'A leader, or a team of leaders, can initiate and realize changes in the organization's objectives to make the organization more effective and enjoyable. 'From the same starting point – namely to make the organization more effective and enjoyable – the members of the organization can solve many of their own problems themselves.
Changing Organizational Culture
Organizational Culture
My approach here is that Schein's form layer – that is, the surface layer of actual behavior and artefacts – is incorporated into the 'everyday reality' of the functional approach, also involving the experiential sides of the forms. The integration of the functional and structural approach is then based on the fact that both approaches share the level of 'everyday reality'.
REASON FOR BEING THERE
A valid reason for being there gives the organization and its members a clear direction and definite goals or objectives. On the other hand, the reason for being there is also concerned with the internal world of the organization; that is, with the organization's individual members.
ADAPTATION
Sometimes it may just be a matter of disrupting or preventing another alliance that threatens the organization's survival (McNeilly, 2001). Determine what the organization can do for its stakeholders, as well as what the stakeholders can do for the organization in this regard.
COORDINATION
In short, synergy is the outcome of a non-zero-sum game (Wright, 2001), this time within the organization. Pay enough attention to what is going on in the organization and avoid being solely focused on the outside world.
EVERYDAY REALITY
Ĺ the alignment between the values and objectives of individual employees and those of the organization Ĺ the perceived safety of the work and the environment. Ĺ Ensure that the values and objectives of the organization do not deviate too much from the personal values and objectives of the employees.
THE STRUCTURAL SIDE OF CULTURE Mythology
The roles to be performed or the plays to be performed follow certain standardized formats, which are subject to sets of tacit rules and norms. Mythology can then be seen as a set of stories that illustrate rules and norms and the consequences of breaking them.
STABILITY
These rules and norms constitute the next layer of organizational culture, which most of the time operates outside of awareness, although rules and norms are in principle accessible to reflection. The quiet nature of the way we act out everyday reality also contributes to its stability.
FLAWS AND LACUNAS
The question of changing culture becomes urgent when there are obvious – that is, at least to outside observers – flaws and lacunae in the culture. Unproductive standard explanations, solutions and blind spots are also used when the organizational culture is threatened by an imposed change.
CHANGE
Assessing the Organization and Cultural Change
Gathering information also means paying attention, maintaining sufficient eye contact and active listening, and displaying all the verbal and non-verbal behavioral elements involved (see Chapter 8). In addition, gathering information also means being clear about our own position and intentions and, if possible and necessary, the assumptions and goals underlying our approach, which boils down to practicing the art of "advocacy" (see Chapter 5).
SOME GENERAL PRINCIPLES
To examine the effects of the intervention, pre-test and post-test scores for the same variables can then be compared and tested statistically for significance. Sometimes it is possible to apply the same pre-test and post-test measures to a different but comparable part of the organization, which will only later, or not at all, undergo the same intervention.
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SOLUTIONS
The clarity of what our task is enables us to be selective in this regard. Once we have determined what the change entails, it is important to measure and map only what is relevant in this regard and be quite reticent about information that is not.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF INFORMATION
In addition, the change agent wants to learn what the stakeholders see as the possible outcomes of the intervention. What is the importance of the problem as perceived by different parties in the organization.
COMPILING THE INFORMATION
For example, when an organization wants to manage its performance by systematically reinforcing behavior that is measured by certain index numbers - such as sales volume, time spent on a customer contact, or the number of phone calls made - this often suppresses behavior of others that are also needed in the organization, such as helping each other or the amount of money saved or earned per customer contact or phone call, but not measured or reinforced (Cohen, 2006; Klein, 2003). Essentially, this includes a mix of information about the status quo, possible changes, and differences of opinion.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT
Many of the phenomena mentioned above indicate that change has become part of our culture. Ĺ Have there been changes in the political environment, for example due to recent elections, that affect the organization.
ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE
At the same time, those at the top of the organization must understand that it is important to be selective when setting such goals and that they must have good reasons for choosing the ones they do. In any case, thorough discussion of this selection within the senior team is important, especially as radical differences of opinion may arise, which must be resolved first, for example in dialogue sessions (see Chapter 5).
STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
Moreover, knowledge of the ways of the founders and other important people can save change agents from approaches that needlessly go against the way things are done in the organization. When such an influence interferes with the appropriate functioning of the organization, the change agent must address it, preferably in a special dialogue-like workshop.
FUNCTIONS
What is the quality of the organization's relationships with other organizations in the trade – including its competition. What is the quality of the organization's relationships with its geographic neighbors and the surrounding community in general.
EMPLOYEES’ EVALUATION OF THE CULTURE
Evaluation is about assessing the effects and value of the intervention and managing the project's results. How can the results of the intervention be used to advocate for similar interventions elsewhere.
Everyday Reality, Attitude and Leadership
REALITY AS ILLUSION
A negative experience (Goffman, 1974), the feeling when we realize that something we assumed to be present is actually missing, for example when we look at the empty place from where our car has just been stolen. This is remarkable, especially when we realize that we never do anything for nothing.
THE DISCIPLINE OF ATTENTION
In general, this discipline of attention is an important technique for not letting ourselves drift away from our occupations, although we are hardly aware of the fact that we are using it. Once we become aware of a habit, we can allow ourselves to change it, provided we want to.
REALITY AND REPETITION
The inability to reproduce the right sequence of actions at the right time means that everyone involved, including us, is doing something wrong. To put it more strongly, we are almost blind to the simple fact that we repeat ourselves endlessly every day.
SITUATIONS
The first part of this chapter discussed the illusory nature of situational reality. In this way we allow ourselves to be conditioned like little Pavlovian dogs: we develop skills and act in the right way, both in a technical and moral sense.
ATTITUDES
When we are completely lost in the other, we fully or partially match their attitude and. We put ourselves in the other person's shoes and see the world through their eyes.
ATTITUDES AND ASSUMPTIONS
When there is no actual imitation of postures and movements, it is often possible to demonstrate the electrical activity in the muscles that would cause these movements;. Before him it is Sabbath, behind him it is Sabbath and next to him it is Sabbath.
ATTITUDE AND SITUATION
We treat the rest of the situation like it's the most normal thing in the world. The assumptions underlying our attitudes are then the same as those of the situation we establish.
ATTITUDE AND DEVELOPMENT
Looking from the inside means that you go through the movements of the attitude, for example the movements of the known situations in the organization, and look at what is happening from that perspective. Looking from the inside is the only way to function within the daily reality that is determined by our attitudes and assumptions, and those of the other members of the organization.
ATTITUDE AND LEADERSHIP: THE DIRECT APPROACH
The obvious risk here is to lose ourselves in one and neglect the other. Most of the time, this vision is a powerful new combination of familiar elements, yet doesn't seem to be completely outdated.
BEING AWARE OF YOURSELF
All in all, we must learn to become comfortable with the limitations of freedom that come from our leadership. If staying focused and engaged is less obvious, this is again a matter of self-examination and reflection.
PREVENTING AND DEALING WITH STRESS
They can be about sources of frustration, dealing with uncertainty or our need to be cared for. Other issues that may play a role here are dealing with excessive admiration and ascribed stardom (see Chapter 4) as well as with our vulnerabilities: although we could wish otherwise, we are far from invulnerable, but at the same time it is important not to be paralyzed by that knowledge (Lencioni, 1998). leisure, public involvement, general knowledge and philosophy of life), guarding the balance between our work and private life also means that we pay so much attention to these matters that they really take on an existence of their own.
STEERING AND BEING AWARE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING
In essence, the manager is the one who is primarily responsible for looking after the interests of the entire organization. The same can be achieved by making what we do a symbol of the mission and advertising it.
Mapping and Taking Away Ineffectiveness
THE REALITY OF EVERYDAY WORKING LIFE: STABILITY AND CHANGE
If that power base proves to be sufficient, change will come about anyway, much to the disgust of the employees. All these options amount to more or less radical changes in the reality of their daily working lives for employees.
WORK AND WORK ENVIRONMENT: THE MIDDLE ZONE
However, if adaptation means changes in our work, it will reduce the effectiveness of our operation. Too many changes in our work in too little time is thus a key factor in the efficiency of our operations.
THE WORK ITSELF
However, it is another scenario, when some parts of the work are already too difficult to start, due to the fact that we lack the necessary experience or training, for example in the case of new tasks. Sometimes the goals of the task are vague: "I pretty much manage things here." Sometimes it's the way in which goals are to be achieved: "How you do it I don't really care.
THE WORK ENVIRONMENT: ORDERLINESS
Apart from the fact that this can be very frustrating, it can ruin our mood and in the long run it can even damage our health, it definitely disrupts the effectiveness of our functioning. Excessive regularity in the work environment means that the regularity demands so much attention that it can obscure the original purpose, namely the performance of the actual task.
THE WORK ENVIRONMENT: SOCIAL EMBEDDING
As it is, unknown people are usually introduced in such a way that their presence becomes understandable and normal (Goffman a): 'This is Joanna, from sales, she will join us today because. Generally, impending transitions disrupt the effectiveness of functioning in the final phase of the old job.
THE WORK ENVIRONMENT: COMPATIBILITY OF CONVICTIONS, VALUES AND GOALS
Most of the time we do not experience our beliefs, values and goals as such. Ĺ What the constituent parts of the organization are and how they should relate to each other.
THE WORK ENVIRONMENT: SAFETY
In the construction industry, for example, the safety regulations are sometimes ignored because it is felt to be 'too much work' to follow these regulations. Such events help us remember that we are less safe than we thought we were, and can completely shake our confidence in the safety of our work environment for a long time.
USING THE CHECKLISTS
The causes of the various sources of inefficiency and their relationships are investigated by the whole group. When underlying assumptions and goals can be distilled and when they diverge – and most of the time they do – the members can try to find a 'win-win' solution.
Dialogue
At the same time, elements and derivative forms of dialogue provide for many organizations the difference between thriving and perishing. Senge himself refers to the physicist David Bohm (2004) as the source of inspiration in this regard.
THE FUNDAMENTAL ATTITUDE
Careful assessment is also reflected in the use of survey techniques, which are described in Chapter 6. The fact that everyone can contribute everything increases the independence and variety of ideas that can be incorporated into the final result.
OTHER ATTITUDES
While 'together' in the sense of Leary's rose (see Figure 5.1 and Chapter 6) refers to 'with', taking responsibility in this terminology can be characterized primarily as 'up'. Raising a problem can begin with a neutral phrase such as, "I get the idea that something is wrong." In addition, we can "focus" on the person in question, following the techniques described in Chapter 6.
ASSUMPTIONS
In addition, we can use techniques such as 'seeing for real' (see Chapter 6), evoking fantasies (see Chapter 6), being alert to non-verbal behavior (see Chapter 8) and phrasing (see Chapter 8 ). To this end, we may apply all the targeted techniques to collect information about ourselves and others, described in Chapter 2.
OPENNESS
We investigate whether the new assumptions work in practice and when they do, we let go of the old assumptions and the power they have over us. Looking away reminds us of the submission ritual of dogs that roll over on their backs and expose their throats to the teeth of the other dog, also as a form of openness.
ADMITTING THE OTHER
We are in danger, back in the world of childhood fears and on the less pleasant outskirts of dreamland. An example of this is elaborated in Chapter 7, which deals with radical changes in our lives and the loss of embedded assumptions.
PROGRESS
In this regard, it is essential from time to time to describe the state of affairs from the other person's perspective. The effectiveness of the dialogue approach requires that all parties want to solve the problems in each of these steps and at the same time believe that it can be done well, something that does not seem very obvious in advance.
RESPECT AND SELF-RESPECT
When we respect someone else, we are willing to see them as someone who, based on their own assumptions about the way things are, wants what is right and takes responsibility for it. We can therefore regard our conscience as the sense of right and wrong that serves as a touchstone for the moral quality of actions, while we can regard honor as its result: the reputation that we gradually build from our starting point of wanting to do good. right thing, even if it is not the easiest way.
THE ROLE OF A DISCUSSION LEADER
The way in which the interview leader introduces rules and agreements has an obvious modeling function. Once the goal has been formulated, the conversation leader briefly outlines what the dialogue is about.
DIALOGUE AND ETHICS
“How does this relate to. description of the goal), the goal we set for ourselves?'. Learning to know assumptions is therefore a matter of taking the other side's point of view.
Techniques, Personal Issues and Exercises
The managers can be trained by the change agents or by the same external professional who trains the change agents. When the change agents do the training, it is recommended that they be guided by the professional who trained them.
Techniques and Tools
ASKING QUESTIONS AND REFLECTING
The above sentences can be prefaced with a short final summary - a single sentence - of the subject the respondent was talking about: 'Tell me this. Another option is to consider what images the other person's words conjure up in our minds.
MATCHING
One implication of this is that it is good practice to ask what other answers there are. Finally, we could mirror the other's preferred representational system – visual, auditory or affective – a form of matching recommended for the same reasons in the NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) literature (e.g. Seymour & O'). Connor, 1994).
SOLUTION-ORIENTED COACHING
It is then more difficult for the client to make full use of his problem-solving ability and creativity. Then we can let the client approach the goal in a more verbal way by letting him describe it.
FEEDBACK RULES
A strictly verbal approach is most of the time narrower and is more likely to leave all kinds of elements and aspects out of consideration. Apparently, the set goal is less simple than the client thought or pretended it was.
DISCUSSION OF PROGRESS Goals
MOMENTS OF AWARENESS (Adapted From Senge et al., 1994)
LEARY’S ROSE
Against–Down. You think you're the boss, but when you least expect it, I'll try to take you down and sabotage your work. Me–Down. You'll take care of me, because you're the boss, and we'll have a good time together.
THINKING OF NOTHING IN PARTICULAR
Sit relaxed, though straight, with your back against the back of the chair, arms on the armrests. ñ Lower half of the trunk: simultaneously tense the muscles of the abdomen and the lower part, as well as the muscles of the sphincter, as if holding water.
FOCUSING Goal
It involves questions like: 'What's wrong?', 'What's this about?' and 'What's going on here?' Focusing can then provide answers to questions such as: 'What should I do?', 'What do I want?' and 'What is the most important thing for me now?'
GIVING OURSELVES ASSIGNMENTS, SETTING PERSONAL GOALS
'Working through' these body parts at the end of the day, before you go to sleep, is also a good way to identify and get rid of the smaller frustrations and displeasures of the day. Ĺ To make setting personal goals more effective, we can combine it with focusing on our chest and taking one or two deep breaths.
STARTING UP ‘SLOW BRAIN PROCESSES’
Ĺ Starting a slow brain process is a basic technique that can be used every time you are faced with a difficult choice or problem. As such, initiating a slow brainstorming process can be helpful for leaders, change agents, and participants in any task-oriented project, including dialogue.
AFFIRMATIVES
So go with your heart's content, but remember: since this is a pretty effective formula, be very careful about what you're asking for. Do all of these as well as you can and then practice this affirmation for the following days.
REALLY SEEING SOMEBODY
See the other person in a higher-level context that you are both a part of, for example this process of cultural change. Imagine being there for the other person, undivided and with everything you have.
IMAGINATION (Glouberman, 1989) Goals
When you are not doing the exercise on your own, one of you introduces the exercise, gives the instructions each time, but also participates. The following image came to me.' Then describe the image and find out if this image means something to the other person or people.
DELEGATING ALTERNATIVES (Adapted From Senge et al., 1994)
The problem owner takes a step back and gives the actors who play the two alternatives plenty of space to talk to each other. Usually the problem owner gains a better insight into the dilemma and its assumptions and underlying thoughts.
HELPING CREATIVITY
When we get stuck somewhere, it's good to imagine how other people would approach the problem and what advice they would give us if we asked them for help. We can solve the problem by acting as if they are not useful at the moment.
GOAL SETTING
Ĺ 'To what extent have we formulated our goal in such a way that it goes against something? Ĺ 'To what extent does your goal include a time scale with sub-goals and deadlines for your goal and sub-goals.
Personal Issues
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
A remarkable, related phenomenon in monasteries is 'acedia', the spirit of the afternoon (Pranger, 2002). If we were to ban these thoughts forever, it would mean that we are also robbing ourselves of the possibility of reflection and placing ourselves in an even deeper state of alienation.
OUR OWN MORTALITY
Now you look even more closely, you notice that you actually know almost everyone there. Look carefully at an environment that is very familiar to you as if you were there for the last time and say goodbye to it.
RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
As things stand, we are better off avoiding some risks as long as we are not suicidal. Ultimately, we are part of their lives too and they probably don't want to change any more than we do.
EARLY YOUTH
This set of questions is intended to show that you have now developed more options for dealing with such situations. Based on your experiences then, you have shown the same behavior and behavior in many other situations.
LEITMOTIFS
First, get rid of the tasks that do not allow you to follow your leitmotif and development task. Then acquire more tasks in which you can make the most of your leitmotif and development task.
POINTS OF RESEMBLANCE WITH YOUR RELATIVES
As a result, it is crucial to explore your leitmotif in order to be maximally effective in everything you undertake. Staying with your leitmotif and your development task - and taking a break from time to time to relax - can lead to the most effective and enjoyable forms of work possible.
ASSIGNMENTS FROM YOUR PARENTS
What turned out to be right – or good enough – for them should be so for their children as well. What about the orders of parents who want their children to live the same or a better life?
TRANSITIONS
Denial can then progress into the next phase, where the seriousness of what is happening is downplayed: 'So what?', 'What else is new?', 'What's the difference?', 'It's not that important' . A popular form of downplaying is to compare the event with something much more serious: "You know what's really bad?", "The tsunami, that was really bad."
Exercises
