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By Phil Eastman
Margaret Wheatley is making my life miserable and joyous all at the same time! Over the past few months, I have read two of her books. Both have disturbed, convicted, and liberated me. They are disturbing because they challenged the way I have viewed organizations and leadership for the past twenty years; convicting because I wonder about some of the advice I have given my clients; and liberating in the fact that I now have some level of confirmation that my natural inclinations about leadership and organizational dynamics were on track. (I now have a "words around" what to call my inclinations) In her book, Leadership and the New Science,
Wheatley makes a connection between the disparate
world of quantum mechanics and the scientific process
and how this connection has turned the scientific
community on its ear. She explores how the relational
aspects of atoms and particles interact with one another
then compares the stunning similarity to how humans
interact with one another. Just like quantum theories have
upset the scientific "proverbial" apple cart, so too,
Wheatley is upsetting the organizational "apple cart".
There are two big ideas I want to share with you. The first
relates to change management. One of the core
capabilities at Leadership Advisors Group is to help our
clients effectively lead and manage change. We have a
myriad of programs, tools, and methodologies at our
disposal to effectively move people from one paradigm to
another. We have the ability to conduct assessments,
create plans, and implement change in a structured way.
Margaret's view is that from "chaos emerges order if we
stay out of people's way." Over systematizing change for
people has a way of stunting their natural ability to
structure themselves. Her view is both challenging and
right.
What then do we do to effectively manage change?
In my opinion, we should tap into the natural
resilience that human beings have to overcome adversity
or change. People are not machines that must wait for
new programming before they can take steps in a new
and positive direction. As change mangers, we must
keep this resilience firmly in sight and call upon it when
change is either chosen or thrust upon us.
Does it mean we abandon our tools, templates,
methods, and assessments? No! There is nothing
inherently wrong with these things unless they serve to
control people's reactions to change and the choices they
make about change. On the other hand we must resist
the temptation to turn change into a formula that forces us
to insert the right people as variables to gain the right
solution.
The second implication of the Margaret's writing is how
we view people as variables or constants in our formula
for success. This idea should challenge the degree to
which organizational leadership views its most precious
resource, the people.
Wheatley suggests (with much too much accuracy)
that so much of what we try to accomplish is built on
the predictability of Newtonian science. She rightly makes
the point that most of us approach our organizations as
machines with interchangeable human parts, when in fact
organizations are living systems that live breath, grow,
weaken, and recover. Her proposition makes us look at
the human factors of our organizations for what they are;
human.
Human systems have rules we call culture and when
violated engender a harsh response from the people. The
components of a living system are confounding to the
Newtonian (formulaic) mind and thus are often ignored to
the regret of many leaders and shareholders when their
great ideas have not delivered predicted results.
How does the rejection of formulation inform our
work? Just this week, I was asked to help a client
create a project management tool to help the organization
deliver its initiatives on time, on budget and within scope.
As I was preparing my response to that request, my effort
began to look very much like a four step process that if
used correctly would imply some sort of guaranteed
result. I stopped, asked myself whether another formula
or process would ultimately deliver the results the client
wanted. I decided instead to create a mind map (a series
of subjects which may or may not have a relationship to
one another) and then see after creating that map if the
subjects bore some relationship to one another. The
result is a flowing document which still contains four
major components but it is intended to be a roadmap with
options instead of a formula for success.
Margaret Wheatley's work liberates us to seek out the full
capabilities of human beings and to challenge leaders not
to put artificial constraints on people when change is
required. Her work challenges serious practitioners to
pose some important questions. Will we choose the
comparably simple path of complex mechanistic
methodologies, or will we treat our organizations as living
organisms? Will we fall into the trap of formulae and over
engineering or will we choose to allow the natural forces
of growth, healing, and creativity to meet our most
challenging organizational opportunities?
Phil Eastman is the founder and
president of
Leadership Advisors Group, a Boise-based
consulting firm. Phil combines more than 25
years of leadership experience with his passion
for consulting, coaching, and teaching to develop
leaders, build teams, and improve performance.
It is his desire to enhance leadership
effectiveness for all of his clientele.
Phil earned a Bachelors of Business Administration
degree in Management and Organization from Idaho State
University. He is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking
School at the University of Washington where he is also
an instructor. Phil also holds a Master of Arts degree in
Theological Studies from Bethel Seminary.
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"Storytelling is a powerful way to put ideas into the
world."
We are gathering stories that people can relate to within
business, community, government, & families. We want
to hear your experiences as an individual or
from within your organization that demonatrates the
lessons learned positively or negatively:
Please submit your stories to Lorene Rasmussen,
lorene@leadershipadvisors.com or Phil
Eastman, phil@leadershipadvisors.com.
With your permission, we want to use this collection within our writings, workshops, and speeches, to help illustrate the principles we teach. Everyone likes a good story! We are drawn to the
characters, the conflicts, and catalytic changes that life
brings to us. We look forward to hearing from
you!
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Leadership Advisors Group will help you
and your organization succeed by:
You are receiving this email from Leadership
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"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." ~ J. K. Rowling
 Phil Eastman & Lorene Rasmussen
Leadership Advisors Group
email:
phil@leadershipadvisors.com
phone:
(208) 344-0471
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