Question: I've done a couple of Organization Workshops recently that included a section on "generational differences" -- pre-boomers, boomers, gen X, gen Y. I have an OW coming up and wondered if/how the generations show up differently.
Answer: In The Seeing Systems Blog, Susan Berg wrote a piece entitled "The Organization Workshop and the Twentysomething Crowd." I think that would address the question you raised. I'd also encourage you to read her new book, Choose On Purpose for Twentysomethings for more background.
Love your article "Total System Power" and am trying to think of a short experiential activity (30 minutes) to get participants into the experience of it. We teach your theory in our Advanced Leadership Skills course. Appreciate any ideas.
Answer:
Thirty minutes is an impossibly short period in which to do a serious total system experiential activity. We introduce that framework as part of our 1- or 2-day Organization Workshops following one or two intensive Top, Middle, Bottom, Customer organization exercises. These exercises deal with how we empower ourselves when we are in each of these conditions. Then the "Total System Power" framework looks at how we empower the system from those positions. So the framework makes sense when it builds on the prior exercises. For example, we're not likely to be System Developers (or Shapers) if as Tops we suck up responsibility to ourselves and away from others.
Your 30-minute request raises one of the difficulties and strengths of total system thinking. These are complex processes that require complex mixes of theory, reflection, and experience to unravel.
So my first thought is: Why not involve your people in the full Organization Workshop?
My second thought is: Why not become a licensed Organization Workshop trainer so that you can strengthen your organization's capacity to teach these concepts and where you'd learn lots of design variations?
My third thought is participatory but not experiential. You might divide your audience into the 4 positions, give them time to read and briefly discuss the system power potential of their position, come up with the payoffs to the system, the difficulties they anticipate, and what they need from others in order to support them in their function. Then some sharing across groups.
Naturally, I lean toward alternatives #1 and #2. Let us know what you do.
Answer: We called upon our international network of Organization Workshop trainers for this answer. Elizabeth Olson from Chicago (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) was told the Conference Board is doing this research right now.
Michael Thiel from cinco.systems GbR (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) responded with the following: You may have a look at this Boston Consulting Group study (full report in June). It may answer part of your question.
http://www.bcg.de/impact_expertise/aktuelle_publikationen/aktuelle_publikationen.aspx
Scroll down to look for “Creating People Advantage in Times of Crisis: How to Address HR Challenges in the Recession”
Answer: While both programs deal with Top, Middle, and Bottom organizational issues and are experience-based, they differ in terms of purpose, length, intensity, setting, and more.
The purpose of The Organization Workshop (OW) is to develop partnership up, down and across the organization, including with the organization's customers. It's a 1 or 2 day in-house program conducted in a classroom or hotel meeting room for cross-functional teams, for hierarchical slices from the organization or from units within it, or for specific levels from within the same organization, i.e. "Middles".The OW can accommodate 20-200 people at a time. Trainers, coaches and consultants can become certified to conduct this program.
The purpose of The Power Lab is for people to understand and master their issues around power, to gain deep and practical knowledge about human systems, and to become system leaders. It's held at a retreat center in the US and Europe twice a year and, with some exceptions, is an open enrollment program where people from a wide variety of organizations and with a wide variety of backgrounds come together to learn. The Power Lab runs from Sunday through Friday and is limited to 24 participants. All participants in The Power Lab work with a coach before, during and after the lab to help them become more effective leaders.
