ACCEPT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND
I am a historian by trade. As such, I have looked at every kind of human organization, peoples, and situations and tried to make some sense of what was going on. I like to compare it to studying an anthill: You see frantic activity, but you might not understand why or what is to come from all this activity. However, as a historian you have to accept, that what goes on is rational. All systems make internal sense.
For the historian, the concept of "rationality" is obscured as you observe from a position dislocated in time. Thus, you get to see the whole process from thought to action and result. Hindsight will lead you to think, that certain actions were "irrational", as they did not produce the desired results. But – as we all know – planning for an unknowable future, you lack both control and time to further qualify your decisions. So, with the information available at the time, actions may have been perfectly rational even if they do not bring about the intended results.
Accepting the internal order of every system and understanding the underlying rationality lets you understand what goes on and why. This is a prerequisite for facilitating change.
THEORY AS SUNGLASSES
For me at least, theory and method is extremely important. Still, I think of theory as sunglasses: "Put these on, and the light filters in this way". Put these on instead and the world looks entirely different. Some lenses are perfect for certain types of light. Polarized glasses eliminates reflections; a grey lens
tint lets you see true color; brown lenses enhances depth; yellow lenses helps you see in low-light conditions and so forth.
Consequently, being aware what a certain theory or model helps you see or understand is key for any change manager. Conversely, you should be aware that the image is only partial and accept, that a different model or theory will reveal a different image.
THE MAJOR CELESTIAL BODIES
I will go into more detail in my following posts, but for now, let me define the major celestial bodies of my universe – the main body of theory:
- The progression of economic value
- The success staircase
- Team state
The Progression of Economic Value
Joe Pine is the man behind one of my favorite models – The Progression of Economic Value. I use the model as a tool for "diagnosis". It allows me to understand where the organization is; if it is consistent in what it does; where it could go; what it would take and what my options are. Furthermore, the model presents a vocabulary that allows me to frame the project.
The Success Staircase
The Success Staircase is a seemingly simple model from the field of cognitive psychology derived by David McClelland. It states five (prioritized) steps moving from a present state to a desired future state:
- Motivation (meaning and value)
- Convictions (belief and courage)
- Action
- Evaluation
- New action
It is beautifully simply model covering enormous complexity and I use it as basis for the hands-on phase of ALL projects. Period.
The Team State Model
The Team State Model is conceived by John Geier who also masterminded the DISC Personal Assessment System. According to Geier there are four team states progressing from "dependency" to "independence", "interdependence" and finally "integration".
Assessing the team state of a team or organization can be crucial and will let you formulate quite precise theses about what will work, what will face opposition and what will fail miserably. The team state model obviously works very well in connection to DISC.
MEANS TO ENDS
In unison, the above three models will help you:
- Carry out precise diagnostics and mapping
- Formulate a clear strategic intention
- Formulate precise assumptions about the organization
- Formulate precise assumptions about the effectiveness of tools
- Understand your role as change manager
- Understand your options and predict opposition/conflict
Moreover, they provide a basic framework for framing and ongoing communications on all levels.
The closer you move to the "action" part of the success staircase the more you will need actual tools and formats, but for framing the project and providing a basic project design, the models above provide ideal understanding.
In my next posts, I will spend some time going into detail on these central models and their use starting with the Progression of Economic Value.
