Discovery

11/8/2016

‘Stop deciding ahead of time what to discover.’ (John Shotter)

It’s summer in the UK – holiday season. And I dislike planned holidays. I love to take holidays…but to decide and organise every detail in advance feels like sucking the life, the oxygen, the fun out of it! This can of course prove very tricky when sharing holidays with plan-ful people. For me, it’s a tight-loose principle. It’s about ensuring just enough structure to make it happen and, at the same time, lots of flex and freedom for serendipitous encounters and unexpected adventures to emerge.

I like the joy, excitement and stimulation of not-yet-knowing so the idea of planned discovery feels strangely paradoxical to me. How can we know for definite in advance what we may discover? It’s like a training course where we formulate learning outcomes in advance: ‘This is what you will learn.’ How would it be if we were to frame it differently: ‘This is the material we plan to cover. Come prepared for an exciting adventure of discovery! Who knows where the journey could lead?’

The same can be true of team meetings or conversations with colleagues. How quickly we fall into formulaic patterns and routines. It creates a sense of predictability, which can be good, yet often leads to frustration and boredom. It engenders what Heidegger calls listening as ‘already listening’, that is, listening, anticipating and interpreting through the filter of what we have already decided or believe. How different it would be if we were to meet each other in an excited spirit of inquiry!

So discovery can bring fresh energy, inspiration and innovation – yet what can we do to foster the conditions for it without trying to prescribe or design it ahead of time? Here are some ideas: Firstly, practise curiosity: be willing to not-know, experiment, take a risk. Secondly, be disruptive: do something different, try a new method, meet in a different place. Thirdly, step outside: visit other organisations, join cross-cultural teams, network widely. Try it – and see what you discover!

29 Comments

Lilin

12/8/2016 08:20:27 am

Looks like my kind of holiday😀 It's a bit boring if everything goes to plan. Does that sound silly? A good friend of mine used to say 'the only holidays I remember are the ones where one thing or another goes wrong' and 'don't tell me about your holiday if it's fabulous!' Lol

Nick Wright

12/8/2016 08:27:48 am

Hi Lilin. I can so relate to that! I once spent 3 months+ with a rucksack hitch-hiking around Europe and into the Middle East. I didn't make any forward plans at all. Each day I would wake up and think, 'OK, where today?' I lost count of the amazing people I met and all the incredible things that happened. Many of the most memorable moments were when things seemed to go wrong...yet then opened up all sorts of new experiences and adventures. :) All the best. Nick

Cath Norris, MA, BA, Dip Couns

12/8/2016 08:21:35 am

Great Nick! One of my favourite subjects :) I love facilitating groups with no plan other than to meet folks where they're at and follow whatever unfolds. Bliss.

12/8/2016 08:35:47 am

Hi Cath and thanks for the note! I can relate to that too, although I tend to work in semi-structured environments where we have an overall goal or purpose in mind yet lots of latitude in terms of how we approach it together. Whereas in the past I would work hard to plan everything in advance, nowadays I tend to have some tentative ideas and options in mind but focus more on presence, stance, emergence and facilitation in the room itself. It often proves more inspiring, engaging and effective! All the best. Nick

Robert Hodge

12/8/2016 01:50:52 pm

Some techniques I use:
1. For every contemporary book, I read a book that is at least 40 years old on somewhat of the same subject (this works better for leadership than it does for learning Windows 10) 2. I bring in resources and terminology from a different industry segment rather than the one of the client - answers often exist elsewhere 3. I ask the client to role play other people, including her "opponent" in a tough discussion 4. We rearrange paragraphs to see how the emphasis or sequence seems to change the perceived outcome. 5. We craft our planning exercises together within their culture, not relying on any one fixed approach - they get creative and I guide to get results 6. Where permissible, we pray for wisdom to glorify God rather oneself.

12/8/2016 01:56:25 pm

Hi Robert and thanks for sharing such great creative techniques! Some reminded me of DeBono's approach to lateral thinking. Great ways to snap us out of the proverbial box. Your comment about Windows made me laugh! :) I love the idea of rearranging paragraphs - I have sometimes tried that when writing blogs to see what different ideas and emphases emerge. On praying to God for humility and wisdom - amen to that. All the best. Nick

Sheila Hirst

12/8/2016 03:56:33 pm

I agree & beautifully described. . But so hard to get clients to accept this approach.

12/8/2016 04:06:11 pm

Hi Sheila and thank you.

I guess I've been privileged over time to work with clients and organisations that have been willing to take the risk - even if they looked and felt perplexed at the start! One senior leader commented in retrospect: 'To be honest, I had (and still have) no idea what you're doing. It makes no sense to me all. Yet it feels like...magic. Whatever you're doing - keep doing it.'

I wonder if it's something about how we create sufficient trust, along with vivid imagining of what could be possible if we do it well, that can enable clients to step out of their normal patterns, preferences and comfort zones - albeit tentatively at first. What do you think? All the best. Nick

16/8/2016 08:40:32 pm

Nick I totally agree when you are talking to someone with sufficient clout to make it happen, it is all about the vision you build and the trust you create. I suppose my curmudgeonly response comes from so many times having to try and convince through a functional gatekeeper and it's hard for them to reproduce the magic second hand. I still keep trying though!

16/8/2016 08:46:55 pm

Hi Sheila and thanks for the honest response. Yes, if we encounter gatekeepers who are less open to an emergent 'discovery' approach or unable to express that well to other key stakeholders in such a way that they find compelling and convincing, we can get stuck. Sometimes it means finding ways to communicate and frame the work in terms that the gatekeeper or other stakeholders can connect with and are willing to buy into. We can approach the work in a 'discovery' spirit once we are in the room, once we have established enough trust to test some of the boundaries. Does that make sense? All the best. Nick

Shanti

13/8/2016 02:02:36 am

Nick, loved this post and it refreshed memories of how extremely task oriented I was when I started facilitating (on hindsight, I wonder if I was facilitating !!). I was so focused on the output and the methodology. Over the years, I learnt to trust myself, the process and the group. It is amazing what can emerge when we, as facilitators, just flow ... And at a deeper level, we just embrace the chaos, uncertainty, ambiguity etc. It helps us, teams and organizations deal with some much more and navigate through any challenges. My mentor always asks me " How much of your design have you dropped and modified?" and this ability and willingness to drop or modify produces amazing results. Thank you also, Nick, for reminding me of my strengths!

13/8/2016 07:20:21 am

Hi Shanti and thanks for your heartwarming feedback.

I'm pleased you have been reminded of your strengths! :) It sounds like your journey has been similar to my own. I like your mentor's questions.

For me in a facilitation context, it has been about things like:

*Learning to let go of my anxieties about what might go 'wrong' if I don't have everything under control (which taps into my fear of failure, fear of humiliation, fear of rejection etc);

*Being consciously and intentionally present to the group - which means preparing myself as much as my material beforehand;

*Trusting God more - that I will know and be able to do what I need to know and to be able to do in the moment;

*Trusting and drawing more on the resourceful-ness of the group itself rather than expecting myself to be, know and do everything.

*Taking a breath, being curious and enjoying the adventure of seeing what exciting possibilities and discoveries emerge! :)

Does that resonate with you too? All the best. Nick

13/8/2016 08:14:31 am

You have articulated it so well. Along with a sense of curiosity, being open about emerging possibilities is very important. Thankfully I practice all this in my personal and professional life! No wonder I love my work as a change facilitator so much!

13/8/2016 09:52:38 am

Thanks Shanti. It sounds like we work in similar fields. If you'd be interested to get in touch directly, my email address is [email protected]. All the best. Nick

Mary Britton

13/8/2016 09:58:00 am

Nice analogy Nick , thanks 👍 I'm a big believer in an approach which is 'ready for anything' .

13/8/2016 09:58:43 am

Thanks Mary. That sounds like a good motto to me! :) All the best. Nick

Suman Singh

13/8/2016 12:47:16 pm

“Perhaps he knew, as I did not, that the Earth was made round so that we would not see too far down the road.”
― Karen Blixen, Out of Africa
One of the quotes which I have understood over a period of time.....Nick!

13/8/2016 04:03:05 pm

Hi Suman and thanks for the note. What a wonderful quotation! All the best. Nick

Jennifer Blackburn

13/8/2016 08:43:35 pm

I love the delivery in explaining the feeling of being in the present and exploring what gravitates in attraction. If nature is relaxing such as fishing sitting under tree perhaps it's not nature that peace brings you but the ability to just be in understanding your in a safe quite
Color full place. Requiring nothing from you and freedom to give 100 percent with senses taking it in

what gravitates and attracts while staying

13/8/2016 08:45:23 pm

Hi Jennifer and thanks for the note. I like the idea of being in a safe, quiet, colourful place..! All the best. Nick

Dawn Reed, MSOD

14/8/2016 09:05:35 am

This has been a very interesting chain. The ideas presented have put me into a curious mindset. Food for thought !

14/8/2016 09:06:16 am

Thanks for the note, Dawn. A curious mindset is a great place to be! :) All the best. Nick

Bob Larcher

14/8/2016 09:14:01 pm

I like the “tight-loose principle”; it’s a bit like the Blue-Yellow balance in Insights – structure, rigour & discipline but in a fun, sharing & flexible way.

14/8/2016 09:20:42 pm

Thanks Bob. That's a useful connection. Something I'm aware of is that personal and cultural preferences in this area play as much a part as, say, more rational considerations about how 'best' to be and do in the world. This means that, when working interdependently with people who have very different and contrasting preferences, an awareness and commitment to finding win-win solutions can be important, challenging and - where successful! - fruitful. All the best. Nick

Funmi Johnson

16/8/2016 08:33:35 pm

Hi Nick, very intriguing thoughts about not trying to determine the outcome before you start. From a practical point of view, if one is engaged to deliver training, there is an expectation of learning objectives and outcomes. What does one do in that situation?

16/8/2016 08:38:56 pm

Hi Funmi. That's a good question. Perhaps in training where there are very tight learning objectives and outcomes that are specified in advance, the question of discovery could relate to, say, how to achieve those outcomes as a group. 'How might we do this?', including an invitation to the group to experiment and innovate around learning preferences and methods, for instance, could open up awareness, insight andd discoveries that go way beyond the fixed formal objectives. What do you think? All the best. Nick

27/8/2016 05:30:06 pm

Hi Nick, that's actually how I would tend to approach it. To be flexible, within any 'hard' boundaries that I might have. I take the view that as long as the material is covered, how we get there should be as interactive and intuitive as possible.

Bernard Morris, MBA, DMS, HND

19/8/2016 09:59:32 am

Nick, In recent times I experienced a manager that would hold his two-hour team meeting once a fortnight and would talk for almost all that time and refuse to be interrupted. I think he took the follow quotation literally :

"To get something done a committee should consist of no more than three people, two of whom are absent," Robert Copeland

19/8/2016 10:00:29 am

Thanks Bernard. What a great quotation! It made me laugh. :) All the best. Nick

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