It is difficult and very rewarding work, and we are passionate about doing the best work with our clients. Part of the challenge is that the process is similar to visits to a doctor. We go to see a doctor because we are experiencing symptoms that are causing us discomfort and dis‑ease.
We might have some educated guesses about what is causing the problem; we may even have engaged in self-diagnosis and attempted several remedies, but with little or no relief. We expect the doctor to figure out what the problem is and to provide a diagnosis and treatment. The diagnosis results from the doctor and healthcare staff asking a number of questions that give them a comprehensive health history and a narrative of the onset of the current problem.
The competent professional listens intently to the description of the presenting problem because in the narrative is information that will enable a solution. Sometimes the remedy prescribed can cause discomfort, but if the problem is clearly defined and the prescribed treatment diligently followed the symptoms usually subside and ailment cured. When the problem is simple the diagnosis and the result are easier to obtain. It is when we present more complicated and complex symptoms that the process changes.
Symptoms cannot automatically be seen as a clear map to the source of the problem. There are multiple possible diagnoses, which in probing more deeply and ordering more tests the doctor can begin to eliminate. Physicians rely upon their professional knowledge, expertise, training, and experience to reach a successful outcome. This takes a higher level of skill and requires considerably more time. They must work with the patient and a cadre of family members and other healthcare professionals in order to accomplish this.
This process is analogous to the adaptive work of KiThoughtBridge.
Most of the problems we hear are not simple or easy. Our clients present symptoms that demand thorough data gathering, analysis and diagnosis. They have already used their ample capabilities in the pursuit of a solution. They recognize the need for additional expertise in examining the problem and understanding it in a larger systemic context.
The request for help must be viewed as more than a message “to fix the problem;” it is a request to change. We know that if we can get our clients through the very change phases about which we teach, their capacity to handle adaptive challenges now and in the future will be immeasurably improved. Diagnosis is the beginning of adaptive work. In doing it we are confronted with profound and conflicting truths. As we move from presenting symptoms to a clear and definitive diagnosis of the problem the leaders role in enabling the best results is that of facilitator.
There are twelve ways leaders can assume this role in the change process:
1. Leaders must have a construct of what organizational health looks like. They must identify and teach the habits and practices that not only are likely to achieve the vision but will enable it to maintain health throughout its existence.
2. The leader as facilitator must ensure that the internal structural and operational systems are aligned with the core values of the organization. It is such alignment that builds trust in the integrity of the leader and the organization.
3. The leader understands the organization as a living, breathing organism with the capacity for both health and illness, and is able to identify and articulate the warning signs – “symptoms” – as threats to the health and well being of the system.
4. This type of leader, no matter how smart and sophisticated or how capable they are at forming a quick assessment of what underlies troubling symptoms, will always allow for other possible explanations beyond, and sometimes even in conflict with, their conclusion. What we have learned from our change work is that there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of places in a culture where anxiety and fear continually lurk.
What keeps these potentially corrosive emotions at a manageable level is a leader with a clear vision, an understanding of the overarching purpose, and the capacity to convey focused direction. These capacities provide a strong sense of security and meaning to followers, which transcend the tendency towards compartmentalization and fragmentation.
5. In healthy organizations where the leader is also a facilitator of change, problems precipitated in the process of change are perceived as ultimately solvable. In those where the leader is reacting to change there is less confidence in the organization's internal capacity to deal with troublesome issues. The presenting symptoms seem to take on a life of their own, fueling the anxiety and enticing the leader in a cycle of reactivity that prevents wiser judgment and response.
6. The leader as facilitator is a primary instrument through which an organization can be freed to use its ability to change. Their expertise and experience engenders trust and confidence that inspires responsibility and prudent action. They are authentic, real human beings. The leader models the risk taking behavior that will be needed and knows that failure has lessons
7. The leader as facilitator seeks outside consultation and assistance in reading reality in times of stability as well as in times of crisis. The paradox here is that the capacity to check your own perceptions periodically minimizes the opportunity for crisis. But if and when crisis does occur you have the presence and patience to withstand the pressure to fix something before being sure what the something is.
8. The leader as facilitator selects and equips the internal change team to develop into a cohesive group with a shared vision and a plan for strategic implementation of this vision. The change team must be united in the baseline knowledge, history, character, and culture of the organization. The Ki ThoughtBridge process, “TimeScape”®, is used to facilitate a level of conversation and insight that needs to be duplicated in ever widening circles throughout an organization.
The lesson to be learned is that every organization has a history of responding to change and knowing this history can assist the change team to intervene in ways that diminish anxiety and increase trust. It also is a reminder that change is not the enemy; denial that it exists or quick fix responses are.
9. We continue to tell leaders that no matter how skilled they are as communicators whatever they normally do will be insufficient during the process of change. They must find many and varied ways to send the message they want employees to internalize and integrate.
The leader facilitates the clarity, and ensures that what is being said is aligned with what is being done. If the leader says the organization values open, honest opinions, then those who express themselves openly and honestly cannot be penalized and should be rewarded for this behavior. When desired behavior happens, it should be immediately recognized and rewarded.
10. The leader as facilitator sets the example of recognizing and rewarding the “new way” of doing things. Specific benchmarks of progress are noted and celebrated. There is outward and visible expression of affirmation, and a celebration of progress toward the desired goal. Change of the magnitude most organizations initiate will take time and the reality is that there are several change initiatives occurring simultaneously and the phases of change we teach do not occur in the orderly fashion we explain them.
11. The leader as facilitator must step back to gain a view of whole system and to anticipate the impact of the change initiative on a macro level, the leaders cannot see the whole when they are immersed in the day-to-day activities. They must relinquish the managerial tendency to see only the parts and see the whole and the relationship between the parts. The geometric axiom that the “whole is greater than the sum of its parts” is definitely an organizational truth.
12. When nearly everyone has embraced the vision, implementation becomes a chief task. A different level of leadership is needed. Understandably there is a need to pause, celebrate, and embrace success. But just as there is a danger of pushing people so fast toward the goal that they have little time to acknowledge the accomplishment, it is equally risky to think everyone can coast.
In fact, the adaptive work of ensuring alignment and integration at every level begins in intensity. Keeping the energy and commitment of followers high at this point is paramount; and helping those involved to understand what and how they learned in the process will serve the organization well in managing future change. As Peter Senge reminds us, “Most advocates of change initiatives focus on the changes they are trying to produce and fail to recognize the importance of learning capabilities.”
Summary
Leading change is no easy matter. It requires a high level of training, skill, patience, and perseverance to see the process through to completion. It is an especially important role. In assuming it the leader is reminded that leadership is not a solo act. It involves the capacity to work with others. When the leaders role includes that of facilitator it builds the capacity of others and increases the chance for success.
The skill of facilitation is one we pay attention to when equipping leaders to lead change. This ability is an important adaptive capacity that recognizes the change process as an integrative process relying on art and skill. It allows predictability and spontaneity to co-exist in the process of reaching a goal. Because it has not received much attention, leaders are not as conscious of or as comfortable with its value, but we have learned that investing in developing increases the success in any change effort.