Welcome
Welcome to the latest issue of
Bringing Work to Life.
We explored the following topics
in the past twelve issues (all newsletters are available at
www.elsdon.com/newsletters.htm):
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Guiding organizational change (November/December 2006)
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One to one (September/October 2006)
o
New horizons (July/August 2006)
o
Our greatest asset (May/June 2006)
o
Bringing development and performance home (March/April 2006)
o
Progressing in your organization (January/February 2006)
o
Bringing our best to work (December 2005)
o
The promise of affiliation (November 2005)
o
Nothing business, it’s just personal (October 2005)
o
Who are you? (September 2005)
o
Leadership roles (August 2005)
o
Leadership courage (July 2005)
In this issue we address
“Individual Change”.
Individual Change
“When faced with the prospect of needing to change
or proving that we don’t need to, most of us get busy on the proof” is
an astute observation I recall hearing. It is certainly true for me.
Here’s an example of this challenge of change from Elting Morison’s book
Men, Machines and Modern Times. It complements another case from this
book described in the last issue of “Bringing Work to Life.” The latest
example concerns the use of armaments in the Second World War. In the
early part of the war, when armaments were in short supply, the British
were using a particular piece of field artillery towed behind trucks.
This field gun was handed down from the Boer War many years earlier.
There was a consensus at the beginning of the Second World War that the
speed of fire could be increased, so a time and motion expert was called
in. He filmed the firing sequence. On reviewing the film he was puzzled
by a three-second segment when two members of the gun crew stopped all
activity and stood to attention. Baffled by this he asked an
experienced colonel of artillery about the reason for this behavior.
The colonel looked at the film, and after a few moments’ reflection
said: “Ah. I have it. They are holding the horses.”
Here we see the difficulty of letting go of
institutionalized habits that are no longer relevant. We see how
difficult it can be to change as individuals. Securing organizational
change begins with change within each of us. Perhaps this poignant
quote from an Anglican bishop found inscribed on his tomb in Westminster
Abbey (mentioned by Richard Leider in Coaching for Leadership by
Goldsmith et al) captures what this means in our lives “When I was young
and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the
world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not
change, so I shortened my sights and decided to change only my country.
But, it too seemed immovable. As I grew into my twilight years, in one
last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only family, only those
closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it. And now as I lie
on my deathbed, I suddenly realize, if I had only changed myself first,
then by example I would have changed my family. From their inspiration
and encouragement I would then have been able to better my country and,
who knows, I may have even changed the world.”
Let’s look at what is involved in changing
ourselves. In doing this we will build on the transitions framework
developed by Bill Bridges. Bridges distinguishes between change and
transition as follows:
o
Change
·
A situational event
·
External
·
Often starts with a new beginning
o
Transition
·
A gradual reorientation process over time
·
Internal
·
Must start with an ending
Noting that it is the transition over time that is
the real challenge and opportunity. Factors that drive change can be
external, for example a new job opportunity, or internal as our needs
and priorities shift. They will occur at multiple times in our lives.
Indeed given the turbulence and uncertainty of today’s work world the
flexibility to handle change has become a critical life survival skill.
Here is a characterization of the transition process building on Bridges
concepts:
It begins with an ending, a stage of disengaging
from the old way of doing things and letting go of who we were. The gun
crew members in Morison’s example are struggling with this. Indeed even
acknowledging that an ending needs to take place is often difficult.
Some of the emotions that can surface in this stage are denial, anxiety,
fear and anger. These are natural emotions and we can anticipate that a
person in this stage will speak of these and similar emotions. It can
be a time of disengagement and disenchantment.
The next stage is the Neutral Zone, that confusing
in-between state, where we may be disoriented, disconnected from who we
were but still not sure of where we are going. Emotions such as
confusion, stress, creativity and skepticism are likely to surface
here. Here it is important to find a regular time and place to reflect
on what the transition means and what is important moving forward.
The final stage is that of New Beginnings. Here we
welcome the new reality that change represents and are likely to
experience emotions such as acceptance, hope, energy and enthusiasm.
This is a stage of action, of embracing a new direction. The emotions
that surface in this complete cycle, which will occur repeatedly
throughout our lives, are natural and often simply acknowledging this
fact eases our path, and the path of others, through the process.
Bridges provides a series of pointers for
supporting this path through transition:
4
Take your time
4
Arrange temporary structures
4
Don’t act for the sake of action
4
Recognize why you are uncomfortable
4
Take care of yourself in little ways
4
Explore the other side of the change
4
Get someone to talk to
4
Find out what is waiting in the wings of your life
4
Use this transition as the impetus to a new kind of
learning
4
Recognize that transition has a characteristic shape
4
View it as a rite of passage: a lens through which to
magnify the experience
Reflecting on past transitions, and the experiences
of others, can point to which of these and other steps are most helpful
for each of us. Kevin Cashman in the book Leadership from the Inside
Out offers this view of individual change: “Sometimes I feel that my
life is a series of trapeze swings. I’m either hanging on to a trapeze
bar swinging along or, for a few moments in my life, I’m hurtling across
space in between trapeze bars. Most of the time, I spend my life
hanging on for dear life to my trapeze-bar-of-the-moment. It carries me
along at a certain steady rate of swing, and I have the feeling that I’m
in control of my life. I know most of the right questions and some of
the right answers. But once in a while, as I’m merrily (or
not-so-merrily) swinging along, I look out ahead of me into the
distance, and what do I see? I see another trapeze bar swinging towards
me. It’s empty, and I know in that place in me that knows, that this
new trapeze bar has my name on it. It is my next step, my growth, my
aliveness coming to get me. In my heart-of-hearts, I know that for me
to grow, I must release my grip on this present, well-known bar to move
to the new one.”
It is in reaching for this new bar, with all the
uncertainty that it represents, that we can express who we are and bring
the beauty of that expression fully to life.
Some of the material in this
article is extracted from Affiliation in the Workplace by Ron Elsdon,
Praeger, 2003.
The Growing Divide
Studies within the U.S. and across nations show
happiness rising rapidly as people are lifted out of poverty and then
quickly leveling off at a modest income level. The African Maasai,
Forbes magazine’s richest Americans and the Pennsylvania Amish share an
equally high level of life satisfaction even though they have vastly
different levels of income (Diener, 2004). However those in abject
poverty, homeless people in Calcutta, India, or Fresno, California share
an equally low level of happiness. Our ethical systems seek to
distribute resources to all, since then our overall community well-being
is greatest. A little more wealth for Bill Gates does little for his
happiness; it makes an enormous difference to a poor person.
So how are we doing in the U.S. in addressing the
broad needs of those in our society, especially those who are most
disadvantaged? The following figure shows growth in household income
from 1979 to 2003 by economic group:
The top 1% have enjoyed rich pickings, true also
for the top quintile (20%). On the other hand the poorest quintile has
seen effectively no growth in real household income over this 24 year
time frame. As a result the wealthiest 1% of our population captured a
growing share of the nation’s wealth, increasing to 190 times median
wealth in 2004 as shown in the next figure.
Not surprisingly, as a result, we see a continuing
trend of growing inequality from the early 1980s through 2005, as
measured by the Gini coefficient (an index that varies from 0 for
complete equality to 1 when one family holds the entire nation’s
wealth), as shown in the following figure:
We might ask, is this just the natural order of
things? Not at all, this inverse Robin Hood approach, which runs
counter to the fundamental ethical systems we hold dear, is driven by
deliberate choice, the following figure shows how recent Bush tax cuts
favor the wealthy:
Perhaps more shameful is the behavior of many CEOs
who have enriched themselves at the expense of employees and
shareholders. The following figure shows the ratio of average CEO to
average worker compensation, now at more than 400:
This is even more appalling when referenced to the
minimum wage as shown in the following figure, which shows the ratio of
CEO pay to the minimum wage since 1965:
Indeed the authors of this study observe that the
average CEO earns more before lunchtime on the very first day of work in
the year, than a minimum wage worker earns all year. Perhaps bearing
out the maxim: “there is enough for man’s need but not for man’s
greed.” Here is how Barbara Ehrenreich, the author of Nickel and Dimed
suggests we approach this: “People often say if I talk about these
things, “Well, well, what a mystery. What could be done?” So much of
what needs to be done is to stop what is being done now. Employers
could stop making it impossible for workers to organize into unions.
And it is just about impossible now. We could stop the relentless
decline in affordable housing. It is getting to the point where the
number one public housing project our government has is the penitentiary
system. Everything else is disappearing. We have got to start shaming
those employers, those CEOs who make tens of millions of dollars a year
while other people literally go hungry or live in substandard housing or
cannot make it from month to month. We have to start shaming them. We
have to start going to the balls or wherever they gather, or the spas,
with placards, with signs, with posters. We have to be in their face
about it.”
Let me suggest also that we need to make choices as
leaders, employees, investors and customers to only affiliate with those
organizations that seek equity in their dealings with their various
constituencies and in so doing make a contribution to society. We need
to learn how organizations actually choose to distribute their resources
and then support organizations that provide adequate compensation and
benefits to their employees, while openly disclosing and intentionally
restraining excessive compensation at senior management levels. We need
to withdraw as leaders, employees, investors and customers from those
organizations that fail to seek such equity.
Quote
“I cannot tell you with what weapons mankind will
fight World War III, but I can assure you that World War IV will be
fought with sticks and stones.”
Albert Einstein, quoted by The Peace Alliance,
Campaign to Establish a U.S. Department of Peace.
Upcoming Elsdon Organizational Renewal (EOR) Events and Recent
Mentions
Upcoming Events/Publications
·
Recorded webinar for Project
Management Institute
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“Becoming Career Fit in Turbulent Times”, now available at:
§
http://pmi-issig.org/Default.aspx?tabid=319
·
Chapter titled “How Can You Grow
Your Practice with Purpose?” in National Career Development Association
Monograph, “Starting and Growing a Business in the New Economy” Edited
by Sally Gelardin, 2007
·
Ventura County – National
Human Resources Association, January 24, 2007, “Building Affiliation.”
·
HR Week West Conference, Santa
Clara, February 21, 2007, “Finally, a Change Management Model that
Works!”
o
http://www.hrweekwest.com/agenda.html#bpc1
·
Article for National Career
Development Association Career Convergence magazine, likely publication
date March 2007, “Rising and Falling Tides.”
Recent Mentions
·
Reviews of “Affiliation in the
Workplace: Value Creation in the New Organization.” Ron Elsdon.
Praeger, Westport, CT (2003)
o
Harvard
Business School
·
HBS Working Knowledge: Organizations
o
Global Diversity Institute
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Global Diversity Institute - The Journal of Diversity Praxis
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Journal of Asian Economics
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ScienceDirect - Journal of Asian Economics : Ron Elsdon, Affiliation in
the Workplace: Value Creation in the New Organization, Praeger
Publishers, Westport, CT (2003) 280 pp. (hardcover), ISBN 1-56720-436-8,
$49.95.
o
Greenwood Publishing Group
·
Affiliation in the Workplace — www.greenwood.com
·
“Building a Strong Workforce
Through Affiliation.” Chapter 26 in “On Staffing: Advice and
Perspectives from HR Leaders.” Eds. Nicholas Burkholder et al, John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken NJ (2004)
o
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0471410691,descCd-tableOfContents.html
·
“Reaching for Our Deep Gladness”
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Article in May, 2005 NCDA Career Convergence Magazine
·
http://209.235.208.145/cgi-bin/WebSuite/tcsAssnWebSuite.pl?Action=DisplayNewsDetails&RecordID=625&Sections=6&IncludeDropped=&AssnID=NCDA&DBCode=130285
·
Mention in article on cost of
turnover
o
East
Bay Business Times,
April 2005
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Turnover costs exceed employers' estimates - 2005-04-25
·
“Worklife Survival: Finding a
Fit”
o
Article for HR West, February 2005 (Northern California Human Resource
Association)
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http://www.nchra.org/StaticContent/Download/EXT0205007.pdf
·
Interview in the education field
“Affiliation as a Unifying Principle in Education”
o
Career Pro News
·
Affiliation and Education
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MBTI Step II workshop
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CCDA News, April 2005
·
Local Chapter News
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Review of ICDC Global Issues
Forum
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CCDA, January 2005
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ICDC Global Issues Forum
About EOR: Our Value Contribution
We enhance your workforce,
leadership and organization by:
·
Using proprietary approaches to
understand workforce and leadership challenges
·
Creating tailored action plans
and solutions to strengthen workforce and leadership practices
·
Building individual capabilities
and contributions
We enable you to focus on
external results and building value, confident that your organization
and leadership are operating at peak effectiveness.
Our Mission
To support your organization by
enhancing performance, productivity and effectiveness through
revitalized workforce relationships and leadership practices.
Our Approach and Values
We tailor our engagements to the needs of each organization with a
process designed to surface critical issues, identify root causes, build
effective solutions, monitor progress and implement.
With a scope that ranges from system and organizational interventions to
work with individuals, our focus is on the heart of the relationship
among the individual, the organization and the community. We believe
that organizational and community prosperity are built on enabling each
person to fulfill his or her potential.
Our Services
We work with individuals and
groups in your organization to drive performance and development for
both the short and long term. As a result people will choose to work in
your organization and will prosper there.
We bring solutions when you need
to:
·
Reverse declining revenues and
performance
·
Revitalize your workforce
·
Stem the loss of key talent
·
Redirect your organization to
new areas
·
Stop losing customers or market
share
·
Penetrate new markets
·
Combat aggressive competitors
·
Handle major change
·
Break down communication
barriers
·
Energize your leadership team
·
Successfully build on an
acquisition or merger
Our proprietary services
include:
·
State-of-the-art tools to take
the pulse of your organization and then move to action
o
Web enabled systems
o
Experts to gather and analyze information, moving your organization to
action
·
Individual leadership coaching
to give you world class leadership capabilities
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Leaders who know themselves and their aspirations, build their
capabilities and become catalysts developing others
·
Workshops to build interpersonal
skills in your organization so that:
o
Communication is timely, concise, accurate and personal
o
People listen to each other
o
Negotiations are quick and effective
o
Differences create rather than destroy value
o
Teams move forward, get results and quickly commercialize new products
and services
o
People understand and link their motivations to your organizational
needs
o
Your teams understand what it takes to create a committed, energized
workforce
o
People use their time well
·
Systems that make it easy to
drive performance and build capabilities by:
o
Linking objectives throughout the organization
o
Strengthening key competencies
o
Making sure you have the bench strength where and when you need it
o
Giving people tools to take charge of their own careers and development
and have a major long term influence on your organization
·
Proprietary simulation and
modeling techniques that let you explore how to maximize the value of
your workforce
o
Move from guessing what might happen to looking in depth at the
financial impact of different approaches
