Richard Charles wrote (in part):
>I attempt to exercise the "moment of awareness" practice identified in the
>Fieldbook...and think about what outcome I desire from posting a response.
>That exercise helps me delete more than half of the e-mails I might
>otherwise have sent. I also consider the "ladder of inference" and
>question what the sources for my inferences may be. That helps me delete
>or edit a number of potential e-mails.
In class last week (the last of this group's two year MBA program) we
played the "Acquired Company" game. The Acquiring Company watches the
Acquired Company for a period of time and then decides, in any manner it
wishes, to improve their performance (in this case making space shuttles
by folding sheets of paper).
In short, the improvement the Acquiring Company achieved was marginal (a
loss of $5 million versus a loss of $9 million). However, the behavior of
students on the Acquiring Company toward those on the Acquired Company was
atrocious.This on the heels of two years of working Senge and LO into the
curriculum.
We debriefed after the game, then decided (Susan and I, the instructors)
to revisit the debrief a week later in the next class. There were quite a
few very contrite people (the good news), some public apologies (more good
news) and (real good news) the emergence of awareness of the importance of
reflection.
To bring a very long conversation in class to a quick conclusion here, two
aspects of reflection were drawn out. To some degree or another, every one
in class indicated that they spend some time (many said they would
increase the time) reflecting AFTER the fact, looking back on what
transpired, making personal commitments on what to do differently next
time.
However, we discovered that it appears to be very difficult to engage in
reflection BEFORE one acts, taking the time to remember some core values
of behavior and action. Or, linking back to Richard's point, looking down
to consciously note which rung of the ladder of inference one is standing
on.
It was a telling moment for me. I've always taken a certain amount of
pride in being good at reflecting after the fact. I realized that 1) I
need to do a better job of retaining my "reflection learning" and applying
it the next time and 2) doing a significantly better job of reflection
before I act or speak.
Since that class I've endeavored to remember to reflect before hand. It's
difficult. I became aware that there were awkward gaps in the flow of
conversation while I reflected beforehand.
I think the reflection before hand will end up being an effective tool for
shifting my own mental models, predisposing me to practice (much) better
appreciative inquiry and making advocacy more of a habit.
Thanks to Richard for the contribution that triggered this reflection.
Bill Braun
The Health Systems Group
- Physician Leadership Training
- Simulation Modeling for Healthcare
http://www.hlthsys.com
--Bill Braun <medprac@hlthsys.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>