Jim Robinson Leading Change in a Time of Disconnect Cognitive Dissonance and Insecurity
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The document discusses systemic disconnects and structural limits that have given rise to societal problems in the US. It notes that systems are often designed not to learn and have broken or delayed feedback loops. This has led to issues like unequal opportunities, myths about guaranteed success through hard work, and growing inequality in health and income. The document then covers system archetypes like "fixes that fail" and "tragedy of the commons" to examine how systems can be set up to create unintended consequences. It argues for shifting perspectives to see the bigger picture and recognize how system structures influence performance.
Jim Robinson Leading Change in a Time of Disconnect Cognitive Dissonance and Insecurity
- 1. Leading Change in a Time of Disconnect, Cognitive Dissonance, and Insecurity Presentation to BSI/Spider User Conference Tuesday, April 1, 2014 Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Jim Robinson, Director George Washington University Center for Excellence in Public Leadership http://cepl.cps.gwu.edu
- 2. Systemic Disconnects That Give Rise to Societal Symptoms: Systems that Are –Designed not to learn –Exhibit Broken or Delayed Feedback Loops Where: Positive Externalities Flow to the Top, Negative Externalities to the Poor or Workers Ego-System Focus vs. Eco-System Reality (Me and Us vs. Undeserving Them… Takers… Slackers… Dangerous… Great Unwashed)
- 3. Structural Disconnects and System Limits Scharmer, C. Otto. Leading from the Emerging Future: From Ego-System to Eco-System Economies. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2013. Print.
- 4. Mythical Beliefs Underlying the American Dream to American Nightmare • America is the land of … ▫ Equal opportunity for all – the same set of rules and possibilities apply for every individual American – • Opportunity for those who work hard and don’t quit … ▫ Working hard always creates success if you don’t quit • The Shining City on A Hill – Exceptional • Strive to Get Ahead –Consume-Be Happy-You’ve Arrived
- 5. American Dream vs. Awakening Nightmare • 5% of world population + 80% of painkillers • 66% of American men have jobs • Half of all U.S. college graduates under age 25… unemployed or underemployed • 1 of 7 Americans on food stamps and 1 of 4 children • 13% of all U.S. homes sit empty • 1 of 4 American workers has a job that pays $10/hour or less - highest among industrial nations • Wealthiest 1% own more wealth than bottom 95% • 400% increase in anti-depressant usage since 1988
- 6. Health and Income Inequality Scharmer, C. Otto. Leading from the Emerging Future: From Ego-System to Eco-System Economies. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2013. Print.
- 7. What Is A System • A system is a set of interconnected elements which form a whole and show properties which are properties of the whole rather than of the individual elements ▫ Less a thing, than a pattern of organization ▫ Dynamic flows of interactions
- 8. Examining how WE CREATE OUR OWN PROBLEMS Seeing the BIG PICTURE Recognizing that STRUCTURE INFLUENCES PERFORMANCE WHAT IS SYSTEMS THINKING?
- 9. System Archetypes • Common and usually reoccurring patterns of behaviors in organizations… often resulting in negative consequences. • 4 of 8 System Archetypes ▫ Fixes that Fail ▫ Limits to Success ▫ Success to the Successful ▫ Tragedy of the Commons
- 10. FIXES THAT FAIL / BACKFIRE Unintended Consequences FixProblem Symptom Delay S S S O Time Behavior Over Time
- 12. Success to the Successful Allocation to A Instead of B Success of A Resources to A Resources to B Success of B Time A Time BS S S S S S
- 13. Success to the Successful • Look for reasons why the system was set up to create just one “winner” • Find ways to make teams collaborators rather than competitors
- 14. Tragedy of the Commons
- 15. Tragedy of the Commons Total Activity Gain per Individual Activity Resource Limit O S S S Time A Time B A’s Activity S S Net Gains for A B’s Activity Net Gains for B S S S S
- 16. Tragedy of the Commons • Solutions for a “Tragedy of the Commons” never lie at the individual level (The Libertarian Nightmare) • What are the incentives for individuals to persist in their actions? • Can the long-term collective loss be made more real? • Find ways to reconcile short-term individual rewards with long-term cumulative consequences
- 17. Shifting Our Inner Space & Leading From the Emerging Future • The success of an intervention depends on the interior condition of the intervener… not What we do or How we do it… the inner place (consciousness) from which we operate (Bill O’Brien, former CEO of Hanover Insurance) • Going to the Edges and being Open to Becoming Aware of What Is Wanting to Emerge • Get the whole system in the room
- 18. Making a shift • Energy follows attention: ▫ What we are trying to avoid What we want to bring into reality • Observe, Observe, Observe – Immersion • Get voices of the whole system and ecosystem • Act in an instant by Prototyping, Continuous Feedback, and Rapid Learning
- 19. What Research is Showing About Motivation
- 20. References • Cannon, Master Charles. Awakening from the American Dream: From Crisis to Consciousness. Washington: Waterside, 2014. Print • Little, Todd.“Systems Causal Loops.” 1998.Microsoft PowerPoint file. • Scharmer, C. Otto. Leading from the Emerging Future: From Ego-System to Eco-System Economies. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2013. Print.