It was great fun to work with a professional cartoonist. Bill Crooks has a remarkable gift for capturing, expressing or stimulating a thought, an idea or a feeling with a few quick strokes of a marker pen. We were leading a workshop that aimed to reveal and challenge the assumptions that participants bring to customer, client and beneficiary relationships. Bill quickly sketched a large person looking down at a small person through a magnifying glass. He then asked the group, simply, ‘What do you see?’ Participants looked down, thought, discussed then spoke up. ‘We – the organization – are the large person. We are scrutinising the client.’ The inference here was that the organization holds the power, the influence, the prerogative to evaluate and to choose. The wider group agreed. Bill responded provocatively, ‘And what if, unknown to us, the client is connected to unseen networks that dwarf the power, the influence, the prerogative of our organization? Who now is looking down on who?’ It was a sobering moment. Silence hit the room. How easily we make assumptions about ourselves, about others, based on what we see, know or think we understand. Imagine, for a moment, the leader who believes that he or she holds far greater power and influence than individual front-line staff. Hold that thought. And now: think of front-line staff who are connected by social media to key networks and influencers in the organisation’s wider arena. Who now is looking down on who? We are talking here about the dramatic power of re-framing. As we change the metaphorical frame through which we view a person or situation, different pictures, perspectives, opportunities and challenges can emerge, change colour/shape or come into sharper focus. Shift the frame, shift what appears, how it feels and what options become available to us and to our clients. What have been your best experiences of reframing or achieving a radical paradigm shift? How did you do it?
10 Comments
E.G.Sebastian - CPC, CSL
20/2/2018 03:56:02 pm
My friend, we are so on the same "wave lengths" :) I was just explaining my daughter (10 years old) about the meaning of a paradigm shift. I gave her some great examples of how we judge people around us (and might even tease them or dislike them strongly) , but when we hear their stories, we suddenly sympathize with them and might even want to help them.
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Nick Wright
20/2/2018 04:07:48 pm
Thanks E.G. What an incredibly moving and evocative story. A great demonstration of the power of a dramatic shift in perspective. I would be curious to know what your 10-year-old daughter explained back to you... ;) You reminded me of a Brazilian leader I worked with at at a large global child-focused NGO. At an induction event, we were told the story of the organisation through the lens of successive presidents, starting with the person who started the organisation. This leader asked humbly and profoundly - 'Who started this organisation? The person who founded it - or the small child whose need inspired him?'
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E.G.Sebastian - CPC, CSL
20/2/2018 07:24:54 pm
She is a wise little "paduan" :) - she just listens and says nothing, then a few days (or weeks or months) later, she'll say something that'll exemplify what we talked about. Even the marketing or motivational audios that we listen to in the car - I often thought she was not listening, but then later in time she'll say something like "Oh, so this is like the guy said when we were listening in the car..." and she'll tell me how the two relate.
Nick Wright
20/2/2018 07:28:33 pm
Hi E.G. Your daughter sounds wise and wonderful - just like her Dad. :)
Filomena Day
26/2/2018 12:42:06 pm
I agree, the energy consumed by taking first impressions too seriously gets in the way of really resonating with the prospect or client. Allowing your eyes and ears to create perceptions blocks the heart energy required to feel what he/she is experiencing. It takes longer to help him/her find solutions to resolve their pain points if we don't make SHIFT happen within ourselves first!
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Nick Wright
26/2/2018 12:43:12 pm
Thanks Filomena. I like your idea of shift within ourselves first..!
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Elly Taylor
26/2/2018 12:44:23 pm
My "shift" has taken 15 years and counting. As a relationship and a new mother at the same time I discovered that parenthood was tough on a couple's relationship, including my own. But, being trained as an Emotionally Focused Couples Counsellor, I was working with clients on how to grow closer through challenges. So I started researching the "transition" into parenthood (boy is that an understatement!!!) Over time I created the relationship-developmental model I was using with clients and now teach to other professionals so couples grow closer through parenthood instead of apart...
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Nick Wright
26/2/2018 12:45:39 pm
Hi Elly. Do you have any examples from experience that you could share to show what your relationship-developmental model looks like in practice?
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Shealagh Kate King
1/3/2018 03:54:51 pm
It was with Shift Consulting that our ideas as a team were visually combined to identify far more powerful objectives & the natural champions of them, including a great start to the main priorities for each thrust. The inclusive nature of this re-organization led to a shift from decades in the red to being $250,000 in the black in less than 1 year.
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Nick Wright
1/3/2018 03:55:20 pm
Hi Kate. So - how did you make the shift?
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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!
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