Empowerment: #7 of Eight Disciplines for Planned Change
Empowerment 
We all have the power needed to create and manage change within the systems (personal and organizational) of which we are members. However, many of us constrain our energy and power through antithetical belief systems. Often, we simply don’t believe that we have choices available to achieve the changes we desire. At times, our concept of what we want to change is too vague to be useful. Or, our energies are too dispersed to be effective. Regardless of the reason why not, what is needed is to empower ourselves. Unfortunately, others cannot do it for us–though they can support us in our self-empowerment.
Here is the definition we use for empowerment: Supporting self and others toward self-discovering their inherent ability to choose their behavior, emotions, thoughts, and beliefs on behalf of fully engaging themselves toward accomplishing their personal goals and those of their systems.
General Thoughts about Making Empowerment Work
1. Believe in your/their inherent excellence, our/their intrinsic worthiness.
2. Find a wider range of choices beyond “damned if I do and damned if I don’t.”
3. Focus on the present rather than the past or the future.
4. Beware problem-solving. Empowerment “teaches someone to fish;” problem-solving “gives a fish.”
5. Offer suggestions only to ensure that all options are being explored.
6. Ask, “How would you find out?” when “I don’t know” statements occur.
7. Support the other person, not our own ideas, experiences, or egos.
Specific Steps to Support the Empowerment of Others
1. Clarify goals.
2. Identify what is in the way of accomplishing the goal.
3. Check that one is operating from sound and current data.
4. Identify beliefs and conflicting thoughts that may be preventing goal attainment.
5. Keep the focus on empowerment rather than the obstacles and other players.
6. Offer suggestions to choose from.
7. Identify the decisions that need to be made among the available choices.
8. Identify the support system needed.
9. Identify a path forward of concrete next steps of time and place.
10. Check to see if the person has confidence in the path forward.
11. Offer encouragement. You’re done!
Marianne Williamson’s poem speaks to the essence of empowerment.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Learn to Make a Difference in the World of People, Teams, and Organizations http://bit.ly/zFCNfv
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
Human Systems
We live in a society that believes in individualism to the point where we seem blind to the fact that we exist and operate only within systems. No one “pulls themselves up by their own bootstraps.” The phrase itself—when you attempt to image it—makes that point very well. John Donne makes the same point with his, “No man is an island entire of itself.” We exist and operate only within systems. With that blindness comes the meagerness of our Western ability to manage systemic change. We want to end poverty and racism and war. We want to change the culture of our organizations. We want our kids to be safe from drug abuse and what we pay for health care to be lower. All of these things are systemic issues that can only be resolved systemically. What does that mean? How can we understand systems?
For a one page primary on human systems go to http://www.chumans.com/human-systems-resources/understanding-human-systems.html.
Let me know what you think! For real detail you’ll have to wait for the book I’m working on!
Michael