[Ailist] Re: How much theory to give

[punya at laplaza.org]

Dear all,

As a good contingency theorist, I'd have to say "it depends".

I'm working on a merger integration, and one team (from India) is cool with 
just going with the flow. The other team (from UK/Netherlands) wants 
structure, process, theory etc as we go places. We've brought this up 
repeatedly as a way to think about it.

Also, one of the key pieces of culture and communications that we'd ask our 
clients to attend to is "meaning making" - can we do less for them? 
Obviously we need to calibrate, but thinking is as important as experiencing 
in the right way. 

Cheers


Rob Voyle <rob at voyle.com> said:

> Hi Folks
> I would agree with the "no theory" and I would also add that you do need a 
> couple of good rationales up your sleeve for doing what you are doing that 
you 
> may need to use to get buy in.  For example I was invited in as a 
consultant in 
> the midst of conflict to do some reconciliation work.  When I invited them 
to start 
> sharing with one another about what they valued about the organization, 
one 
> person angrily retorted that he thought they were there to discuss the 
conflict. 
> My response was that was exactly what we were doing and that from my 
> understanding people go into conflict when a value is threatened or 
> compromised.  So in order for me to understand whats going on we first 
needed 
> to know what people valued. What I didn't tell him was that my 
understanding of 
> the conflict was actually unimportant, but that what was important was the 
> changes in people's hearts and attitudes towards one another as they began 
to 
> talk about what they really valued.
> 
> The other thing you do need is a clear statement about the purpose of the 
> gathering, stated positively, and a brief rationale for why doing an 
exercise such 
> as inteviews of dreaming etc. will help achieve the purpose.
> 
> Rob
>   
> Robert J. Voyle, Psy.D.
> Director, Clergy Leadership Institute
> For Coaching and Training in Appreciative Inquiry
> Author: Core Elements of the Appreciative Way 
> http://www.clergyleadership.com/
> 503-647-2378 or 503-647-2382    
> 
> On 6 Aug 2007 at 16:44, Nlogilvie at aol.com wrote:
> 
> > I agree with the "no theory" before stories -- and I sometimes tell
> > a story 
> > or two from successful cases that are relevant to the audience,
> > sharing the 
> > results of focusing on the positive.
> >  
> > Nancy Ogilvie
> > Inspiring Results
> > 510-825-3125
> > www.inspiring-results.com
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
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> 
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