This impressed me. This woman has been deaf since birth and lip-reads. Struck by how naturally she speaks and with apparent ease in conversation, I'm curious and ask if she can hear anything of her own voice. She replies, ‘No - nothing’. Even more intrigued, I ask, ‘So…how do you know what volume you are speaking at?’ ‘Trial and error’, she replies. ‘I started to speak when I was a child. If someone leaned back as if trying to move away from me, I realised I was speaking too loudly. If they leaned forward as if straining to hear me, I knew I was speaking too quietly. Simple.’ And brilliant.
There are some interesting parallels to this approach in fields such as Gestalt coaching and OD action research. It’s about trying something new – an experiment, if you like – and being open to, sensitive to, the experience, the response. This type of feedback loop can enable us to learn, grow, innovate and improve. It takes courage to take a step into not-yet-knowing; attentive observation skills to notice what happens; critical reflective research skills to make sound, meaningful sense of it and, last but not least, personal and professional judgement to make good decisions and act on them. So, what does this point towards as leaders, OD, coaches and trainers? I believe it’s about recruiting, releasing and rewarding people who seize the initiative: responsible risk-takers willing to try something new, more likely to seek forgiveness than permission. It’s also about creating healthy relational and cultural conditions where positive qualities – e.g. wonder, curiosity and inquiry – thrive and are supported. It’s about experimenting and learning without fear of blame or failure. ‘There is no such thing as a failed experiment, only experiments with unexpected outcomes.’ (Fuller).
20 Comments
Cath Norris
11/8/2017 10:39:07 am
Love this Nick (I seem to say that a lot about your posts :) ) Such a strong visceral sense of relief and excitement reading this. It reminds me of some of the most exciting and innovative environments I've worked in, where core values and intent were strong enough to allow for 'how' we met needs and reached our destination to be a living, responsive process. It speaks to me of the value of embodied, heartfull approaches which lead from an astute felt sense of what is needed rather than a pre-formulated idea or plan.
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Nick Wright
11/8/2017 10:47:11 am
Thanks for such warm and encouraging feedback, Cath. :) What you describe certainly resonates well with a Gestalt approach. A personal and cultural desire for predictability and certainty in advance, combined with a demand or expectation of guaranteed success every time, can stifle emergence, serendipity, opportunity to notice something different that could be of real/more value, release of surprising energy and potential etc.
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Richard Simpson
11/8/2017 01:35:37 pm
Hi Nick - another interesting blog. It chimes with a couple of things I'm reading at the moment - TA and Systems. In TA, the idea of OD is to move towards 'autonomy'. How often do our organisations, line managers and leaders crush this aspiration? How many of us become passive or rebellious as a result? In the UK, the Government obsession with hard data, evidence, and targets creates a culture where there is a desensitisation to feedback from the system. Nobody dares trust their experience unless it is officially sanctioned. Experiment equals risk. Stick to the tried and tested, even if it doesn't work!
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Nick Wright
14/8/2017 12:30:54 pm
Thanks Richard. Yes, I find that TA provides some very useful insights for OD. Sometimes it's about finding different ways to think about ourselves as individuals or as people, including the type of relationships we are willing to choose with each other and with the wider organisation. Correspondingly, it's also about how the organisation views and relates to individual and groups, both within and outside of the organisation - insofar as those boundaries are meaningful. This is where TA insights into, say, transactions and games can be very illuminating and useful!
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Sharon Bingert
14/8/2017 12:31:54 pm
It's about "TAKING A LEAP OF FAITH AND NOT BEING AFRAID TO TRY SOMETHING NEW, BUT BE "SENSITIVE TO THE NEEDS OF OTHERS". I wish I was a able to try this, and help others that normally would be almost giving up!! GREAT ARTICLE"!! Thanks Nick for sharing!!!
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Nick Wright
14/8/2017 12:33:25 pm
Thanks Sharon! I'm curious - what holds you back from taking leaps of faith..?
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John Prpich
14/8/2017 12:34:29 pm
I actually don't believe it has anything to do with a leap of faith, it has more to do with our fear of failure, no one likes to fail. What's odd about that is that history has taught us the exact opposite, over and over again, over hundreds and thousands of years, yet we are still afraid. I love learning by experiment and I embrace failure.
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Nick Wright
14/8/2017 12:36:25 pm
Hi John. Intriguing comments. Do you see 'leap of faith' and 'fear of failure' as entirely disconnected dynamics and experiences..?
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Shannon Sulpizio
14/8/2017 12:37:39 pm
I live and work by this approach. Searching for the new idea and taking the leap is always worth it because you do learn more from this than from any other methodology. In some ways you learn faster. I use this when I train. There's an exploration that occurs -an adventure- for both me and the class. This lends itself to motivational and engagement benefits that just simply standing in front it the class won't ver garner. With that said, I find increasingly that people generally speaking are resistant to the try and see what happens exercise. My experience is that people would rather take traditional steps rather than the trial and error approach. No one likes to fail. For me the question is how do you get people to be open to the potential of failure? Fear of failure is the enemy!
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Nick Wright
14/8/2017 12:40:16 pm
Hi Shannon. Thanks for the stimulating note. What do you believe might lay behind the increasing resistance and fear of failure in the people and environments you work in..?
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Khorshed Bhote
14/8/2017 12:41:00 pm
All great inventions came out of failures. Experiential learning is the best kind. It sticks.
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Nick Wright
14/8/2017 12:43:51 pm
Hi Khorshed. I think it's true that many great inventions came out of what was construed as 'failure' at the time. I believe that experiential learning is one of the best ways to increase emotional as well as rational commitment to a new idea or approach. It's as if something shifts deep within us - which is very different to passive assent.
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Iain McKenna
14/8/2017 12:44:33 pm
I don't think fear of failure is a big issue - we all fail. The problematic fear is fear of punishment for having failed.
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Nick Wright
14/8/2017 12:49:04 pm
Hi Iain. Yes, fear of failure is often related to deeper fears...often in relation to the perceived consequences of failure. Sometimes it's about a fear of punishment by others, particularly others that hold power over us. The possibility of punishment could be real or imagined. Sometimes it can be a fear of failing to meet up to our own hopes and expectations of ourselves, or the hopes and expectations of others who matter deeply to us.
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E.G.Sebastian - CPC, CSL
14/8/2017 02:15:24 pm
Only 100% :) - and yes, it blows up in my face too, half of the time... But it's worth it, for the other half :)
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Nick Wright
14/8/2017 02:15:55 pm
Hi E.G. You truly are fear-less! :)
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Devora Gila Berkowitz
18/8/2017 10:09:27 am
Here's another angle on what you're saying, Nick. This is why we've sent our children to Democratic School, based on the Sudbury system. They are such kinesthetic self-learners that being in a regular school system was separating them from being their true selves. Imagine revolutionizing our schools to create a world of adults and children who are always ready to "learn, grow, innovate and improve."
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Nick Wright
18/8/2017 10:11:10 am
Hi Devora. I'm intrigued. What's a 'Democratic School' and what is the 'Sudbury' system?
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Cassie Sim
20/8/2017 11:32:33 am
Educators aren't afraid of failures but employers do because they pay you to deliver. You must first win the approval of the management to adopt a 'try and trial' approach or else every attempt to find new ideas will be a failed attempt.
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Nick Wright
20/8/2017 11:39:21 am
Hi Cassie. You reminded me of an experience many years ago when I worked in industry. The organisation sent all apprentices onto outward bound courses where we were challenged and encouraged to be proactive, question and innovate. After one such experience, I returned to the workplace only to find that senior managers were uninterested or unwilling to experiment with new ideas that could have made a radical difference. It was a frustrating and demotivating experience. I imagine, in retrospect, that senior managers were not involved in the purpose and design of the outward bound courses and, therefore, felt no ownership or engagement with the outcomes that arose from them.
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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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