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.

 Learn to Make a Difference in the World of People, Teams, and Organizations http://bit.ly/zFCNfv

The Disciplines of Managing Change in Human Systems

In recent blog posts we have looked at the stages of planned change, which can also be thought of in terms of critical interventions, and at the levels of organizations in which the skilled practitioner works. We also offered a general process of Organization Development that takes into account these stages and organizational levels. Now we will consider eight crucial disciplines, the mastery of which binds it all together.

Effectiveness with each of the prescribed stages of change across the levels of organization systems requires a degree of critical thinking that is generally beyond that found in the target organization and the general social milieu in which the organization exists.

Each of the eight disciplines directly supports the empowerability of human systems and the people that live and work within them. They also support the use of collaborative strategies and tactics aimed at open communication, consensual decision-making, cooperation, learning, and relationship building which together can make for powerful and productive human systems anywhere. Each is related to and supports the others toward a systemic understanding of critical thinking as applied to making humans systems both productive and satisfying.

These disciplines focus upon:

• Conscious Use of Self
• Systems Orientation
• Sound and Current Data
• Feedback
• Infinite Power
• Learning from Differences
• Empowerment
• Support Systems

We will look at each of them in greater detail in the coming weeks.

The Process of Organization Development

Hey All,

I’ve been thinking about how to formulate with sufficient detail to be useable and in a temporally logical manner, the things that the top OD folks think about as they move from the beginning of an OD project to its end. The problem, of course, is that each step requires the personal judgment needed to move a step from number  3 to 9 or step 12 to 5. Most steps will need to be repeated over and over as the process unfolds anyway.

I’m offering a loose recipe that will always require your own tweaks, modifications, and embellishments. It’s stuff worth thinking about for those who want to increase their ability to manage change in human systems.

Go to http://www.chumans.com/human-systems-resources/process-of-od.html for the document.

Let me know what you would add, change, or subtract from the list that would make it more useful! I’d really like that!

Michael

The Meta-Model of Planned Change

We have defined organization development as “collaborating with organizational leaders and their groups to create systemic change and root-cause problem solving on behalf of improving productivity and employee satisfaction through strengthening the human processes through which they get their work done.” We have looked at what OD practitioners do, the results they are after, and how OD works, and we have looked at some of the ideal characteristics of a successful practitioner. Without a useful framework, however, even the most conscious and skills practitioner will have trouble achieving the triple impact that is ideal.

The Meta-Model of Planned Change

This Meta-Model of Planned Change offers a structure for understanding and practicing organization development. It is based upon the classic perspective of OD described above and as developed in the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science. That perspective holds that the tasks of an organization—from planning to production to delivery—are accomplished with the highest level of productivity through processes that are highlighted by a high quality of relationship among those responsible for those tasks. It is a model that believes in the empowerability of human systems and the people that live and work within them. Accordingly, the Meta-Model calls for collaborative strategies and tactics aimed at open and thorough communication and consensual decision-making.

A model is a descriptive system of information, theories, inferences, and implications used to represent and support understanding of some phenomenon. Meta-, in the sense used here, is a context or framework. A meta-model could, then be understood as a framework or context of a model—albeit, a model of a model. A meta-model of planned change, then, is a framework from which any number of more specific models of how to manage change in human systems can be understood and developed. Organization development is dynamic field able to contain many models, strategies, and tactics malleable to the system and individuals—the leader, her groups, and the practitioner—involved.

Our model (click the picture to enlarge) is a three dimensional matrix. The horizontal and depth axes describe the traditional model of organization development including five iterative stages of the planned change process and the five levels of human systems. The iterative stages are contracting, data-gathering, intervention, evaluation, and disengagement. The five levels of human systems are personal, interpersonal, group, organization, and community—across which the stages must be carried out as necessary.  The vertical axis describes our addition of eight disciplines of critical thinking which, when each is consistently adhered to, enable the stages across the levels to support the success of any particular change management effort.

We will explore the stages, levels and disciplines in our next series of posts. Stay tuned!