This idea of practice brought up by Mike McMaster and by Jack before him
has hit a sensitive cord with me. How many times in large change efforts
have I prescribed behaviours to the leaders of the organisation,
behaviours that were supposed to generate credibility and commitment.
"practice what you preach" goesa the old saying. But my strategies met
with resistance not only on the part of the top managers but also on the
part of the other members of the organisation.
What Mike's ideas suggest to me is the following: rather than prescribing
behaviours, I could assist my clients in discovering practices that would
allow them to generate a field of consciousness within themselves first,
and then , slowly, around them. I like the quote that illustrates how
beliefs change first and then , and not immediately, but sometime in the
future behaviours begin to change, and the change flows out of
consciousness, and not out of prescription.
This approach suggests a different kind of relationship with my clients
and my different consulting teams, one that would be based much more on
inquiry, and less on my expertise ( although as Mike points out, I don't
want to polarize expertise and inquiry, one excluding the other). This
means a different consulting contract, one which creates space for
questions, for reflection, for allowing results to emerge over a longer
period of time, for allowing ourselves to be surprised by unexpected
"side-effects" of our work together.
This morning, as I brought out a bucket of vegetable scraps and leftovers
to the compost heap behind the house ( I had to shovel a path in the snow
to get there} I thought about how this practice has supported me over the
years. I've tried on occasion to get my kids to take over the job, but
never any success on that front. So I have accepted it as mine. And
somehow, I have the feeling that this "practice" has worked subtly on my
consciousness - returning vegetables to the earth, feeding my garden with
the results of the multiple interactions between the soil, the scraps,
oxygen, water, squirrel droppings, some bacteria that I sprinkle on , and
who knows what else. This practice also involves turning the compost,
sifting it, poking it and so on. And it seemed so clear to me this
morning how this practice contributes to my understanding of how
organisations work, about how I can better help them support the life
within them, how it can sometimes be more productive to sit back and let
time do it's work ( as it does in the compost). It's an uderstanding that
feels deeper and more complete than when I just understand with my head.
Is this the kind of understanding that we try to develop with the
practices that Mike was referring to? Iwondered what other practices in
my life contribute to deepening my awareness and transforming my way of
seeing things. I didn't find very many, but there a few others such as my
regular stints of improvising on the piano, of long walks in the woods,
and believe it or not, my participation in this list.
So the word practice has taken on new meaning for me and makes me look
forward to discovering with my clients how we can continue to explore
this.
I'll finish with a question. How does practice fit into your lives? What
practices contribute to transforming your fields of awareness? How do you
bring this idea of practice into your professional lives?
-------------------------
///// Steve Gildersleeve Groupe CFC /
/// Vadebonh@ere.Umontreal.ca Tel : (514) 286-8212 ///
/ Mnntreal, Quebec.
Ma devise: Fie toi a toi