Getting Ready

In getting ready to do our organizational diagnosis I have enjoyed trying to dig deeper. I compare it to being an archaeologist and looking for evidence of what life is really like in an organization. Or further more what it was like and examining the history of the organization. What is even better is the preparation to go into the organization is looking at all of the initial information that can be gathered before the first hello. With technology at our fingertips we can gather artifacts and symbols from websites, ad, and television commercials. Also doing this type of project one has to be very open minded and let the facts speak to you. Listening and watching become your greatest tools. The mission statement and the language used are also clues to what is really going on in the organization and with the employees.

Determining if this language and behaviors really stand up for what the goal and the culture of the organization is trying to embody is to me a fun exploration. Taking notice of all the small details which could in fact down the line have a huge impact. As mentioned in the previous blog I would like to go into an organization and seeing what good practices are occurring before I set my sight on potential problems. I have also envisioned walking and talking with workers and engaging in friendly dialogue rather than coming in with an overbearing researcher disposition. It will be interesting to see who opens up and how much. I even look forward to comparing how other groups did and what their experience was like. Even discussing in class from the point of gaining entrance into an organization for observation we saw many different variations and we also saw how the organization works just by scheduling appointments. We have to take notice of everything. Maybe it is a mix between and archaeologist and detective gaining facts but looking at the deeper meaning of those facts and how they fit together to paint a story of what can be done in the organization to help it in its attainment of it's goals.

Positive Change

So in my ever changing mind of what the heck I want to do with my life...this whole consulting organizations has been very eye opening. I have undoubtedly enjoyed reading for class which hasn't always been the case ;), but the readings that we have been supplied with for class have been completely applicable to so many things in my daily life and workplace. The one that stood out the most was Dr. Bushe's Article on Appreciative Inquiry. Of course this is right up my alley because by nature I am a positive person.

As current leaders and leaders that are brought in to make changes we may always assume that there is something wrong going on. However what Bushe points out is that we must also investigate what is going great in the current state of the organization. Bushe also uses this type of organizational diagnosis to create a more open space for stakeholders in the organization to feel comfortable to disclosing information needed to paint a picture of what is happening. It is also good to gather this positive information because a leader can now figure out what is working and think of how to make those processes even better. This type of change can help reinforce employees and even move for a change to a new vision of success.

Asking questions can also become less daunting as it may be easier to ask people what they liked most or what their favorite story, etc. Using this technique can also up the gateway to also finding out problem spots by comparing good experiences to not so good experiences. The stories become important as these stories help establish what the culture is and what people within the organization find important to help them work in the best conditions and to be more productive while working towards an organizations goal.

A few quotes to leave you with that stood out the most were:
"What if, instead of seeing organizations as problems to be solved, we saw them as miracles to be appreciated?"

and

Appreciative inquiry, as a method of changing social systems, is an attempt to generate a collective image of a new and better future by exploring the best of what is and has been."

Culture Clash

If culture is about "how we do things here." Maybe we could add that organizational 'climate' is "how it feels here." Then we might also consider organizational 'context' about "how it looks here." And finally, we might say that organizational 'content' is about "the tools we use here." Add these to Bolman & Deal's (2008) four frames and you can start seeing patterns develop.


Dr. Faverty posted this on his blog and I thought that it was perfectly put. It put things in perspective not only how we have to attack our projects but give us a completely new lens when going out into the world or entering into new organizations. Especially as already to sit back in a new organization and take the time to sift through an organization's culture like an archaeologist/anthropologist and have  a keen eye for what is really going on. Even thinking about small details about symbols in an organization that could look to the average eye as something minimal, but to to the organization may mean so much more. Also, looking for nuances in how people interact and the language used takes some practice. Even digging deeper into the history of the organization may take some time as well.


This brings us to an important issue of time and how possibly entering a new organization you may or may not have time as  a leader to observe all of these details. How ever you must keep your eyes and ears open and think differently. Some leaders may fail quickly to gain the respect of their counterparts due to their ideas about how things should be done before they even how how things are done in the organization at that point. However, some leaders are brought in to change the organization quickly which can make this a huge challenge.


This I believe is why my closing take away was that I was really engaged by what Kate was describing in class and how she does this with a variety of organizations. It would be interesting to have the time and investigate how things are done, how things feel, and how it looks here. All of these tools and information gathered to supply to leaders can help out. As stated previously that I do have a vice for TV and I can't help but recommend to watch the show Undercover Boss. I love watching this show and after this class now I have a new lens to watch it through. It completely highlights what we are talking about in class I and allows the people at the top running an organization to get back on the ground level and understand the cultural needs of their employees and what they can do better to assist change of culture to produce more gains in their companies.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L38b5ynphI

May the Force be With You

On a personal note this week has been a very tough week for my team as we faced many challenges within our team and as a coaching staff working with one of our team leaders we had to make very important decisions that took the risk of possibly losing some games and even worse crushing the morale of our team. As a team our whole goal is to be champions and the decisions that we made had to be made for the betterment of our team and as coaches/teachers to teach these women very valuable life lessons. Decisions are what we have to do as leaders and sitting in class listening to how you establish a culture and shared meaning I could not help but reflect on what was happening in my own organization. Although I do not want to disclose all the inner workings of what transpired, the discussion in class was exactly what I needed to understand what was occurring.

I took the time to even talk about it with my coworkers and used the force field analysis and Lewin's theory about good and bad forces. We definitely had a change of force in our organization which called for a huge change. This was definitely a negative force that was getting increasingly stronger and affecting the teams goals. Once as a decision was made to correct the situation I was amazed to see how the force dramatically changed. This actually made me real proud of the team and we knew as a staff that we made the right decision. Which as leaders, with these decisions you often take risks and you never know what the outcome will be. My coworkers and I even through all this looked at ourselves and remarked, "it must be real hard to be a head coach". The positive shift has been one of the most amazing things that I have witnessed in my coaching career and I am extremely fortunate to be a part of it. I like having the visual of stasis and using it as a tool to understand when I need to increase good energy or to be more aware of negative energy that is causing change. Also, I could not help but agree more with the statement of how humans change only when they want to or have to. In my field of work this is definitely a lesson that I have to understand and came to life this past week.

This week has also defined us as a team and has established or resurrected the culture of our team as  a family. As a team I think now we have  a shared meaning and with all of the hits our team has taken up until this part of season it has been great as a teacher to see how these young women are learning so much and how they crave to learn more. This is not about basketball... it is about their character and who they will become when they have played their last game. It is also very fascinating to see change happen right before your eyes. I do know that change happens slowly, but sometimes circumstances allow it to happen at a speedier rate and if everyone is committed and believes in the leader with total buy in you can see some amazing things!