Why think outside of the box when you could dispense with the box altogether? Rosabeth Moss-Kanter commented recently on Twitter that ‘To lead real change, it’s not enough to think outside of the box. We need to think outside of the building.’ It reminded me of Chris Argyris who, some years ago, coined the phrase ‘learning loops’ to describe different levels of learning and application:
Single loop learning asks the question, ‘Are we doing this right?’, e.g. ‘Do we have a clear agenda for today’s meeting?’ Double loop learning steps back to ask, ‘Are we doing the right things?’, e.g. ‘Is a meeting really the best way to do this?’ Triple loop learning steps back further still to ask, ‘How do we decide what is right?’, e.g. ‘Are we focusing our attention on the most important things?’ Each step back brings new dimensions into the frame, surfacing and thereby opening assumptions to challenge. I think of it like concentric circles, ripples on a pond, ever moving outwards from the initial point of impact or concern. It exposes wider systems. It shifts the focus onto broader cultural or contextual issues in order to make sense of and take decisions within a narrower domain. There are some parallels with strategic, tactical and operational lenses, aimed at ensuring effectiveness. Peter Drucker commented: ‘Nothing is less productive than to make more efficient what should not be done at all.’ How much resource do we waste in organisations inadvertently paying one person or team to burn the proverbial toast and another to scrape off the burnt bits? So we are really looking at how to ask fundamental questions. ‘What is the purpose of our organisation in the world?’ I mean existentially or spiritually, not just pragmatically. 'Why are we here?', ‘What is shaping our values?’, ‘What are we aware of?’, ‘What are we blind to, filtering out?’, ‘What matters most to us, and why?’, ‘Why are we doing things this way?’, ‘Who or what is really driving this?’ This type of critique is where things get tricky and, potentially, revolutionary. Organisations, as people, shape their own perception of reality, what is real and what is true, by the way they construe situations, the narratives they create to explain their experiences, the rationalisations they use to justify their actions etc. And most of this is subconscious, hidden behind cultural filters and defences. Deconstructing the box entails a willingness to acknowledge it first – to explore and reveal the unspoken, the unspeakable, the not-yet imagined. As leaders and coaches, it calls for vulnerability and courage. It demands a preparedness to challenge and be challenged, to open our eyes, perhaps pray, to expose our limits, our assumptions, our implicit collusion with what is and what appears to be.
41 Comments
Kannan Ramaswamy
17/5/2015 11:24:18 am
I like your succinct way of reminding us that asking the right questions and in the right sequence (perhaps) is a good place to start. I often find there is very limited appetite for asking any questions at all. Folks in the middle management ranks for example often walk away saying that they are not really paid to be the agents of change. How would you counter that negative attitude of blissful ignorance?
Reply
Nick Wright
17/5/2015 11:35:04 am
Hi Kannan and thank you for your encouraging feedback.
Reply
Scott Simmerman PhD
17/5/2015 12:58:06 pm
It is so easy to simply persist in doing what one is doing, but that is non-sensical if one is looking to do things differently and see new ways of getting things done. I like to use the tactic of dissociation whereby one simply, "steps back from the wagon," and gets some mental distance from that hands-on reality of day to day doing.
Reply
Nick Wright
17/5/2015 01:05:59 pm
Hi Scott and thanks for the note. I like the idea of stepping back from the wagon.
Reply
Scott Simmerman PhD
23/5/2015 03:38:47 pm
BTW, there is ALWAYS a box!! Here is an animation called Joshua In A Box from the 1980s, as I recall. It is a classic. 4 minutes... - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=219e8Vr1zu8 19/5/2015 07:11:50 am
When we wish to generate habitual thinking-out-of-the-box, a practical way I have learned is to get people engaged in possibility talks prompted by positive questions delving on peak moments and values and future scenario building. Simply put, appreciative inquiry (positive inquiry) is a realistic avenue to generate endless out-of-the-box thinking. My credit to David Cooperrider my mentor in this thinking journey.
Reply
Nick Wright
20/5/2015 09:02:41 am
Hi Rosalina and many thanks for the note. Do you have any examples of particularly helpful possibility talks or positive questions that you would be willing to share? I would be very interested to hear more. With best wishes. Nick
James Strait
18/5/2015 01:57:56 am
What box?
Reply
Nick Wright
18/5/2015 01:58:49 am
Great question, James, especially as all boxes are personally and/or socially constructed. With best wishes. Nick
Reply
Dr David Paul
18/5/2015 01:59:57 am
In our research on how the perception of feeling cared for creates an environment conducive to innovation, speed, cost competitiveness, and quality, we have come to realize that to lead real change. as a manager, you need to create an environment where people genuinely WANT to think in a fresh and creative way. we do not create it, we stimulate it, in other words?
Reply
Nick Wright
18/5/2015 02:07:08 am
Hi David and thanks for such helpful insights from your research. I really like the idea of creating an environment in which people want to think in fresh and creative ways. As well as a wider cultural environment within which creativity and innovation are welcomed and supported, this can include the personal presence, attitudes, skills, knowledge, stimulus and opportunities that a leader brings to the relationship. I would be very interested to hear more about where you have seen such environments created and how they were achieved and sustained. With thanks and best wishes. Nick
Reply
Ian Henderson
18/5/2015 12:27:54 pm
Nice one Nick. Let's dispense with the box and just push the envelope instead!!!!! The wife wants to keep the box if it's got chocolates in.......
Reply
Nick Wright
20/5/2015 08:59:19 am
Thanks Ian. You made me laugh! :) Questions - where do we need to push the envelope to? How will we know when we have arrived there? ;) All the best. Nick
Reply
Suzanne Quinney
20/5/2015 08:57:08 am
Great comments and questions. You have put your finger on the reason that an awareness of social constructionism is a key part of Appreciative Inquiry. We need to know how we construct the world before we can construct it differently.
Reply
Nick Wright
20/5/2015 09:06:28 am
Hi Suzanne. Beautifully put! I would be very interested to hear of any examples of experiences where you have applied social constructionism within AI. With best wishes and thanks again. Nick
Reply
Razi Ghaemmagham Farahani
20/5/2015 09:10:19 am
how to allow creativity takes it place in organization.
Reply
Nick Wright
20/5/2015 09:11:01 am
Hi Razi. I don't think I have understood your comment. Could you say a little more? With best wishes. Nick
Reply
Razi Ghaemmagham Farahani
21/5/2015 03:23:53 am
creativity is a key and being creative is way of creating new perception that would lead into new ideas, new way of approach , new way of observing and list go on.
Dr Shalini Ratan
20/5/2015 09:12:13 am
It is about Widening your Thinking Horizon.
Reply
Nick Wright
20/5/2015 09:16:08 am
Hi Shalini and thanks for the helpful comments. You may be interested in a write-up of the '7 Whys' technique that I included in this article: http://www.nick-wright.com/spirituality-in-coaching.html. Let me know what you think? With best wishes. Nick
Reply
Dr Shalini Ratan
20/5/2015 10:27:07 am
Thanks Nick...will surely read your article...
David Harris
20/5/2015 09:17:26 am
Good question... boxes influence our lives at all levels... from the moment we are born we are placed in a box, we're educated while we exist in a box, we live in boxes, we place ticks in boxes, our calendar is box shaped.. one way in one way out... it's no wonder we restrained in our thinking.
Reply
Nick Wright
20/5/2015 09:23:58 am
Hi David and thanks for sharing such profound reflections. Yes, it is interesting how boxes are often perceived and often have the effect of constraining us.
Reply
Mark Porter
20/5/2015 09:25:13 am
I use a technique where I start by defining an existing thing, and then change the characteristics. For example: wheels. Plenty of vehicles have 4 or 2 wheels - but how about ... 3, or 1, or even 0?
Reply
Nick Wright
20/5/2015 09:26:44 am
Hi Mark. I'm intrigued! The example your shared sounds a bit like one of De Bono's lateral thinking techniques. Could you say a bit more about how you do it? With thanks and best wishes. Nick
Reply
Mark Porter
23/5/2015 03:37:27 pm
Nick, from your blog you seem to be taking the standing back approach. I guess mine is similar to De Bono's in that a different angle is taken, but mine is more "variations on an existing theme". Have you got a case study I could consider?
Penny Barratt
21/5/2015 03:25:15 am
I believe it's not the thinking but the doing that troubles people stepping outside of the box or indeed the building. Most people are followers not leaders and even leaders want followers. The true thinkers are those that can stand alone with the energy to create the change that then brings others with them. Does that make them a maverick, a risk taker, a loner, an inspirationalist, a person who likes to challenge boundaries, maybe a little of all these things. However what is likely is being that person even a little bit is not always going to be comfortable, but it will be challenging and interesting. Not suprising then that most people stay within a box though they may push on the sides extending the size of the box over their lifetime.
Reply
Nick Wright
21/5/2015 03:28:30 am
Hi Penny and thanks for your thoughtful comments. What you wrote reminded me of a piece that a colleague shared yesterday from Luigi Barzini:
Reply
Annette Segal
23/5/2015 03:27:04 pm
I love this question. Creativity arises when throwing the "tried and true" process away, liberating ourselves from familiar language and freeing ourselves to play! Going at the problem/situation from the perspective of: a child, an alien, a botanist, a naturalist...you get the idea. Or turning the problem inside out...making a toy of it, a puzzle, a game...or shrinking it or enlarging it (scaling upwards). Fresh thinking requires stepping outside our usual frames - all the roles we identify with and take on new ones for the sake of the problem. What if I were a teenager? A New Zealander? A 20 something in Holland? And building models, playing with clay, drawing, sculpting, tinkering with metal - make it more enticing than just mind-mapping. Yes, these are action oriented approaches, more engaging than speech, but using speech - the wonderful drama activities to loosen folks up and get them thinking beyond their usual roles - also offers fresh thinking...and a bi-product, fun!
Reply
Nick Wright
23/5/2015 03:33:12 pm
Hi Annette. Many thanks for posting your comments. I love your creative, energetic ideas to break the mould and approach issues from very diverse perspectives. Very stimulating!! I will definitely be trying some of those. :) You may also find some of the ideas in this blog interesting? http://www.nick-wright.com/blog/lets-get-physical. Let me know what you think?With best wishes. Nick
Reply
Julie Grubbs
23/5/2015 03:45:12 pm
Nice visual with the loops. Thanks for sharing.
Reply
Nick Wright
23/5/2015 03:46:05 pm
Thanks Julie - you're very welcome. With best wishes. Nick
Reply
Gwynne Guzzeau
26/5/2015 12:59:43 pm
Step outside and walk, wherever you are -- city, town, rural village. Here at GISC we're fortunate to be in the woods of Wellfleet neighboring the Cape Cod National Seashore so as a leader, I can literally step out of my office and onto a bike path or a walking trail thru the woods. To shift the focus and the view of the "box" (whatever the issue or problem) it can be as simple as stepping away in order to allow for the creativity to emerge from wandering, whether city streets or paths in the countryside. Inviting ourselves to engage with a challenge by taking the challenge for a walk is a powerful and playful way to create fresh thinking. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by and I can show you one of my favorite paths!
Reply
Nick Wright
26/5/2015 01:04:04 pm
Hi Gwynne,
Reply
Adrian Spurrell
28/5/2015 06:20:35 am
I sometimes wonder if what we actually do is old thinking, well ask old questions - like what is our purpose - in new contexts.
Reply
Nick Wright
28/5/2015 06:21:49 am
Interesting, Adrian. Can you say a bit more..? All the best. Nick
Reply
Adrian Spurrell
2/6/2015 12:54:40 pm
Hi Nick - picking up on my earlier comment. The Greeks (not sure if it was the sceptics or cynics) believed that you had a purpose and that once that purpose was done you should chose to leave this life. Now I'm not recommending anything so drastic, but if the third loop of learning is 'what's our purpose' we are asking old questions, but within the new context of working. And if you read people like Frederick Laloux they say listening for and to the purpose of an organisation enables you to find new ways of working - enabling that creativity you refer to. So I think that by going back to really old questions like 'what is our purpose' still enable us to think creativity; or as Ury and Fry would put it for collaborative working - hang on to you principles and let go of your solutions.
Dave Sharpe
1/6/2015 02:58:53 am
This has some interesting links with research into what motivates people at work. It isn't just about money, more often and more important 'social' factors such as relationships with colleagues, aprpeciation for your work, and good relationships with superiors. So 'creating an environment in which people want to think in fresh and creative ways' suggests that we need to think about what people perceive as the things that their managers and peers value and appreciate.
Reply
Nick Wright
1/6/2015 03:08:04 am
Hi Dave and thanks for the helpful comments. I think you say something very important about creating an environment within which people take into account what other people value.
Reply
16/5/2018 10:35:50 pm
Good blog post. I want to thank you for interesting and helpful information and I like your point of view. Thank you! I love to read this type of material Good and attractive information I take from it. Thank you for posting such a good article.
Reply
Nick Wright
2/8/2019 10:33:28 am
Thank you for your kind feedback, Friv.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Nick WrightI'm a psychological coach, trainer and OD consultant. Curious to discover how can I help you? Get in touch! Like what you read? Simply enter your email address below to receive regular blog updates!
|