This week we’re talking to Arielle Goodman, Jenny Hegland and Jessica Srikantia.
  
We talked about: 

• What this uncertain moment in history could mean for the systems that we live in and take for granted
• How we are born into a collectively traumatized culture that has a domination logic built into its systems.
• A systemic analysis can divorce ourselves from our part in that system – as if it exists  outside of us instead of us existing within these systems. 

Resources mentioned:

Otto Schwarmer and the MIT Presencing Institute
www.ottoscharmer.com/
www.presencing.org/​

Thomas Huebl
thomashuebl.com/
 
Arielle, Jenny and Jessica are a team of colleagues that has been working together for the past six months to discover how they might be of service as a collective. Their work exists in cultivating the spaces between, such as in-between people during times of transition and not knowing, spaces within our own selves, or the connective tissue of complex systems. Together, they explore what is possible in and from wholeness. They are committed to transforming themselves into alignment with life, so that they can support this work in the broader world inclusive of and beyond their individual selves. Their areas of expertise include navigating uncharted terrain in times of uncertainty, helping systems see and sense themselves, and practicing sacred relationships with team and stakeholder groups.
 
Links: 
www.linkedin.com/in/jennyhegland
​www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-srikantia-206797173/
​www.linkedin.com/in/ariellegoodman/

This week we’re talking to Rebecca Murphy.
 
We talked about:

• What organizations need to think about to be ready to partner
• Having clarity about what your why is key for partnering.
• Why mission creep is so common among organizations and what drives it.

 
Rebecca has been a consultant for over 20 years. She considers herself an “interpreter,” as she has worked in multiple sectors including government, nonprofit, business, and philanthropy. She is adept at explaining/translating one to another. She is a generalist with a broad knowledge base – including workforce development, affordable housing, parks and place making. She has expertise in capacity building, organizational and program development, strategic planning, with particular expertise in public-private partnerships, community engagement, and strategic collaborations. Hers is a mission-focused practice. She is passionate about mission fidelity, and avoiding mission creep.
 
Links:
https://rcmstrategicconsulting.com/
https://twitter.com/RCMStratConsult

​Through my work I interview a lot of people. Most projects include some interviews or focus groups as part of the discovery process. I used to end my interviews with the question, “Is there anything else I need to know for this project/process?” 

Most of the time the answer would be, “no, nothing else.”

Then one time I said, “What else do I need to know for this project/process?” And a whole lot more spilled out from the person I was talking with.

“Is there anything else…?” “What else…?” doesn’t seem on surface to be very different.

Yet it shifts the focus from a finite yes/no answer to the more open ended, “what else…?”  And embedded in the question is the assumption that there is something else. Something else that I could not have anticipated in the questions I have already asked.

It seems like a little bit of a throw away. Yet often the most interesting and revealing answers are to that question. 

So small tweaks can have a big impact. What small tweaks have you made recently in your work that had an impact?

A Buddhist monk, a leftist guerrilla warrior and a technology executive walk into a bar called Changes.  “Ah the nature of change,” the monk says, “the world is always in flux, permanence is an illusion and attachment to permanence is the cause of suffering.”  The leftist guerrilla replies, “But Mao said there must be a great leap forward.”  The tech executive says, “Fast Company says change is happening faster than ever and we must always be the next big thing.”  The bartender shrugs her shoulders and asks how each of them is planning to pay for their beers.  “Everyone with ATM money again?” she says, “Go somewhere else to make your change.”

​Sorry for the poor attempt at humor. People talk about change management and say that that is what they do. But can you really manage change? I believe you can be intentional about moving toward change. Yet saying you are managing change gives an illusion of control that I do not think is real in dynamic human systems. Organizations are human systems and are describes as “intelligent, creative, adaptive, self-organizing, [and] meaning-seeking” as Meg Wheatley described. While you can force change on people, I do not believe you can force people to change.

​There typically is a spark that initiates the change. This could come from outside the organization – a crisis, a major shift in the market, a new mandate or regulation. Or it could come from inside the organization in the form of a vision championed by either formal leaders or through a bottom up effort of informal leaders.

​When done well, the organization will take advantage of the spark by being intentional in focusing the change effort. Is the organization ready to change and makes the best of the challenge or opportunity? How will leaders choose to invest the time, energy and resources into envisioning and implementing change? What new structures need to be created to support the desired change going forward?

​Creating organizational change intentionally means taking time to thoughtfully design and engage in meaningful dialogue. Does the past need to be mourned before a new beginning can be imagined?  Is the environment safe enough for people to bring their whole selves to the endeavor?  If not, what will increase those conditions of safety?

​Once the change is implemented –whether it is new goals and aspirations envisioned in a strategic plan or implementing a new technology system or building a new program – ensuring you have systems in place to support the new change and allow it to take hold is key. Identifying, harnessing and sharing stories of success can be a powerful way to help the change stick.

What change are you trying to make in 2020? Let's talk about them

When I get caught up in an anxiety spiral, my thoughts quickly go worse case scenario. Something has happened, I get triggered and I run straight up the ladder of inference, jumping to all sorts of conclusions. Too often I am not even conscious that I have leapt from an incident – something someone did or did not do, something someone said, even a facial expression – to all sorts of beliefs about that, and most critically -- accepting those beliefs as fact.

The ladder of inference created by Chris Argyris breaks down what our brains do so naturally and so quickly. We jump from the observable data to the data we pay attention. We then assign meaning to it, make assumptions, jump to conclusions based on our beliefs and then often take action based on this chain of thought. All this can happen in a split second.

I have found that the ABC framework is a useful tool for slowing myself down and examining the validity of my thoughts and conclusions. Originating in cognitive psychology and the work of Aaron Beck, the acronym stands for Adversity, Belief and Consequences

​The tool is useful because it gives you a framework to break down what just happened. Here is an example of how you would use the tool:

​This first step captures what just happened. The next step is to examine those thoughts and beliefs.

Then one step further takes each of the worse case scenario beliefs, examines their likelihood and helps you play out alternative scenarios as well as make sounder decisions about next steps.

Adversity: A colleague yawns during my presentation.

The next time you find yourself caught in an unhelpful thought loop try this out for yourself. Learn more in the book The Resilience Factor by Karen Reivich, PhD and Andrew Shatte, PhD.