When Joe wrote:
>What jumps out at me most clearly is how much Chris Argyris would just
>looove this whole exchange. Slight misinterpretations, which evoke
>defensive responses, which cause a feedback cycle of same, which inhibits
>further learning and exploration of a subject. Not because of Rob's post,
>but because of the dynamic of the response set up around it.
I was reminded of the many e-mail gaffs I have witnessed or even caused.
One of my favorites was a message I sent to a very rigid manager who spent
no time planning, developing people, cultivating relationships, training,
or anything other than handling crisis after crisis. Notes from her
people formed piles three feet high on her desk and she was never able to
schedule a meeting with me because "something just came up". She was the
cause of half the anxiety in the office but she was a brilliant
technician.
I had been asked to coach her and try to change some of the more
disruptive behaviors. My professional opinion was that, among other
things, she didn't understand the difference between activity and
productive effort and she might benefit from some insight into the value
of planning. I remembered the story of "sharpening the saw" from Covey
and thought it would make a nice e-mail.
The brief version of the story is that a woodsman with lots of trees to
cut down was confronted by an observer who noted that the work would go a
lot faster if he took a moment to sharpen his saw. The woodsman replied
that he had no time to sharpen the saw, he was too busy cutting down
trees. I thought it was a clever story with a clear point that made a
good introduction to the study of productivity. I was wrong.
Her initial reaction to the story was to fire off a memo to everyone in
the organization accusing me of insensitivity to her workload and of
failing to recognize her hard work and the long hours she spent cranking
out answers to the many crises that beset the business. Her reaction was
just the opposite of what I intended.
That is when I made my second mistake. I tried to explain what I meant in
the first message by SENDING ANOTHER MESSAGE. This was something like
dousing a candle with gasoline. When I finally reached her by phone it
took 25 minutes to calm her down. It took several weeks to regain even a
little of her trust, and I may never again be effective as a consultant
with her.
Now irony is something that not everyone appreciates, but it is worth
sharing with those who do. Thanks Joe for sharing the insight about the
dynamics of this group and thanks to all of you who make this group worth
visiting.
--Lon Badgett lonbadgett@aol.com
When you find a porcupine holding your last balloon, it is hard to think about the process.
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>