WORLD ON FIRE

It’s that time—past time—to get my September newsletter out.  But I am at a loss to think about what to write. I wake up most mornings feeling as if the world is on fire.  There is so much anger, resentment, basic finger pointing at those who stand in opposition to what you think.  They—those on the opposite side of this growing political divide—don’t understand, are wrong headed, are leading us all astray. I would like to say that I stand above the fray, but I don’t.  Not at all.  I am horrified, repulsed, disbelieving that anyone could think that what the other side is doing could be for the bigger good.  And these are the feelings that make it impossible to find common ground or to be able to solve real problems.

Of course, part of the issue is that we can’t even agree on what the problems are.

And I think about clients where the board was split into camps, each one convinced that what they believed was true.  Or the organization where the ED and the board are on different sides and no one—least of all their clients—is the winner.

Sometimes, a leadership change can help to resolve the schism.  Other times, the organization limps along until it doesn’t.

Not so very long ago, I facilitated a board retreat, where half of the board supported the things the ED wanted to do; but the other half was adamantly opposed.  Much of the retreat was about getting both sides to listen to each other and to find a solution to this stalemate that was threatening this organization that did so much.

Above all, it was a lesson in herding cats.If side  A said green, side B responded with purple.

From the outside, it felt as if there was such a schism that they couldn’t even hear each other, let alone work together to resolve whatever the issue was.  And then I thought, Perhaps if they could agree on what the issue actually was, then they could—gingerly and haltingly—work together to resolve it.

We started by brainstorming about the problem.  I was reminded about a values exercise I often do with my clients and in my workshops where each people choses a value card that sings to them right then.  Then they find a partner and begin by telling each other about their value and why it matters to them.

During the debrief, I frequently hear how their values appeared to be diametrically opposed to each other, but as they spoke about why that value mattered, they both saw more commonalities than differences.

That was my hope, but I set my expectations low.

As we brainstormed about the problem, I kept probing and asking “Why.”  Why does this matter?  And that matters because?

I stole this idea from Toyota, who developed what is widely known as “The Five Whys” as a problem solving tool for manufacturing.

Someone states a goal, you ask them why does this matter?  They give you an answer and you respond, why does that matter? Build on that by asking why the answer to that question matters.  And so forth.  Until you land at a nugget of truth.

As we honed in on the real issue, people were astounded to discover they were often saying the same thing, but using different reasons as to why it matters.

I’m not going to pretend that by the end of the retreat, everyone was friends and all animosity resolved.  But they had started listening to each other, and that was the first step toward moving together to ensure the organization, its clients, and its stakeholders could continue on with their work and perhaps even grow and thrive.