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Posts from the ‘Kathleen’ Category

Oct 27

Focus on results

A student asks, “What do I have to do to get an ‘A’?”

A child in the backseat asks, “Are we there yet?”

An employee asks, “Can we check that off now?”

I am a logical, linear thinker. Getting good grades, arriving at my destination, and checking things off my
to-do list get my adrenaline flowing. Yes, focusing on the results can lead directly to the desired outcome, but it can obscure obstacles along the way. Single-minded focus may produce the desired outcome, but diminish the serendipity that comes from exploring. So, how might I reframe my focus?

Am I learning the material, applying it, and integrating it into my work and practice?

Am I enjoying the moment as the beautiful fall leaves pass by the car window?

Am I reviewing the process to determine if it is serving the values and goals of the organization?

For further reflection, “Can I describe an effective process that produces results and desired outcomes while providing for awareness of obstacles and unexpected opportunities?”

Oct 21

Idea for reflection – 23

Climbing a Henry Moore

 

I’m as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.
  – Steve Jobs, from The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs

Idea for reflection – 22

Oct 20

The shape of space

Skyscape XV

First the students sit in traditional straight lines, behind desks.
Then they sit in a circle around a table.
Finally they sit in an open circle, with nothing in the center.
…then we reflect together on the experiences.

Doing this activity over several years in the organization development classroom does not constitute scientific research data. But here are frequent student observations about the different room setups:

The traditional straight line allows everyone to easily see a presentation and gives the facilitator to have greater control over the group. The disadvantages include individuals having a sense of being detached from the group – leading to a more passive group that is less likely to participate in discussion or interact.

The circle table setup, either round or “U” shape, allows everyone to see everyone else, including making eye contact and observing posture and body language. In a smaller group (6 to 8), more people are comfortable contributing to the discussion and interacting. The table at the center allows for ease in note taking. It seems to create a sense of safety by providing a partial barrier between the individual and the group.

The circle setup without tables , either round or “U” shape, has the same benefits as the first circle with the additional benefit that it is easy to engage in activities that use movement. The openness can create a space for more personal connection. On the other hand, without a table, individuals may have different levels of discomfort without the table as partial barrier – conflict is perceived with increased threat. From a practical standpoint, people do not have places to put notebooks or drinks.

An alternative that I’ve used is creating a “chevron” shape where the tables face the front, but at a 40 degree angle. Participants can see each other as well as the presentation. This combines some of the advantages and disadvantages of the arrangements described above.

The shape of the space has implications for the participants and the facilitator or instructor. In my experience, it is important to consider how the space invites interaction and participation, creates psychological safety, and meets the needs for the gathering goals. How have you experienced the shape of space in your meeting and class rooms?

Oct 19

Reading about change

Fall Prairie at Quivera NWR

Change is happening on the Kansas prairie as grasses and trees transform to their brilliant fall colors. As Organization Development (OD) practitioners we journey alongside organizations and individuals in the midst of planned and unplanned change. Here are some items gleaned from my reading this past weekend.

George R. Brunk III, Interim President of AMBS, was one author I encountered who is thinking and writing about change. He asked questions that apply at a broader level to everyone involved in organizational change. He argues that change begins at the personal level and needs to be practical, asking. “Where does change begin?” How can a context for changed be created? Should change in an organization begin within the organization or follow change that is happening in a larger context? Or is change complementary between the small and large?

I continued reading Peggy Holman’s Engaging Emergence. Her important reminder is: the pattern of change is that it increases with time. When we begin change, we are quick to measure progress or take the temperature of the organization every day or week. Constantly checking to see if change is happening can distract us from focusing effectively on the process or even stop us from persevering through the fallow ground of transition. Peggy gives the wonderful example of the transition from snail mail to e-mail. It took a number of years for our primary communication mode to change. The shift happened in fits and starts, asking us to change our own patterns and assumptions along the way. Yet the pattern holds, change requires time and the amount of change increases with time.

Finally, on our Quivera adventure, Jon and I began a discussion about “transformational space”. My first reaction to reading this phrase was, “Oh no, another business buzz phrase.” But Stephen Cope , a psychologist writing about stress-reduction, uses it to further challenge my thinking about the need to intentionally create spaces where change can occur more easily. This topic deserves, and will get, its own post. But the question stands, what impact does the way we setup meeting and training rooms or work spaces have on how we engage with each other in the change process?

Here are more questions than answers. But, I find the questions worth pondering.

Oct 18

Presentation fatigue

Over the weekend, Nancy Duarte wrote an article about presentation fatigue. This follows the news that an officer in Afghanistan had been fired from his post after voicing his frustration with military slide presentations. In the article, she follows her own communication rules, beginning with why this matters:

Why does this matter? Because presentations decide elections, military strategies and multibillion-dollar business deals; they educate our children and they spread the ideas that shape society’s most important goals and directives. … For professionals and citizens in every strata of society, true literacy now includes the ability to communicate effectively through presentations. 



I agree with her assessment. The ability to communicate clearly, tell a compelling story, use visuals that maintain audience attention, and ultimately lead people to a new understanding is essential. Don’t miss her great stories and examples. Then check out my review of Resonate.

Stay tuned, Friesen Group is getting ready to announce a presentation workshop that will take you beyond bullet points.

Oct 17

3 Comments

Getting unstuck

In the last week I’ve talked with two organizations that are stuck inside of processes that were designed to be a way to move forward. I’ve met with people who are tired, tired from working too many hours, even though they love their work. And for the most part, my blog has gone silent as I’ve been stuck in the round of daily work and family responsibilities. With technology creating the tyranny of the immediate, I find it easy to work 8 to 10 hours in my home office without noticing much of the world around me.

And so – I’m being intentional about getting my self unstuck first. My rule is that one can’t assist others in getting unstuck if you are already immobilized. Here is where I started:

I got out of my office chair and walked out the front door. I experimented with the macro setting on my camera.

Daylily 10.15.2010

I read articles in magazines and books; yes, the paper kind that you hold in your hands. I not only read through organization development (OD) material, I read material wildly outside of the OD discipline: architecture design, theology, photography, and writing. And I temporarily relocated my office to the back porch.

Back Porch Office

I went on an adventure with my husband to Quivera National Wildlife Refuge.

Quivera NWR Sunset 10.16.2010

I talked with an old friend and made plans for an in-person visit. …I’m moving toward “unstuck”.

In her post titled, A Perfect September Day, Shirley Showalter challenged her readers, “What does your perfect day look like? If you haven’t had one lately, describe it here; then go make it happen.” What do you do to get unstuck, discover life outside the office and away from technology, renew your spirit, and re-discover the quest for possibilities? I’ll repeat Shirley’s admonition, “describe it; then go make it happen.”

Oct 16

Working Together

WORKING TOGETHER

We shape our self
to fit this world

and by the world
are shaped again.

The visible
and the invisible

working together
in common cause,

to produce
the miraculous.

I am thinking of the way
the intangible air

passed at speed
round a shaped wing

easily
holds our weight.

So may we, in this life
trust

to those elements
we have yet to see

or imagine,
and look for the true

shape of our own self
by forming it well

to the great
intangibles about us.

– David Whyte,
from River Flow

(Written for the presentation of The Collier Trophy to The Boeing Company marking the introduction of the new 777 passenger jet.)

Oct 8

Idea for reflection – 22

Skyscape XIII

Do not depend on the hope of results … you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results, but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself … gradually you struggle less and less for an idea and more and more for specific people …. In the end, it is the reality of personal relationships that saves everything.
  – Thomas Merton, from The Letters of Thomas Merton

 Idea for reflection – 21

Oct 7

1 Comment

Resource: Organization Development Processes

I’ve collected more than a few classic Organization Development resource links over the last several years. If you are just getting started in the Organization Development field or are looking for on-line resources to lead your own process, here are resources that I’ve found useful (in alphabetical order):

Appreciative Inquiry Commons 
Balanced Scorecard Institute 
Future Search 
Open Space Technology Links from Peggy Holman 
Society for Organizational Learning 
World Cafe: Juanita Brown and Tom Hurley 

And, links to past posts of resources:

Resource: Harvard Business Review 
Resource: Leader to Leader Institute 
Resource: Organization Development resources on the web 
Resources for Positive Organization Development 

Oct 5

2 Comments

Visual meetings

Tom Wujec gave a short  TED talk: 3 Ways the Brain Creates Meaning. His point is, “We make meaning by seeing.” Here is a summary of how the brain makes meaning with the brain subsystem activated in parentheses:

  1. Use images to clarify ideas. (ventral)
  2. Interact with images to create engagement. (dorsal)
  3. Augment memory with persistent and evolving views. (limbic) 

Using images to create shared mental models leads to better communication, learning, thinking, problem solving, and collaboration. He uses Visual Strategic Planning as an organizational example of the idea that we are all visual developers and learners.

As I consider what this information means for organization development, I go beyond his example to considering how we run meetings, communicate information, and deliver training. How can we increase the visual component of what we do in order to increase the building of shared mental models and shared meaning?

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