Beyond Ego-centrism !

Big word — ego-centrism.  It explains young kids.  They believe themselves to be the center of their own worlds.  Their egos are central to their experience.  Somewhere during the toddler years, almost every child has a profound experience of realization.  They realize that they are not in fact the center of the universe.  That they and others share a larger system in a dynamic dance.  Mankind had a similar – albeit slow — realization when the theories of Copernicus in the 1500’s were supported by Galileo in the 1600’s hundreds through the use of the telescope and mathematics.  It was at this time that mankind slowly began to accept that the earth is NOT the center of the universe.  An interesting parallel. 

A funny thing happens when children realize that there are in fact other people that have needs and wants that might conflict with or compete with their own.  They start to group.  A new phase starts and this new phase is punctuated by the coming together with others in ways that allow groups to identify themselves.  It is an extension of ego-centrism that I call social ego-centrism.  The structure of singular ego doesn’t go away, but is largely consumed by and morphed into a group ego.  This group then thinks that they — their likes and dislikes, their drama, triumph, and difficulty — are the center of the universe.  It is from this construct that we see prejudice, distrust of others that are unlike ourselves, stereotypes, and many other less than helpful mindsets that impede growth, development, and performance. 

The question that arises from this discourse is: “in your family, social group, or work-group do you transcend social ego-centrism and discover the liberated capacity for high performance, or do you live within your universe center, unable to see the systems you exist within?”    Gaining objectivity is the gaining of perspective that leads to the ability to change, adapt, leverage for power, and design systems for positive gain.  Living in the center of social ego-centrism is living lost in a tiny yet encompassing universe that generates, feeds upon, and supports itself in impotent ways.

Can your group see itself?

Finding ‘UP’ through Systems Thinking

If you are sick, you really don’t have to do anything… at the very least, people don’t expect much of you.  That’s fair because most people feel a little low now and then and getting cut a little slack can go a long way to recovery.

BUT

What if there is no direction for a recovery?  To recover, you are returning to a state of balance and if you don’t know what or where that balance is you don’t know what direction to head for an optimal state of being. Kind of like jumping from a height into a lake and losing the ‘UP’direction for a moment.  That’s a bad moment.  It feels very out of control.   Now, what about organizations?  What if they are ’sick’ and no one expects much of them because they don’t have the talent, the funding, the facilities, the management team, the support, the recognition….  What if your organization is sick and you are floating along with no where to recover to?  No ‘up’.

What if?

You have to know where you are going in order to get there…. That’s what forecasting is all about and planning.  Do they work?  If the road you are driving on leads to a cliff, then all the planning in the world, all the best talent on board, the best equipment etcetera will not mean much by the time you reach the end of the journey!  Forecasts and planning must be made in health and plan for health.  A sick organization is not the best planner.  Its like a sick person.  It just wants to get better and lays low and does its best to recover.  Luckily for individuals, we are — most of us — able to return to relative health after being ill.  Thankfully, gratefully, we return to health.  An organziation doesn’t have such sophisticated organizing power as does the magnificent human body… so, it needs to see itself as a system — and within the system that it inhabits — before it can find its up.

The systems thinking exercise in objectivity is done through symbolic conversation.  Using symbols to ‘tell the story’ of the organization helps everyone first SEE what the parts make and then realize — collectively — just WHAT the organization is.  After this, purpose and direction are determined.  And THEN strategies can be implemented — but ONLY those that make sense in terms of the system’s organization, structure and capacity.  And, all along the way the tools of systems — the symbolic language of organizing — are used for deep conversation and clarification.  They are used to CREATE the organization’s picture and its story.  Complete a systems thinking exercise in objectivity and you are ready to apply energy and find the correct times and places to influence for gain, for good, for improvement.  Its the only way that works.  It is the way.

Douglas Leadbetter M.Ed.

Systems Thinking — Business Energy

Lately I have been navigating the WWW looking for sites that share similar ideas to this one.  So far a few have popped up and I’ve left comments and joined discussions. For a moment I would like to present one that is called Business Energy written and managed by Penelope Else.  She struck me with her interesting and voice-laden article about the need for business people to twitter.  I think she convinced me to tweet and twit etc.  More than that, however, it was when I read her ‘about’ page that I knew there was someone to recommend to readers at this site.  In blue below is a section of that page:

What is Business Energy?  It’s the vibe that your business puts out into the marketplace: the energy with which you create and implement new ideas, cohere as a team and engage with your customers.  It’s the source of your attractiveness for new business opportunities and the cause of your success.

It comes from a combination of: clear goals & planning, creativity, leadership resilience, good social networks and a healthy, motivating attitude towards staff and clients.  These don’t always come naturally, but they can all be learned.

If you have spent any time at this site looking around, you will recognize immediately what I like about Penelope’s words.  Vibe… vibration?  Energy….  Cohere as a team = alignment and synergy.  Clear goals and planning are right there with determining a purpose.  Good social networkers….

I have a great feeling about this site and Penelope’s work; I am grateful to her for creating such an enriching site.  I want to take just a moment to reflect on good social networking; it is at the root of building direction, alignment, purpose, and the synergistic focus that truly brings high performance results. Furthermore, I am becoming convinced that the web is presenting to all of us who are tuned in an opportunity to make connections, mine knowledge, stay current, make good decisions and so much more. If used correctly, I find that the web and related tools offers an opportunity to find streams of energy and thought that are useful and helpful in each of our growth and success. We have at our finger tips through techniques that can be learned, an opportunity to meet with people from all around the world in what Will Richardson calls intraspaced communities built around passion.  We are able to become more than the sum of the parts through working together towards common aims.  We are truly able to find others who align with what we align with and create vibrant cadence in positive directions.  Thanks for reading.

Douglas Leadbetter M.Ed

“GSCS: built on quality service and client benefit”

In these GreenSeed Consulting Posts, you can have a closer look at the areas of expertise offered by GSCS.

Problem Identification:

Ø  Social Systems Analysis:  in order to influence positive change, you require objective information about your present social system state and conditions, and you may also need someone to point to the complicated issues that are rarely mentioned, or are ignored.  Candid information is difficult to get or give when you are part of the system you are analyzing.  GSCS uses qualitative and quantitative measures developed from systems training and research.  A four step process is used to paint a clear picture of your current climate and culture: (1) interview key staff individually to determine perceptions and determiners of climate and culture; (2) develop, administer and collate a site-specific feedback tool; (3) analyze and discover existing fluidity and impediments; (4) present a picture of the current environment with suggestions for discussion and action. *Information from participants will be kept confidential.

·       Benefits to Client: a candid social systems analysis is provided with suggestions for positive action based on systems research and understanding.  

Ø   The View on the Line:  as an outside resource with a signed confidentiality agreement, we can ask the tough questions and provide the unbiased answers; we provide management with direct, candid, and confidential feedback.  *Information from participants will be kept confidential.

·       Benefits to Client: (i) we present an unbiased picture showing you how procedures, processes, and current directions are perceived from the workers’ point of view; (ii) useful in producing positive relations and growth, solution focused information is gathered and presented for discussion and action.

“GSCS: built on quality service and client benefit.”

In these GreenSeed Consulting Posts, you can have a closer look at the areas of expertise offered by GSCS.  

Training:

Ø  Succession Planning – Inquiry and Recommendations:  with the current rate of retirements, this is a growth area that must be addressed! Tap in to the wisdom of those close to retirement – before it is too late.  A four step process is used to discover and present your current training needs and the training goals that will keep you abounding with qualified staff well into the future:  (1) consult with key staff to determine specific needs and measurable goals for successful succession planning; (2) develop and administer and collate survey items; (3) conduct informed interviews with experienced professionals and newcomers in your field to discover gaps, needs, and vital suggestions; (4) present the report.

·       Benefit to Client: a comprehensive report is presented detailing current training needs and vital training goals to consider and act upon through a positive and effective succession plan specific to your enterprise. Read the rest of this entry »

What’s Ahead in High Performance Information?

Two main pillars of information are coming your way!

In the next several posts, over the coming weeks and months, I will begin to chronologically post section upon section of information from The Synergy in Life System book.  There are quite a few sections to cover, so I will keep them in a logical order that you can follow and list that order in the title of each post.

Also, Systems Thinking and Synergy tools that I use in my business and which are useful to everybody in daily living will be explained through several posts.  The presentation of these tools is designed to be user friendly showing you ways in which you can view situations and events through a systems and synergy lens so that you can get the most out of every effort you put forth in daily life. 

Along with all of that… well there’s likely to be a smattering of various types of material meant to be helpful by increasing your daily effectiveness. 

Thanks to all of you who are subscribing; here’s to providing the very best in high performance information.

Douglas Leadbetter M.Ed

You Can’t Inspect Quality into a Process

When influencing the flow of water in a river by say redirecting it, the further upstream that redirection is made, the more dramatic the change of that direction will look when the final destination — in the case of rivers, a lake or the ocean – is reached. If change is introduced in a system ‘further upstream’ greater change ‘downstream’ is the result, and with less effort utilized.  Read the rest of this entry »

Sailing to … where?

An excerpt from the book…  Douglas Leadbetter M.Ed

The Synergy in Life System gives you the ‘rules’ you need to know and the techniques and tools you can use to make your life more abundant and balanced.  Imagine a sports or board game that you may have played in the past.  It is so much easier to begin and so much easier to find the road to success when first you understand the rules of the game!  Read the rest of this entry »

The Village of Best Intentions

I wrote this useful little story just a couple of weeks before it was first published in February 2005 by the British Columbia Principals association in their Adminfo magazine.  It was then reprinted in the in Canadian Association of Principals conference guide for the international Connecting Leaders conference held in April 2007.  I have also used it extensively when speaking to audiences.  It manages to point out how even the most purposeful and most well intentioned groups can thwart one another’s efforts if they are not aligned through knowledge of Systems and Synergy.

Douglas Leadbetter M.Ed

 There was once a remote village nestled up high in a lonely mountain valley surrounded by the peaks of a rugged mountain range. The colorful townspeople there made crafts and tools and various trinkets for essential trade with other villages; Read the rest of this entry »