Eclectic Change - Latest Comments

Re: Happiness is a by-product, not a goal

Chicago Botox — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 06:36:18 -0000

Can anyone define the
word Happiness? What is Happiness we do not know because every single person
has its own meaning of happiness. Finding the ways to be happy in life is
only a way that can make everyone happy in this world.

Re: Organizational Development Simplified

Roberta Hill — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 07:31:30 -0000

Well I wasn't planning on going into great lengths but here goes. Firs,t I never think of OD as linear - I was saying that Change Management is linear in that there tends to be a step by step approach. This is often seen by others as having a cookie cutter approach.

Over the past 20 years or so, many practitioners felt that Beckhard's definition was not as encompassing as needed in today's fast changing environment. I do not share that view.

I think the misunderstanding comes from the fact that OD demands an ability to manage change. However, that is not the same as "change management".

OD is always a systems view....we focus as much on the processes between the parts of an organization as on the parts themselves. We talk of patterns in organizations rather than events. We acknowledge paradoxes and polarities and do not see a necessity of "repairing". Self-organizing systems and self-managed teams are mainstream in the literature. (taken in part from the work of Carter McNamara)

I hope that answers your question to some extent.

Re: Organizational Development Simplified

Aujorl87_jang — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 23:12:19 -0000

please explain what is meant by linear and holistic OD

Re: Mary Poppins as a medaphor of eclectic change or 5 skills of Change Agents

Roberta Hill — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:14:00 -0000

Once again, I appreciate your comments and love your new post - will add a comment of my own shortly. My style tends to be direct and (refreshingly?) blunt but I live more in the gray areas. I do think that M. Poppins has a leadership style that depending on the situation may very well be appropriate and necessary. As you say, one is not better than another. However, in our changing world, one may be more effective.

Re: Mary Poppins as a medaphor of eclectic change or 5 skills of Change Agents

Pop Chassid — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:12:05 -0000

Huh, good point. I guess I was stuck on the way I was looking at it. Well put. I can definitely see where you're coming from, although I think I would argue that they are both simply different types, without one necessarily being better than the other. Although I'm not sure if that's what you're saying anyway.

And you actually gave me an idea for a new blog (which hopefully should be up tomorrow). For now, feel free to check out the one about Mary Poppins: http://popchassid.com/mary-pop...

Thanks for the response, and have to say I really like your blog :)

Re: Mary Poppins as a medaphor of eclectic change or 5 skills of Change Agents

Roberta Hill — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 06:32:21 -0000

I feel that I have done my "job" when someone both agrees and disagrees with my point of view. To me there aren't many better ways to open up a dialogue. Thank you for your comments and observations.

So we agree about Bert? Please keep in mind that the perspective I am using here is one of leadership. To that end, I think that in a traditional sense, Poppins might be seen as a good example of leadership whereas Bert would be totally dismissed. I attempted to bring to the forefront the idea that it is perhaps Bert who is better suited to the leadership of today and tomorrow more so than Mary Poppins who IMHO typifies the old leadership values.

Enjoyed what you had to say about Bert too (see your above link) and look forward to reading your ideas about Poppins.

Re: Mary Poppins as a medaphor of eclectic change or 5 skills of Change Agents

Pop Chassid — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 22:37:51 -0000

I love and simultaneously disagree with plenty of your blog. First of all, I am just incredibly happy that someone out there is taking Mary Poppins seriously, a movie I recently discovered, to my joy, is an incredibly deep and serious one.
I love that you notice how Bert, who just seems to be a happy-go-lucky dude, actually is a very important character in the movie.
At the same time, I definitely think that Mary Poppins is not "manipulative" and that she is "distant for good reason. She only is trying to show people what they already feel. With Mr. Banks, she knew he wanted to be with his children. Her manipulation simply consisted of showing him what he already wanted.

I actually already have a blog up about Bert (from a Jewish perspective): http://popchassid.com/mary-pop...

And soon I'll have a new blog about Mary Poppins' character, which I would love if you would check out since it will definitely be a different take.

Re: Stay in Touch – Literally – Read the Paper

Paul McConaughy — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:23:24 -0000

Balance is the reason I still read an actual paper. Our local publisher however, in a case of money over good sense, has started wrapping the sections of the paper with 3/4 of a sheet of newsprint with the half page on the front all ads but the back page news. That means you have to try to hold a section of the paper where the outer layer only is half width. All the BALANCE is gone and, for me, all that is left is frustration. I guess it shows what the publisher thinks of his readers.

Re: Fancy Hands or Fancy Pants? Not sure.

Paulmcconaughy — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 10:32:03 -0000

Thanks for being our fancy hands and doing the research on this service. I think they need to keep working on it...because the concept is good. They should actually take Roberta on as a free client for Beta testing. Since she is representative of their potential user she could give them good input.

As far as Fancy Pants...I think I saw some of those once but I got n trouble for looking!

Re: Rethinking Engagement

Roberta Hill — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 07:19:17 -0000

I actually think the education system is a little more on the mark here. They know how to set learning objectives and test for the results. The real challenge is "what you measure is what you get". This was clearly the case for the students in my class. The educational challenge is creating a learning environment that is engaging for all types of learners. The corporate world that does seems to have an "enlightened" values oriented environment may have put the cart before the horse. Engagement is not for the sake of engagement. Engagement makes good business sense. However, like coaching the ROI must be determined. Thanks for your views regarding on-line learning and the link.

Re: Rethinking Engagement

Paul McConaughy (@minutrition) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:00:45 -0000

Thanks Roberta: This is fitting into a number of tracks in my life right now...The program I work in is all about engaging people in learning new skills and behaviors to improve their health; I've been talking to friends about what the value proposition is for traditional universities entering the on-line learning environment; and, I'm just delving into Action Analytics (Action Analytics: Measuring and Improving Performance that Matters in Higher Education..by Norris, Baer, Leonard, Pugliese, and Lefrere (http://net.educause.edu/ir/lib.... You probably didn't realize one two hour - extended to week long teaching experience could travel so far.

Paul

Re: Rethinking The Stories We Tell Ourselves

Roberta Hill — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 10:54:48 -0000

Paul - from the heart as always. When I started the post I thought it was about what was important and it was love that came forth. I like the term work/life integration. I always use work/life congruence instead of balance.

I do have some thoughts on time versus relationships and will ponder it more.

Thank you as always.

Re: Rethinking The Stories We Tell Ourselves

Paul McConaughy (@minutrition) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 10:40:06 -0000

Love comes into our stories at all the right times. For those of us who believe in work/life integration instead of work/life balance love is a part of "doing business". It is reflected in how we start our day and how we end a project. Your story is a great example of this.

I'm so looking forward to more of your reflections. I hope one of them is about the decreasing importance of time (15 hours on the train) and the increasing importance of relationships (home) during a crisis of convenience.

Re: The slippery slope of eccentricity (A personal work in progress)

Roberta Hill — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 07:10:55 -0000

While deciding to post the "Eccentricity Quiz" on my AssessmentsToday blog, I came across Martin Howard's article in the Guardian "Why we need eccentricity" He writes: "It's not just the preserve of Albert Einstein and Prince – eccentric behaviour benefits society and helps us live longer." I do think this is the other side of the case but I still believe eccentricity is a slippery slope. You decide. To read more about this - see my post at: http://www.assessmentstoday.co...
and Howard's at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/comm...

Re: Team Building? You don’t even have a group!

Roberta Hill — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 07:58:08 -0000

Thanks Denise. You are right that often teams can not develop simply because the team leader is not setting the example. I have seen leaders say that they delegate to the team but in fact they are telling what it is that they want done. There is no independent thinking. Naturally when employees do not feel valued for their own skills they bring to the job - why would they be motivated to perform.

There are times when a leader would like to build a stronger team but without some common elements - members will tend to do what they think is best. This may or may not be in the interests of the team as a whole. A good leader can still coach her or his staff to work together.

Re: Team Building? You don’t even have a group!

Denise de Sá — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 07:39:30 -0000

I believe the great responsible for not having a team is depending on the leader does not respect the differences. Most bosses want their job done as he would, therefore, the employees feel demotivated.
See you soon

Re: How toxic before you amputate?

Roberta Hill — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:31:02 -0000

MJ, Thanks for adding this down to earth piece. I was looking at the bigger picture but systemically - we need to take care of each person in the organization. I would add that not only is it the manager's responsibility but his or her peers. And you are right . . . we have to have relationships with each other to know when things are going off track. Policies and programs are one step to establishing a climate of assistance.

Re: How toxic before you amputate?

Mary Jo Asmus — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:21:45 -0000

Re: future prevention of this problem. I would add one more thing. Prevention requires a personal relationship between the employees and their manager; so personal that the manager knows when an employee is starting to go down an unusual path (depression or suicidal ideation) and can recommend/provide resources to prevent disaster.

Re: 5 Eclectic Ideas To Improve Your Networking

Roberta Hill — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:37:22 -0000

I just read the latest blog post from Rosebeth Moss Kanter who I wrote about earlier this year. She has a great post entitled: "Four Ways to Attack the Castle — And Get a Job, Get Ahead, Make Change" You can find it at: http://blogs.hbr.org/kanter/20...

Here is a quick quote of one EXTREMELY important alternate networking strategy:
"Befriend the fringes. Get to the guards and gatekeepers, and you'll find a way into the castle and its towers. Make friends with staff, the CEO's personal assistant, security guards, or the servers who bring lunch to the boardroom."

To see my comparison of Kanter as an Eclectic Thinker go to: http://www.eclecticchange.com/...

Re: When did the words “I” and “Why” become so bad?

Peter de Jager — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:08:07 -0000

An Organization that responds 'well to Change' is an organization that
1) Creates a safe and welcoming environment for all questions.
2) Truly welcomes the dialogue that questions initiate
3) Is savvy enough to KNOW in advance what the key questions are, and is deeply prepared to answer them.

Organizations that are lousy at Change
1) Fear questions - and punish those who have the temerity to ask 'why'...
The employee 'crime' committed in the 'book' 'Who Moved my Cheese' are the 'little' people who have the gall to ask 'Why?'
2) Ignore the important questions... who will speak for HOURS without addressing the important questions. For example... Will I lose my job?
3) Cannot answer the question 'Why is this Change necessary?'

As you can tell? The question 'Why?' is both a Touchstone and a Hot Button for me.

Re: When did the words “I” and “Why” become so bad?

Roberta Hill — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 08:58:17 -0000

Peter, thanks for the excerpt. Appreciate the extra addition - so not only should leaders learn to ask "Why" appropriately but they should be encouraging followers to do the same if sustainable change is to occur.

Just read that Terry Starbucker shares our views: http://www.terrystarbucker.com...

Re: When did the words “I” and “Why” become so bad?

Peter de Jager — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 08:42:45 -0000

Hi Roberta,

Here's a short extract from an article (http://www.technobility.com/do... that I wrote some time ago. Enjoy...

As children, our most commonly asked question, designed to help us understand how the world works, and not just drive our parents crazy (although that was fun), was the loaded question, “Why…?” It was closely followed by the other questions “How?”, “Who?”, “Where?” and “When?” (Reporters expanded this list with “What?” You have to go to journalism school to learn this)

I don’t know if those questions, especially the question “Why” are hard wired into our brains, but it would not surprise me, if some extremely expensive psychological study discovered this to be the case. All children, without exception, ask “Why” and we did so until our teachers and parents lost their patience and stifled our curiosity by responding with “Because I said so!”

“Why?” is the first step to wisdom. It is possible to perform highly complex tasks by rote, with no knowledge of why we’re doing what we’re doing, but the moment something unexpected happens, then we’re lost. Once our written script fails us, then we have none of the knowledge necessary to help us create a new one. On the other hand, if we know “why” we were doing what we were doing, then we have at least a fighting chance of figuring out what to do in new circumstances.

Despite the attempt by the adults of our childhood to relegate the question “Why” to the list of seven questions we must never ask in public, we all still have this inherent need to know the “Why” behind any command or instruction, especially when we’re being asked to change.

Re: When did the words “I” and “Why” become so bad?

Roberta Hill — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:33:29 -0000

Thanks MJ. As you know, I tend to take the opposite view to try to draw some comparisons. It is a good idea to "warn" clients of the risks when using the "Why" word. I do suspect that if it is an issue for them, then they may have similar issues with other questions. I do contend that "Why" is a fundamental question for innovation, vision, creativity, exploration, strategy etc. Leaders must be prepared to ask it and it will help others to look at the bigger picture as well as their values.

Disclosure: Of the five W's and How, questions - I have discovered that different "personalty types" have a favourite - and mine is WHY.

Re: When did the words “I” and “Why” become so bad?

Mary Jo Asmus — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:28:55 -0000

Roberta, great food for thought here. I caution my clients, when they coaching, to simply be aware of the word "why". It can be seen as accusatory depending on the tone of voice. On the other hand, with a neutral or curious tone, it can surface all sorts of interesting things. Additionally, with a little thought, many "why" questions can be turned into non-accusatory "what" questions.

Re: What The Wii Can Teach Us About Employee Engagement

Roberta Hill — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:33:15 -0000

Thanks Andy - good to hear from you. Some of my follow-up posts have a few good links from others you might want to check out as well.