Anonymity in Meetings LO2536

Lynn A Casmier-paz (lacst20+@pitt.edu)
Wed, 23 Aug 1995 21:07:40 -0400 (EDT)

Replying to LO2475 --

Obviously, as several participants to this discussion have indicated, the
issues raised by anonymous communications present a mixed blessing.
However, what I want to discuss are practical ways to make the need for
anonymous communications unnecessary.

Using Chris Argyris' way of stating my point (and I tend to rely on
Argyris more than anybody else when it comes to organizational learning
issues--I'll have to get around to writing a personal Intro later), how
can we turn this discussion around so that we move from 'single-loop
learning' to 'double-loop learning?' In other words, in our predominantly
single-loop orientation we tend to focus on the more immediate need to
correct a given problem without looking at what 'caused' the problem to
begin with. (Fortunately, much of what I've read so far on this tread
does in fact double back on the question of why we need anonymous
communications in the first place.)

For Argyris, issues that are threatening or embarrassing tend to activate
our socially learned defense mechanisms. In particular, the treatening or
embarrassing issue becomes 'undiscussable,' and the 'undiscussability of
the undiscussable also becomes undiscussable.'

But the call for courage, in and of itself, will not get us out of our
defensive mode because of..., well, because of many things which Argyris
does a much better job of explicating.

Nevertheless, I wonder how many people are familiar with some of Argyris'
approaches to these type of issues. His "high advocacy, high inquiry"
model of dialogue, or his "ladder of inferences" regarding our
spontaneous, automatic, private attributions, for example.

(I think that I've gotten in over my head. I don't want to misrepresent
Argyris--or myself--but I felt an intellectual impluse earlier that I can
no longer sustain in good faith. The tread of my own thoughts has become
entangled in...in the NET!?)

Peace and peaches.

--
Augustine Paz
a.k.a. MoonMan101@aol.com