An A.R.T. Project Explained

The consultant will take a large roll of butcher paper 1-1.5 meters high and attach it to the wall. I usually start with a section at least 12-15 feet long. Besides the paper, an assortment of colored markers will prove helpful, along with an assistant who will capture the story on the Living Scroll. The assistant can be a fellow consultant or a volunteer from the group with a creative bent to them. They will draw simple pictures, write down key events, and provide continual visual reinforcement of the story. You can also show pictures from the organization’s archives to help focus the stories and provide further visual stimulus. The process itself is an A.R.T. and you can prepare yourself for this activity by 1) Knowing your Audience, 2) Knowing your Role, and 3) Knowing your Target.

Knowing your audience is multi-dimensional. First, you need to understand the basics of the organization and the industry by reading websites, organizational materials in print, and industry journals and articles. Unless you are an industry specific consultant, they will not require you to know the technical jargon, but an awareness of common terms and acronyms will help you not stall the process. Second, you need to know who exactly will be in the audience. Are they all senior leaders? Is the founder present? Do they have participants that have been with the organization since the beginning? Are there any current conflicts within this group? How many people will be a part of this activity? For larger groups, you will want to include other activities to help keep everyone engaged. I recently had a group of 50 people go through the Living Scroll and I developed a game of BINGO using specific terms and phrases that are important to their organization. The participants jumped up and yelled “BINGO” whenever they got five in a row and then they had to share briefly about their five words as it related to the Living Scroll. During a two-hour activity, we conducted four rounds. The winners received a free lunch with the boss. This extra activity within the Living Scroll accelerated the learning process for everyone involved. I would only suggest extra activities when the group is larger than 16.

Knowing your role is critical to the success of the Living Scroll. The consultant is first of all a facilitator during this process. I start the exercise by asking everyone to order themselves from who arrived in the company first to the most recent arrival. Your job is to ask insightful questions, clarifying questions, and at all times open-ended questions. A starter question could be, “What was the organization like during the first year of operation?” If the founder is present in the meeting, you want to hear their story of why they started the organization and how it came into existence, which would be a preamble to the main story. As facilitator, you keep the story moving, are aware of the time restraints, and involve as many people as possible.

Your role is to help the participants see all the changes that the organization has already been through over the years and to see what factors have endured throughout their history. The process aids in the discovery of a need for change as participants see their own history before their very eyes. Help the participants see the different stages that their organization has gone through. Paul, clearly saw the phases as he proclaimed to his team, “I know can see that we started off as an entrepreneurial company, then evolved into a technical company, and now we need to change into a service based company”. Helping the participants see the need for change is part of the challenge, but the Living Scroll can also create a sense of urgency for the change to occur. I spend the last fifteen to twenty minutes asking questions about their most recent history in order to build this sense of urgency.

Knowing your target is the last element in practicing the A.R.T. of the Living Scroll, even though all three components are happening simultaneously throughout the exercise. Having a clear picture of your target in your head will help you keep the group from going off course, which is always a danger when people are sharing stories. Your target should always include seeking to uncover how the vision, core values, and mission of the organization was not only developed but also observed throughout their history. You will want to use this tool as a way to ascertain what other tools are necessary to move the change intervention forward. The Living Scroll will aid you in determining the depth of change that is required in the organization. It may be a simple operational change, but it could involve deeper change initiatives like strategic, cultural, or paradigm.

The Living Scroll should not end after a two to three hour session, but you should encourage the organization to take the story and create a presentation to display their scroll for all their employees and visitors to see. The change process that the organization will soon undertake can be the first addition to their living history. The Living Scroll process will become a visible symbol for all participants to look at and remember both where they came from and where they want to go. Throughout your change process with the client, you will be able to go back and point to events in their history that are speaking to their current situation. The goal is to diagnose correctly the change, but to do that effectively you must know where the organization has been and where they are at; the Living Scroll is a tool that opens up a clear window into the heart, mind, and soul of an organization.

All respondents want more of a relational style of communication from their direct supervisors.  This comment was the strongest need expressed from all the participants.  Their supervisors primarily use a direct, one-way communication with them that rarely goes beyond work related issues.  The host culture is one that values relationships, family, and the whole person.  It is vital for Western supervisors to take time each day to ask how their subordinates’ family members are doing (M1).   Westerners tend to use logic (their head), while Indonesians tend to use feeling/emotions (their heart).  If the Western supervisors could open up their hearts to their subordinates, the nationals would respond more favorably (M2).  The nationals are looking for either a father figure in their leaders or a close friend that they can trust.

All respondents have had to adapt to their Western supe rvisors’ communication and leadership style.  In terms of response time, the answer to this question was the easiest and quickest for respondents to answer.  Although not perceived as a direct need, each person interviewed thought it would be nice if their supervisor would adapt more to their style or the given situation instead of always using the same direct/authoritarian style with them.  Over the years, the Indonesians have learned to survive in this environment, but it takes a toll on their willingness to contribute new ideas.  The supervisor likes to have it his way and therefore it is not worth arguing about with him, so the nationals just end up listening and agreeing to whatever is said in order to avoid problems (F1, M2, M3).

All respondents prefer face-to-face communication with their Western supervisors.  All the participants are very skilled in the English language, but they all felt that they were able to understand their supervisors better when they were face-to-face versus over the phone or via email.  Two factors that contribute to a greater understanding in face-to-face meetings is the ability to read non-verbal clues and to ask clarifying questions (F1 and M1).  Westerners need to avoid using idioms when speaking with nationals (F2). 
 

Stress magnifies the direct communication.  The nationals understand the value of direct communication and do not feel that it should be totally disbanded.  The problem occurs when the Western supervisor is having a bad day or feels under pressure then the nationals know that they cannot talk to their supervisor because he will not listen.  “When my supervisor is upset, I know not to bring anything to him.  In fact, I and others in my office look for opportunities to leave the office (F1).”  At times, the leaders in stressful situations, will out of frustration make comments like “Why can’t you understand?”  These comments are hurtful to the Indonesians.  Speaking calmly and plainly even in stressful situations will get the job done a lot quicker. 

The Western supervisors could learn and appreciate the host culture more.  All the participants said that they felt like their supervisors have an adequate understanding of the host culture and were not frustrated with their current level of cross-cultural awareness.  On the other hand, they would love to see a bit more effort on their supervisor’s part to understand not only the culture at a macro-level, but understand their culture and family at a micro-level.  They do not expect mastery, but would love to see some effort to learn more (M1).  Specific suggestions included learning some of the language, eating local foods with their subordinates, talking about the important holidays, and just showing respect by listening and valuing their input.  They do appreciate the understanding of the senior management in respect to prayer times and other religious obligations.

Conclusion

Communication between a leader and follower is difficult.  Cross-cultural communication is difficult.  When you combine both elements, it makes the communication process extremely difficult, but not impossible to overcome.  The number one principle that Western supervisors have to learn to succeed in communicating with their national followers is the ability to ask questions, wait for the answer, and then listen attentively to the answer given.  Through the art of questioning and listening, supervisors will demonstrate respect for their followers’ ideas, culture, and experiences.  Western supervisors also need to be willing to talk about personal issues.  They should be willing to ask about their followers’ family and also share from about their own experiences and family life. 

Everyone needs to be aware of his or her default communication style and how that style will tend to dominate during stressful situations.  By being aware of stress in our lives, we can actively manage our response to it by the way we communicate. 

Leaders perform a critical role on the world’s stage, but what is more important is the foundation that they are standing on which gives them a platform or stage to lead from.

The elements that make up “Our Leadership S.T.A.G.E.” include:

Leadership that Sacrifices
Leadership that Trusts
Leadership that Acts
Leadership that Grows
Leadership that Effects

Leadership that Acts takes center stage in the show and it’s supported by the other elements.  This component is the one where your followers will see the sacrifice you are making, the trust you are building, the growth you are developing, and the effect you are having on your team or organization.  The star performer or the actor at center stage can easily forget his supporting cast.  Similarly, the demise of a leader is when they enjoy the center stage but forget the other elements of leadership that support their leading role.

Our Leadership S.T.A.G.E. is a helpful tool that reminds us of what we should be standing upon as we live out our leadership roles.  Yes, as leaders, we need to act or take center stage and lead from the front, but that action is shaped by sacrifice, trust, growth, and our effect on others.

            The movie, “Chicken Run”, is not just a kid’s movie about chickens, but it is a movie loaded with organizational dynamics.  I have pulled out a few lessons from the movie in the form of an acronym C.H.I.C.K.E.N. R.U.N. that are worth reflecting on.   If you find this interesting, I encourage you to watch the movie and find some additional principles that we can all benefit from.

·         Communication (even among chickens) of strategy to all levels leads to buy-in.

·         High involvement organizations involve all the chickens in the coop.

·         Individualism breaks only one bird out.

·        Collectivism thinks about how to break all the birds out at once.

·        Know thyself!  Your organizational culture affects your organizational design.

·         Eggsellent answers come when you least expect them.

·         Never give up!  Continuous improvement leads to success.

·         Reward your staff and they will reward you.

·         Utilize your networks, even if they are rats!

·         Never trust a Cock (or consultant) who says, “Trust me”!

Over the past couple of months, my organization has started a diagnostic process in order to prepare itself for the future.  During this time, we have conducted a number of focus groups and surveys to get a feel for where our strengths and weaknesses are in our company.  We are strong in our overall communication of the vision, but are weak in our communication of the strategy.  Our employees want to know where we are going and how we are going to get there.  High-involvement such as the chickens had in implementing their plans is a goal of our company as we continue to grow.  Our staff love to be involved and the more we challenge them, the more they rise to the occasion. 

      We are a Western company that is operating in an Eastern country.  To be effective we need to start thinking less individualistic and more collectivistic like my chicken friends who would not leave anyone behind.  It is also important to know thyself as an organization.  What are the cultural values, beliefs, and assumptions that shape our worldview?  Are there inconsistencies between what we believe and our vision? 

            Answers sometimes come when you least expect them or when you are at the end of your rope.  For the chickens, their final answer came when they were all fighting with each other and discouraged about their future.  It took Ginger asking a simple question of Fowler that opened up a new possibility of escape for them.  In a similar fashion, we need to ask our employees about their ideas and experiences and dig for answers to our difficult questions like, “How should we restructure our organization so that we become more effective?”  The next principle flows out of the previous, for not every answer is going to give you the perfect solution, but if the organization has a “never give up” attitude the continuous improvement efforts will add value and quality to the organization.  Our company makes more mistakes than we wish to admit publicly, but our commitment to the vision helps us keep learning and improving from our past.

            Rewards are a valuable component of any organization, but rewards can be both in the form of external or internal motivators.  Ginger was only able to reward her chickens with a future hope, a form of internal motivation.  Sometimes these internal rewards of praise and promise are sufficient to move people forward more than external rewards of bonuses.  Our company has seen a tremendous amount of grief and bickering when it comes to bonuses, but we see high levels of loyalty when we reward with praise and thanksgiving. 

            The chickens were willing to utilize their networks, even if it meant working with the rats that could not always be trusted.  Likewise, our company works in a country with high levels of corruption in the government ranks.  We still need to learn to work with these “rats” and hopefully influence them enough so that they will work for us and not against us.  The last area that any organization and even the chickens had to be careful of is the outsider who has all the answers.  Rocky the rooster believed in lying and using his personality to gain an advantage.  Ginger believed in telling the truth, even if it hurt the organization.  I cannot be afraid to tell the truth and I have to be willing to tell my clients or my team that I do not have the answers.  The urge to want to come in and be the “white knight” is great, but it is far better to take the road of a humble servant than lead an organization along the road of disaster.  It was pleasing to see Rocky regain his integrity by returning and aiding the escape of the chickens when they most needed his help.  It reminds me that my past failures do not have to dictate my future acts.