EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING CYCLE

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EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING CYCLE

WRITTEN BY: FIDELIS GOH

A focus on Experiential Learning Cycle

This document talks about the experiential learning cycle that was introduced by David A.Kolb. This document shares the two concepts that were brought forward by the cycle – mainly the learning cycle and learning type.

  1. Introduction

Having developed the model over many years prior, David Kolb published his learning styles model in 1984. The model gave rise to related terms such as Kolb’s experiential learning theory (ELT), and Kolb’s learning styles inventory (LSI). In his publications 1984 book ‘Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development’ Kolb acknowledges the early work on experiential learning by others in the 1900′s, including Rogers, Jung, and Piaget. In turn, Kolb’s learning styles model and experiential learning theory are today acknowledged by academics, teachers, managers and trainers as truly seminal works; fundamental concepts towards our understanding and explaining human learning behaviour, and towards helping others to learn.

Kolb’s learning theory sets out four distinct learning styles, which are based on a four-stage learning cycle. Kolb’s model offers both a way to understand individual people’s different
learning styles, and also an explanation of a cycle of experiential learning that applies to us all.

Experiential Learning Cycle typically expresses a four-stage cycle of learning, in which ‘immediate or concrete experiences’ provide a basis for ‘observations and reflections’. These
‘observations and reflections’ are incorporated into ‘abstract concepts’ producing new implications for action which can be ‘actively tested’, in turn creating new experiences.

Experiential Learning Cycle represents a spiral where the learner is enabled to touch all the bases – a cycle of experiencing, reflecting, thinking, and acting. Immediate or concrete
experiences lead to observations and reflections. These reflections are then translated into abstract concepts with implications for action, which the person can actively test and experiment with, which in turn enable the creation of new experiences.

Kolbs model works on two levels. First level is something quite popular, the four stage cycle. The second level talks about behavioural patterns on individuals, which merge two stages to
show how a person’s behavior is. The four stages will be divided into two parts – The Doers (Active Experimentation – AE) & Watchers (Reflective Observation) and Feelers (Concrete
Experience – CE) & Thinkers (Abstract Conceptualization – AC).

  1. A four-stage cycle (S, 2013), (McLeod, 2010):
  2. Concrete Experience – (CE)
    2. Reflective Observation – (RO)
    3. Abstract Conceptualization – (AC)
    4. Active Experimentation – (AE)
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The experiential learning cycle can be divided into two parts – the red arrows and blue arrows. The arrow represents a co-relation between the two stages as illustrated above. The Red arrow represents the two ways of knowing something. The Blue arrow represents the two ways of understanding something.

2.1. Concrete Experience Vs Abstract Conceptualization:

Concrete experience is basically the direct practical experience that people go through when involved in an activity. This experience can be faced in different modes, methods and variations. In another words, this stage is knowledge by experience. Abstract Conceptualization, on the other hand, is more into theory, where people tend to use theory that they already know to relate to certain emotions, actions, situations. In another words, knowledge about something which is theoretical.

2.2. Reflective Observation Vs Active Experimentation:

Reflective Observation talks about what the experiment means to the person who experienced it. This stage allows the person to think through the experience and be able to understand what has happened. One the other hand Active Experimentation is transforming the theory in Abstract Conceptualization and testing it or practicing it on another situation or  environment.

  1. Four-type learning styles(McLeod, 2010) (Learning-Theories, 2013), (Colin M. Beard, 2006):

Four-type definition of learning styles which incorporates two types of the stages mentioned.

  1. Accommodating (CE/AE)
    2. Converging (AC/AE)
    3. Diverging (CE/RO)
    4. Assimilating (AC/RO)
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3.1. Accomodating:

These groups of people are the doers and feelers. The Accommodating learning style is ‘hands-on’, and relies on intuition rather than logic. These people use other people’s analysis,
and prefer to take a practical, experiential approach. They are attracted to new challenges and experiences, and to carrying out plans. They commonly act on ‘gut’ instinct rather than logical analysis. People with an Accommodating learning style will tend to rely on others for information than carry out their own analysis. This learning style is prevalent and useful in roles requiring action and initiative. People with an Accommodating learning style prefer to work in teams to complete tasks. They set targets and actively work in the field trying different ways to achieve an objective.

3.2. Converging:

These groups of people are the doers and thinkers. People with a Converging learning style can solve problems and will use their learning to find solutions to practical issues. They prefer
technical tasks, and are less concerned with people and interpersonal aspects. People with a Converging learning style are best at finding practical uses for ideas and theories. They can
solve problems and make decisions by finding solutions to questions and problems. People with a Converging learning style are more attracted to technical tasks and problems than social or interpersonal issues. A Converging learning style enables specialist and technology abilities. People with a Converging style like to experiment with new ideas, to simulate, and to work with practical applications.

3.3. Diverging:

These groups of people are the feelers and watchers. These people are able to look at things from different perspectives. They are sensitive. They prefer to watch rather than do,
tending to gather information and use imagination to solve problems. They are best at viewing concrete situations several different viewpoints. Kolb called this style ‘Diverging’ because these people perform better in situations that require ideas-generation, for example, brainstorming. People with a Diverging learning style have broad cultural interests and like to gather
information. They are interested in people, tend to be imaginative and emotional, and tend to be strong in the arts. People with the Diverging style prefer to work in groups, to listen with an open mind and to receive personal feedback.

3.4. Assimilating:

These groups of people are the watchers and thinkers. The Assimilating learning preference is for a concise, logical approach. Ideas and concepts are more important than people. These people require good clear explanation rather than practical opportunity. They excel at understanding wide-ranging information and organising it a clear logical format. People
with an Assimilating learning style are less focused on people and more interested in ideas and abstract concepts. People with this style are more attracted to logically sound theories than approaches based on practical value. These learning style people are important for effectiveness in information and science careers. In formal learning situations, people with this
style prefer readings, lectures, exploring analytical models, and having time to think things through.

  1. Conclusion

In the experiential model, Kolb described two different ways of grasping experience:

Concrete Experience and Abstract Conceptualization. He also identified two ways of transforming experience: Reflective Observation and Active Experimentation. These four modes of learning are often portrayed as a cycle.

According to Kolb (2013), concrete experience provides the information that serves as a basis for reflection. From these reflections, we assimilate the information and form abstract concepts. We then use these concepts to develop new theories about the world, which we then actively test. Through the testing of our ideas, we once again gather information through experience, cycling back to the beginning of the process. The process does not necessarily begin with experience, however. Instead, each person must choose which learning mode will work best based upon the specific situation.

For example, let’s imagine that you are going to learn how to drive a car. Some people might choose to begin learning via reflection by observing other people as they drive. Another person might prefer to start more abstractly, by reading and analyzing a driving instruction book. Yet another person might decide to just jump right in and get behind the seat of a car to practice driving on a test course.

How do we decide which mode of experiential learning will work best? While situational variables are important, our own preferences play a large role. Kolb notes that people who are considered “watchers” prefer reflective observation, while those who are “doers” are more likely to engage in active experimentation. “Because of our hereditary equipment, our particular past life experiences, and the demands of our environment, we develop a preferred way of choosing,” Kolb explains. These preferences also serve as the basis for Kolb’s learning styles. In this learning style model, each of the four types has dominant learning abilities in two areas. For example, people with the Diverging learning style are dominant in the areas of concrete experience and reflective observation.

Kolb suggests that a number of different factors can influence preferred learning styles. Some of the factors that he has identified include (Colin M. Beard, 2006):

  • Personality type
    · Career choice
    · Current job role
    · Adaptive competencies
  1. Bibliography

Beard, C. M. (The Power of Experiential Learning: A Handbook for Trainers and Educators).
2002 . Kogan Page Publishers.
Colin M. Beard, J. P. (2006). Experiential Learning: A Best Practice Handbook for Educators
and Trainers. Kogan Page Publishers.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development.
Prentice-Hall.
Learning-Theories. (2013). Experiantial Learning (Kolb). Retrieved 2013, from

http://www.learning-theories.com/experiential-learning-kolb.html

McLeod, S. (2010). Kolb – Learning Styles. Retrieved 2013, from

Kolb’s Learning Styles and Experiential Learning Cycle

S, A. J. (2013). The Experiential Learning Cycle. Retrieved 2013, from

http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/experience.htm

ENTREPRENEURSHIP, WHY YOUNG=WIN

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP, WHY YOUNG=WIN

WRITTEN BY: JOHN SEAH

Surely all of us have heard of big time entrepreneurs and many of us aspire to be like them (whether for monetary gain or not). What sets them apart is a keen ability to see an opportunity and take advantage of it. That, along with a lot of hard work, devotion, resolve, self-confidence and a motivation to take risks enable these entrepreneurs to not only succeed, but also to make it big.

Michael Dell saw a need for custom-made computers and was running a $6 million business while still attending school.

Mark Zuckerberg saw a need for a social networking site. By the time he was 23, he had a net worth of $1.5 billion according to Forbes magazine with 66 million active users for his Facebook.

Young entrepreneurs who became millionaires in their 20s and 30s seem to cross over all lines of business and come from all walks of life and educational backgrounds. The difference between the youth and adults is the amount of life experience they actually have. As adults, knowledge of consequences of a failed business scares them more than motivates them to take risks; experience tells them whether a risk is worth taking or not. However, a young teenager without experience/influence of life would only concentrate on the processes and the end goal rather than the risks involved. That, is the youth’s greatest strength in their journey to entrepreneurship. As emphasized by Bill Cosby.

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. – Bill Cosby

For those who are the younger generation (however you define that), it can be easy to think that because you are younger, people don’t expect as much of you. You don’t have to be a
professional because you’re young and people will simply write that off as being a part of who you are. However, while you are young, you are still expected to be professional. Thing with the internet is that you are only young if you admit it. People only focus on what you sell and what you say, not your age. Deliver what is promised, just with any site you visit. At the same time, because you are young, you probably do things because they seem like a good idea, which is a great attitude to have. Instead of sitting around and thinking every single stop of your business through. Sometimes you just have to take risks and do things that seem crazy to others, the craziest ideas often win.

There’re many advantages of being young. Firstly, you’re more energetic. Yes, those late nights are going to be much easier on you. You can stay up a few nights to get and important project done or to work with a new client. You are more productive because you have more energy.

You’re more in tune with new ideas and movements. You’re probably on social media more, so you’re hearing all of the good ideas that are brewing in the world. This allows you to create what you head and turn those ideas into something that hasn’t been done before.

Lastly, you can make mistakes and start over, even if you make a mistake or something goes wrong, you can start over and over and over again.

Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm. – Winston Churchill

Being young and an entrepreneur is a combination that will take you far, but you still need to get started, stop talking and start doing what you love to do.

 

 

ENTREPRENEURSHIP – STARTING SMALL

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP – STARTING SMALL

WRITTEN BY: JOEY NG

We read and hear about successful entrepreneurs all the time in the prints, on the web and Television. The thing is, we hear about them because they are successful. What about does who
are not? How many times do we see unsuccessful entrepreneurs making the headlines? Few and far between I guess, if there ever was any to begin with. So, does this means that to be
considered an entrepreneur, one must first enjoy some form of success? Or is entrepreneurship more a matter of philosophy?

So, what exactly is entrepreneurship? As a concept, entrepreneurship has a wide range of meanings. Run the word through the internet and we will find tens, if not hundreds of related
results, each with its own version of what the word means. However, we can also find similar themes that the different views share. One of them is the need for entrepreneurs to take risk. So what is risk-taking? Oxford Dictionaries.com defines risk as:

‘a situation involving exposure to danger; act in such a way as to bring about the possibility of (an unpleasant or unwelcome event); the possibility of financial loss;’

To consider oneself as ‘taking a risk’, the potential lost must be of some significance to the risktaker. The higher the potential lost, or opportunity for losing, the greater the risk.

The term ‘Risk-taking’ has been used too loosely at times, as a general descriptive to describe situations where it is more about trying one’s luck rather than putting oneself in a genuinely risky position. The reality is, how many of us actually have enough to put on the line for it to be considered a ‘real’ risk to begin with? If ‘real’ risk-taking means the potential lost is significant enough to alter the rest of our lives, how many are game for it?

Risk-taking’ sounds massive and like it’s attached with heavy responsibilities and consequences. It probably is, especially so in the context of entrepreneurship. The successful entrepreneurs we know often speak of their past failures and how important those painful lessons are in helping them find success. At the same time, there are also many who took risks, failed and never recovered. If risk-taking and entrepreneurship are so easy, then there would be plenty of them filling the streets right now. So can risk-taking be easy? Well, it would be a great irony if it is. If the endeavor ever was a stroll in the park, the idea of entrepreneurship would be greatly undermined.

Instead of making it easy, we can, and some would argue should, make ‘risk-taking’ more manageable, by breaking the concept down into ‘bite-sizes’ and overtime, cultivate and embed it
as a personal ways of life. If we were to strip the idea of ‘risk-taking’ to its barest, we are essentially talking about trying new things. Asking someone to try something new sounds a lot
more do-able compared to telling them to take a risk. Each time we try a fresh idea, we are taking a gamble, but by starting small, the consequences of our actions is potentially less costly. If things do not work out, the damage is small, even negligible. If the idea works, then there is a small success to celebrate and more importantly, to build on. Success breeds success (be mindful because success breeds complacency too) and with success comes confidence, confidence for trying bigger and fresher ideas.

Every time we embark on a new exploration, opportunities for learning are created. Whether it is a success or disappointment, there’s always a lesson to be learned. One thing is for certain, the more we expose ourselves to trying new ideas, the better we become. Overtime, the lessons and experiences accumulates and form a springboard that will allow us to bounce new ideas off easily. By starting modestly and at a gradual pace, we can build small wins upon small wins. As we grow, what develop within ourselves is not just the knowledge of working with novel ideas (able), but just as importantly, an attitude and liking for venturing into the unknown (willing). Consciously or subconsciously, these qualities are embedded into our ways of life and when the time comes for us to take ‘real’ risk, we will be better equipped and risk-taking might just seem easier.

Reference:

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/risk?q=risk

 

EFFCTIVE WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION

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EFFECTIVE WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION

WRITTEN BY: LEONARD KOK

                                                                                                       Effective Workplace communication (I)
                                                                                                                               Use the 1A+4Cs
                                                                                                                               By Leonard Kok 

All of us will be required to write at the workplace setting; some of us more than others. In our respective capacity, we would still probably have to write to the following people: Client / Boss of Client / Your colleagues and/or Your boss.

Is your writing commended for its clarity; or do you often get emails or verbal memos requesting for clarification because of your writing? If it’s the latter, fret not. You CAN excel in workplace writing! Next time, before you write any email or letter or any form of correspondence, remember to regard your piece of writing as an important piece of information or knowledge which will help the recipient achieve his or her target. Then we will have a higher tendency to write purposefully.

Having studied writing and having taught workplace communication and academic writing to young adults in the National University of Singapore, I have gleaned several important lessons that will benefit any busy executive, sales coordinator, Project Managers and anybody who wants to write better.

The 1A + 4Cs

I have distilled successful workplace communication to this ‘formula.’ This is not exactly a formula per se; it is more of a memory tool.

A is for AUDIENCE!
Who are you writing for? This is the fundamental question which should not be taken for granted. If we are clear and very specific about whom our audience is, then we will be sure also of the following:

– Whether we can be formal or informal (‘can I use slang?’)

– Concise or detailed (‘how much to say?’)

– Technical, specialised or general (‘how much technical jargon?’)

– What’s your Style guide

– What’s your purpose

– The Choice of words (vocabulary)

If we have the audience in mind, then we will be also able to put ourselves in their shoes by knowing their needs. For example, if they intend to participate in an outdoor activity in the warm afternoon, knowing your audience will mean that you will prepare a list of useful advice: wear light clothing, to apply sun block lotion, drink more water, and so on. In this way, we are creating rapport with them.

The 4Cs
The first C – Keep It Clear!

Write clearly so that your reader knows what you are trying to say. Unless there is a very good reason to be vague, our writing must first be clear. Fulfil the objective(s) and that’s it. Albert Einstein once said that ‘any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius-and a lot of courage-to move in the opposite direction’.

Have the basic three:

– Start with the introduction and objective;

– explain the rationale or highlight the details;

– End off with an appropriate conclusion.

Nothing is ever so complicated than this.

Simple Vocabulary

Clarity is also maintained by having simple vocabulary, which steers clear of technical jargon (unless there is a very good reason to include some specific technical terms).

Consider this: “The exigencies arising out of the temporary indisposition of my better half and the consequential exercises embarked upon by me with a view to summon medical assistance to relieve her of her distress.”

Simplified, the above actually means “My wife was sick and I had to call the doctor”.

The classical wordsmith, C.S. Lewis, says “Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say ‘infinitely’ when you mean ‘very’; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite”.

The Second C – Keep it Courteous

With a lot of your patience in vetting the content, ensure that the language is polite and non-discriminatory: in gender, view or opinion. Sometimes, we may even have to reply to unreasonable requests or simply replying to a rude person’s email. In these situations, we can still maintain courtesy by stating facts and objective viewpoints or explaining and re-explaining the rationale. Courtesy is the fire extinguisher that douses fiery situations.

The Third C – Keep it Concise

We are not writing a narrative (although there is a place for it) so just include only essential information. For this reason, all sentence structures should be short and clear.  Conciseness usually comes with Clarity.

Compare the following:

1) The hurricane had the effect of a destructive force on the manufacturing plant.

2) The hurricane destroyed the manufacturing plant.

I’m sure you will agree with me that (ii) is more accurate and to the point, which is what conciseness is all about.

The Fourth C – Keep it correct!

If you find it challenging to keep to the first 3 Cs, then this one must be adhered to strictly! Nothing is ever so damning on your future prospects than getting your facts wrong all the time. For this reason, all organisations, no matter how lean and mean they are, keep minutes of meeting (MoM) in hard and soft copies. So, one way to verify and clarify is via the Minutes of Meeting before you click ‘send’ on your computer, which will seal your ‘fate.’ We have all heard of horror stories where some misunderstood content was circulated amongst the office staff: Good for an afternoon of gossip; but at the expense of the misunderstood person or persons.

The following should be practised, and often:

– Ensure the content is factual.

– Proofread the document for any spelling and grammatical mistakes. (better still, ask someone whom you trust to vet)

– Ensure the layout is correct.

On point 2, even punctuations can make a lot of difference in the meaning. Look at the example below as a case in point:

1) The employee, said the boss, is crazy

2) The employee said the boss is crazy

With the omission of two tiny and seemingly insignificant symbols, the one who is ‘crazy’ has changed.

Effective written communication is not only a necessary function which is attached to every job role, it is an essential one which will help realise your Current Estimate Potential (CEP) at your respective workplace. Think about it for a while – employers will only trust employees who can manage information accurately and effectively; one that brings in the clients and profits.

Follow the 1A+4Cs formula and you will see yourself increasing your professional credibility at your workplace!

 

DISTRESS, EUSTRESS AND CREATIVE TENSION – A TEAM CHALLENGE HOURGLASS LEARNING EXPERIENCE

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DISTRESS, EUSTRESS AND CREATIVE TENSION – A TEAM CHALLENGE HOURGLASS LEARNING EXPERIENCE

WRITTEN BY: JOEY NG

Stress is one’s physical, mental and emotional response to any kind of situations and there are two types of stress: Distress and Eustress.

– Distress is ‘bad’ stress. Distress is the negative response when one is unable to cope with the stress. Tension builds when one is distress and it leads to the feelings ofpain and agony.

– Eustress is ‘good’ stress. Eustress can be defined as beneficial stress and it refers to the positive cognitive response to stress, one that gives a sense of fulfilment.The physical reaction to distress and eustress are quite similar. When one heartbeat increases and starts feeling tense, is he feeling anxious and nervous, or is he feeling excited or motivated?

Stress and Adventure Learning

Stress is an essential part of effective Adventure Learning because facilitators tap on participants’ emotional responses in the experience to generate meaningful learning outcomes. This is why risk is such an important component in any AL experiences. Risk is associated with the elements of unknown and uncertainty and these elements usually evoke stressed responses. Facilitators need to be able to manage participant stress. When put in stress situations, participants will choose one of these three responses – flight, fight or freeze.

When participants are distressed, their most natural inclination is to ‘get-out’ of the situation. They will seek to rationalise and support their worries by constantly searching for excuses or signs that things are not working out for them. Distress also leads to poor judgment, which affects the participants’ ability to make sound decision.

On the other hand, participants driven by eustress are motivated by the challenge of uncertainty. They will choose to ‘get-in’. To them, uncertainty offers the opportunity for exploration. Exploration is characterised by discovery and learning.People choose to ‘fight’ when they are motivated by eustress. Eustress also sparks creativity because it encourages individuals to problem solve and look for ways to move forward and this includes collaborating with others.

Cultivating Eustress on the Team Challenge Hourglass (TCH)

The sight of the TCH immediately evokes two responses from the participants – flight or fight. The idea of being suspended 24 meters in the air is a thought some participants are unable to cope with and the ‘flight’ mentality naturally became their first respond.The other group of participants are genuinely excited about the idea of climbing the TCH. The challenge and the sense of fulfilment that comes from the experience drives these participants ‘fight’ mentality.

Distress-ed participants choose flight, eustress-ed participants opt to fight. The question here is, what can facilitators do to cultivate more eustress and encourage more participants to embrace the challenge of the TCH? Here are a few suggestions:

1)      Focus on the outcome.

  1. On a personal level, the sense of fulfilment and accomplishment.
  2. At a team level, the feeling of peak team performance.

 

2)      Put participants in a state where they feel that they are in control.

  1. Practice ‘Challenge by Choice’ – participants have the option to leave the TCH at any point in time.
  2. Allow participants to set their own target by choosing any of the four rest cages as their desired end point. Upon reaching the targeted rest cage, open the choice for participants to set a higher target or leave the TCH as agreed upon.
  3. When gearing up, let participants put on the harness by themselves, with as little physical assistance as possible. This is to reinforce the thought that the participants are in control of their own situation.

 

3)      Celebrate ‘small wins’.

  1. a.      Acknowledge the effort and success each time the team reaches one of the rest cages. It can be as simple as exchanging high-fives. The main idea here is to recognize the effort, celebrate the small but to some, a significant accomplishment, and energizes the team.

 

4)      Build eustress progressively.

  1. Prior to the climb, conduct trust building activities, such as Low Elements, to build confidence.
  2. Have participants talk to each other before the climb. It can be on anything related to the experience, for example, how excited they are or how members can assist each other on the TCH. Verbalizing thoughts will help in building commitment.
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The space between the ground and the top of the Hourglass represents the gap between an organization vision and its current state. The TCH is a fitting metaphor that describes the concept of Creative Tension, which was discussed by Peter Senge inhis work, The Fifth Discipline:

“The gap between vision and current reality is also a source of energy. If there were no gap, there would be no need for any action to move towards the vision. We call this gap creative tension.Creative tension is where people honestly and clearly see where they are (present reality), as well as where they would like to be (their vision for the future). Creative tension lies in the space between reality and vision. People can harness these concepts to both push and pull people and organizations toward change.”

The gap between vision and current reality exists in all organizations; however, the type of energy that can be harnessed from the gap varies between individuals. ‘Distress’ or ‘eustress’ is an individual stress response to the gap. People draw positive energy (eustress) from the gap when they are excited by the challenge. People can also draw negative energy (distress) when the gap appears to be unrealistic or it makes them feel nervous and afraid.  How people respond to the gap and the type of energy it harness will affect their level of desired to close it.

The product of distress is negative energy and it often leads to the ‘flight’ mentality. But in reality, especially so in business organizations, people are rarely able to ‘fly’ completely out of the situation; rather, a more common effect of distress is for organization and people to lower their vision.

Creative Tension produces eustress, whichmotivates and drives people to take actions. Organizations can create Creative Tension by managing the gap between vision and current reality.

Vision – By vision, we do not mean organizational vision only. Vision could also mean goals, targets and objectives. Vision here refers to both the state and the outcome of the effort.

Here are some key questions to ask: How is the vision perceived by others? What are the intrinsic and/or extrinsic value people are able to draw from pursing the vision? Is the vision aligned to the personal goals of the individuals?Does the visioninspire people to take action?

To pull people into the vision, leaders should not focus on the outcome of the vision but rather, the process of visioning. Visioning is the act of creating the future together as a team. Visioning as a process refers to the open and free exchange of ideas by all members of the group. It talks about where the team should be heading and how it should get there. In visioning, not all views will beaccepted; however,all views must be heard, respected and taken into consideration. Visioning is a shared experience and the outcome is a shared vision. By involving everyone in the visioning process, people are able to witness, understand and appreciate how the vision is formulated. Sense of ownership towards the vision increased because people feel that they have contributed to the process and have made a difference to the outcome.When people have invested the effort in visioning, they are also more likely to continue the effort to see the vision through. More often than not, people tend to feel more motivated working towards visions they have co-created than visions set by others.

Current Reality – A challenging vision can be a source of motivation and positive energy.However, people must feel that they have the capacity and capability or the potential within themselvesto attain the vision, in order for them to draw eustress from the Creative Tension. If the gap is too wide between the vision and their current abilities, people will struggle to experience any meaningful results despite their best effort. Over time, this continuous pattern of ‘effort but no results’, will lead to self-doubt, drop in self-confidence and eventually, people will give up the pursue of the vision. This is if people try. For some, the wide gap between vision and current reality will lead to an immediate ‘flight’ response.

To cultivate eustress, people need to feel that they have control over the situation (creative tension) and one way to heighten this sense of control is by balancing the degree of difficulty required to fulfil the vision and the existing capacity, capabilities and potential (current reality) of the people. This balancing act is fully illustrated in MihályCsíkszentmihályi‘Flow’ theory:

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On the vertical axis is the degree of difficulty of a task and on the horizontal axis is the person’s skills set. When there is a mismatch between the level of task difficulty and skill, people will either be frustrated or bored.

The ideal state is the ‘Flow Zone’ in the middle where level of challenge matches the level of skills. People develop eustress and feel motivated in the ‘Flow Zone’ because they experience meaningful progress.

‘Flow’ theory and Creative Tension shares the common idea of generating positive energy by balancing what needs to be done and what people can do. In the earlier rubber band illustration of Creative Tension, if the hands are too close to each other, the band limps and appears lifeless. If the hands are too wide, the band snaps.

An important step in achieving ‘Flow’ is the assessment of the current reality. Here are some questions to ask:Do the people have the capacity, capabilities and potential to fulfil the vision? If not, how can they be prepared, trained and developed. Are there sufficient resources? Do the people have enough support?

Another way to achieve ‘Flow’ is to divide the vision into stages and adopt a scaffold approach to attain it. In their work, The Leadership Challenge, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posners use the term ‘small wins’ to describe how leader can break down very challenging tasks into stages. The completion of each stage boosts morale and creates more eustress, and it gives people more confidence to move to the next stage.Each stage of the vision represents another mini layer of Creative Tension and the level of challenge at each stage should match the skills level, in order to achieve ‘Flow’ and create eustress. As such, to ensure that the vision is scaffold in a meaningful and purposeful manner, the current reality of the people must be considered.

Summary

Every organization faces the challenge of closing the gap between what it aspires to achieve and the current reality. To harness positive energy from this gap to motivate and propel people towards the aspirations, organizations should look at the way the aspirations are derived and the people’s existing capabilities.

Written by Joey NG (Facilitator)

 

DEBRIEFING CLIMBING ACTIVITIES

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DEBRIEFING CLIMBING ACTIVITIES

WRITTEN BY: ADAM CHAN

                                                                                                                Debriefing Climbing Activities
                                                                                                                              By Adam Chan

 

There are various climbing activities commonly used in adventure learning programs. The classic High Elements like postman walk, balancing beam, etc and some other innovative climbing apparatus that have evolved over years of adventure programming for example the Peak Ascent of Outward Bound Singapore and the Team Challenge Pyramid of Focus Adventure. Both are unique in their design and operating principles however both offer participants unforgettable learning experiences in various value related aspects like increasing self-efficacy, the significance of teamwork, etc.
Conducting climbing activities are not difficult; perfection in covering the safety aspects in the form of briefing can be attained through rehearsal and practices. After all, the value of any adventure learning activities hinges on the reflections from the participants a.k.a. debriefing. The following sections discuss in depth the different debriefing methods applied on climbing activities.

The Classic High Elements

The High Elements have a founding place in adventure programming. Conceived at the pioneering stages of adventure programming, it has a profound effect on the evolvement such programs.

 

There are various climbing activities commonly used in adventure learning programs. The classic High Elements like postman walk, balancing beam, etc and some other innovative climbing apparatus that have evolved over years of adventure programming for example the Peak Ascent of Outward Bound Singapore and the Team Challenge Pyramid of Focus Adventure. Both are unique in their design and operating principles however both offer participants unforgettable learning experiences in various value related aspects like increasing self-efficacy, the significance of teamwork, etc.
Conducting climbing activities are not difficult; perfection in covering the safety aspects in the form of briefing can be attained through rehearsal and practices. After all, the value of any adventure learning activities hinges on the reflections from the participants a.k.a. debriefing. The following sections discuss in depth the different debriefing methods applied on climbing activities.

The Classic High Elements

The High Elements have a founding place in adventure programming. Conceived at the pioneering stages of adventure programming, it has a profound effect on the evolvement such programs.

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Facilitator could start off with sharing inspiring stories related to climbing. For example, mountaineering stories, natural rock climbing, sports climbing, etc what ever that may prime their thoughts in making connection between emotions and insights.

Sensing their readiness to share is paramount to a well facilitated session. Once the facilitator deems they are “ready”, get them to be seated in a circle and commence the sharing process.

Facilitator: Let’s take turns to share our insights we have got from the experience. Going in a circle, each person think of a word or a short phrase to describe the experience you have just received.

Using a word or short phrase makes it simple for everyone to start of sharing. Once everyone shared, the facilitator could go back to the start of the circle for the next sharing.

Facilitator: There should be meanings for the phrase or word you have mentioned. Let’s take turns to expound on the word or phrase you have used in the initial round.

Usually, the sharing would come naturally, with less difficulty than starting off with “How did you feel?”

Facilitator should be alert of their sharing, latching on to any relevant insights, expounding on it and making a strong and visible tie-back to the role they play in their organization.

Unexpected, Marveled and Wonderful

The process if gathering the participants is the same as “Just One Word”.

Facilitator: The rope protects you here, what is protecting you at workplace? The belay team is providing protection for the climbing remotely; is it easy for the climber to forget/overlook this discreet relationship?

Obtaining responses from participants are not necessary however it would be a bonus.

Facilitator can now introduce the debrief structure to them. In their own group, each participant should talk about the followings;

·         What did you observed as unexpected? (focus on behaviors, decisions made, interactions)

·         What marveled you?

·         What leaves you with a wonderful feeling?

For a group size up to 30, they can be divided into 4 small groups or organize them according to the number of climbing teams. The discussion should be relating the climbing experiences to the three questions. Each participant should take turns to share their insights. Allow up to 10 minutes for the initial round of sharing.

After the initial round, select from each group, one representative to summarize their individual group sharing to the rest if the members. Facilitators should record the key words on the flipchart (see photo for sample). Visually, this will capture the essence of their insights.

Paradigms, Memories and Insights

Frontload the climbing activity by asking them; “Why climb?” History has numerous anecdotes that show the benefits from going through any adventurous experiences. There is a saying of “Let the Mountain speaks for itself” from people who have experienced a trip in the mountains. Climbing mountains itself is an adventurous trip and many thoughts can be evoked from it. Facilitator can start sharing with the following dialogue.

Facilitator: Why do we climb? (wait for responses)

Usually there will be witty inputs like,

·         Because it is there

·         Challenge oneself

·         On holiday

Such inputs are important as they evoke others to think about the word adventure, what are the adventures in our lives?

Facilitator: Climbing evokes paradigms, memories and insights. Is that right? (wait for responses). What is paradigm? (pause for a while)

Facilitator: Paradigms are like cognitive maps in our heads. These maps are formed in accordance to the social norms. They are the “must be”, “ought to be”, “shall be”, “should be”, etc of our lives. They are closely related to our fundamental beliefs but it is not as core as our belief systems.

Facilitator: Memories, anyone would like to define it? Any external stimulus that has significant meanings will be etched into our minds as memories. Last but not least, Insights.

Facilitator: What do think that is? (pause for a while) When you are able comprehend the essence of climbing, making the connection to your life, you have gained insights. It is a deep understanding of things through experiences, observation, analysis or intuition.

 

BUSINESS: ART OF LEADERSHIP OR SCIENCE OR MANAGEMENT?

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BUSINESS: ART OF LEADERSHIP OR SCIENCE OF MANAGEMENT

WRITTEN BY: JOEY NG

The subject of leadership and management has been discussed and dialogued many times. Most are well verse in their definitions, differences and what each brings to the table.

One of the more famous quote on this subject was from Grace Hopper, a retired Navy admiral, ‘You manage things; you lead people.’

Agree? Most do. It makes sense; people have feelings and leadership skew heavily on human connectivity. Views from some popular works on leadership such as The 8th Habit and The Leadership Challenge support this notion. But doesn’t this quote sounds a bit idealistic?

Leadership alone is not enough; you need to combine leadership with management. Relying on leadership alone is like all sail and no rudder.

Peter Drucker: “..as to separating management from leadership, that is nonsense – as much nonsense as separating management from entrepreneurship. They are part and parcel of the same job .They are different to be sure, but only as different as the right hand from the left or the nose from the mouth. They belong to same body”

The question is: Where to strike the balance? How much of each do we use? More specially, how much of it do we use in business? To answer this question, let us first examine these following differences:

Art or Science

Art stimulate thoughts and emotions. You visit a museum, gaze through the painting and feel connected to some of them. Some painting attracts more, others, the odd 1 or 2. You visit the same work some time later, and some how it feels different. You can’t explain why, it’s just… the feeling, the connection. The same goes for leadership. Because of some unexplainable forces, some members feel more connected to a leader, while some, just don’t get it! Leadership, in this sense, is more akin to art.

Science explains and predicts. Weather forecasting is science. Using patterns and data, geologists are able to predict the next storm. Putting a fire out is science. The fire stops burning because oxygen has been cut. Unlike art, science offers predictability and with it, consistency. Management involves controlling, working in system and seeking for consistency. In this sense, management is more parallel to science.

Possibility or Probability

Is there a distinction between possibility and probability? One school of thought says yes: possibility is either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ while probability covers everything in between the dichotomies (Odds and chances). The other school says no: they are the same, just that possibilities is not a term used in math. To support this article’s argument, we will subscribe to the first belief.

Edward De Bono, one of the leading authors in the field of creative thinking said, ‘‘Possibility’ widens your perception, while ‘Probability’ narrows it’. In the context of creativity, divergence is good – The more ideas there are, the more chances of striking gold. But what about those ideas that didn’t take off? For every 1 idea that lift-off, how many didn’t even make it to the launch pad? How much resources were wasted on them?

Probability narrows the field and draws closures. As it narrows, there is less to focus, people become more ready, more prepared and in turn, better equip to make better decisions (think blackjack). The extra attentions that were given to prepare for any and everything can then be refocus on other matters.

Possibility gives one the sense that things are always open, that the tunnel has no or infinite ends. Probability gives people the feeling that they have control over how things will turn out, which door to open to exit the tunnel. Another way to look at these two terms: Risk Vs Calculated Risk.

Connecting the Dots

Leadership is an art, relying heavily on fate and possibilities. To a leader, everyone is possible, no one is impossible. Management in the other hand will say some are more probable than the others. Management is the science of increasing the probability of turning things out as intended.

Many argued that leadership elevates performance to a level management can never reach. This is true, but, such superior performance might be too inconsistent, too few and far between to rely on. Management on the other hand has often been attributed to the stifling of outstanding output but, it at least produces consistency. Leadership produces the occasional brilliance, management chunks out a predictable 7/10 every time. Most leaders will settle for the latter. I think.

Red Tapes and Management

Often, we hear individuals complaining about how things are run in an organization, too much red tape, systems that stifles etc. Typically, these individuals are taking the bottom up approach, from an individual’s perspective. Example: it is ok for me to be late, its just one person. Or, misusing $5 of the company’s money is ok because it is just, $5!

Turn the table around, take a top-down approach and we will see things completely differently. In an organization of 100, if everyone is 30 minutes late, the company will lose 300 minutes of production, or, $500 in misused fund.

Only with management can such events be prevented or more realistically, reduced. Management is synonymous with the word control (but not only!). In business, leaders need control elements to ensure resources are placed towards the right direction. Not all procedures will be popular but they are necessary. Red tapes and other management tools are designed to increase the probability of performance outcome not going below the acceptable range or, to increase the likelihood of performance turning out the way it was planned. Simply put it, management ensures what needed to be done is done.

Summary

As an organization grows bigger, so will its complexity. Humans are more unpredictable that anything else. We are the most varied, most inconsistent of any variables. Only in fantasy can a leader solely on leadership because everyone will give their all, are fully committed and have all the know-how to perform their many tasks. In reality, management is the true quality that will offer predictability and consistency and when combined, heighten the probability of guarantees. With guarantees, life will become a lot easier. Imagine going to work
everyday and there is no guarantee that the train will come.

To manage more or to lead more depends on the members more than the leaders. Factors like level of competency and maturity dictate which of the 2 a leader uses more. As the employment number grows, so does the need to manage. Of course, management alone is never enough, it needs to work in tandem with leadership. Leadership must never be discounted.

In sports, a captain relies on leadership to bring the best out of the team. Sometimes the team responds and sometimes, no matter how hard the captain tries, the team just doesn’t seem to move. In business, a leader can ill afford such kind of irregularities. Leaders need consistency and rely on probability for planning and decision making to run the business. Doing without management, allowing everyone absolute free-play, leaving everything to possibilities is a virtue no organization can afford.

Business is a numbers game. Running a business requires more science than art, more management than leadership. How much more? I say, 60% Management, 40% Leadership.

Further Readings:

http://www.leadershipworldconnect.com/linked/leadership%20vs%20managemen

t%202009.pdf

http://www.leadershipworldconnect.com/Becoming_a_Holistic_Leader.pdf

 

BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND: VISION, ACTION, PASSION

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BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND: VISION, ACTION, PASSION

WRITTEN BY: JOEY NG

                                                                                          Begin with the End in Mind – Vision, Action, Passion
                                                                                                                                 By Joey NG

This article is a further look at one of the Habits (Begin with the End in Mind) in Stephen R. Covey’s work: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

One can be very, very busy, and yet, achieve nothing. Why? Probably is because the ladder has all along been leaning against the wrong wall.

The fundamental of this habit centers on personal effectiveness. The belief is that by clarifying the future, one will make better use of the present.

Here’s how:

 

1.     Because one knows what he wants to achieve, he will be able to make better decisions. And better decisions will give better use of resources.

2.     Beginning with an End allows one to distinct what is important and what is urgent. What appears urgent might not be important at all. Failure to differentiate could lead to one neglecting the important while attending the urgent.

3.     An End provides the framework for the presents. Using End as the point of reference to lay your route map, providing an organized structure for one’s endeavors. With a structure, one will know where and how to maximized his resources. Example:  If one plans to knock off at 6.30pm, he would manage his work and time effectively to reach his End. Investment – if one End is to retire at 55 years old with $500,000 in the coffers, working backwards, he would know how much to put aside periodically.

4.     Peter Drucker:
 Checking the results of a decision against its expectations shows executives what their strengths are, where they need to improve, and where they lack knowledge or information.

Feedback does not necessarily have to come from others. ‘End’ can be used to surface what one is good and not good at, identifying areas for improvement.

5.     Aligning End with reality – All things are created twice – once in the head, and once in action. Things changes in between. The more vivid the ‘End’, the easier it is to adapt to reality.

 

So far, the benefits mentioned highlight how having an End, a vivid one, promotes effectiveness and efficiency. The next 2 benefits are slightly different.

 

7. Compel Experimenting – because one knows what he wants and what he is doing, it gives him a reason to experiment with new methods and techniques in the name of achieving his goal. With no End in mind, any experiment will be directionless, filled with ambiguity.

8. Clarifying what one wants to achieve is the first step to Personal Mastery. Mastery is a process, not an End. Mastery involves extreme level of input, without identifying the End, they will be scattered and not focus on the key areas. Jack of all trades, master of none.

 

The ‘End’ in mind we have been referring to is the vision or goal one wants to achieve or create. The vision can be a set of targets, or it can be a sense of purpose. Whichever it is, it must be able to answer the question ‘What am I doing this for’.

‘Begin…’ is one way to increase personal effectiveness. However, vision alone will bring you nowhere. Action is the next step to bridge the present and the future, bringing the vision to life. Action also serves as a reminder of how realistic our ‘End’ is. If the effort yields no result over time, perhaps the vision needs recalibration.

Yet, there will be times when the question is neither on the practicality of the vision, nor the quality of the action, but, on the presence of passion. Vision without passion will see compliance. When one is complying, even towards a personal agenda, he will do just enough. The argument is, if the ‘End’ is achieve, isn’t doing ‘enough’ enough? In this sense, ‘enough’ is enough. But, when both vision and action are augment with passion, instead of compliance, one will experience commitment. Commitment brings about a sense of energy and excitement that cannot be generated by compliance. Passion sustains action. When a wall is hit, without passion, one will either stop on his tracks, or give up the journey. With passion and commitment, one will instigate ways around it, or even break it down.
References:

  1. The Fifth Discipline – the Art & Practice of the Learning Organisation (2006)by Peter M. Senge
  2. Eureka – Making Brilliant Ideas Happen (2004)by Philippa Davies
  3. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (2004) by Stephen R. Covey
  4. The 80/20 Principle (2007) by Richard Koch

 

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM

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BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM

WRITTEN BY: ALOK VERMA

Communication is the most basic framework on which any organization builds its formation. Looking at the other side the most important component of any relationship is also an effective communication. So this makes any barriers in communication the most critical thing to look at while we talk of personal and organizational growth. This becomes far more important for facilitation because our complete business relies upon the Facilitator’s ability and skill to bring on the objective of the clients in the most natural way through various activities and challenges. And effective communications acts as the Fuel in the Engine.

Let’s take a sneak peek into some of the obvious and some unobvious factors, which contribute to build these barriers in communication and also find out what can be done about them. As it is said that sometimes the distance between a message being passed and it being understood can much longer than we guess..

Noise & Distraction:

I would like to take this first, as I learned it the hard way. Distraction can be of many types, the environment, too cold, too hot, too sunny, too noisy, mosquitos & Flies etc. The distractions can easily rob away the natural listening skill of individuals. It is always good for the listener to either inform the speaker that there is something, which is annoying enough to concentrate. And for the Speaker to pause and address the distraction or noise, then carry on. As a message misunderstood is worse than a message not sent at all. I can easily recall my bitter experience with noise here, it was my 2nd Sales job and I was responsible to sell Laptops of Acer and Toshiba in Delhi and adjacent areas. One fine day I got an enquiry from a steel manufacturer who was looking for some Fujitsu tablets. Fujitsu was the only OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) selling tablets those days in India. The opportunity was tempting and I was already struggling with my sales target. Though we used to stick to our registered OEM, I took an extra step, liaison with Fujitsu guys and got a quote. Now this
customer made a Purchase order and faxed it to us, unfortunately the fax landed on my CEO’s Table. He was annoyed to see that I am again reinventing the wheel, which is something he already warned me to avoid. He picked up the phone and called me on my handheld cellphone. I was coming back from a sales call on my Motorbike. As I saw my CEO calling I found a place to stop by the road n picked the call. He was shouting at the top of his voice on phone. I guessed something was wrong but it was too difficult to make out what is he saying actually. I was in midst of a traffic jam in Delhi. I decided to say yes and ok after every sentence so that he may feel that I am listening, as I was too afraid to tell him that I cannot get anything but noise. So after some yelling he hanged the phone.

The next day was my last day in that job; I only came to know what actually happened from the HR person because I was still wondering why my CEO hanged up the phone all of a sudden. He said, “Do I assume you have no respect for me and the company policy??” And guess what, I replied. “Yes Sir!!”

Distraction and noise can be very taxing at times, so it’s always good to address them before we proceed.

Listening:

Listening is not just hearing the words said but a lot more. Words have context, which needs to be taken in. Words are said with feeling and meaning, with gestures and mannerisms, all of which need to be taken into account. In communication body language is very important, if not all-important. We do not just communicate with our words but with our whole body. Any listener (and speaker) who does not take this into account does so at their peril. Listening well is one of the best things we can do to overcome barriers in communication. Listening is giving our full attention to the other person. It helps to be enjoying the interchange. It helps to try to get the most out of the interplay.

So what is it that keeps people from listening and being present in a conversation? Here are some possible causes:

  • Rehearsing what to say next:When we’re too busy and too focused on preparing our response to what the other person is saying, we aren’t being fully present to what’s being said at precisely that moment.
  • Being overemotional:Allowing defensiveness, fear, anger, love, disgust, or resentment to take control. Emotions are going to show up all the time, it’s only when they overwhelm us that they become barriers to effective communication.
  • Wearing a Mask:Pretending to be someone we are not. We go through life putting on masks to suit the needs of the moment. If we need to please someone, we put on our people pleaser mask. When we pretend that we are happy with everything other people are doing, we don’t express anything that may be seen “not nice”. When we don’t express ourselves freely, we fail to communicate.
  • Having an agenda:When we have a hidden agenda it’s unlikely we’ll be able to stay focused on what the other person is saying. Most likely we’ll be too busy thinking of how to convince them about something – or of ways to ask them for something, to be actually listening to what they’re saying.

We may argue that most people have an agenda, and we’d be right about that. One of the main reasons we communicate is to get something we want, either through control, manipulation or just influence.

Having an agenda becomes a problem when we become too focused on fulfilling it; when we remain too attached to getting our way.

  • Prejudging and Filtering:This consists of using our personal frame of reference to process any information we get. Our frame of reference consists of ideas, conclusions, experiences, preconceptions, values and beliefs that we have about life.

As an example, we disregard what someone is telling us because we dislike a trait about the person. We dismiss their input beforehand. In short we close the doors.

Another example, we reject or ignore someone’s ideas because their values are different than ours. Now this is a very serious behavior pattern and if not addressed immediately, can lead to complete failure of communication.

Accent and Trust Factor:

This is universal and applicable to all of us. Americans think Asians have an accent and Asians think American and Europeans have one. Apparently there is no right and wrong, we all have our way of expressing the global language, ‘English’. And most of the times our tone is influenced by the either the local dialect or our family language. When I came to Singapore this is the first thing I faced, I carry an Indian accent and my friends shared it with me. At the same time I used to feel that Singaporeans carry a unique accent as well. Some call it Singlish, now the question was that should I try to adapt the local accent to dissolve well or do something about the way I speak to be understood. As being a Facilitator, getting understood well is a very critical part of our job. So I was advised by a colleague to slow down my rate of speech. And this is something, which works for sure, and brings a lot of credibility as well.

Another important thing that comes with getting understood is the Trust. I still remember in my earlier programs in Singapore, sometimes clients used to give me a very Alien look. Which is a clear indicator of not being understood or finding my accent too thick. Another good instant I can recall is while conducting an activity called ‘Trolley’ where we need to pick balls scattered around in a field walking on wooden skies as a team. I had major difficulty in getting my message across while the activity was ongoing. Then later my co-facilitator pointed out that when people are tired, it becomes more difficult to get a fast pace accent. So being slow is the best bet, while at the same time we need to watch out for modulation to keep things exiting. But since I am using the trick of saying it slowly, life gets much easier and moreover we get instant trust and acknowledgement from clients and colleagues.

Watch your Volume:

Volume and pitch is like Fire in Communication. While the right amount can cook the food, too much of it can burn the village. As I come from a family of Human Loudspeakers, saying is loud is pretty natural to us. This only comes handy when while doing a workshop the amplifier breaks down. But most of the times a loud voice is taken offensively by others. This is one area I personally work on constantly. Another interesting input I received from one of my co-facilitator is that if your pitch and volume is high, you may need to put some extra effort to command authority. This is sometimes needed in our profession, to get things done in a particular manner. While getting is too loud may rob the authority, too low and slow can also portray you as not interested and low in energy. So striking the right balance is the key for good communication.

Say it right:

Clarity of thoughts is essential for almost all kind of communications, be it written, visual or verbal. This brings respect and credibility to the speaker. As it is said, “Say it once and say it right” because as we repeat our own sentences it’s interpreted that we are not sure of what we are saying. Another important factor from facilitation perspective is the use of ‘filler words’ like ‘a’, ‘umm’, ‘well’, ‘you know’, etc. While using them sometimes is acceptable, but too much of these words make you look nervous and unclear of your own thoughts. It may sound funny but rehearsing and simulating the real Workshop is a good idea for beginners. As these issues go away with more field time in Facilitation.

As we can see that communication barriers can take on many forms. Some we just need to be aware of in order to avoid them, others are things we need to steer more carefully around. Getting our communications right does take effort and a will to succeed. To get our message across may be the aim, with politeness, respect and civility our means, and clarity and meaning our tools, and words our vehicle. As we overcome each and every one of these barriers to effective communication, we’ll be able to enjoy closer and more authentic relationships with others in our life. We’ll connect with people in ways we hadn’t anticipated. But more importantly, we’ll feel at ease in practically any situation, confident that we’ll be able to handle it.

 

 

 

ADAPTIVE CHALLENGE AND THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE

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ADAPTIVE CHALLENGE AND THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE

WRITTEN BY: JOEY NG

Leadership and Management

Sometimes, leadership failure stems from the inability to differentiate the practice of management and leadership and the roles of managers and leaders.

Most managers are functionally very competent, skilful and good at problem-solving. Theywould have attained a certain level of functional experiences, had been very effectively in their functional roles,before gettingpromoted to the management level. However, at the management level, managers do not only deal with functional and task related issues, they also have to deal with people related issue. For most new managers, people issue is a new challenge to them because in their previous appointments, it is often left to their superiors to handle.This explains why we sometimes hear about managers who are technically very able but lack people skills, such as relating and communication. Perhaps, these managers are using task oriented problem-solving approaches to managepeople issues.

Conversely, we can argue that a good leader does not need to be technically very competent. While certain level of technical understanding is necessary to facilitate decision making, a good leader do not need to be a master of the craft. Rather, a good leader uses his/her leadership skills to motivate more technically gifted team members to perform better. A good example is the Head of State of many countries. He/she does not need to be an expert in finance, trade, foreign relationship and all others important government sectors. Rather, the Head of State appoints very competent individuals to run each of the ministries and his/her duty is to lead and support these individuals. However, the Head of State cannot be completely ignorant to the works of all the ministries because he/she is ultimately responsible for all the decisions made.

Problems arise when leaders manage to lead.

Technical and Adaptive Challenges

Dr Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linskyclassified organization challenges into two categories – technical challenge and adaptive challenge. Technical challenges are challenges where there are known answers and solutions. For example, production is halted because the machine is downed, the existing solutions are: 1) called a mechanic, 2) if you are a mechanic, purchase the replacement parts and repair it yourself, 3) buy a new machine or 4) out-source production. Either ways, there is a known solution to continue production. Managers, especially seasoned ones, excel at solving technical challenges.

Adaptive challenges refer to situations where there are no known solutions to the problem or cases where there are too many solutions but no clear choices.Adaptive challenges are by nature, adaptive, which also means they are fluid and change with circumstances.Adaptive challenges are volatile, unpredictable, complex and ambiguous in nature. Solutions to this type of challenge usually require people to learn new ways of doing things, change their attitudes, values and norms and adopt an experimental mind-set. For example, a machine breaks down once every couple of months, despite regular maintenance.Theadaptive challenge here is the lack of ownership and care towards the machine because staff members see the machine as company’s property or rather, the company’s problem.

This machine example also illustrate when most leadership failure occurs – leaders treating adaptive challenges as technical challenges. Each time the machine breaks down, a technical solution is applied to get the machine up and running. However, the underlying issue on lack of ownership remains unresolved.

Corporate Team building framework infographic

Adaptive challenges require adaptive leadership. Adaptive leadership is based on the principles of shared responsibility and continuous learning. Adaptive challenges are full on unknowns, as such, the experimental mind set is essential because doing the same job better, longer and with more help will not solve adaptive challenge. To respond to adaptive challenges effectively, leaders need to beable to relate well with others and work in a team. Gone are the days of ‘The Great Man’ leadership notion where a single person, the great leader, is able to solve all problems by himself. ‘The Great Man’ leadership theory does not withstand the test of adaptive challenges for two reasons – firstly, no leader, no matter how brilliant he/she is, knows everything and has all the answers. Secondly, even if the leader has the answer, he/she will need to work with others to overcome the complexities that part of adaptive challenges. Teamwork matters. Furthermore, working in a team ensures knowledge is spread across more people, reducing the likelihood of similar problems arising in future.

Relating skills aside, leaders are also required be in a continuous sense-making mode to understand how the problem, environment, solutions and his/her relationship with the team, are evolving with time. When leaders are solving adaptive challenges, they have to be ready to commit time and energy and be prepared to cope with uncertainty and setbacks.

Some problems are a combination of technical and adaptive challenge. For example, skills development for staff members can be both a technical and adaptive challenge. To develop skills, the technical solution is to send staff members for training courses. However, to instil a continuous development mind-set where staff members attend training courses because they want to and not have to, adaptive solutions are needed to change the staff members attitude towards professional development. Sometimes, leaders and managers would only realise they are facing an adaptive challenge after all technical solutions are exhausted.

Single and Double Loop Learning

Another way to look at the difference between technical and adaptive challenge is through the concept of single and double loop learning by ChrisAgyris. Single loop learning focuses on using corrective action for problem solving. For example, if the room is cold, a single loop learning response is to turn up the air condition temperature. The problem solved through a direct action strategy. Double loop learning on the other hand takes a deeper look at the issue and examines the government variables thatcause the problems to occur in the first place. For example, the room is cold because the air condition default temperature is set at 17 oC and would revert to this level each time the unit is switch off and on. A double loop learning solution will be to calibrate and set the temperature to the desired level. Single loop approaches are used to solve straight line cause-and-effect type of problems because the solution is known and the problem can be remedied very quickly. Double loop approaches are used for dynamic situations where there are no quick fixes. Double loop approaches requires governing variables to be challenged or changedand to do so, people need to first find out what these variables are in order to design and implement effective solutions. Double loop learning is used for adaptive challenges.

The Leadership Challenge

The Leadership Challenge is fundamentally about the team and teamwork, not the leader. Looking closely at the 5 Leadership Practices – Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act and Encourage the Heart, of this leadership framework,aside from the first practice, Model the Way, the other four are largely team focused.

Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, the creators behind The Leadership Challenge, define leadership as “The art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations”. It is about leaders gettingteam members to follow willingly, especially across unknown territories and mobilizingthe team to move forward together and want to get extraordinary things done.

The 5 Leadership Practices shares similar characteristics with adaptive challenges:

Corporate Team building framework infographic

Adaptive challenges are complex, multi-dimensional and difficult to solve, to overcome such challenges effectively. Leaders cannot solve adaptive challenges alone and have to deploy a mixed approach of various leadership and management tools. Each of the 5 Leadership Practices are by themselves a leadership tool and can be separately used to address adaptive challenges. However, using all 5 Practices together would lead to more effective change because it addresses multiple aspects of any leadership/adaptive challenge.

The 5 Leadership Practices is no silver bullet to overcome all adaptive challenges but it does provide leaders a good starting point to pull the team together.

References:

  • – A Survival Guide for Leaders. (2002) Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky. Havard Business Review.
  • – Double Loop Learning in Organizations. (1977) Chris Argyris. Havard Business Review.
  • – The Leadership Challenge. (2007) James Kouzes and Barry Posner.

 

Written by Joey NG (Facilitator)
on 11th December 2016