Micro-macro

13/7/2017

I took part in a fascinating workshop this week on systemic coaching and constellations led by Sarah Rozenthuler and Edward Rowland. Part-way through, I went for a quick comfort break and smiled when I saw this sign on the wall: ‘Please refrain from spitting chewing gum in the urinals. It blocks the system.’ What a great metaphor! A simple action in one part of a system can have inadvertent and far-reaching impacts on other parts of the system – or even on the system as a whole.

This reminded me of an incident 3 years ago when I snapped my left knee in a cycling accident. It was a serious injury that left me immobilised for 3 months. As I started learning to walk again, I felt sharp pains and heard crunching sounds in my right knee. Feeling surprised and alarmed by this, I spoke with a physiotherapist who explained that I was, in effect, overcompensating for the injury in my left knee by avoiding putting weight on it – and thereby placing extra strain on my other knee.

Here’s the point. The solution to the symptoms I was experiencing in the right knee lay not in the right knee per se but in how I dealt with the left knee. Imagine now that the issue is not a knee but is an issue at work. As leaders, OD or coaches, how often do we locate an issue or a problem in a person or team, thereby attempting to address or solve it there without paying attention to factors elsewhere in the system, often out of sight, that could be creating, exacerbating or sustaining it?

Edwin Nevis, a Gestalt organisational consultant, comments that we often see and feel aspects of the macro system reflected and revealed in the micro – and vice versa too. A simple inquiry can be illuminating here, e.g. ‘Who else?’ or ‘What else?’ It draws us to step back, to be curious, to shift our focus, to consider who or what may be influencing what and how. So: what do you look for, what are you (not) noticing, what are you experiencing and how do you make sense of it?

76 Comments

Ken Gilbert

14/7/2017 09:42:46 am

Good insights. Thanks.

Nick Wright

14/7/2017 09:43:29 am

Thanks Ken. You're welcome.

Gabriella Kovacs ACC

14/7/2017 09:44:30 am

Great analogy. I thought it would be a post on micro- and macro-learning... which in a way it is...

14/7/2017 09:45:39 am

Thanks Gabriella. Yes, there are resonances with single-, double- and triple loop learning.

Marion Darling

14/7/2017 02:05:19 pm

Nice analogy thanks for sharing.

14/7/2017 02:05:49 pm

Thanks Marion.

Ken Spohn

14/7/2017 02:47:01 pm

Great analogy...the problem is never the problem.

14/7/2017 02:49:02 pm

Thanks Ken. I like that. I used to work with someone who would say, 'The problem is the person...but not only the person.' The same could be said of potential, opportunity and success.

Evelina Rog, Ph.D., ACC

14/7/2017 03:52:06 pm

Thanks for illustrating and articulating this in such a memorable way Nick! Can I have permission to borrow your examples?

14/7/2017 03:53:23 pm

Thanks for such encouraging feedback, Evelina. It was certainly a memorable experience. Yes, feel free to use as you see fit. :)

Barry Jackson

16/7/2017 11:07:14 am

Such a simple question but I'm not sure there's a simple answer. Situations are too varied to expect a straightforward answer that fits them all. The critical thing is to realise that, whether you're dealing with an injured body or a malfunctioning organisation, you have to look beyond the presenting problem. Whatever solution you decide to apply, it has to take into account what effect it will have on the whole system.

16/7/2017 11:17:41 am

Hi Barry. Interesting comments. I agree with looking 'beyond the presenting problem.' In my experience, it's often difficult (if even possible) to discern effects on the whole system in advance, especially if the whole system is complex, dynamic and permeable to influences of wider systems too. An action in one part sometimes creates perverse incentives or unintended consequences in another part, or in the system as a whole. In such environments, it's sometimes about action research - creating a hypothesis, taking a step, seeing what happens, modifying the hypothesis if needed, then taking the next step. It's a bit like walking with awareness and drawing on insights and awareness from multiple stakeholders in the system.

Cath Norris

16/7/2017 11:18:37 am

Hi Nick, I did some interesting training on identifying collective issues and themes and gauging their implications for group life. (Facilitating group conflicts). I've been doing this quite naturally in organisational settings over the years. Taking your body parts analogy, I'm interested in how individual concerns (parts of the entire body) relate to the whole and how the whole relates to those individual concerns. Are they recognised and consciously acknowledged or do they represent more marginalised states or positions? Are they perceived as integral or disassociated from? What are the dynamics which relate to that position? Are they experienced as integral or inconsequential? Who's carrying the power when it comes to assigning significance and how does that impact on group life? Framing all of this supports greater awareness and brings the micro and macro into conscious relationship.

16/7/2017 11:20:43 am

Hi Cath. That sounds like a fascinating approach. Do you have an example from experience that would illustrate what it could look like in practice?

Brenda Baird, PCC, CPC, ELI-MP

16/7/2017 04:12:27 pm

Great insight in discovery of "the thing behind the thing"!

16/7/2017 04:14:54 pm

Thanks Brenda. 'The thing behind the thing' made me smile. :) We could think of it as the thing reflected in the thing...or the thing that the thing also points towards..?

Martin Hipwell

16/7/2017 04:18:36 pm

I try to run ever course different to the last.

16/7/2017 04:19:17 pm

Hi Martin. I'm intrigued. Could you say a bit more about how this enables you to shift between micro and macro?

Eduard Lopez

16/7/2017 04:20:42 pm

Thanks for sharing, Nick. It's a great illustration about what happens in organisations. Our attention is drawn to those parts that, apparently are not working, so we focus on them. The problem may be (is usually not) coming from them but from other parts of the system. Inquiring, being curious, connecting other parts of the system will help us to find the solution.

16/7/2017 04:23:27 pm

Thanks Eduard. You're welcome. I agree. Interestingly, we can also use inquiry into what is working well (e.g. appreciative inquiry). We often find that reveals aspects of the wider system too.

Sandhan D. Chowdhury

17/7/2017 10:16:06 am

Excellent Nick! I especially liked your analogies. On point!

17/7/2017 10:16:43 am

Thanks for your encouraging feedback, Sandhan!

Nikie Forster

17/7/2017 10:17:42 am

Great post Nick. Like the observation of the sign similarities. All very relevant for trainers and manager alike.

17/7/2017 10:18:59 am

Hi Nikie. I'm pleased you liked it. :)

Maddalena Scotti

17/7/2017 03:27:11 pm

Very interesting! We do know but we tend to forget. Thank you for the reminder!

17/7/2017 03:27:50 pm

Thanks Maddalena. You're welcome!

Marc Hanlan

17/7/2017 03:28:35 pm

Nice observation and self-awareness! I know it sounds cliché-ish, but I never choose between micro and macro; they're both parts of the same thing. One may take more focus than the other at any given point, but they're always in play and they each define the other.

17/7/2017 03:30:19 pm

Thanks Marc. Your comments reminded me of the Gestalt notion of 'Figure' and 'Ground'. Are you familiar with it?

Mike Scott

20/7/2017 02:14:40 pm

I would agree that lack of understanding of what effect an action will have on the rest of the 'system' within organisations is prevalent in many workplaces.

20/7/2017 02:15:13 pm

Hi Mike. Do you have any examples from experience you could share?

Hilary Furber

20/7/2017 02:15:58 pm

Very well put, Nick. Many times I've been asked as a training consultant to 'sort out' an apparently poorly performing sales team or individual, only to uncover cultural, systemic or interpersonal factors that are creating, exacerbating or sustaining the behaviour. No amount of training in isolation will change the situation. Hence the need for a wide ranging training needs analysis, involving all stakeholders.

20/7/2017 02:18:58 pm

Thanks Hilary. I agree. It can be useful to ask, for instance, 'Why are things as they are?' or 'Why are we doing what we are doing?' It can help raise awareness of interpersonal, cultural or systemic drivers that often lay hidden from sight.

Julia Ofner

20/7/2017 02:19:43 pm

Nick, great impulse: I absolutely agree, It is never what it seems to be. Look under the surface is always an intelligent approach to find keys that open doors.

20/7/2017 02:21:25 pm

Thanks Julia - and great metaphor. They key that opens the door often lays in a different part of the system to the door itself. 'What would need to happen to unlock this?' could be a great question to pose.

Sofia Menezes

20/7/2017 02:22:31 pm

Personally, I am looking for connections between people...more connection, more communication. So, thank you Nick, for bringing up this topic in such brilliant way!

20/7/2017 02:24:57 pm

Thanks for such encouraging feedback, Sofia. I agree...we could explore with a client what connections would enable a shift, what kind of connections and with whom etc, including those that lay outside of their normal field of vision.

Marita Fridjhon

20/7/2017 02:27:22 pm

This is such a great sample of the principle of "Interdependence" in modern systems thing and a foundational philosophy in our training in Organization and Relationship Coaching (ORSC) Happy for you to share your wisdom and join my call on the 10th of August!

20/7/2017 02:28:57 pm

Thanks Marita. Do you have an example of working with 'interdependence' that you could share here?

Christine & David McGregor

21/7/2017 08:38:19 pm

Absolutely spot on and though I might be digressing from the original question I can relate to some of the answers [Hilary Furber] We are so often called in to do " band aid training " and to sprinkle magic dust on the employees so that all will be well....generally all will not be well because the change needs to start at the very top . We have in the past turned down contracts when we felt in our guts that the RESULTS of the training would be short-lived due to the underlying issues that beset the company as a whole . We now either encourage training the management team first OR have them join the sessions too ... we put a whole lot of energy and passion into our work, care too much for our hard-earned reputation AND the stakeholders' ROI to be nonchalant about this . Intake sessions are held until we are pretty sure that no stone will be left unturned in the training and all cards are on the table. Anything less is pure lip-service to training and development.

21/7/2017 08:41:12 pm

Thanks Christine and David. Yes, leaders form an important part of organisational systems and are often able to exert significant influence over the success - or otherwise - of training interventions.

Michael Novotny

21/7/2017 08:42:14 pm

A great metaphor! It is an very interesting fact, that even professionals get surprised by that. So I am not alone in that feeling! Thanks!

21/7/2017 08:46:58 pm

Thanks Michael. You are certainly not alone! When training and working with coaches, I'm often struck by how person-centered their practice is with little, if any, attention to 'who else?' and 'what else?' in the frame. I came into coaching via community development which probably influences my cultural and systemic outlook and approach. How about you?

Marie Smith, CPCC (Coach), FCIPD, NLP, MBTI, SDI

21/7/2017 08:48:24 pm

Absolutely agree Nick. The issue very often lies hidden beneath the surface as it not always what is presented to be the issue.

21/7/2017 08:51:06 pm

Thanks Marie. I agree that significant issues often lay beneath the surface. They may also lay elsewhere in the system(s) or in the system as a whole. Sometimes exploring systems with the client, including their real and possible influences, can be revealing and incredibly useful.

'Story Gordon' Hill

22/7/2017 07:14:31 pm

Interesting. In my training career the path from micro (basic skills like using a piece of test equipment) to macro (overall ability to maintain a piece of equipment) passes through mini (specific testing and adjustment processes).

22/7/2017 07:17:52 pm

Hi Gordon. Interesting analogy. Another way of thinking about it could be to deploy the test equipment and to observe what else, apart from the equipment itself, influences the achievement of successful results?

Elio Vera

22/7/2017 07:19:12 pm

Our skill is first of all to be able to distinguish by what the problem is originated by the person and by what from his/her surrounding context. And the reciprocal interactions.

22/7/2017 07:21:52 pm

Hi Elio. I think the same is true for solutions - to observe what is working well and what accounts for its success.

Marketa Zemcakova

22/7/2017 07:22:39 pm

Finding the real triggers of problems is like open sea diving, you never know how deep you can get. Thanks Nick for the reminder, these are very powerful questions.

22/7/2017 07:23:44 pm

Thanks Marketa. I love your 'open sea diving' metaphor!

Suzanne Mountain FCIPD

22/7/2017 07:24:44 pm

Great post! I attended John Whittington systems and constellations training and frequently use the concepts in my coaching & OD work.

22/7/2017 07:26:46 pm

Thanks Suzanne! It sounds like you have a lot of experience in this area. Do you have any coaching or OD examples you could share to show what these concepts can look like in practice?

Elizabeth Wray MBPsS M.ed

22/7/2017 07:28:49 pm

Fantastic.

22/7/2017 07:29:21 pm

Thanks Elizabeth. :)

Jonathan Brown

22/7/2017 07:30:31 pm

Great points. When I help someone suffering from stress and the consequential under performance, in over 70% of cases the fastest recovery comes through the client changing their relationship with those around them as they were inadvertently attracting more than their share of the organisational challenges.

22/7/2017 07:34:25 pm

Thanks Jonathan. Intriguing. Could you say a bit more about 'inadvertently attracting more than their share of the organisational challenges', perhaps with an example to illustrate it in practice?

M Warner High Mark Calibre

23/7/2017 04:17:07 pm

It would be better if this service could be extended to Somalia!

23/7/2017 04:17:35 pm

Hi M. I'm curious. Can you say more..?

Lorna Shaw

24/7/2017 10:08:18 am

Great article Nick, thanks for sharing. You're so right about the tendency to focus on the 'dysfunctional' individual as a response to under-performance. As a trained systemic / constellation coach, I aim to bring awareness to what may be going on at the level of the system, but the majority of clients are so used to the focus on the individual that it can be quite challenging to engage them systemically. I think there is still a lot of work to be done to 'educate' those in organisational settings to a systemic emphasis.

24/7/2017 10:17:32 am

Thanks Lorna. I would love to hear more about your experiences of using a systemic/constellation approach. Do you have any examples you could share? I think Peter Senge's 'The Fifth Discipline' was a great contribution in the 'educate' arena when it was published in 1990 but I don't see much evidence of it being practised in coaching conversations. On the 'dysfunctional individual', you may find this short article interesting? http://www.nick-wright.com/what-is-really-going-on-here.html

Yathiraj Agarwal

24/7/2017 08:29:27 pm

Fantastic lesson.

24/7/2017 08:30:01 pm

Thank you, Yathiraj.

Kim Moore, PCC, MSc

26/7/2017 10:49:08 am

Well said from a most practical perspective Nick!

26/7/2017 10:49:50 am

Thanks for your kind feedback, Kim!

Will Goad

26/7/2017 10:52:09 am

I wonder if this points to a larger issue...one where we don't focus on the real gap, but instead chase after metrics that are convenient to track.

For example, I once was part of a team tasked with reducing handle time by 10% with a call center team. This was an easy to conceptualize objective...train the reps to get folks off the phone quicker. But, because our leadership encouraged us to be open in our diagnosis, it became clear that handle time wasn't really a problem. It was callbacks. So, the shift became first call resolution.

The training for this was harder, but the business outcome was much more beneficial to the business.

26/7/2017 10:53:49 am

Hi Will. Thanks for sharing such a great example of understanding an issue before responding to it!

Susan J Goodbrand

26/7/2017 10:54:51 am

Always OBSERVE first to get the bigger picture so you have an understanding of (sometimes extremely weird) Company demands/process/ expectations; then the fun begins 😊

26/7/2017 10:59:59 am

Hi Susan. 'Sometimes extremely weird' definitely corresponds with some of my experiences too! :) It partly depends on our role. Sometimes it's about enabling the client(s) to grow in awareness of their own environment - including who or what is influencing what and how that may shift in different circumstances and times. Sometimes it's not possible to see the bigger picture which is where something like an experimental/experiential action learning approach can be useful: try something, see what happens, be curious about why. That is where greater understanding sometimes begins to emerge.

Christine Guerin

26/7/2017 06:34:28 pm

Valid question ! It is common that a visible problem is actually the consequence of a deeper issue . A typical example is when a group blames one person for blocking the system. To identify if there is more, I usually propose to the group to visualize the ideal situation and develop their vision with details. Inconsistencies often show up and may demonstrate that this person 's function is to bear all the blames !

26/7/2017 06:37:18 pm

Thanks Christine. A colleague I worked with would often say, 'It's about the person - but it's not only about the person.' I found that insightful and useful. Your final comment reminded me of the biblical notion of 'scapegoat'!

Olga Sánchez Esteban

26/7/2017 06:38:16 pm

True. Everything influences the system. It is necessary to consider multicausality. Thanks for the wake up call, Nick.

26/7/2017 06:38:45 pm

Thank you, Olga. You're welcome.

Sarah Rozenthuler

26/7/2017 07:08:31 pm

Great to have you at the workshop, Nick. I like your right knee / left knee analogy in terms of locating where the real issue is. Many thanks for sharing.

26/7/2017 07:10:33 pm

Thanks, Sarah. I think the notion of 'the real issue' also begs some really interesting questions, particularly when viewed through the lens of social constructionism.

Disha Chandra

28/7/2017 12:35:39 pm

A wake up call to all. From top to bottom of the pyramid.

28/7/2017 12:36:49 pm

Hi Disha. Thanks for the note. I'm curious: can you say a bit more about the pyramid metaphor and what 'top' and 'bottom' represent for you?

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