New York Times bestselling author of the Culture Code, Daniel Coyle, identifies the culture capture - Identify, Spotlight, Talk About It, as a tool to identify and explore culture challenges such as workplace bullying.
"Talking about them (tension points) is one of the most powerful things you can do as it carves out a space to have those hard conversations."
Daniel Coyle Author of CULTURE CODE
FINAL ASSIGNMENT
This Assignment provides the opportunity to begin to tackle the 'real life' workplace complexities in the arena of systemic tension contributing to workplace bullying.
This is your opportunity to begin to integrate your learning to date on opening systems. Beginning with meaningful engagement underpinned by psychological safety, creating space for vulnerability. This may involve your own vulnerability. Pushing past the comfort zone, embracing the unknown and being ok with that.
1. Identify the Tension Point
An example: "One of our organisational values is CARE, but some of our people have identified that they feel bullied and unsupported."
2. Spotlight the Tension Point
Who are the key stakeholders who you would need to spotlight the tension point with?
3. Talk About the Tension Point
With the objective to engage in a process to unpack the tension point, you must first ensure a space of psychological safety for all involved (including you!). Does this impact on who your stakeholder group might be? What are your key considerations? Are there other steps you might first need to take?
The SIMPLE. Considerations to Unpacking Tension Points...
1. Safety - Being able to say how it really is
Any change involving people requires the foundation of relationship. A key indicator of workplaces who have challenges with their culture, is a lack of trust. To rebuild this trust, establishing a trusting relationship in any change orientated partnerships is the foundational first step, no matter how big or small that process is. You will not gain 'real' insight into what is going on for people from their perspective if there is issues with psychological safety.
The unpacking tension points exercise is a beginning step in 'keeping it real'. It also however, requires a platform of feeling safe to disclose. In organisations with closed systems, building safety may require further considerations.
2. Involve - Connected people involvement to inform and act
Understanding perspectives and context is everything when it comes to understanding any presenting organisational people related challenges. Once safety is established, start by seeking to understand. This requires an invested 'walking alongside approach', ensuring people have support from the right lens of expertise and/or mandate to create meaningful change.
Finding out as much as you can, what is important, what is working well and the current challenges. Work with people to gain insight from all perspectives, which provides the foundation for mapping out the plan forward and knowing what to measure.
3. Measure - The results required to progress toward the united goal
This critical step of identifying where the tension points are and how to overcome these, as well as identifying and engaging opportunities to build on, is foundational to creating transformative culture change. Tailoring a plan and knowing what to measure requires afocus on bringing together the lenses and all the good work that is already going on in organisations.
Note for those seeking a structured process and framework for people related goals, the SIMPLE. Method Certification provides the knowledge, tools and coaching support required to achieve transformative change. This includes the GROWTH Framework, the SIMPLE. Method alignment and engagement tool providing a step by step process for effective mapping for transformation change at any level (see link below for more information). However for now, the challenge is to embrace vulnerability (letting go of controlled process, risking not knowing the outcome or how this is going to be achieved) and starting those conversations!
4. Perspective - The lens people look from to inform their reality
Whether formal plans to build insight or a commitment to vulnerability based conversations, exploring perspective is critical to ensuring a culture of trust is built that is informed by what really matters (and hopefulness for those organisations where culture challenges are eminent). What do we know? What don't we know? What can we learn from each other and others?
5. Learn - The universal knowledge set required to unite
What SIMPLE. learning is necessary? Identify and address knowledge gaps.
6. Evolve - The continual path to unleashing potential
How are we doing? Refocus on the goal. Evaluate the results. Do we need to adapt our strategy? Have our priorities shifted?
Review and adaption (preferably in a real time feedback loop) utilising informal and formal methods, enables the agility required to create meaningful, sustainable change and continuous improvement.
Well done! You have reached the end of the Unpacking Systemic Bullying Micro Course.
We hope you have taken away some lightbulbs. It is important to acknowledge systemic bullying is a complex issue. Creating safe spaces to talk about tension points, enables people to begin to open up and talk about what is really going on.
Naming and understanding the problem is foundational to finding solutions.
For those that are keen to learn about the why, what and (most importantly) how to unleashing the potential of people to be connected, inspired and committed to united growth find more on the SIMPLE. Method Certification below.
