Category: Leadership Skills

Leading and Working in Complex Human Systems

“The World is a Stage…”

by Steven Ober, March 3, 2011

In this post, we will continue our “Dance with the Butterfly”—our examination of human systems, how they behave, how we experience them, and how we can lead and work in them most effectively.

Our direct experience of systems is via the face-to- face world.

We see an interaction, attend a meeting, engage in a debate or conversation, go to lunch with a colleague, attend a family dinner, go to a community meeting, talk with someone about their economic situation, listen to a close friend tell us how they are feeling. We live our lives in the face-to-face world.

There is more going on than meets the eye.

While we may sometimes think of these experiences as isolated events, or even as a stream of interconnected, observable happenings, they are actually much more. Complex human systems are holographic. Any given interaction in the face-to-face world is a holographic intersection of elements from the face-to face-world, the larger social world, and the internal individual world. Understanding and experiencing this characteristic of systems is like learning to see a system in rich, colorful 3-D as opposed to seeing it as stick figures. When we can see systems in this way, we have a much more profound understanding of what is happening, and we become able to lead and work in more powerful ways. We learn to lead and work systemically rather than linearly, to see root causes, to identify leverage points, and to have greater, more lasting impact.

No element is an Island.

Another way of describing this phenomenon is: No element of a system is an island unto itself. All the elements—from the larger social environment, to our face-to-face interactions, to our inner thoughts, feelings, and stories, are intricately interconnected in ways that are much more thoroughgoing than we usually stop to realize.

What John Muir said about the natural world is also true of human systems. “ If we try to break off and examine a little piece of nature (or here, of a system), we eventually find that it is connected to the whole universe.” Seeing and experiencing those interconnections, and acting with that knowledge, is what systemic leadership is all about.

The face-to-face world is a stage.

Therefore, what happens in face-to-face word is a mirror, a reflection of the whole system at play in any given moment. It is an integral part of a larger whole. The larger social and deeper individual forces manifest themselves in the face-to-face world, where we see their impacts. For example, we cannot see a thought or a feeling. But we can experience the influence of a thought in what a person says (Hopefully what we say is influenced by our thoughts!) and we can see evidence of angry feelings in a reddened face and loud talking.

Experiencing systems is analogous to watching a play. When we see the interactions of the players, and hear their conversations, we relate to play on one level. If we have information about the larger social, organizational, cultural and/or historical context, we have a much broader understanding of the story. If we have information about what is going on in the hearts and minds of the players, then we understand the play on a much deeper level. The Face to face world is a stage on which systemic drama plays out

Leading effectively in complex systems

Leading in complex systems is about honing our experience of the face to face world, understanding that experience in a broader and deeper context, and then acting intentionally from that space. The more we know about each level, and how they are interacting, the more deeply we understand what is going on in that system and the more effective we can be in leading, working within it, and changing it. A systemic perspective enables leaders to work on the system rather than being trapped in it.

What leaders can do

In important interactions:

• Notice what is happening in the room.
• Ask yourself what forces from the organization and its environment may be influencing what is happening.
• Think, and inquire about what mental models, feelings, or deeper stories are influencing people’s behavior in the room.
• Ask, what are the highest leverage things I can do to help the system move forward?
• Lead from that perspective.

If you want to explore leading and working in humans systems further, feel free to contact me.

Meanwhile, good journey…

Steven P. Ober EdD
President: Chrysalis Executive Coaching & Consulting
Partner: Systems Perspectives, LLC
Office: PO Box 278, Oakham, MA 01068
Home: 278 Crocker Nye Rd., Oakham, MA 01068
O: 508.882.1025 M: 978.590.4219
Email: Steve@ChrysalisCoaching.org
www.ChrysalisCoaching.org

Steve is a senior executive coach and consultant. He has developed and successfully uses a powerful approach to leadership coaching, Creating your Leadership Story, which enables leaders to make deep, lasting improvements in their leadership effectiveness in short periods of time. He and a group of partners have created a breakthrough educational program, Coaching from a Systems Perspective, in which you can significantly enhance your abilities as a systemic leadership coach. See http://SystemsPerspectivesLLC.com

I became fascinated by change in 1997 when I led an organization-wide change initiative to purposefully redesign our Product Development and Commercialization Process (PDCP). After 18-months of organizationally created VUCA we declared victory – a success that only 30% of change initiatives achieve.

Let me put this in perspective. If only 30% of your product launches succeeded, would you keep doing more of the same thing?

Every year thousands of change initiatives are undertaken by businesses globally – reorganization of people and lines of authority, Mergers & Acquisitions, structural change, OD/OE, product launches, innovation, novel services, technology advancements and invention, strategy, goals and objectives, personal development plans, and leadership training. If nothing else business is change. Yet, according to HBR, 70% of all change initiatives fail. It is also documented that 70% of IT and technology implementations, such as an ERP roll-out, fail.

The financial cost of failed change to organizations, the economy, and society is enormous. The human cost – currently measured in employee disengagement, lack of trust, apathy, turn-over, sick days, depression, and burnout – is even higher. Since 2000 I have explored why so many intentional change initiatives fail and experimented with ways to reduce this.

20^th Century Change Leadership

John Kotter is a well-known expert on organizational change. Let’s begin by looking at his model and compare it to what actually happened during the successful PDCP initiative.

Burning platforms require fire-fighting, which is a good reaction to a bad situation, not change. Firefighters have a set of skills they learn and perfect. They don’t invent new ones for each fire; they rely on assessing the situation and applying a solution that has worked in the past. Using the same paradigm for change does not work for a connected, interdependent global economy in a VUCA world. Urgency has become management’s soup de jour.

For the foreseeable future[iii], the business challenges that leaders face are not going to be familiar, but rather, totally new and unpredictable, regardless of the level at which they lead. We no longer have a readymade toolkit for change; we are in totally new territory. From now on, if it is urgent we have missed the opportune time to change and a true crisis, probably of global proportions, is upon us.

Adaptive Change and the Squiggle Effect

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
— Margaret Mead

When people are pursuing their Vision and are invited to participate in designing the change process they are insatiable, untiring, and unstoppable. This is what happened in the PDCP initiative. To explain this let me introduce the squiggle effect of Adaptive Change.

Of the many smart people that I bounce ideas around with is Bruce Flye. He is particularly wonderful because he graphically captures what I am trying to explain or think about. Following one of my long-winded rants on change, he sent the following graphic titled “squiggle” with the note: “Kinda like that?” Bingo!!

The rhythm of Adaptive Change is like breathing – expansion and contraction, divergence and convergence – a simple pattern that never covers the same ground twice, a virtuous cycle of change. During the PDCP our first divergence was to imagine the 2020 future and how our products would perform in it. When the whole organization did this we had a Vision of 2020 with externally validated Target Opportunity Profiles.

The second breath occurred when the Adaptive Change rippled out and the organization voluntarily asked: Are the internal functions and structures in place to create this future? When the answer was no, the second convergence occurred – an organizationally generated transformation of product development functions (decision-making and resource allocation) and structures (product development teams and internal documentation).

This naturally created a new disturbance that generated new skills (patient flow diagramming), processes (decision-analysis), and accountabilities (notably in the areas of business intelligence and development). At the end of the 18-month period an innovative product development and commercialization process, that no one could have predicted, designed beforehand, or implemented (Kotter’s process), was in place and functioning.

The Adaptive Change that occurred was latent within the organization, waiting to emerge.

As a leader, learning to successfully lead Adaptive Change in our VUCA world is essential… period. Change is a dilemma, a dynamic that must be managed. It has a logic and process all its own. The more you try to control it, mandate the timeline, or predict the outcome the sooner you become part of the 70% failure rate. The solution lies in a new paradigm of change rather than doing more of the wrong paradigm better and better.

Can VUCA ∞ VUCA Prime structure change in a way that shifts our current paradigm and makes our attempts to adapt to the world more proactive and successful? This is where we start next time.

In 1997, Dr. Mase designed and led a corporate-wide restructuring of the product development and commercialization process for Bristol-Myers Squibb, reporting to the heads of Pharmaceutical Marketing and Pharmaceutical R&D. This 18-month change process brought together cross-functional teams (including R&D, Global Marketing, manufacturing, and operations) to generate 20 year future scenarios and: create target product profiles based on those scenarios, value each profile, and validate them with global opinion leaders. As part of this work, she also initiated the use of Early Commercial Valuation (risk adjusted), patient flow modeling, and strategic decision analysis during early commercial development. Over the 18 month initiative, both organizational functions and structures were reconfigured.

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[i] Both later confessed they never thought it would go anywhere AND they were thrilled with the outcome.

[ii] Organizations are not composed of one pervasive culture, but rather a mosaic of cultures that are localized to structures (teams, plants, or business units) and functions (marketing, manufacturing, or sales)

[iii] For further reading see: Global Business Network; The Institute for the Future; Mary O’Hara-Devereaux, Navigating the Badlands, Jossey-Bass, 2004; Eamonn Kelly, Powerful Times, Wharton School Publishing, 2006.

To apply the learning of VUCA ∞ VUCA Prime I draw a visual metaphor of my situation. I have limited drawing skills so I need something that is simple and provides just enough structure to guide my thinking. I start by establishing context, in this case the design for a cultural change program to create an intentional corporate culture. The context also establishes the time frame; my horizon is 18 months out.

Setting the context helps you “see” the system as well as the other systems that are linked to it. My system is a group of 150 people from within the organization coming together under a new charter, the integration of three sub-cultures.

Next, look to the horizon. The horizon of the future is not your Vision, but rather a set of 3-4 plausible scenarios, each of which contains some version of your Vision. Like any set of scenarios my project is impacted by the whole environment in which the corporation operates. This step broadens my thinking, challenges my mindset, and surfaces unquestioned assumptions. My client is a nationwide corporation providing services to large mixed urban communities and businesses. My horizon includes: city center rejuvenation (or lack of), a range of joblessness (from little to significant), and varying adoption levels of new energy technologies (wind, solar, geothermal).

This isn’t a formal scenario building exercise but more of a stage setting process, so we can understand what we are sailing into. In this example my horizon can be captured using a simple 2×2 matrix: continued urban decay to modest revitalization on one axis and high to low adoption of new energy technology on the other. This produces four future scenarios and the intentional culture must be fully operational in each. Over the next 18 months I will track which future is beginning to emerge and tailor my program appropriately.

Now we need to consider the shore that we launch from. In this project three separate and distinct cultural units are being integrated. The conditions across the corporation are those of radical change – nationwide energy company, traditional corporate structure, and creative tension between old and new technology. We are launching from an immediate past and foreseeable future of unpredictable economic change and organizational turbulence; including the restructuring that brings these three groups together.

I plan to sail a general course to the horizon. Depending on the VUCA winds, I will course correct as needed – tacking toward the VUCA Prime element that balances each challenge as it arises. To pressure test my program design, I divided the project into three phases: initiation, half-way point, and realized culture. Using these I completed the following chart to help me think my way through the VUCA Quadrangle, which is one degree more dangerous than the Bermuda Triangle.

I show one item in each column, there were actually many, and bold what I think are the most significant columns for each phase. Using my completed table I went back and added an assessment phase at the beginning to create more Understanding and a full day workshop at the half-way point to improve Clarity.

While VUCA and VUCA Prime are concepts, they are also a mindset – a different way to perceive and react to situations. This is the benefit that military and corporate leaders are realizing from this approach. When you see the world as composed of four elements rather than one, turbulence, you have four actions you can take. Applying VUCA and VUCA Prime is not rocket science and it is useful as a way to think about the things you do every day as contributors and leaders. Start by observing the four elements when VUCA shows up. Which one predominates? Then tack in the direction of that VUCA Prime action and see what happens.

Dr. Carol Mase

Carol@CairnConsultants.com

Carol challenges leaders and their organizations to think differently about the world and how they can achieve their fullest potential in it. Her unique background unites business and biology, psychology and physics, bringing them into creative tension and generating tools and applications for all levels of the organization – from the C-Suite to the manufacturing floor. Carol has worked as an entrepreneur and an executive in Fortune 500 companies, always introducing fresh ideas that produce innovation and change, locally and organization-wide. She holds a degree in Psychology/Education, a Masters in Human Ecology/Interpersonal Relations, and a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine.

By Jay L. Tapper, Guest Writer

Your level of fitness will influence the effectiveness of your coaching. Exercise, nutrition, and rest play a major role in providing the necessary mental and physical energy for you to be at the top of your game with your clients.

Prolonged positions and repetitive motions (sitting at desk, computer work or talking on a phone) cause loss of endurance, strength, and flexibility. Scheduling exercise into your day like other appointments will make you feel better. When you feel better your increased energy and enthusiasm will be passed on to your coaching clients.

The following are some exercise suggestions to incorporate into your day:

1. Take stretch breaks to offset prolonged positions and repetitive motions.
2. Keep hand weights at your office and utilize them three days per week to increase your muscle strength.
3. Participate in cardiovascular exercises 30-60 minutes per day to increase your endurance.
4. Practice good posture

Improving your exercise habits will improve your endurance, strength, and flexibility. A healthy body leads to a healthy mind. Be fit and be your best.

For more resources, see the Library topic Personal and Professional Coaching.

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Jay L. Tapper, President of ActivEdge, “Keeping Fit in the Real World” ~715-393-8767 ~ www.activedgewi.com

In 1999 I facilitated scenario building for eleven cross-functional pharmaceutical teams (R&D, clinical development, global marketing, regional operations, manufacturing, and regulatory). The future was 2020 and we were imagining the marketplace, what consumers would expect, how diseases would be treated, and the features and benefits of the gold standard therapies of the day. Imagining the future for most people is difficult, it is just too Ambiguous, and each team struggled to conceptually get out of their own way.

Ambiguity is a powerful learning environment. As the teams’ worked to create their shared interpretation of a nebulous future, they were forced to construct meaning that was relevant to all the functions within the room. In doing this, transformation occurred and they no longer saw themselves as isolated functions, the future as unknowable, or their actions reduced to a single path upon which they stumbled blindly forward. Contained within their diverse perspectives, wide range of expertise, and varied contributions to the product development and commercialization process, Agility waited.

Ambiguity ∞ Agility

Ambiguity allows us to interpret the VUCA mess, finding meaning and just enough structure in our immediate situation so that we can act. Agility centers us and reminds us that reality is socially constructed, ours to interpret and create. In the VUCA world, the Ambiguity ∞ Agility dynamic is central to strategy and planning. If we don’t like our options, we need more diversity to generate Ambiguity. Reducing Ambiguity focuses meaning so that we act with intention. Agility ensures resilient, adaptable action by constantly adding just enough Ambiguity to the mix. And so the cycle goes, a dynamic that companies like Ideo and Jump have perfected.

The Ambiguity ∞ Agility dynamic also impacts consumer goods. For those of you my age, remember the “van” of the 60s? That was a product category that had so little Ambiguity that a van was only meaningful if you were a hippie, rock band, or had a trade business. The concept of “minivan”, however, had enough Ambiguity to be meaningful to lots of people. The auto industry Agilely exploited that meaning, flooding the car market with products. This was repeated when trucks, a vehicle with low Ambiguity, was integrated with car, a high Ambiguity product, and the SUV emerged. Other industries also use the Ambiguity ∞ Agility dynamic; walk down the cereal aisle in any grocery store for a glimpse of all the “meaningful” alternatives to oatmeal and Cheerios. In fact, market research uses this dynamic to create a bit of VUCA in the daily lives of consumers.

Memories of the Future: Introducing Ambiguity into Business

Back to the business of scenario building, when someone in the group says, “We can’t possibly know the future,” remind them of NASA’s commitment to put a man on the moon in ten years when they didn’t have fuel for a rocket, a spacecraft, computers small enough or powerful enough to perform the mission, or space suits that would protect the non-existent astronauts (just to name a few obvious things they didn’t have). Or watch Apollo 13, and notice how Ambiguity allowed for new meaning to emerge from a pile of junk and saved the lives of three people on their journey home. What “pile of junk” ideas are starring you in the face that can be re-meaninged and turned into gold? What Ambiguity ∞ Agility alchemy are you missing right now?

We are often trapped by our past experiences and continuously relive our Scenarios of the Past. For this reason, it helps to think about creating Memories of the Future, a term taken from neurobiology. Our brains capture thoughts and imaginings as memories, even before they occur. Using scenarios to create Memories of the Future introduces Ambiguity into our interpretation of events as we perceive them. When you have imagined four different futures and are presented with a situation today, your ability to be Agile in the face of controversy is dramatically increased.

Lessons for Leaders

• When you encounter Ambiguity, whether it is a product category or another’s opinion, look for diversity of meaning. When multiple interpretations of the situation are held in creative tension, Agility naturally emerges.
• Don’t rush to structure reality before you have fully explored the terrain. The Ambiguity ∞ Agility dynamic is foundational to innovation, creativity, and design.
• Scenario building, simulations, and imagining the future are not frivolous business games; they are powerful means of engaging the collective mind and using whole brain logic. Ignore these at your peril in the VUCA world.

Dr. Carol Mase

Carol@CairnConsultants.com

Carol challenges leaders and their organizations to think differently about the world and how they can achieve their fullest potential in it. Her unique background unites business and biology, psychology and physics, bringing them into creative tension and generating tools and applications for all levels of the organization – from the C-Suite to the manufacturing floor. Carol has worked as an entrepreneur and an executive in Fortune 500 companies, always introducing fresh ideas that produce innovation and change, locally and organization-wide. She holds a degree in Psychology/Education, a Masters in Human Ecology/Interpersonal Relations, and a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine.

One of my executive coaching clients has been struggling with perfectionism. She strives for the impossible and disappoints herself when she does not achieve it. This caused her tremendous stress leading to feelings of guilt and failure when things did not turn out as she expected.

She realized that her perfectionism made her rigid and caused her angst. Through our coaching, she discovered a more empowering perspective which is to be her “best” versus trying to be “perfect”. Being her best was attainable while being perfect was not.

With her new strategy of operating from the perspective of being her best, she is able to let go of judging herself and is freed from the restraints of perfectionism. She’s pleased knowing that “being her best” is her “best self”.

Here are some traits of perfectionism:

• Unrealistic expectations of yourself and others
• Continuously trying to refine a project even when the stakes are low
• Criticism derails you
• Excessive focus on mistakes
• Fear of failure
• Negative self talk

Here are some ways to temper perfectionism

• Strive to be your best in a situation versus being perfect
• Set realistic expectations and flexible time frames for the achievement of goals
• Use mistakes as learning opportunities versus judging yourself
• Avoid spending excessive amount of time on low payoff tasks
• Monitor “all or nothing” thinking

Are you a perfectionist?

Try this informative quiz from About.com: Quiz: Are You a Perfectionist?

For more resources, see the Library topic Personal and Professional Coaching.

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Pam Solberg-Tapper MHSA, PCC – I spark entrepreneurial business leaders to set strategy, take action, and get results. How can I help you? Contact me at CoachPam@cpinternet.com ~ Linkedin ~ 218-340-3330

A number of years ago I was called by a client because “things are falling through the cracks.” Suspicious that the issue was systemic (rather than technical or due to poor performance), a systems analysis was performed.

The world today is so interconnected and interdependent that leaders need to differentiate situations that are Complex from those that are complicated – think Everglades (Complex) versus Rolex watch (complicated) or customer relations (Complex) versus financial spreadsheet (complicated). Situations that are complicated produce problems that can be solved, creating the jigsaw puzzles of business that most leaders are prepared to analyze and handle.

On the other hand Complexity evades solution. There are too many interdependencies and feedback loops to control the system. Push here and the effect is felt on another continent. Constrain the system financially and it responds by innovating, producing unpredictable new products and services. Complexity is now such a large part of business that the 2010 IBM CEO study focused on it and management academics research and publish Complexity Leadership Theory (CLT)[i]. Today I am setting the stage for further exploration of CLT by looking at the dynamic between Complexity and Clarity.

With a few basic principles of physics and network analysis under their belt, the stakeholder team began the process of revealing the Complex system they were embedded in. The Complexity ∞ Clarity dynamic, like the others, is like a mobius strip – Complexity giving way to Clarity that suddenly turns back on itself and ends up in Complexity again. Unlike fixed solutions to problems Clarity exists for a period of time and then fades back into the Complex tangle of the system.

But Clarity re-emerges, sometimes when you least expect it. Our analysis began by mapping the system from the perspective of all stakeholders. This produced a wall of maps. The system seen by the leadership team was simple, had only three moving parts and clearly displayed their removal from the work being done. Internal stakeholder maps (company marketing teams) had up to 20 moving parts and feedback loops. Where the systemic Complexity was revealed, however, was in the vendor maps. These had up to 50 elements, interconnections, interdependencies, and systemic rules, such as:

• When a change is made at point G go back to point C and start again.
• If a hand-off from Vendor X is delayed cancel work to this point and wait.
• If a customer response is negative, stop everything until it is straightened out.

The wall walk by the stakeholder team was sobering and enlightening – the Complexity of the system visible for the first time, creating murmurs of “You do all that,” “Why are these two connected?” and “No wonder things are falling through the cracks!” Using the systems diagrams as a roadmap, the team found Clarity with support from other VUCA Prime elements:

• What is the purpose of this system? Vision
• What are we really trying to do here? Understanding

As Clarity emerged levers, redundancies, unnecessary loops, and bottlenecks were seen and changed. Over time, and many iterations of Complexity ∞ Clarity, the system was redesigned to improve information and product flow.

Lessons for Leaders

• “A system is anything that talks to itself.” Kevin Kelly, in Out of Control. Look for ways that the organization can talk about the Complexity you face. In conversation Clarity emerges.
• Go slow at the beginning so you can go fast at the end. This adage from decision analysis is a mantra for the Complexity ∞ Clarity dynamic. Clarity only emerges when you take time to see into the Complexity, find the levers, and shake out the knots. Stop fire fighting long enough to sense the whole system, test your hypothesis, and adapt to what you are learning.
• What you see is the reality you know. To find Clarity you have to see the parts and the whole, the trees and the forest. As you “expand reality” you increase your ability to act.

 

 

Next Blog Post

Leading the dynamic between Ambiguity and Agility.

Dr. Carol Mase

Carol@CairnConsultants.com

Carol challenges leaders and their organizations to think differently about the world and how they can achieve their fullest potential in it. Her unique background unites business and biology, psychology and physics, bringing them into creative tension and generating tools and applications for all levels of the organization – from the C-Suite to the manufacturing floor. Carol has worked as an entrepreneur and an executive in Fortune 500 companies, always introducing fresh ideas that produce innovation and change, locally and organization-wide. She holds a degree in Psychology/Education, a Masters in Human Ecology/Interpersonal Relations, and a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine.

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[i] Mary Uhl-Bien and Russ Marion (eds), Complexity Leadership, Information Age Publishing, Charlotte, North Carolina, 2008. Stephan Haeckel, Adaptive Enterprises, Harvard Business School Press, Boston MA, 1999. J. Goldstein, JK Hazy, and BB Lichtenstein, Complexity and the Nexus of Leadership, Palgrave Macmillian, NY, NY, 2010. Margaret Wheatley, Leadership and the New Science, Barrett-Koehler, San Francisco, CA, 1994.

 

Introduction to Feedback

In my opinion there is one activity that stands above all others in its ability to transform individuals into exceptional leaders: feedback. In this case feedback is defined as data provided to individuals that facilitates greater self-awareness and behavioral change. There is no doubt that education on leadership behavior, modeling of effective leadership, and the opportunity to practice leadership are all worthwhile tools. But there is absolutely nothing that can supplant feedback as a method for facilitating development in organizational leaders. And, if this is true, it begs the question “what type of feedback should a leader seek”? There are a multitude of types of feedback and also methods used to collect, formulate/interpret, and distribute feedback. These include, but shouldn’t be seen as limited to, assessments, multi-rater feedback, experiential activities, and personal and direct input from key stakeholders.

Assessments

The assessment category is comprised of feedback that comes from various tools that provide normative data on areas such as personality, cognitive ability, learning style, interpersonal tendencies, and values. The use of the term normative indicates that these assessments compare a person’s answers to norm groups and uses this information to draw tentative conclusions about an individual in the previously mentioned categories. These tools are often available online and are most often accessed through a consultant or psychologist certified in the administration and interpretation of the instruments.

Multi-Rater Feedback

It could be argued that multi-rater feedback, such as 360 surveys, is a type of assessment. I view these as distinct from the aforementioned assessments in that the data is subjective and observed versus normative. That is, the data is typically derived by asking for the observations and ratings of a leader’s behaviors by his or her boss, peers, subordinates, and other key stakeholders such as clients and vendors. This information is typically gathered by having the stakeholders read a variety of competency-based statements and then rate how well the individual in question reflects these competency statements. Most multi-rater feedback data is collected online using different software or consulting services.

Experiential Activities

These activities can be highly structured and facilitated, such as simulations, case studies, or planned and facilitated experiential exercises. They can also be much less structured, anchored in actual work, fall under the umbrella of action learning activities. The more structured activities are typically facilitated by a consultant and the feedback consists of the consultant’s observations and interpretation of the leader’s performance in these activities. In contrast, action learning often involves leaders working on actual work tasks or projects and then reporting back to others (peers, coaches, mentors, etc.) on actions taken and progress made. The leaders then receive feedback from on the progress and are encouraged to identify lessons learned from this data ways that these lessons will be applied to future efforts on the task or project.

Direct Input from Key Stakeholders

The data collected in multi-rater feedback and experiential activities is obviously comprised of input from others. The difference with direct input is that the feedback is typically received straight from a person as and received in a conversational setting. And most often one of the primary objectives for these conversations are to receive developmental and performance feedback from key stakeholders or trusted others. The most common examples of this type of relationship are executive coaching and mentoring relationships. But it isn’t limited to these contexts, and there is also some interesting and worthwhile work being done in such areas as peer coaching circles and feedback via social media methodologies.

Final Comments on Feedback

My intent in this blog was to share my opinion on the vital importance of feedback to leadership and a few or the more common methods used for gathering, interpreting, and sharing feedback. In my next blog I will provide more of an evaluation of these different methods. In the meantime I would love to hear what others think about the role of feedback in becoming an effective leader – as well as any thoughts or comments on different approaches to feedback.

In 1996 I was working in Germany for a large pharmaceutical company. One of my areas of responsibility was the decision analysis process that determined the probability of success for the drugs we were developing. The goal of the exercise was to make a decision based on the certainty of a predicted outcome. Sound familiar? Back then things moved at a somewhat slower pace and we could accomplish our work before VUCA completely changed the conditions we were analyzing. Today, as business becomes less and less predictable, both leaders and employees have to learn how to operate within the dynamic of Uncertainty and Understanding.

Uncertainty ∞ Understanding

Uncertainty makes it hard to see how our actions will impact the challenges we face. A sense of vagueness about what we can and should do heightens any insecurity or fear we feel. Our temptation is to make a quick decision, hope for the best, and prepare for the inquisition that is sure to follow if we fail. Understanding is our chance to deeply explore the situation before taking action, not a reason to avoid taking action.

Uncertainty is an opportunity for inquiry and exploration of that which we are uncertain of. It lets us embrace the unknown in search of innovation and possibility, expanding our options for action. Only when we are Uncertain are we willing to explore our mental models, the ideas of others, and the potential of something truly innovative. Being Uncertain means no one knows for sure, there is no right answer. In other words, my actions and my leadership matter! What I do next is going to shape the future. The dilemma we face is revealed – at the moment we are most afraid to act, acting our way forward is the only answer.

Understanding is acting that does not rashly plunge ahead. Engaging in dialogue allows leaders to positively utilize the dynamic within Uncertainty ∞ Understanding, creating conversations that promote inquiry. Dialogue can address both the Uncertainty in the situation and any Uncertainty that lies unspoken under the surface. Exposing the “elephant in the room” creates broader, even deeper Understanding and organizational resilience. Armed with Understanding, leaders have the opportunity to use Uncertainty to create collaboration, reaching out to those who would otherwise be ignored, and innovation, daring to move beyond the status quo and initiate adaptive change.

Lessons for Leaders

The Uncertainty ∞ Understanding dynamic can generate a deep re-connection to the organization’s values, purpose, culture, and Vision.

• Understanding begins with listening, to what is said and what remains unsaid. Using dialogue leaders can probe the unspoken issues and challenges that Uncertainty raises.
• Uncertainty is a state of high emotion and narrative, not analysis, is particularly suited to conditions like this. Leaders who invite others to “tell their story”, sharing their ideas and experiences in a narrative format, are building trust, stabilizing the emotional rollercoaster of Uncertainty, and tapping into the knowledge of the collective. When all is said then analysis can be done!
• Moving from Uncertainty to Understanding requires compassion, which floods leaders and their colleagues with a sense of security and well-being and moves them into action[i]. Leaders in a compassionate stance are poised to jump into action and do whatever they can, a blend of personal humility and professional will that Jim Collins calls “Level 5 Leadership.”

Inquiry for Leaders

• How much Uncertainty are you comfortable with? What is your reaction when you are outside your comfort zone? How does this affect your ability to lead when Uncertainty strikes?
• What patterns can you find in the Uncertainty you face? Have you seen them before? What actions could you take to Understand the situation better and reduce the risk that comes with this Uncertainty? If you took those actions, how would the current situation change?
• When you face Uncertainty what is your emotional reaction? How does this response impact your perceptions, actions, and ability to Understand? How does it affect others? Are you ready to learn how to respond better?

Next Blog Post

Leading the dynamic between Complexity and Clarity.

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[i] Research of Richard Davidson, http://psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/web/personnel/director.html

Dr. Carol Mase

Carol@CairnConsultants.com

Carol challenges leaders and their organizations to think differently about the world and how they can achieve their fullest potential in it. Her unique background unites business and biology, psychology and physics, bringing them into creative tension and generating tools and applications for all levels of the organization – from the C-Suite to the manufacturing floor. Carol has worked as an entrepreneur and an executive in Fortune 500 companies, always introducing fresh ideas that produce innovation and change, locally and organization-wide. She holds a degree in Psychology/Education, a Masters in Human Ecology/Interpersonal Relations, and a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine.

Meaning at Work

Gurnek Bains and his colleagues at YSC Consulting have written a book called Meaning Inc: The Blueprint for Business Success in the Twenty First Century. In it they argue that it is critical for leaders to create organizational cultures that have meaning and are meaningful for team members. The authors state that these cultures are evidenced by key attributes such as an invigorating sense of purpose that goes beyond business success and which makes people feel they are changing society as opposed to just servicing needs.

Role of Leadership and Creation of Meaning

Gurnek et al state that creating meaning is the most important factor in generating high levels of commitment and engagement in contemporary organizations. The authors suggest that there are four primary challenges for leaders that want to develop organizations that create and provide a sense of meaning for employees.

• The first is something called a Focus on “Why”. This is about mobilizing the efforts of employees by clarifying why their activities are worthwhile and meaningful.
• The second is the cultivation of a Good Enough Mindset. This is said to be a leadership perspective or mindset characterized by an absolute commitment to serving the capacity for creative growth of one’s colleagues and followers.
• Third is something called a Meaning Making Spike. A spike is a towering strength possessed by a leader that, when properly developed, enables the person to have a unique and special impact in any situation they engage. The authors believe that spikes tend to happen in one of three primary categories: Creativity, Coherence, Compassion, and Courage.
• The fourth and final challenge is, and the one that is the foundation for the other three, is Insight. In this case, insight is viewed as an understanding of leadership strengths and areas requiring development, an advanced understanding of organizational culture/context, and an appreciation for the needs of organizational stakeholders.

Importance of Meaning

I personally believe that – barring any profoundly dramatic disruptions to the global business landscape – the importance of creating meaning for organizational members is only going to increase in the years to come. The question is whether leaders are prepared to have such meaningful influence. And, if not, what can be done to make it so.