OD and more

Male Men-who-pause

2011-09-22T12:47:00.000+05:30

Of late, I have been seeing a spurt in the number of "consultants" and "coaches". The trend seems to be more in the post-age-40 male, senior leadership band of people employed in corporates in India.

Maybe it is the male men-who-pause ... pause to look around, see that the corporate treadmill isn't all there is, and that the gym perhaps is actually a garden, and then the step out gingerly ... bid farewell to corporate co-travellers who wave at them from their sweat-stained treadmills ... walk into the garden, ... and promptly sign-on to the consultant treadmill ...

Consultants and coaches are also treading the mill furiously these days ... like there is no tomorrow .. and maybe there isn't, who knows ?

All I can say to my consulting folken is - "Don't let that fact that you are in demand go to your head, and likewise don't let the phenomenon of not being in demand get to your heart ..." I have traversed and seen both locations ... and neither location is worth it ...

High Performers, and the C word ...

2011-06-12T17:34:00.000+05:30

Organizations rattle on about creating high performers. I am examining this phrase (creating high performers) that, like many phrases these days, has become fashionable to use without our examining what it means actually ...

Can we actually create high performers ? I really wonder ... To me, it seems like the people with capability for sustained performance that exceeds workplace expectations (lets call them high performers) are already there in the system ... they do not need to be created anew ...

All that the org needs to do is to identify such people and create the conditions that sustains their excellent workplace performance. The shift in focus for leaders and talent managers is important. It has to do with the C word ... yeah, you got it ... Culture ...

On the other hand, I see L&D folks engaged in even more training, more workshops, more offsites, more "busy" days ... time for some double loop learning, don't you think ?

But, then, culture is an ambiguous thing to handle, its more long term, it has uncertainties, it is infinitely more complex than training .. so what gives ? We hear statements that leaders today need to be more tolerant of uncertainties and ambiguities, more embracing of complexity etc, why would we not give them culture on the menu ?

One of my hypotheses - actually two of them are as follows - (1) L&D folks maybe find themselves deficient in their knowledge and skills when it comes to Organization Development (OD), and (2) they maybe do not believe that they have the required authority (adhikaaram - a more precise Indian term) for this. And, maybe the two are intertwined - perhaps having the knowledge and skills would give them the adhikaaram ...

So, a clarion call then, for L&D folks to move beyond calendars and spreadsheets ...

kartik

Dancing around the Arena

2011-05-20T16:29:00.001+05:30

Sometime this is what I feel - that perhaps the world of the “arena” with its potential for unbridled aggression is not yet “mine” – it is till in the nature of a transient way-station that I visit occasionally … And in visiting this space, I am also having to reckon with the presence of my superego who promptly infuses guilt in me … Further, there is no private space for me to deal with the residues and vestiges of these transient engagements with the arena. It is interesting how the "capable performer of tasks" is valued by my superego, only to make him a better performing monkey …

What does it take for me to befriend the Arena as a legitimate space in my life ? When would I stop placating the superego – one way or another ?

I also wonder - perhaps many other leaders must be going through similar dilemmas ... unvisited landscapes, unfamiliar territory ... they all seem strange and frightening ... it is perhaps rather easy for a coach to invite a leader to walk uncharted paths without their having done so themselves ...

The threat that real learning poses ...

2011-05-17T21:51:00.000+05:30

Deep down, there is this vulnerable part of ourselves that is afraid of new learning ... of real learning. By real learning, what I mean is the bringing in of mindful awareness that invites us to question all that is and thus paves the way for new meanings and thus new worlds to emerge ... in short, real learning is a disturbing, derailing process for sure.

So we choose simulations, create as-ifs, passive zones - where real learning can somehow be bypassed ... we learn "about" the navarasas, we don't learn the navarasas ...

A PJ for those who care :-)

2011-05-16T08:28:00.000+05:30

This post assumes the readers' familiarity with the MBTI ...

My life seems to be an uphill battle with my extreme P (as in P from MBTI ...) ... all my attempts at J-ing seem to come unstuck :-( ... partly, I am to blame ... as I grew up, I tried in many ways to live my P to the hilt and kept relegating my J to the ever-readily present shadow ... Pay back time ??

It suited me to extoll my P in those days even as it continues to do now (maybe I am a little more aware now) ... perhaps even helped / helps me avoid the responsibility and accountability taking that J-ness would entail ... it also suited / suits the artist in me ... kept pushing me to seek entitlements without accountabilities ... my own version of Utopia in a way ...

How does one integrate / synthesize what appear to be dichotomies ? Do I really wish to sign with my left hand ?? Pragmatics, did you say ?? Will the 'pragmatic philosophers" in the audience please stand up ?

Strengths

2011-05-10T09:54:00.000+05:30

I asked a coachee - "do your strengths take you ahead, or do they keep you where you are and from sliding down ?" - I personally think this is an interesting question for leaders to ask of themselves .... For me, I think that mostly they take me ahead ...

Receptivity

2011-05-07T06:13:00.000+05:30

I have been triggered by Osho's views on listening and receptivity ; Of the process of listening as simply providing a passage for the one expressing ... As I look around and within, I see this as one of human beings' greatest incapability ...

How does one stay receptive when one feels defensive, for instance .. or when one has a point of view that one strongly feels like sharing immediately ... or when one's emotions are triggered off and an avalanche ensues ...

Musings triggered by my i-phone

2011-03-22T15:42:00.000+05:30

An iPhone is a clear multi-tasking device. It has many functions - you can make calls, receive calls, text, listen to music, record stuff, browse the web, get your email, send email, and so on ... much like man in urban, corporate settings these days ...

Personally, what I have come to like the best about my iphone is the amount of music I get to hear these days - all I need is a good quality earphones-set, a decent collection of music (and I am at decent to the power of many) and I am all set ...

As I adjust my headset, and start my walk, I wonder what is happening to man's capability to create and listen deeply to his inner music, even as he is caught in his multi-tasking in the world "out there" ... This inner music that you and I both have and share - is a deep and perennial flow ... no beginning, no end ... but one can easily step into this stream, flow with it, even be the stream ... yet we often mute this music ... our eyes get magnetically drawn to the text that has just come in, the email composed in the head, the call waiting to be made, the calendar to be sync-ed, the alarm to be set, the this, and then the that

What does it take for our capacity to generate our inner music, to come to the forefront ? Why do dreams disappear at the mildest tinge of dawn like wisps of smoke in a breeze ?

Sachin Tendulkar and the courage to "walk"

2011-03-21T06:45:00.000+05:30

Those of you who watched the India-West Indies world cup cricket match yesterday, will know what I am alluding to ... Rampaul bowled a beautiful delivery, there was barely a shadow of a nick with Sachin's bat, and the ball sailed through to the wicket keeper. There was a loud appeal for "caught behind" which was turned down by the umpire, but Sachin walked. He knew he had nicked it. If he had wanted to play purely opportunistically, he could have benefited from the umpire's decision and stayed or waited out a review. But the point I am making is that he walked. He declared himself out, he was his own umpire. This when the stakes are REALLY high .. it's the WORLD cup after all, and it is CRICKET (by GOD!!) ... and it is tens of thousands in attendance and many more glued to their TV sets ... and what does Sachin do ? He walks ...

Cut now to leaders in corporate ODIs ... there's all this contemporary blah about ethics, transparency, and governance, right ? Well, how do you think leaders are actually faring there ? My cynical self wants full page status on this theme, but let me try and not indulge that. Let me focus more on the "learnable point of view" (if Tichy does not mind a liberal turn of his original phrase) ... Can we as leaders truly learn to own up ? Can leaders be their own umpires ? Can we learn to walk ?

Its all well for Sachin, did you say ? Do I hear you saying that he is God, he is not in a foxhole, desperately craving safety, stability and security ? Well, would you like to perhaps imagine that he never got into the foxhole because he dared to act from convictions and not from compulsions ?

Think ...

Body as a Process and Process in the Body

2010-11-29T12:42:00.000+05:30

I was struck with this insight today (epiphanic !!) that my body is actually a process. I was reflecting on how my body is feeling as a process (a rather random thought) and it suddenly struck me that it is indeed a process ... For instance, today my body (as a process) is feeling burdened, heavy and weighed down ... Staying with this feeling leads me to examine how my body is actually pulling in how I actually have been experiencing life recently, and reacting to all that.

D-uh, I hear some of my process work colleagues say, but there is something to be said for building conviction by actually experiencing something ...

Would also be interesting to view "processes as a body" - as in, if I experience a certain process, where in my body does this process seem to resonate with ? A lot of my current processes seem to be "head", "arms" and "legs" ...

What about you ? How does it work for you ?

Of leaders and the directions they take

2010-09-07T16:27:00.000+05:30

I had a very engaging conversation with young Vikrant Goyal of Texas Instruments yesterday. We were discussion various leaders and the typical directions they would take vis-a-vis their organizations. We identified at least four ...

1. Leaders who move against the organization --- These are the leaders who advocate a point of view, but in doing so they take positions against the system, against the organization's preferred party line. In the short run, these people are very successful, but they end up getting derailed over a period of time. Organizations also seem to nurture these leaders (perhaps "indulge" is a better word ??) for some time, but if these leaders do not change directions after some time to move WITH the party line, they seem to tend to get dropped.

2. Leaders who move towards the organization --- These are the leaders who also advocate a point of view, which may even be against the popular view of the authority system of the organization, but at the end of the day, are careful to not burn bridges with the authority system. These are the ever-vigilant leaders who are like master chess players ... they take calculated risks and know when to step on the gas and when to hop off. Like the previously described "against" leaders, these people also take a position that is away from the organization, but they essentially move their position towards the organization and not get entrenched against it.

3. Leaders who move with the organization --- These leaders toe the line explicitly and implicitly. They tend to openly advocate what the organization does. They play safe and like some golfers, play the "average game"

4. Leaders who move with but below the organization -- Like the previously described "WITH" folks, these leaders also move essentially with the organization, but they do so in a covert, not-very-visible manner. They tend not to reveal themselves much in public, but in private conversations will tend to be ambassadors for the party-line

Vikrant and I also averred that there are most leaders are "guys in guises" ... eg - a leader may display optics of being a leader moving against, but in reality would be moving towards. Or, a leader may display artifacts of moving towards but may end up actually moving against. And so on ...

It also occurred to us that there are three types of leaders from a different lens - runners, survivors, and the derailed. But more about this later ...

Of Garvam and Lotus Eaters

2010-07-25T11:14:00.000+05:30

A recent dream got me in touch with this question - how come I have never owned up to the fact that I am conceited and arrogant in some respects. My music Guru has often told me that some "Vidya Garvam" (Garvam - a certain allowable quality of what society may call as arrogance and conceit and Vidya Garvam - Garvam that is born out of knowledge) is necessary for a musician. Perhaps Garvam is another face of pride, a quality of pride, or an expression of pride in a certain way.

Often, I have noted that people who do not quite understand what I say (I have also at times faced this charge leveled at the work we do in Sumedhas, the Institution I am a Fellow of), tend to tell me that I am too abstract - ie, the problem is mine, or the problem is that of Sumedhas ... and they, god bless them are simple souls who cannot comprehend complexities and need to be pandered to "at their level"

I find it difficult to condone intellectual laziness of this form. I am happy that this dream that happened last night put me in touch with the need for me to explore the Garvi in me, and not end up being a lotus eater ... Equally perhaps the dream is signalling to me that the time has come for me to also acknowledge that I have been also intellectually lazy in that I have never owned up the Garvi in me and acted behind a facade of niceness and being just-so, and so maybe this is where my ire with other lotus eaters is emerging ...

Child Man - the Selfless Narcissist

2010-06-12T20:26:00.000+05:30

This book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in exploring the nuanced inner landscape of what it means to be human. Ashok Malhotra, the author, deep-dives into one of the infinite crevices of this landscape and illuminates something for all of us to see. And what a sight it is to behold - I have rarely read a book with such personal involvement and that is not just because I know Ashok personally, but it is perhaps more because the book, as it unfolds, touches something very deeply personal (and simultaneously universal) - the "child man" within all of us - be we man or woman ...

Let me not say more. The book is on the stands - go get your copy soon and read it for yourself!! And do share your reflections on this blog ...

Inspiration

2010-06-09T19:32:00.000+05:30

One of my coachees talked with me recently about inspiration. He and I got into an interesting conversation where we tried to characterize inspiration. Here is where we got to - (1) Inspiration elevates thought (2) Inspiration deepens feeling (3) Inspiration forwards action. This insight leads to me to believe that inspiration has an intellectual function, an emotive function, and an action-generating function.

Inspiration - the word shares etymological roots with "spirit". So, in essence to inspire would be to generate spirit - and isn't that ultimately what leadership is about ?

I am back ...

2010-06-06T15:32:00.000+05:30

I probably sound like Arnold Schwarznegger but then, that how it is - I am back, and I am happy to be. I have wandered around a bit in these past couple of years, embraced ning, then grew tired of it ... tried twitter, found it somewhat restrictive ... so its back to OD and More ...

I continue to be fascinated by the subject of leadership. Given this fascination, I try to keep looking for an adequate enough construct-framework that will help me make sense of leadership in a wholesome way .. I continue to be disappointed.

In my own way, I have created a framework. It has three axes ...

Lets say that the X axis is about "The Self" - and encompasses self awareness, some articulation of one's identity, roles, dreams-hopes-aspirations, fears-fragilities-vulnerabilities, etc etc

Lets say that the Y axis is about "The Other(s)" - this is the interpersonal world of the leader - leading upwards, downwards, laterally, influencing non-reporting relationships, the world of power-authority-influence, conflicts, politics, and all that and more

Lets say that the Z-axis (and I simply love this axis) is the one that engages with a heady mix of the following -

dealing with complexity,
building communities and institutions,
creating and fostering contexts (political, economic, familial, social, technological, psychological),
dealing with intended and unintended consequences
building entity identity and brand (of self and of the entity that the leader represents)
fostering diversity

Now, the interplay of these axes would create this 3-D body called leadership (that I call leadership, anyways) ... and give space and arena to play in ...

In a way, I am glad that I could not find that golden framework for leadership (and I reject the application of cartesian frames like Blake and Mouton, McGregor etc to explicate leadership) ... sure helped me explore my own convictions and come up with this ....

Kartik

(A friend called Prasad M Kumar first triggered my thoughts in this direction, and I have added much to what he started me off on. I remain grateful to Kumar for his trigger)

Symbols Lab

2008-10-20T08:04:00.000+05:30

Symbols Lab is back. I am offering this lab this time along with Janaki Venkat, a friend of many many years. I am hoping that some of you who read this blog will find it interesting to attend the lab.

Working with symbols has meant much to me - a way of connecting with myself at a deeper level, giving in totally to a faith in the ability of the psyche to bring up that which is most relevant and needed for my life at any point in time etc etc. This year, I am hoping to bring in some work with the great Chinese Book of Changes or I'Ching that I have referred in an earlier blog.

For what joy ?

2008-08-26T08:17:00.000+05:30

In the course of my recent interventions and meandering in organizational spaces, I am witnessing a new facet in people - new not as in spanking new, but new as in "coming out from the dormant in a strident form" - the question that people have of "What's in it for me" or WIIFM ... Granted, this has always been there, and many an OD practitioner has neglected this to their peril. What seems new is the strident and virulent form it seems to be taking on in today's times.

Perhaps we live in an era of consumerist culture, perhaps people are tiring of "the larger systemic cause", perhaps there is a collective angst of people having given unto the system and not received in return ... whatever ... what does seem undeniable is the lurking question of WIIFM, or "Why do I need to change". My son uses a term often these days, in jest - especially when I ask him to do something - he asks, "For what joy ?" - I hear that same question from people inside organizations - "For what joy ?". Except that the jest is missing. In its place, I see suspicion, mistrust, fear of being exploited and extracted from ...

I then wonder, what have organization spaces become these days ? Is belonging to systems replenishing anymore ? Or are we caught in extractive matrices, filled with an ambience of instrumentality and lulling ourselves to believe that its ok to be instrumental for some time in life ?

So, to these participants and organization members, I do not seem to have answers - instead I have more questions - and they seem to tire of my questions - almost like saying - "ok, give me the answer, you know it already, so don't make me work to find MY response - just give me the final line .."

Makes me wonder sometimes if I am chasing a romanticized version of OD - that somehow someday the limbic brain WILL change in the collectivity, and that people WILL change, and that the coin WILL drop ...

Will it ?

I Ching and then some more

2008-08-20T09:14:00.000+05:30

Almost twenty years after I purchased, I picked up my first of two books on the I' Ching a couple of days ago. After that, I have not been able to put it down. Such a wealth of wisdom. It seems to complement my own work with the Tarot, and Dreams - that I offer in my annual Symbols Lab. Now, my resolve is to add the I' Ching to the lab. If any of you who happen to read this blog has any experience with the I' Ching, pls email me.

Recently, Gagan, Shabari and I did some interesting work with the young leaders of India's largest telecom operator. Interesting because we integrated so many different approaches - some approaches from the Tavistock frameworks, some from Sumedhas' approaches, and some our own creations ... I think we learnt a lot. In may ways it was like a Carnatic Music concert - three artistes (I like THAT word for OD consultants - artistes !!! wow!!!) coming together - no major rehearsals - yet they click together because of the anchoring in the centuries old "shasvatam" of Carnatic Music - that is more or less how we worked. We did prepare, but never rehearsed (will never have to, I pray). Loads of learning and fun ...

kartik

Character Resistance

2008-05-01T11:08:00.000+05:30

I have been reading some work by Galinsky, an erstwhile Univ of North Carolina Prof in OD, and have been fascinated by some of his thoughts on what he describes as "character resistance". Upon reflecting on what I understood of his writing, I am trying to capture here some typical instances of the ways by which people (and groups) exhibit resistance to exploring themselves at a deep level. I see some of this in my leadership coaching work, as well as in process consultation work in leadership teams ...

As I understand it, character resistance is a phenomenon whereby a person presents themselves in a "typical" way to the world, which has potential to "save" them from being connected with at a deeper level than their interface allows - a kind of flight really ...

Here are some types -

The cool detached type - Gives an air of largely being disconnected with the tumults and turmoils of life. Escapes airing deep thoughts, does not engage in confrontations in a direct manner, prefers to avoid the spotlight.
The polyanna - Sees the world thro rose-colored glasses. Tends to adopt a pseudo romantic air. Invariably gushes. Everything is a fairy tale. Sees gnomes, pixies, fairies and the like. This cloyingly sweet view of the world serves to perhaps anesthetize the pain and receipt of any form of turbulence.
The overtly adulatory but covertly hostile-demanding type - Fawns over, lavishes praise and professes abundant love, demonstrative also. In reality and often in private, often ends up masking a tendency to be extremely demanding. Passive-Dependent. The external adulatory behavior covers up the fear of engaging in depth conversations and self-reflectivity.
The masochistic - Tends to distract away from deeper engagement by beating themselves up or by being excessively self-flagellating, self critical.

Can you spot some of these ? Any other "distractors" ? In my next post, I wish to add a few more to this list, but feel free to add what you see, in your responses ...

kartik

What are you reading ? What are you writing ?

2008-04-23T16:55:00.000+05:30

Isn't reading an absolute must ? It certainly is, for me. Can't get by in life without it. My last read was a very interesting book somewhat presumptuously titled "The Future of Management" by Gary Hamel. He has a compelling style, that guy does. I am now reading some rather old (yet timeless) articles by the Late Pulin Garg - particularly on human processes, identity level exploratory work, and the like.

I also realized that I have more unread books in my personal collection than I have of books that I have read. What are YOU reading, dear avid BlogReader ?

That brings me to my next question - what are you WRITING ? Very few of us write, and I wonder why ? I realise that writing is actually therapeutic, and it fosters expression (but of course), and it keeps me feeling alive and creative. I am happy to note that I have been writing more these days - have signed up for a 12 article series called "An Ode to OD" for the Human Capital magazine, of which one has been published ...

Now, WRITE. You really do not need to be a famous writer to write (and most famous writers were not famous writers when they started writing). The coming in of technology - like these blogs - gives you unfettered space. Write, even if your sentences do not seem to make sense, even if you sound like an oddball (I often think I do, and my daughter definitely believes I am), just write. I am convinced that the world needs more expression - sure you can express in analog terms - music, dance, painting - yes, (and there are all sorts of media to get your expression fanned out to the world ...), but the very digital medium of words and language has its place under the sun too ...

Past-Future & Internal-External Orientation

2007-11-28T17:59:00.000+05:30

Had a great session with a client system (telecom mobile value added services space) today. My experience of the group at a point was of some people rooted in the past, and some rooting for the future, and of some people having an inside-out perspective, and some others having an outside-in perspective, and all of them all over the place.

I did a floor exercise - a 2 by 2 created 4 quadrants - past-internal, past-external, future-internal, and future-external. Asked people to identify with any of the quadrants, and physically get into them. Then got them to dialog amongst themselves to speak of the realities of their quadrants, and then dialog with the other quadrants, speaking "as the quadrant".

Interesting idea, this. I think it got them to understand different realities of the organization from a time and location perspective, and built greater reflexivity besides throwing up several interesting "positions" that people were taking. We also spoke of the positives and the pathologies of each of the quadrants, which in a sense were also the positives and the pathological trends of those people themselves.

While the exploration themselves were somewhat limited today by time and dialoging capability of the participants, I sense a great opportunity in this exercise for use in other organization spaces ...

kartik

More on passion

2007-11-25T14:33:00.000+05:30

The one other trigger I can identify for my passion is "ownership". I own my sense of enterprise - I have a passion for it that no one else can equal. I "own" my children in a sense - I have a passion for them that is distinctive. I own my capabilities, I have a passion to deploy them ... And so on ...

Now getting back to the question posed by the CEO - and let us ruminate her for just a moment - can anything be done to truly bring ownership to the roles that leaders play in organizations ?

Sure, organizations can "do" things - MNCs have (at least in the high tech industries) been passing on more "value" work to India, so much so that the phrase "cost arbitrage" is seen as a lesser unkind cut these days, at least in the conversations that I have been having.

What else can be made to happen (rather than what else can be "done") to create and foster a sense of ownership ?

Passion follows ownership, I am now comfortable in saying. My friend, my old friend called Mr.Voice-in-the-head jumps in to say "and obsession follows possession / possessiveness ..."

with an amused smile,
kartik

Passion

2007-11-24T11:23:00.000+05:30

The CEO of a Dutch MNC that I consult with recently asked me what it would take to get his leaders to have passion. Interesting question, that. I would wager that if anybody could find an answer to that one, they would potentially be sitting on the world's biggest business opportunity ...

That having been said, I ask myself this question seriously. What creates passion, really ? No, I am not seeking textbook answers ... Let's get experiential.

One trigger for passion for me is "the moment". An opportunity - a glimpse of a possibility - a "why not" - an impulse ...

What does it take for organizations and teams inside of them, and individuals, to be aware of and "seize the moment" ? What does it take for organizations to foster the generation of impulses and the acting on impulses ? Or is that "bad" - an animal act that has to be looked down on or hindered or inhibited somehow ?

Which price is a greater one to pay - the acting on impulses or the cost of lost opportunities ?

I'm back

2007-11-23T18:37:00.000+05:30

It is true ...

Egged on by my "never say die" fan club, and several others who were less kind, I am back.

The last 9 months have been an OD roller coaster ride. Vistas has added several new accounts besides continuing to work with existing customers / clients, and I am mighty happy with that.

My symbols lab (www.sumedhas.org) starts December 3. I am working this time with a cool dude called Gagandeep Singh, a friend from Sumedhas, and a seasoned process worker.

See you again, and soon ...

Simple human needs in teams

2007-01-16T13:25:00.000+05:30

Had a great learning experience recently. Was facilitating a retreat for the top management team of an MNC in the semiconductor space in Bangalore. Day One of two - we struggled through looking at the issues of team effectiveness, blockages and so on. When we ended the day, I was personally left feeling somewhat adrift (my empathy for Tom Hanks has gone up notches) and sort of clueless as to where to take the group next. We had ended the day stating that we would do some feedback to each other the next day, and the word "hot seat" was used (further fuelling the participant distance from the design, you see :-)). The Head of the team then wanted to do some "visioning" work, for which I felt that the team was not ready !!

My co-facilitator, the "internal OD consultant" of the company very intuitively did something very meaningful. That evening, over a bonfire, she got the team members to start talking about themselves, their lives, ups and downs, interests, dilemmas, and the like. I was quietly watching this with a drink in my hand, and knew from the way people were opening up that something evocative was happening.

The next day, I started with a different design - self disclosure had commenced the previous day in a non-threatening way, and the moment was at hand for some deep feedback ...

We did a round robin feedback but it was not a "hot seat" - Instead, in turn, each member of the team came to the "seat" and received feedback from EVERY other member speaking in turn on the following -

How do I experience you ?
In order for our interpersonal relationship to be strengthened, what would I need you to do ? What would I commit to do ?
What gift do I offer you (of a quality / attribute in myself that might add to your effectiveness now)
What gift do I seek from you (of a quality/ attribute in you that might add to my effectiveness now)

Several things happened in this touching session. As they shared their "experience" of the other, the word/phrase took away stings of "weaknesses" or "vulnerabilities" and focused on a "whole" experience.

Secondly, as they responded to the second question, they experienced the interpersonal relationship in each case as being a joint responsibility - took away the victim mode

As they responded to question three, they got in touch with their own strengths, and the "seat occupier" received a feedback on a growth opportunity for themselves.

As they responded to the fourth question, they respondents yielded strong clues to the "seat occupier" on their strengths, and in the process owned up their own vulnerabilities.

I believe a lot moved for that team that day, starting from the previous evening's design masterstroke by my co-facilitator. All concerns for doing "tasky" stuff like visioning etc got pushed out by the team collectively (and full marks to the Head of the team for allowing the flow to happen unhindered ...)

I am in touch with this that (experientially !!) that setting the context needs to precede articulating the content, and that investment in creating and fostering an ambience needs to precede investment in action ...

Much wiser,
Kartik

OD consultant style

2006-12-20T14:10:00.000+05:30

I read this recently - is my consulting style that of a cheerleader, or a persuader, or a pathfinder ? Very thought provoking. I seem to be in between persuader and pathfinder, but my pull is to move towards "pathfinder". Pathfinders would confront directly and not bother about consequences. Persuaders would, I guess try and enter through the backdoor and try and join hands in nudging the organization forward. Both styles have their merits and troubles ...

I am also beginning to believe that straddling both these styles would be of worth for a consultant.

At least, it works for me ... :-)

2006-12-14T11:57:00.000+05:30

Today I am going to be facilitating a subset of a dutch mnc thro a swot analysis of the vector of "leadership" in their organization. As I was brushing up for this, I revisited Tichy's work on "The Leadership Engine". Found it good, though I had a tough time dealing with his views on "Values". I am often left wondering - I believe there are two types of values that a leader would tend to have and be called on to "express" - one - their "personal" or core values that they believe in as human beings, and the other - "organization-relevant" or "business-relevant" values - that are necessary for their enterprise's business success. I found that these two domains exist as independent though possibly intersecting sets. I found Tichy not having dealt with the fact of this fragmentation and its implications for leaders ... would have been more enriching if he had looked at this angle ...

I operate from a simple model of leadership - imagine a depiction of a 3D space with an X-axis, a Y-axis and a Z-axis, and a 0,0 point at the center. To me, the 0,0 point is the "bindu" - the core - and it has to do with "Awareness of Self"(identity, values, angst, quest, yada yada yada). The X-axis has to do with "managing reporting relationships" be they the management of one's team/reports or one's boss / management system (issues here - roles, control, authority, taking a location etc). The Y-axis has to do with "influencing non-reporting relationships" (influence, interface management, peerage, etc). Finally the Z-axis - to do with customer knowledge, business acumen, competitor awareness, product familiarity, technology-savvy, environmental awareness, future-orientation etc.

While working with developing leaders, I would work with all these vectors. Sometime, I would like to develop an instrument or survey that would measure these for aspiring leaders ... perhaps in a 360 format ...

I am indebted to Prasad Kumar, Organization Consultant, Bangalore, India, for his thoughts that triggered the evolution of this model for me ...

My workshop yesterday

2006-12-13T11:25:00.000+05:30

Interesting - I was doing a leadership retreat for an MNC (software) co in Bangalore --- I typically use a working model of Self Review, followed by Role Review, followed by an Organization Review. As part of the self review, I got the participating leaders to imagine that they were parts of a human body, and take up positions in a designated space on the floor. The configuration and the associated processing took us to new depths. Felt very good and creative with this.

I would invite others to share more such "depth processing" work they may have attempted or regularly use