chronic resistance can be resolved ... Re: [Ailist] RE: WhatYou Think upon Grows

[Howard Ditkoff]

Lionel,

I think it's a truism that chronic resistance can be dealt with only to the 
extent that:

1) You CAN identify or at least get in touch with the source
2) The source is either in yourself or someone or something you have 
influence over

In the case of those you interviewed, obviously as you said they were able 
to identify the source, that source was, in fact, other human beings, and 
they were able to influence those human beings to change.

In many cases these 2 factors are present. But I find it impossible to claim 
they always are. There are times you simply can't figure out where the 
source is. And there are times the source is something over which you have 
little to no control. I would think you can imagine countless situations 
where one or both of those are the case.

That doesn't mean we shouldn't, in those cases, learn more about the source 
of resistance either to find new ways to deal with it or to understand our 
limits. But to claim all sources of resistance can be identified and 
influenced by humans in general, much less any particular human, seems to me 
beyond arrogant - in fact part of the mindset that refuses to tolerate 
limits to our power that has us facing some of our worst environmental 
disasters.

Howard

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lionel Boxer" <lionel.boxer at rmit.edu.au>
To: <howard at emergentassociates.com>; <ailist at lists.business.utah.edu>
Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 8:26 PM
Subject: chronic resistance can be resolved ... Re: [Ailist] RE: WhatYou 
Think upon Grows


I disagree with Howard - chronic resistance can be resolved.  The strong 
leaders who I interviewed for my phd did deal with chronic resistance (that 
is the main point of my PhD findings).  They did so by identifying those who 
thought they had the right to resist and told them in no uncertain terms 
that they were wrong about that perception.  They may have been appreciative 
in their approach, but they were determined and ruthless in their approach 
to sort out recalcitrance.  They did lead by example and they did appreciate 
the good things that were going on, but they confronted the cronic 
resistance.

See: http://intergon.net/tsw/sustainableceos.pdf

One CEO of a global petrochemical firm said, "the biggest mistake I made in 
my career was not getting rid of people soon enough" (he tempered this by 
also saying that geting rid of people is the last resort - after working 
with them to help them sort out their misperceptions and adopt appropriate 
and necessary duties).

If you are going to deal with "problems" you need to deal with resistance 
and that is possible.

Lionel Boxer CD PhD MBA BTech(IndEng) - 0411267256
Associate of RMIT University - lionel.boxer at rmit.edu.au
Graduate School of Business
my "Assessment of Quality Systems with Positioning Theory"
now in a googe book - see link at http://intergon.net
>>> "Howard Ditkoff" <howard at emergentassociates.com> 06/06/09 5:41 AM >>>
Leif,

The inventor story and the reframing of the term "problem" is an interesting 
one. And I think it embodies ONE of the two main "problem" cases - a 
deviation from a goal. In such a case of a "problem" the challenge is, 
indeed, to simply articulate more clearly what the goal is so that you can 
appreciate the difference between the present reality and the desired goal.

But there is another case of "problem" that is somewhat different. I might 
call that the case of an unidentified chronic point of resistance. In a way, 
the first case is a subset of this one. Not having a clear goal articulated 
can itself be a chronic point of resistance. Once the goal is clear, that 
"problem" is solved. But even then, in pursuing this clearer goal, you may 
find additional points of resistance. Some of these points of resistance 
come from things we can change internally, some things that we can change 
externally, and some that we can't change at all. The serenity prayer is 
relevant here.

I think once you are seasoned in the appreciative mindset, you become better 
and better at stating affirmative end goals. But chronic resistance is where 
"problems" continue to be challenging and where AI, if it is misused as 
focusing only on the 'positive,' or if used in a way that assumes all 
resistance comes simply from internal values and beliefs or even from things 
humans can control at all, can really meet its match.

Best,
Howard
Website: http://www.SystemsThinker.com
Blog: http://blog.SystemsThinker.com
 Subscribe to SystemsThinker.com Blog