Functional Pluralism
= "the idea that organizations should embrace strategic differentiation rather than fighting it, that divergence isn’t a bug but a feature, and that the ability to fork might be one of the most important organizational capacities of our fraught and liminal time". [1]
Description
Benjamin Life:
"Functional pluralism is a deceptively simple idea: let organizational form follow functional diversity. When multiple viable strategies exist, allow multiple implementations to proceed in parallel. When groups have genuinely different theories of change, let them pursue those theories without forcing one to dominate. When people align around different values or approaches, support that differentiation rather than trying to smooth it over or force a single path.
The key word here is “functional.” Functional pluralism is not mere tolerance of difference or diversity as representation. Functional pluralism means that different approaches are actively pursued, resourced, and evaluated. It’s pluralism in action, not just in principle.
This might sound like a recipe for fragmentation, chaos and wasted effort. But consider how nature actually works. Forests don’t have strategic planning committees that decide which type of tree should be planted. Different species emerge and coexist because they occupy different niches, exploit different resources, and thrive under different conditions. The result isn’t chaos; it’s resilience. When one species faces a challenge, others compensate. When conditions change, the forest’s diversity becomes its adaptive capacity."