6. Nature’s clues to successful change
(Words: 999 Reading time approx 4 minutes)
Nature has the most profound capacity to facilitate success, adaptability, and resilience, and cause viral change. Surely then it will pay dividends to consider how natural processes might be considered and applied in some way to a change initiative. If within your organisation you harbour a limiting belief that it is nigh impossible to create change through viral innovation & development, it costs nothing just for a few minutes to park that thought and consider the following:
The challenge is to encourage “conditions for viral learning”. “Viral learning” is initiated by experiences that induce people who are not participants of a programme to then replicate the approaches that create those experiences. When this happens individuals automatically spread those working practices around. In other words, if employees see something that works for others there is a natural desire to adopt the same approaches to also benefit in the same way.
The aim therefore is to create the circumstances that encourages an increase in collective personal development, leadership, and creativity, and to do so through, and within, small groups. Focus this way will automatically provide initial natural leverage in spreading those attributes outwards through the organisation.
Nature provides three fundamental processes in causing viral change. They are:
Osmosis
Cross Pollination
Natural Selection
1. Osmosis
Osmosis is a process through which those nearby automatically and effortlessly absorb and take on board, for example, ideas, behaviours, knowledge, or ways of working. This process may be rapid or gradual, conscious, or unconscious, and can be managed.
The key is to explore, and then introduce processes that create rapid benefits with the result that those same processes will be picked up by others by default – simply because they work!
2. Cross Pollination
Cross Pollination is achieved when interaction occurs between masculine and feminine elements from diverse sources and is key in achieving “Hybrid Vigour” – where that exchange creates an outcome with superior potential.
Critical in this process is exploration separately of issues or subjects in diverse interest groups, including for example male, female, LGBT, or “other” groups. The intention should be to develop and encourage “Blame-less-ness” behaviour in which alternative and even opposing views and ideas are welcome and may sit side by side without damaging or negative impact.
3. Natural Selection
Natural selection is how behaviour or processes that are best able to adapt to the environment will increase or spread with greater frequency than those that are less well adapted.
To achieve this, it is essential to create an atmosphere of communication in which free flow and exchange occurs, and ideas of merit and practical value can be selected and developed without loss of efficiency or damage to existing structures or processes.
Practices that are fundamental in achieving this is agreement to three principles:
Minority opinion is sought, encouraged, and valued especially from those with introvert tendencies
No-one may ever belittle anyone else’s views or opinions
There must be collective agreement to actively remind each other to adhere to those two practices.
Key Behaviours
There are three key behaviours required for the three processes of Osmosis, Cross Pollination and Natural Selection to produce optimal results; they are:
Courage
Authenticity
Creativity
Achieving any one of these is, of course, an ongoing challenge for organisations. However, a starting point for HR is to assess the following:
Q1. How do individual and not just organisational values equate with & encourage specific, appropriate behaviour? Intrinsic in that question is the underlying requirement to discover the diverse nature of values important to employees.
Q2. Is support for these behaviours demonstrable in ways of working and daily practices?
Q3. What systems are in place to observe and act upon discrepancies?
Having carried out this assessment, then experiment on a small scale in how to gain as much information in answer to those three questions, and to address any shortcomings, particularly in daily practices.
This focus on behaviour is extremely important as liming beliefs affect employee attitudes and present major blocks to change. However, changes in unconscious beliefs occur because of personal experiences which in work are directly affected by individual and collective behaviour.
An article follows that deals with instilling courageous, authentic, and creative behaviour respectively.
In the meantime, it is worth looking at developing small group approaches to the following examples of behaviour that will encourage, collective personal development, leadership, and creativity
Learning to be present – being self-aware & observant of what you think, feel and sense. Noticing & acknowledging when thoughts drift to the past or imagined future and the impact these have on oneself.
Exploring personal experiences of being judgemental. Logically analysing what those judgements tell you about yourself, others, and the reflective value of those judgements in understanding oneself and one’s beliefs.
Exploring the differing personal values of employees in interest specific groups e.g., masculine, feminine, LGBT, ethnic backgrounds, and comparing, contrasting, and prioritising values. Understanding the impact and implication such results may have on behaviour and procedures
Experimenting with different behaviour agreements and acceptable means of collectively and considerately ensuring compliance
Set up self-support “triunes” (three people) as a background system in which employees can have candid discussion, encourage, and raise minority views and provide feedback free of the potential risk for individual criticism.
I respectfully suggest the ideal approach is to take a little time to understand this subject while being highly skeptical but not dismissive. You will be surprised.
The Next Step
Visit www.senseable.co.uk where you will find:
Cases illustrating how intuition contributed to achieving significant benefits in productivity, innovation, and mental wellbeing
Link to Teams community discussions on “Intuition in Business”
These seven articles (including this one) that explain the rationale, science, principles, structure, and processes in developing Intuition in changing organizational culture:
1. Why a 17th century idea limits business potential
2. The Discovery Process - an introduction
3. Why a different approach is needed
4. Maximising ROI - The structure
5. How micro-cultures can change an entire company
6. Nature’s clues to successful change
7. Developing courage, authenticity, and creativity
Check it out now www.senseable.co.uk