>So it rolls alonog on its square wheels, Thump, Thump. And the people at
>the back of the wagon have no idea of the journey that really lies ahead
>-- all they see in front of them are boards and hands.
So the issue for me would be how could we have them all alongside
each other? How could those behind be given the chance to see the
perspective from the front and listen to it without judging .. so
that they integrate it as data which they need to take account of
.... realities if you like....
>Leadership, pulling at the front, may be so isolated from the hands-on
>reality at the back of the wagon that they sometimes forget that there are
>others involved in moving the organization forward. They are also well
>insulated from the thump, thumps of the journey forward by this isolation.
>And they are so distant that, looking back, they cannot see the round
>wheels that are already in the wagon -- the ideas for improvement already
>exist.
And again I truly believe it to be possible to have the leaders
alonside the pushers listening (without judging) to their
perspectives on the wagon.. to hear about the wheels and maybe
talk about why that type of wheel might not work presently on this
wagon because of the nature of the road ahead.... but could be
adapted... and so they could work together on the wheels which will
work
>The journey is also compromised because of issues of trust and
>communications. The pushers can't communicate well with the pullers
>because of distance and different understandings of the skills needed to
>operate. (Someone said that pullers are deaf, they don't seem to listen
>well, and the Pushers are blind.)
I have seen it happen through real time strategic change or future
search - there are mothodologies which can allow these
conversations to take place successfully....
>Pullers may not trust the pushers to push -- heck, you can see the tension
>in the rope, but how do you know that the people back there are pushing
>(and not pulling backwards?). snipping....
... and I suppose you could say that the pushers don't trust the
leaders to be going the right way, or fast enough, or too fast....
snipppppppppp
>So improvements are initiated (actually done TO the Pushers) -- and we all
>know that A DESK IS A DANGEROUS PLACE FROM WHICH TO VIEW THE WORLD.
>Continuous un-improvement is the result.
I suspect this may be a key ... how to initiate any type of
change/improvement process in a way which speaks to the issues
from all perspectives and feels to all concerned like it is a
colloborative thing which will be for the benefit of all
stakeholders (I believe Deming called it an appreciation for a
system) .... a done 'with' methodology....
>The solutions to many organizational issues are seemingly simple -- shared
>visions, alignment to values shared by the culture, continuous continuous
>improvement, participation and involvement, good communications between
>the front and the back of the wagon, and the mindset that we all need to
>step back from the pushing and pulling to take an objective look at
>reality every once in a while.
and I believe there are ways to do this .. but I suspect that they
feel risky .. once you stop to move alongside the wagon .. and
whilst you realign yourselves the rope probably looks pretty slack
from the pushing as well as the pulling angle ....
How do you use the square wheels for training?? ... I wonder if
people would draw similar pictures of their own?? might the drawing
feel done *to* for people??
Julie Beedon
VISTA Consulting - for a better future
julie@vistabee.win-uk.net
--Julie Beedon <julie@vistabee.win-uk.net>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>