Richard C. Holloway wrote:
> T.J.--I'm a little naive, sometimes, at these things. However, in your
> experience, has it helped to use inquiry and advocacy in these cases--for
> example, to inquire of the person directing the ranking process, "what is
> your desired outcome?"
Very much so. And there are times when that conversation allows for a more
appreciative inquiry with greater participation. There are also times when
the client cannot let go of some very hard product they desire. That
product might be a forced distribution curve or something of that sort.
Then the choice is whether something good can still come of it or it makes
no sense. I should say that the choosing is often done by the customer
when I point out the way that we work. They either can accept inquiry and
participation or they cannot. Yes, sometimes our proposal has a passive
aggresive tone to it because we know they aren't going to go for it. We
just can't resist continuing our argument in subtler fashion but we don't
come out and say we're walking away. That has happened but less
frequently.
> I guess I'm asking this question, because as a
> technical specialist I remember people telling me what they wanted me
> to
> do--and it often resulted in consequences which were unexpected to them
> (though not to me). When I began asking them, "what do you want to end
> up
> with?" then I was able to help create the desired outcome by designing
> the
> process.
>
> Has your experience found this to be true? Or, has too often happened
> with me, people who move into generalist positions assume that they can
> see the entire system and that their actions will create desired
> outcomes?
Both. I have had the experience you cite that in designing the processes
for the outcomes you can give the company a broader method that allows for
'more' task and gives them the experience of putting more people in the
loop. I find that to be the crucial variable: participation.
I do not mean that just in some narow methodological sense. I mean that if
you have participation you have an acknowledgemnt of the importance of
relationship. (You may have to strugle with the complexities of
relationship to get there!) It reminds me of a recent piece I came across
in an article on hope that cited Buber.
"Hope, on the other hand, is the product of what Buber (1970) has termed
the I-You relationship, in which what is created cannot be claimed by the
individual I or You, but rather exists between I and You and transcends I
and You. The merging of self-interest with the interests of others that
occurs when people hope allows them to participate more fully in
relationships. Persons who hope "remain part of the scheme of things and
do not aggressively place themselves above others" (Pruyser, 1986, p.
122). By fostering heightened awareness about common values,
interdependencies, and a shared destiny, the act of hoping instills
confidence that one's own agency is not compromised by the agency of
others (Dauenhauer, 1986)"
Ludema, James D Wilmot, Timothy B Srivastva, Suresh (1997)
Organizational hope: Reaffirming the constructive task of
social and organizational inquiry
Human Relations. v50n8. August
When the client agrees to a broader method that will get them their
outcome and more; they get those "interdependencies", they get that
"their own agency is not compromised by the agency of others." It allows a
reconsideration of such matters as ranking, ties to compensation, forced
distribution. And to return to my original point, if you adopt a strident
approach to these devices you don't get a chance to launch the broader
process.
> I ask because I too would like to divert well-intentioned actions from the
> paths of destruction (oops! sounds too much like a religious program--one
> that hasn't been too successful in its' efforts through the centuries).
We just can't get away from it, can we?? ;-)
-- T.J. Elliott Cavanaugh Leahy http://idt.net/~tjell 914 366-7499Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>