An Unprecedented Approach ADAPTIVE CHANGE MANAGEMENT (RON HEIFETZ)

An Unprecedented Approach ADAPTIVE CHANGE MANAGEMENT (RON HEIFETZ)

New concepts People do not hate change Create a holding environment Get up on the balcony Give the work back to the people

Change fails because People are OK with going from A to Z. They have trouble tolerating the daunting, painful steps in between.

Holding Environment The job of the leader is to create a holding environment in which people can do the learning they need to do.

Get up on the balcony We need to get above the day-to-day fray to be able to see our situation with some detachment and objectivity.

Give the work back to the people It is messy; maybe even chaotic. But people really will rise to the occasion and create solutions often things we could not have imagined by ourselves.

Reasons Attempts To Change Fail Misperceive threat Perceive threat but responding is beyond adaptive capability Inability to cope with distress provoked by problem and change it demands Leads to avoidance mechanisms

Avoidance Mechanisms Holding onto past assumptions Blaming and/or scapegoating Externalizing the enemy Denying the problem Jumping to conclusions Finding a distracting issue

My job as facilitator Apply just enough pressure to keep forward momentum...

but not so much that you shut down. People can tolerate only so much tension before they need a breather. But if they see the value in the endeavor, they will return to the work and keep moving forward.

It s time to get REAL! Let s stop going in circles and stick with this until we can make practical, sustainable decisions that will inform our work in coming years. There is that law of life so cruel and so just that one must grow or else pay more for remaining the same. Norman Mailer

An unprecedented process THEORY U OR DEEP THINKING (C. OTTO SCHARMER)

Three distinct responses to challenges Retro-movement proponents: Let s return to the order of the past. Defenders of status quo: Just keep going. Focus on doing more of the same. Muddle through. Transformational Change advocates: Isn t there a way to break the patterns of the past and tune into our highest future possibility?

Theory U or Deep Thinking DOWNLOADING Closed Mind SUSPENDING Pre-conceived ideas SEEING With fresh eyes Open Mind CO-CREATING An unimagined future REDIRECTING SENSING Open Heart CO-CREATING New thinking and principles LETTING GO Open Will PRESENCING Connecting to Source LETTING COME Scharmer, 2009

Keep an Open Mind An open mind exhibits intellectual curiosity. It considers all perspectives. This does not mean that you agree with all perspectives. It means you will seriously consider all perspectives.

Cultivate an Open Heart Even if it means that you might be disappointed. Your heart may be even be broken. Or it could result in unimaginable joy and pride!

The bottom of the U requires Open Will When the going gets tough, the tough get discipline. They make themselves push through. Quitting in frustration or overwhelm will not get the job done. Vent and then get back to work.

Our Blind Spot is below the surface Our Blind Spot is the inner place from which we operate. It is the source of our attention and action. We cannot meet the challenges at hand if we do not illuminate our blind spot individually and collectively.

Dealing With Our Blind Spot We have to drop all our old tools and attend to the situation with fresh eyes. We have to abandon our conventional ways of reacting and operating. We have to re-focus our gaze from our public way of reacting to our unseen blind spot. We have to deepen our attention to and wonder about our milieu.

Let s start thinking about our blind spots regarding funeral service practice?

ONTARIO, OREGON 1963

VIVID IMAGINATION OR DIVINE GUIDANCE? My first dream funeral home

The spine of my work Do something different that makes a difference

My Blind Spot About Funeral Service I really need for it to be important and prestigious or I may have made a mistake by going into the field. I am embarrassed and defensive about the negative public image of funeral directors. What if it isn t all I want it to be? Can I let it be whatever it is?

Evening Homework Relax, reflect, record List questions we need to ask and data we need to gather Avoid persuasive arguments Open questions vs. Closed questions What is your blind spot?