Madelyn is expert in organizational
development, knowledge management, instructional design, and
research technique. She developed the first content analysis
of written performance evaluations, designed and created the
methodology of Information Flow Analysis. She has extensively
researched gender in the workplace, working with more than 20
organizations to develop programs that address the needs of women
and men working together.
She spoke with me by telephone from her
beautiful office in Maryland’s rural
countryside.
Madelyn: I want to tell you about an
exceptional work-team with whom I had the opportunity to work. They
were about 35 people; very multi-cultural. The group had been
together just three years. They were in a large, international
organization and had been brought together to fulfill a special
function. They had been quite successful in this
regard.
Because they were a fairly new group,
they had developed their work processes informally. Theywere doing excellent work, but had
never codified the ways they worked together. So, their individual
roles, planning processes, and underlying objectives were not yet
explicit. Then, they
learned they were going to go through a leadership transition. This
is when they did something quite remarkable: the team, including the
current leader, began to prepare itself for the transition.
Seth: How did they do
that?
Madelyn: This was a
tremendously self-motivated group. They cared deeply about what they
did. Like many work-teams their interpersonal communication ranged
from very precise to hardly spoken at all. Social relationships
within the group covered a wide spread: some were very close with
each other and others had purely professional relationships. The
amazing thing was they knew they had to get beyond their day-to-day
focus to successfully move from one leader to another, losing as
little productivity as possible. They decided to have a retreat,
bringing me in to help them create the smooth transition. They wanted to optimize
continuity as their leaders changed.
Seth: What happened? Tell
me about it.
Madelyn: I worked with them
to design a retreat that leveraged their initiative and motivation.
We used Appreciative Inquiry, Open Space, storytelling, and other
methodologies that work especially well for a group that is
self-motivated and facing a complex situation. Each of these processes
relies on the group to self-organize, work collaboratively, and
think together on difficult issues.
The first thing we did was establish the
group spirit. This may
sound silly, but it really made a difference! I knew this would
uplift and inform all our efforts. Each person in the group
introduced another through a true story that captured that person’s
capacity for success. By the time the stories were done, the energy
in the room was so high; it could have burst the ceiling! That
energy stayed with us and gave us what we needed to do the tough
work of defining their business processes, roles, program and
strategy.
Beginning with personal success
stories did a very important thing. It broke any remaining barriers
between them or among them. Collaboration of this caliber requires a
voluntary response. You can’t make people work together at peak
level of performance. They have to choose it. They are not going to
give their best unless they feel it is going to be accepted.
Let’s be clear. No one was looking for
agreement or consensus. The work they were involved in was complex,
and everyone recognized that there were differing perspectives. But,
people need to know they will be both heard and accepted. By heard, I mean that there has
to be receptivity and stance of genuine interest. By accepted, I am saying each
person’s point of view is considered legitimate by the others, even
if it’s not what others think.
The positive stories had a very
important impact. They
created what I call a “container.” It is a time and place where
people feel safe, where they can talk frankly, revealing perceptions
they hold dear.
Seth:
How did this impact the work of the retreat?
Madelyn: Each person
summarized their partner’s story in a single word, such as “courage”
or “creativity.” Each
word has to be interpreted in the context of other background
information and behavior. There are worlds within the words. I collected the words and
made a list that was posted. It was a visual depiction of the team’s
essence.
It is simple, but profound. These words
imbued the group’s work spirit as they applied themselves to their
most difficult work. The words informed their identity, both
individually and collectively.
This
team of 35 did an excellent job preparing for their new supervisor.
They worked hard and long. Ideas developed, sometimes with great
effort. More than a comprehen-sive package of documents, they
created a group experience that was irreplaceable. They articulated
and defined the way they work.
The container we created made this
possible
