Case Study
For some years, we consulted to a college, helping to improve collaboration between the different educational departments and foster an environment of trust and open exchange. In conversation we discovered what was holding them back—they interpreted their strong commitment to their goals as “follow the rules and don’t rock the boat.” Consequently, alternative viewpoints and any dissent disappeared, and there was little or no robust discussion. While this was not what they wanted, it was the prevailing mode of operation, making change difficult to accomplish.
It can be so hard to let go of something you know—such as a relationship, belief, or practice—even when it is increasingly apparent that clinging on to it is misguided and may even perpetuate or exacerbate a problem. When current practice no longer serves your needs, it may be necessary to provoke and challenge to ignite change. When you realize that the accumulated debris of past problem-solving efforts themselves have become part of the problem, provocation can help shift us from the familiar, challenging the usual explanations and resistance to change.
When current practice no longer serves your needs, it may be necessary to provoke and challenge to ignite change.
In this sense, when groups of people are stuck, they need a push, a critique, or a shock, prompting them to assess the reality they face more consciously. Yet so much of the usual advice, exhortations, or data they receive goes unheard. As Gregory Bateson observed in Steps to an Ecology of the Mind, information does not “pass the collective threshold of restraint.”
Helping people see that they are not the sediment they are stuck in is at the heart of helping people change. People can see how their learned routines, recurring patterns—a response to initial symptoms—effectively hold them back. Members of a family or an organization can reflect on whether the rules and assumptions that guide them should be changed and how their problem-solving efforts undermine their goals.
As we found in the college, the people involved prevented the “real” problem from being seen. They were restrained by their habits and beliefs, which served as information barriers. Since change would require them to take a fresh look at where they were and where they wanted to be, we needed to curate information in such a way that it overcame their established habits and beliefs. For example, when we asked the teachers whether it was more important to be clear and consistent in their direction or to have an open and vibrant culture, they initially opted for the former. This question helped them see how they were stuck.
When someone did speak out at the college mentioned above, they were often privately chastised for rocking the boat or being difficult. It was as if there were school police and they were watching, and as soon as someone spoke up, the police could say, “Now we’ve got you.” The braver teachers continued to speak out but, over time, were worn down by this recurring pattern.