The Answer to every problem is community

The quote that is the title of this post is from Meg Wheatley. I heard it today as I listened to a recorded call from the Global Sufficiency Network called "Sufficiency: the Power of Enough".  As I listened to the various presenters I could not help but think how our work, the transfer of knowledge, is impacted by and impacts both the concepts of community and sufficiency or abundance in the organizations in which we serve.
 http://globalsufficiency.org/

Much of the work that our firm is doing now is around helping companies transfer deeply held knowledge from their long tenured experts or leaders back to the organization. The knowledge they hold is critical and yet so often we hear: who is the next expert to take this person's place. The next expert? I think the radical but honestly much more powerful question should be: who is the community that will take this person's place.

It takes a community mindset to run a business-- it takes partnering, sharing, vulnerability, giving, receiving, assisting, being of service, mindful leadership.--- all pieces of a community mindset. Command and control has not gotten us far enough, or maybe has put us into some dangerous and unsustainable territory. Asking the question 'Who is the community' would require thinking that we have enough time to learn, to teach, to help, to change as well as to produce. How radical is that? Does having time in the organization to teach each other, learn from each other, communicate and collaborate like a community sound like a warm, fuzzy, non-achievable, unpractical or unrealistic goal?

So what will happen if we do not act as a community in business? What will be the impact if we simply continue to work as we are and expect somehow, by some miracle, things will get better on their own?

What is the consequence if organizations continue to ask more from people and provide less resources to accomplish it, and people continue to work harder, to burn out, to not feel they have time to learn much less time or freedom to make a mistake? What will be the impact if people continue to feel the burden of work like a load of stones to carry rather than the excitement of knowing you have the time and resources to do an excellent job, to go above and beyond and to truly contribute to the success and the ability of the organization to thrive, not just for a short term survive?

I do not see clients thriving at the moment. Perhaps, in pockets there may be a sense of real contribution and collaboration but for the most part, I see clients feeling they can not take time to learn. They want a silver bullet -- they literally want a tool for people to share knowledge and never have to be trained on them. They are not asking about how to shift the mindset and change the culture as the necessary backdrop to increase the competencies around collaboration or communication....or learning. Instead they want a stand alone, drop this in type of tool and do not want to talk to the organization, do not want to take the time or see the need to reach out and provide the leadership to say-- we expect you to communicate with each other and share your learning, share your knowledge and here is what that looks like, here is what that means and how it will support our organization's future. They are not building community. Nor are they setting expectations for what they want to achieve by sharing knowledge. They want an instant fix to a much bigger problem.

I believe this is not ill intended but it is the result of the hamster wheel of having to continually do more with less, and the result of an  increase in workload without an increase in competencies. They are worried, frustrated, and feel that they have to run fast, not stop, just get it done. Community looks like a time waster. If they only knew that anything less does not support a sustained organization. Anything less is a short term road to long term failure.

Take time to look at the Global Sufficiency Network. Choose the nuggets that work for you. They offer many ideas about what community looks like, and the actions involved. We need to have the courage to make the changes that will keep us all thriving.

If you'd like more from Meg, you'll find her work here: www.margaretwheatley.com/

Trust and Impact are Critical to Sustained Success

I had the opportunity this week to work with an amazing client group. This is a group of dedicated folks who take tremendous pride in the work they do, and want to make continual improvements to the products they make. They work hard and they pull together.

There is a deep level of expertise in the group, which each individual calls upon. For the most part, they trust the expertise that lives with key individuals. Leadership also trusts that expertise.

The question being answered was quite simple: Is this the right model to make this organization as efficient and effective as possible? Is there a better way and how do we make that happen? The question should be asked by every organization with long tenured employees.

What might change if the expertise is more broadly shared and all of the individuals knew how they impacted the entire system? What shift would occur if they knew their value to the broader process-- if they understood how what they did would impact the down stream process. How might shared knowledge about their own areas and those around them help them to more quickly recognize and solve problems, knowing that they would be helping those in the downstream processes by addressing issues now? In my opinion, people with great pride in their work and teams would embrace such ability to better understand how they work together. They were ready and we made great strides.

Often, when I approach clients with the idea of sharing the evolution of how their processes or systems came to be and the broader view of the process or system, Leadership believes there is not time to 'dwell' on the past or share stories that are not relevant. I take that as a sign that I have not yet explained the value of knowing why things are as they are, so changes made can be both powerful and mindful. We must be mindful of what went before so we do not simply make a matter worse, or remake a mistake of the past. That mindfulness provides the powerful ability to make very good decisions when systems or process changes are made, when issues are addressed, when innovative ideas are called for.

Having a shared understanding of how things evolved and where you fit in the large scheme of the process or system allows you to be more innovative in problem solving, more engaged in outcomes and have a well placed and increased sense of pride in what you do-- because you understand that you play a critical role in creating the end product and you understand how your decisions will or will not impact the entire system. You can make better, more well informed choices.

We should trust our experts when that trust is well founded. In this organization, the trust is very well founded. And, we should also share that expertise to help others increase their capabilities and competencies, their sense of value and their ability to make a positive impact in continual improvement and problem solving. We need to trust that spending time making people competent, building capabilities, pays off in the end big time. We may great strides to share knowledge in this amazing organization next week. I felt proud working with such a group of people and believe their pride will only increase as they see how they impact their processes and product.

Does Knowledge Transfer Enhance Process?

Many of the clients I work with think of themselves as 'process driven'. Of course that term has as many definitions as there are organizations. The concept of 'having a process' can go from thinking that maybe there is an ordered, step wise approach to doing something and perhaps we should think about that to having processes so rigid that improvement and innovation are squeezed out of it like juice from an orange.

Most companies live somewhere in between.

Processes are derived for a purpose, they are created to answer a need. Whether they answer that need well is another story. My questions come from asking: "for the sake of what?" What is the need the processes seek to address? I want to know that before I want to know the process, and that is the knowledge I want to discover, explore and transfer.

It is when we are at the core of the issue that we make the difference. And, it is when people understand why they are doing what they do, what the impact of their actions are, that they feel both bought in and informed enough to do true process improvement. Humans are not meant to do tasks just because they are written down and signed off by the management. They are meant to be 'sensemaking' creatures who use their experience, their understanding, their intellect to make sense of the world. If you want the best from them, show them how they can contribute, help them understand where they fit in the big scheme of the system they are working on, give them context and a sense of impact and the permission to think. Not to change the system randomly, but to make good suggestions based on full knowledge.

All of those things are knowledge transfer opportunities which enhance the process, the people, the technology and the culture. Continuous improvement lies in that fertile ground.

Yes but can you make it real

I am both enamored and impressed by the number of people interested in Systems Thinking. Using LinkedIn, you can join the various Systems Thinking groups that have become popular lately. Systems Thinking World, a LinkedIn group started by Gene Bellinger of Norfolk, Virginia, USA is one such interesting group. The introductions as people join are in themselves fascinating and the discussions can be engaging. However, I agree with those who post about the need to make it real, to make the work applicable for our clients. Theory is critically important and we must continue to push the envelope, to research, to develop new thought. However my client groups need to learn quickly, to increase both competencies and capabilities and to move forward now. Like it or not, that is the reality they face.

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=2639211

It is true, I believe, for all business disciplines-- we must help our clients grow, help them both survive and thrive in this uncertain time, help them understand how to be agile, to attract and retain the best talent, to work across boundaries in ways they have not had to before. They must bridge generations, genders, cultures, geographic barriers, various ways of doing business and they must do it fast and effectively.

My team has been working hard to create tools and processes that can be taught to the organizations with whom we work, tools and processes they can apply tomorrow-- or today. Yes, I introduce new components like Organizational Trust, Learning Organization ideas and Systems Thinking. The difference with the theoretical folks is that I do that real time so the tools can become usable immediately and adults can learn in the way they do best-- by applying them when needed. I do not say this from ego, I say this from a practical position. We need to pull together to help our clients and ourselves be the best we can be. Let's do it by applying what we know strategically and creating the practical tools, processes and change vehicles to help them step into what they need to do to create a brighter future.

What it takes to do the right thing

There are moments I understand why organizations do not always work to build trust, to develop effective communications, to create transparency, honesty, and ethics as cultural standards. Doing business right is not for the faint of heart.
It takes time to talk about values and ethics and tell the stories necessary to translate those belief systems to others. There is nothing quick about building a culture of trust and of holding each other accountable. Some of the conversations you need to have to clarify expectations, set appropriate boundaries and ensure all parties are heard are frankly not a lot of fun.

It is a lot of work, mindful, hard work, to do business right.

But along the way the richness of the learning and the dialogues, the depth of understanding and the quality of work produced are nothing short of amazing. The outcome of putting your heart, your intelligence, your experience, your values and beliefs into the work is that you can trust that what you do for your clients and customers is solid, your decisions are based on the right influences and that at the end of the day you can review all that has happened with pride and satisfaction. 

If you want a quick fix, a fast solution, a band aid approach to business, doing the right thing is not for you. If you are willing to consider the alternatives, think through the motivations, have the conversations, keep open communication flowing-- not only will profit follow but you will have earned every penny of it in all of the right ways. Your employees will be proud to work with you. Your customers will want to keep you coming back. And you will enjoy the time spent with a spirit of fulfillment and pride. It's hard work and worth every bit of effort spent.