Diagnosis

A few weeks ago I received an email from one of my clients - a director of a particular department. Her opening line to me stated "With greatest sympathies..." she went on to add that she didn't know whether to congratulate me that I got her team as a client or feel sorry for me. I knew that I was in trouble at that moment.

I went in to do some action planning with her team of 37 around the Employee Survey results, and everything started peeling back like an onion. There is so much going on in there that it's been a whirlwind of experiences. I reviewed the survey results, which have improved greatly from 2 years ago, and then decided to start interviewing some of the staff to get an understanding of what may be lurking behind the survey. I interviewed half of them and then got to see the entire group in action during one of my meetings with them.

Based on all of the data that I collected, I have seen the staff's complaints about management in action - I've witnessed it. And based on the managements ideas of the staff, I've seen all of that too - again, with a first hand account. So now I need to straighten them all out on Monday. lol

I've been rehearsing a lot of what I'm going to say in my head and then voicing it out loud. This is how I prep for difficult situations. As an extroverted learner, I have to talk it out loud to hear it, to make sure it's PC and not going to offend everyone. But I think they will get it better when I do an exercise with them. I'm stealing this from a consultant who came in to sell us something, but he said I could use it. Here is the exercise: hold your right arm straight up into the air, point your finger, and draw a circle on the ceiling in a clockwise motion. Use your entire arm, and keep drawing the circle. Then slowly lower your arm, still doing the motion, and bring it under your chin, bend forward, and look down at your arm. What direction is it spinning now? (The answer is counter-clockwise.) The exercise is used to demonstrate perception and looking at it from various points makes it a different reality, even though its the same exact motion.

The differences in perception is what is happening in the department. They each are so locked into their beliefs about the other, that they can't get pass themselves to find a solution. I am also going to tell them that if they want my help in changing, they have to be willing to look at the situation and environment from a different perspective. Then I'm going to ask for agreement. If they don't want to agree, then I'm going to leave. I know, I'm into dramatics when it comes to making a point, but they need to see the seriousness of the situation. And visuals really help adults to learn, as it solidifies the point.

After that I'm going into the Ladder of Inference. I never knew that something I learned in my first weekend of class back in September was going to be so useful when working with teams. I use it in my own life, to try to get myself into an open mindset, and not stuck in the same belief that bogs me down. It's going to be in my book when I finally write it.