Data Gathering
We’ve discussed “sound and current data.” Now we need to get a handle on gathering that sound and current data.
The “first and always intervention” is closely related to the discipline of sound and current data. Our assumptions and interpretations about what’s going on and what’s needed are generally sufficient when things are normal and we wish them to continue that way. However, when planning and implementing a change process, sound and current data are needed to make decisions about change strategies and tactics that will lead to desired results.
Gathering sound and current data starts with the initial client meeting. Clients are usually forthcoming about their view of the problem and the solution they wish us to carry out. This initial data-gathering process gives us crucial sound and current data about the client who must lead the project and, accordingly, is a significant intervention. The data gathered during this interview can significantly shift the client’s perspective and provide the added value needed to positively influence the client toward a more systemic perspective. I find myself frequently asking the client questions like, “How do you know that?” and “How might you find out?” The client and I both learn through effective data gathering!
Data gathering during the initial interview is an important intervention for both the client and the practitioner. However, it is only focused on the client’s point of view, which is more likely than not to be the result of assumptions and interpretations of his or her system. Accordingly, the prudent change agent insists on a more systemic data-gathering process during which the practitioner interviews the key stakeholders who need to be involved in the proposed project. These interviews serve several purposes:
a. to develop a more systemic set of sound and current data that often may be quite different than that of the client’s.
b. to galvanize organizational energy in preparation for “something happening.”
c. to provide some initial empowerment coaching for those from whom data is gathered.
d. to strengthen the quality of the relationship between the practitioners and the stakeholders who were interviewed.
To begin these interviews, ask the following core questions
a. What’s working in the targeted system?
b. What needs improvement within the system?
c. What has been done to attempt improvement?
d. What barriers occurred during such attempts?
e. What were the reactions to the change goals and reason for it?
The information being sought by asking these particular questions is to identify the general themes and patterns extant about the state of the system and its readiness for a particular change goal. This data will help the practitioner develop the strategic and tactical plan for the change project and identify needs of the system, which could act as resistance to the change, so they can be considered, planned for and engaged.
Data gathering is not something that should be done only one or two times during a planned change process. It is continual as sound and current data is needed to ascertain the impact of other interventions and to know what’s changed since data was last collected and reviewed. Sound and current data is very fluid as systems are in constant flux, not just from our intended changes but also changes that are simply a part of human life. Thinking that things are now the way you left them is to fall prey to the inaccuracy that too often comes with such assumptions. Keep in mind, as well, that data gathering itself has an impact—raising expectations and/or triggering thought that might not have occurred otherwise—and thus, it is one of our critical interventions.
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Sound and Current Data: #3 of Eight Disciplines for Planned Change
An efficient and successful change process needs good information for effective planning and decision-making. Such a principle, though obvious, is sorely needed as a reminder against mistaking our assumptions for accurate information. Our needs for being “right,” being seen as “smart,“ for not wanting to rock the boat or upset the boss often overwhelm our need for sound and current data. Accordingly, many change efforts suffer from insufficient and inaccurate information while others fall prey to power struggles having to do with whose information is right and whose is wrong. A related pitfall occurs when the need for conformity inhibits needed information from coming to the surface.
An environment of openness, straight-talk, truth, and honesty can be built from effective conflict management and team-building processes. In these ways a safe environment can be created which is the only environment in which sound and current data can openly exist.
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Systems Orientation: #2 of Eight Disciplines for Planned Change
A fairly pervasive approach to change and problem-solving in human systems defines a goal, then sets out in as straight a tactical line as possible to get there. Such an approach tries to ignore or run-over any intervening or obstructing variables like the fact that achievement of the goal will cause problems in other parts of the system. And/or, that such an approach often provides an expedient solution that does not get at the root cause of the problem which will accordingly return sooner or later. A systems orientation to change management looks at human systems holistically. It understands that any change within a system will reverberate throughout the entire system and impact even seemingly unrelated parts of the system.
Using a systems orientation we…
a. Understand that systems are comprised of constellations of forces that must be aligned for efficient and successful change projects.
b. Widen our perspective from our immediate goal to one that considers the entire system.
c. Orchestrate several coordinated change actions simultaneously.
d. Develop feedback loops sufficient to staying in touch with the impacts of our change strategies and their specific actions.
Here are some other thoughts to help you think systemically:
The Nature of Human Systems
1. Everything is connected to everything else—beliefs, processes, thoughts, feelings, and actions.
2. For a system to be doing what it is doing everything in that system must be doing what they are doing; therefore, responsibility is always mutual.
3. The members of systems are diverse. Innovation is dependent on the effective use of diversity.
4. Change in human systems is constant regardless of our desire for stability.
5. The behavior of a system is driven by the collective behavior of its members. The behavior of the members of a system is driven by their individual belief systems that were created from their experiences in previous systems.
Some Characteristics of Human Systems
1. Goal achievement is the primary purpose of any system. Clarity is paramount for effectiveness.
2. Feedback loops (such as metrics) regulate the behavior of systems and keep the system on target toward its goals. Performance data, rewards, penalties, and permissions are examples of feedback.
3. The effectiveness of human systems over time is proportional to the quality of the relationships within those systems. Trust is a primary indicator of high quality relationships.
4. Any member of a system will consistently succeed (or fail) only with the support of the system.
5. The behavior of leaders (as collectively interpreted by followers) has a significant impact on the behavior (collaboration, competition, conformity, anarchy) that occurs within human systems
The Quality and Productivity of Human Systems
1. The quality and productivity of human systems are directly proportional to the quality of the alignment, engagement, and connectedness among the members of the system.
2. Systems that attempt to create alignment through (1) win/win collaborative, synergetic strategies perform better than those that attempt to create alignment via win/lose strategies such as suppression of differences (conformity) or (2) contention (power struggles, turf battles).
3. Patterns of preferential treatment can mitigate engagement of members and groups of members and, consequently, mitigate system quality and productivity.
4. For systemic problem solving determine the subsystem that contains both the problem and the solution. Look to a larger system definition when problems seem intractable.
5. A problematic human system will mitigate the effectiveness of related human, mechanical, or electronic systems. Failure to frequently attend to the quality of a human system is costly in terms of effectiveness and efficiency.
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