomy while navigating uncertainty.