Re: Flapping your wings...

Keith Cowan (cowan@pci.on.ca)
Fri, 20 Jan 1995 08:00:53 -0500 (EST)

> The next week, an effective process resulted in the class identifying
> that the issues were that there was no continuity in the class material,
> and that both those who wanted content, and those wanting process were
> agreed that the recommendation from the class was that we needed to have
> continuity in order to learn.
>
> The instructor came in to receive our recommendations. He went away, and
> the following week told us what he was going to do. Part of our
> recommendation was that four students were to work on a plan with him.
> He chose to ignor this.

IMHO the reason he ignored the recommendation was that he was not part
of its creation and so had no "buy-in". By treating the person in power
as we would treat another member of our peer team, we usually get more
progress than by infering some extra measure of insight or vision on
them.

Their behaviours have been deeply ingrained by the success accorded to
them up until now. If they empower their group AND follow its advice.
their position power is eroded because they believe they can be replaced
by a facilitator.

It is only after they achieve significantly higher results AND rewards from
the new empowering behaviour that they will start to adopt it as the new
THEM. This process takes several years and is VERY DELICATE.
,,,Keith
>
> Hilda Tiessen
> e-mail htiessen@tortoise.oise.on.ca

After all, the reward system and pursuit of power was learned over
a period of many years. It cannot be undone by a single event (like
the Ford Taurus "event").

-- 
Keith Cowan       Phone: (416)565-6253           FAX: (905)858-7131
Toronto        Internet: cowan@pci.on.ca  Compuserve: 72212,51