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From reactivity to creativity: a first step

5/27/2014

 
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Feelings of oppression, burden, and victimization are a common human experience, especially in organizational life with all of its technical and interpersonal complexity.

Situations can seem impossibly entangled, hopeless, or stuck. This experience can be quite compelling.

Such feelings are red flags for being in reactivity--a state of mind driven by ancient brain centers for survival. (See the post Hard-wired to react. Hard-wired to connect.) In such states, our attention is narrowed and our ability to discern a variety of causes and possibilities is impaired.

What is the first step from reactivity toward feelings of creativity and flow (a sense of full involvement and being at one's best)?

"There is quite extensive evidence showing that even if one does not experience flow, just the fact of doing something in line with one's goals improves the state of mind. A simple way of improving the quality of life is to take ownership of one's actions." (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997)


Similarly, Emerald (in The Power of TED, 2010)
conceives of the way forward as choosing to shift our focus away from problems to what we want to create---what we are passionate about. In making this choice, we shift from a "victim orientation" to a "creator orientation"-- from trying to make problems go away to taking small steps toward what we care about.

Day-to-day pressures can cause a gradual slip into a victim orientation outside of our full awareness. When we finally realize we feel consumed by problems, then a way out is to choose to focus on our goals--on creating. Things may still be difficult, but the burden is usually lightened.


Assess health of organizational design by one main criterion

5/22/2014

 
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The organizational theorist Elliott Jaques suggested that you can test organizational design by one main criterion—does it increase mutual trust or does it increase suspicion? (1)

In his view, much of the mistrust in hierarchy is “generated by the failure to specify the accountability and the authority people are expected to exercise in their everyday working interactions.” (2)

 In particular, managers should be responsible not just for the work of their direct reports but for their results and the quality of work context. In addition Jacques stated manager accountability should include adding value to the work of their direct reports, developing healthy teamwork, and generating authentic enthusiasm for work. To do this, managers also must have authority to make work assignments and make removals if necessary—but even the latter would also be dependent on a process that does not disrupt trust.

Jaques felt that without the clarity of these basic expectations, other interventions will not get very far--like working on morale, individual insight, exercises in group dynamics, incentive planning, leadership development, etc.

(1) From Art Kleiner, Elliot Jaques Levels With You, Strategy+Business, Jan 1 2001, Issue 22
(2) Elliott Jaques, Requisite Organization, Cason Hall and Co, 1989

Talk about the risks of change right from the start

5/21/2014

 
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Recently, a group of community agencies I was working with finally joined together to work on a change effort. This took several months of conversations because of the political and personal risks involved for the leaders.

When asked about crucial turning points, the leaders said that it was early on when we openly talked about the risks and downsides of engaging in the effort.

This was not easy for those who really wanted to get started. They were fearful that looking at potential problems would inhibit buy-in.

Instead, as one of the participants said, "It is empowering to have all the information in front of you." Having the risks spoken out loud enhanced the experience of choice, a crucial aspect of authentic buy-in. Also, they had more confidence in their ability manage the change--(as the image displays, by acknowledging the risks as well as the inability to foresee everything in advance, they felt in a better position to respond as they went along--to build bridges to success).

Talking about risks right from the start is not itself without risk. But what you gain is true partners who are more likely to sustain teamwork through the inevitable trials of change.
True partners need true "informed consent" about the entire nature of a change--both the benefits and the risks.

At the heart of change: accepting contradiction

5/20/2014

 
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At the heart of change is working with ambivalence--contradictory ideas, behaviors, and feelings which occur even when a change is strongly desired.

Though counter-intuitive, taking a respectful stance and seeking understanding can soften the grip of contradictions and convert them into something that can be worked on. (Kegan and Lahey, 2009)

In organizations, "working on" may mean talking through the implications of a change or problem solving barriers or lowering perceived risk by testing new actions on a small scale. Slowing down for such exploration and problem solving enables better outcomes in the long run. Mere
compliance pushes contradictions underground, drawing creative energy out of the system.

"People often get stuck not because they fail to appreciate the downside of their situation but because they feel at least two ways about it. The way out of that forest has to do with exploring and following what the person is experiencing and what, from his or her perspective, truly matters…. It is when people experience acceptance of themselves as they are that change becomes possible.” (Miller and Rollnick, 2013)

What does it mean if you feel like an imposter at times?

5/15/2014

 
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Fears of being a fraud and "being found out," self-doubt, and feeling like you really don't know what you are doing have been grouped together and called The Imposter Syndrome.

Such feelings are widely prevalent (one estimate is 70% of the population), especially in professional groups--talented, high-achievers like doctors, entrepreneurs, CEOs, teachers, managers, university professors.

My conclusion from reviewing these articles (see image):
The prevalence points to a cultural issue rather than a "syndrome" which implies disorder or dysfunction. In our society we value knowing the answer and taking action. Yet, issues we tackle today usually have no easy answers and we need to experiment and learn from failures. It is not surprising that imposter feelings would commonly arise out of this discrepancy.

I like what the scholar Stephen Brookfield says:"
I wouldn't want to work with anyone who did not have some feelings of impostership, who didn't feel a sense of struggling in the dark, of trying to draw meaning from contradictory and often opaque experiences. To feel this is to open up permanent possibilities for change and development in our practice."
(Stephen Brookfield, Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher  Jossey-Bass, 1995)

Brookfield says the way to deal with the imposter syndrome is to talk about it--"Once impostership is named as an everyday experience, it loses much of its power."

Two key manager behaviors which reduce collaboration

5/14/2014

 
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Manager behaviors have substantial impact on the experience of collaboration and partnership between employees (i.e. the climate of trust).

In one research study, while there were multiple influential manager behaviors, two had the strongest impact, accounting for 34 percent of the variance in the overall climate of trust. (from Gervase Bushe, Clear Leadership: sustaining real collaboration at work. Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2010)

One variable causing negative impact was a manager's degree of fusion: this was defined as having a hard time saying no, being easily swayed by emotional appeals, showing a desire to please everyone, and getting too close to people.

The other variable causing negative impact was a manager's lack of clear self-boundaries: this was defined by multiple factors including not staying calm under stress, basing decisions on perceptions rather than facts, and lack of skilled management of disagreements (e.g. not separating the issues from feelings about a person).

Conclusion: The study indicates that managers who do not manage their feelings very well or "who want to please everyone reduce the level of collaboration among people in an organization." (Bushe, 2010)

Equality vs. hierarchy--dancing into the "tunnel of limited options" (Oshry, 2007)

5/11/2014

 
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At a recent conference on leadership, some participants expressed strong negative reactions to even the mention of hierarchy and positional authority which they saw as unavoidably dis-empowering and controlling.

In contrast, some participants in past conferences have had strong negative reactions to mentions of equality, participation in decisions, and consensus which were seen as asking for role confusion, intolerable delays in decisions, and stalled initiatives.

Balancing equality vs.hierarchy is an example of one of many challenges for which there are no risk-free, easy answers. In response to this uncertainty, it is not uncommon for people to develop hardened, polarized positions---a process Oshry calls "dancing into the tunnel of limited options." (Barry Oshry, Seeing Systems, Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc., 2007).  

Instead, by recognizing and accepting the lack of risk-free, simple answers, more nuanced strategies can be developed. For example, types of decision making might vary in different situations. Or, consensus decision making might include back-up resolution methods to assure timelines.The objective is to increase everyone's capacity to "respond complexly to complex situations." (Oshry 2007)

The delicate balance of positional power and empowerment

5/4/2014

 
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Empowerment of followers is a crucial reason why transformational leadership is effective in leading to performance beyond expectations and helping followers to be more creative, more flexible and more open to change. (Bass, Bernard and Riggio, Ronald E. Transformational Leadership 2nd Ed., Psychology Press, 2006)

But this does not mean transformational leaders are passive. In fact, laissez-faire management, associated with avoiding or delaying decisions, has been shown to be connected to low productivity, more conflict and lack of cohesion among employees (Bass et al).

On the other hand, this does not mean such leaders use primarily top-down directive, decision making.
Close monitoring, oversight and control are also substantially less effective leadership methods.

Transformational leadership requires a delicate balance of asserting positional power and promoting empowerment. The key components for effective balance, as studied by Bass et al, are: (a) idealized influence--e.g. communication of clear expectations and vision, willingness to take risks, high ethical standards, persistence, and determination; (b) inspiration motivation--e.g. enthusiasm, optimism, and motivation of others; (c) intellectual stimulation--e.g. questioning assumptions, and thinking of old problems in new ways; and (d) individual consideration--e.g. staying aware of individual concerns, acting as a coach and mentor, and seeking two-way communication and feedback.


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