Momentum for Transformation
Transformation is not just change. Change itself is not a goal. Change happens all the time. Indeed, because of our rapidly changing, complex world we are seeing the need to react, adapt and, most importantly, to transform our organizations. With transformation we want to become something else, something more suited to our environment. This is something we can define. It is something we want. To get there, we need a vision and at the same time we also need to know where we are.
Of course, a part of the transformation process is changing things, but it is also much more than that. The “Momentum Wheel” is an attempt to visualize transformation as a process of finding, changing and allowing — a turning of a wheel that comes into momentum and continues spinning for as long as our organization exists.
At the hub of the wheel is finding. Here we place the purpose and values of our organization. These are the first things we find or discover. We uncover them or make them explicit, because they are already there. We don’t invent them. We don’t want to make up fancy or lofty “whys” and honorable “hows” to hang on the walls of our lobbies, since no one would believe them anyway. Our visitors won’t believe them, or at any rate, they’ll be skeptical, because people get a sense of our culture as soon as they walk through the door. No visionary statements will change that. And certainly the employees will see right through any nonsense, so we can leave the wishful thinking aside.
What we want is to get a grasp on current reality and to define a vision for the future. This is according to a concept called creative tension that Robert Fritz has described in his books (e.g. The Path of Least Resistance). If we want to get somewhere, we need to know where that somewhere is and we need to really, really want it. Then we need to get a grasp on where we are in the present. We need to be as realistic and truthful as possible about where we are right now. If we are able to do this, then it is possible for a tension to develop between our vision of the future and our current reality. This tension can pull us toward our goals. We don’t need to have an exact plan with milestones and timetables. We will be adjusting along the way, but the tension makes sure that we are moving in the right direction.
Finding
Therefore, the first step with the “Momentum Wheel” is about finding the real purpose of the organization, at the present moment. It is perfectly fine, if it happens to be: “making a profit for shareholders.” That’s the current reality. That’s what we go with for now. Since we are most likely making a product or service for somebody, it is likely that there is another purpose hiding in there somewhere. Can we find it? Other than the purpose, what are the values we are living by in the organization? How can we find out what they are?
Before we continue with the turning of the Wheel, we need to first talk about who is doing the finding and the changing and the allowing. The answer to this is that the entire organization is doing it! We need the wisdom of the whole. For practical purposes this would mean forming a working group, or “transformation team,” with people from all parts of the organization and all hierarchy levels. This transformation team will develop the vision of transformation and will be much more likely to get a truthful grasp of current reality. This team must have the influence to start changes and to start the “allowing” process and its members must be willing to learn, grow and help unfold the potential of individuals, teams and the entire organization.
Changing Thinking
Now we start turning the wheel, and we start changing, but not things, at least not at first, but rather we start with how we think about people, teams and organizations.
How do we think people are motivated? Do they need punishments and rewards in order to get things done? Are they like replaceable parts of a machine? Do we see people as objects to be repaired? Does a team work best like a factory with a conveyor belt, each person taking care of one function? Are organizations machines that can be fixed?
Or are people naturally motivated to create when the conditions allow for it? Are people most productive and creative when they bring all of themselves into their work? Does each person add a new flavour to the endeavour? Do people unfold their potential when given the chance? Does greater value come from collaborative work, from co-creating and the involvement of different perspectives and skills throughout the process of creating? Are organizations living systems consisting of human beings and human interactions?
We begin by forming an idea of what we would like our thinking about humans, teams and organizations to be and then we start discovering what our thinking really is, right now. The creative tension we are building up represents the “changing thinking” of the first turning of the wheel.
Allowing
Now we move to allowing. We talk about allowing, because we don’t need to change what is already there, but rather to let it happen, to give it room, or to explicitly give permission for it to exist. There is a whole spectrum of things we could allow — based on the thinking we want to have — but I suggest that the most important place to start is with our basic human needs: safety, acceptance and influence.
These are the things that allow us to be creative and to create. When we feel safe, we can try out new things and learn. When we feel accepted, when we belong to a group we can unfold potential and create together. When we feel that we have an influence, we feel meaningful and become motivated.
Safety does not just mean having food, shelter and being physically safe. In an organization it especially means not having to fear punishment, while being able to extend boundaries, to experiment, try things out and make mistakes and fail safely.
Acceptance does not mean approval for what I do, but being accepted for what I am; being valued for who I am; having a connection with others and belonging to the group.
Having influence is not the same as being in control. It means that what I think, feel and do matters, is taken into account and has meaning.
These are the things we start allowing during the first turning of the wheel. Then, and only then, do we start looking at the things we could and should change.
Changing Things
The first things we want to start changing are those that are getting in the way of allowing. What things were hindering us? What kind of blocks are in the way? Are there structures in place that punish the new kinds of behaviors we would like to allow? Are reward systems keeping people separated from each other. Perhaps physical structures are hindering communication that is necessary for connecting with each other?
What do we need to change? How can we change it — perhaps experimentally — in a safe manner?
Turning again
And now we are back to thinking, and ask ourselves questions again. What do we want to believe? How would we like to think about people, teamwork, the purpose of our organization? What thinking is keeping us from allowing the things we want to allow?
And of course, at the hub — finding — we are examining again our purpose, our values, and start to see and define more meaning for the organization.
And the Wheel turns again.
For the further turnings of the Wheel, it will be helpful to build up creative tension for allowing. On the other side of safety is exploration. Acceptance has passion as its pole. And the full potential of influence is impact.
Along the way we will discover many other things to allow, among them will be: responsibility, autonomy, connection, dialogue, experimentation, failing, creativity, flow, lightness, sharing, inquiry, feelings, and even conflict.
Of course, we cannot change thinking just by thinking, and learning to allow things is not necessarily as easy as it sounds. For that matter, how do we go about finding? In order to learn and move forward we need guidance and practice. We need knowledge and experience. This is where models and methods come in. Behind the model of the Momentum Wheel is the model of the Creating Organization and its “Transformation Matrix,” which show us that we need to work on our thinking (mindset) on the three levels of individuals (members), teams and the whole organization and that we need models to guide and teach us about ways of thinking and about creating value. And we need methods that not only help us to create value but let us experience and practice what we are learning.
