vesterberg.se

I and my friend Daniel Norman arranged a Green World Café last week at the Red Cross in our town. It was the first in a series of four, with the last one taking place in November at a big sustainable fair in Umeå. We had a great time with every one actively exploring the two questions of the night; they were “what is a sustainable lifestyle?” and “What is our personal responsibility?”. It is all too easy to get paralyzed or passivated concerning environmental issues, believing that it is only experts, politicians and technology that can make a change. No, we can make a change if we are many and if we begin to think together!

What is a World Café, you may ask? It is a way to have conversations in small groups and explore a given theme. It was originally “invented” by Juanita Brown and David Isaacs. They put together a number of proven principles about dialogue, creative thinking, appreciative inquiry and collective intelligence and it has been used successfully, world-wide in different contexts. The conversations in small groups build on each other as people move between groups (tables), ideas are cross-pollinated and people discover new insights into the questions that we choose to discuss. Seeing things from a broader perspective is a key.

We tried to create a relaxed and inviting café-atmosphere. The age-span was wide and we had people from all kinds of backgrounds. It is very exciting to look at diversity as strength. By having these cafés we hope to inspire people and help them to become more active to explore a sustainable lifestyle on their own. I really look forward to the next meeting, Oct 8. We have a swedish site about these meetings. You will find it here.

I have just completed Behind Closed Doors by Johanna Rothman and Esther Derby.  I wanted to read something by these authors, since I will be going to their Problem Solving Leadership training in January in Uppsala, Sweden. Gerald Weinberg will also be part of the teaching team and you can be sure I look forward to it.

The book

I read this book two times and that tells you how much I appreciated it. Behind Closed Doors is about best practise in management. Rothman’s and Derby’s approach is a bit different than in many other books. Here we have a story about fictitious manager, Sam, newly employed at a software development company. You follow him as he deals with different situations and uses sound management principles. The story is accompanied with the author’s comments about the situations. At the end there is a chapter called Techniques for Practising Great Management that discusses some of the principles in greater detail.

Story-telling

The story-telling ingredient in the authors teaching style is a great idea and it enables them to communicate and paint the picture of good management even better. Though the story does not have novel quality, it carries the message in an acceptable way.

Team building

It is very interesting to see how Sam treats the development department as a system and how he works on jellying the leader group together. Leadership is creating an environment that enables people to work successfully. Sam spends time every week with his group leaders in one-on-one meetings. He helps them to see the big picture and their role in the company. Together they create shared goals as a team and time boxed action plans.  Sam coaches them to formulate personal goals that fit into the company’s goals.

Ego

People often optimize for their own success, at the expense of the team or the entire organization.  I have surely been guilty of this. We are working each one in our own hole, digging and shovelling. There is clearly a need for leaders who can bring people together.

System problems

We are quick to blame each other for problems, but often problems are not caused by individuals. The cause can be  rooted in the system and its processes. People do not see the system problems, because they are part of the system. They are on the inside of it. An experienced manager (systems thinker) can see the system and facilitate the group’s problem solving work. A system problem can only be solved by the involved group of people. This is very interesting. The ability to take a step back and reveal what is going on and see the system processes is extremely valuable.

People

Sam is very interested in each one in his department employees. He coaches them to improve their capabilities and gives them clear feedback. Step by step he builds a successful team in difficult situations, prioritizing (and reprioritizing as circumstances change) the work that supports the goals of the group and the organization.

Simple principles

Rothman’s and Derby’s main tenet is that the principles of good management are not that difficult to understand. They discuss for example one-on-ones, portfolio management, feedback, coaching and delegation. The thing is to consistently and reliably perform these practises week after week.

Wise thoughts

I have started to read good books a bit more careful lately. When good thoughts are brought to us, we can act as they are just interesting; like standing at a distance and observing them. But wise thoughts should be treated in a better way. If you find them, take the time to expose yourself to them. Thoughts are powerful. Let them sink in and affect your mind-world and your feelings. There is plenty of room for some changed worlds today.

Isn’t she lovely? Almost like in the children’s books. Beautiful to look at, but don’t take a bite!. Does anyone know what it’s called in english?

Amanita muscaria

A good mix of different personalities, roles and experiences increases the creativity and quality of teamwork. In groups and any kind of collaboration, we need diverse angles of approach. We ought to choose members in a team on purpose with diversification in mind, but if you are like me, the first thought is to choose people like yourself. You know, some people you just immediately get along with and relationship feels natural. Other people are more troublesome and hard to understand. What if we too soon exclude people? Perhaps they are hard to understand, because you are different. What would happen if we took a step towards them and tried to build something together? I am playing with the thought that some possible connections pass by unnoticed because of preconceived ideas.

Differences first

We are usually quite fast to categorize people when we meet; most of the time we see differences first. The first thought is accompanied with a feeling. We compare ourselves with the other person in some areas. Either it turns out favourable for us or we feel inferior. We might feel envy, insecurity or contempt and distance. As a result we put a label on the other person. We see what’s separating us and hang on to that. If we look at our behaviour a bit more closely, it has actually an egoistic smell on our part. Why do we choose the differences first?

Similarities first

What would happen if the first thing we do, we look for things that connect us with the other person, things we have in common? We can first try to build a bridge, even if it is a tiny one. At least we are two human beings; that’s something at least. Connecting to and cooperating with someone that is unlike you is powerful. It could be worth the extra energy we have to put into it. Diversification is a key to survival in nature.

I was thinking along these lines while standing in a queue at a grocery store a few days ago. I looked at each person in the queue while noticing my own reactions. There were different ages and different social statuses represented. Some looked cool and self-confident, other confused, insecure or overbearing. I  noticed my initial thoughts about them. But we were all humans; we all stood in the same queue buying groceries, probably facing the same kind of troubles in life.

More on this subject:
Living inside walls
Your thoughts are not you