Excerpts Organizational Intelligence The World of Theory Intelligence by Design The Learning Loop Hearts and Minds New Attributes of Behavior Preludes Questions Sections

Excerpts from Chapter 16 of The Intelligence Advantage Excerpts: Next | Previous Prelude NEW DIMENSIONS IN BEHAVIOR As the environment of a corporation begins to transform, behavioral changes that will be called forth will not be a specific set of ideals, nor should they be considered better than the old ideals. A wider range of behaviors should be developed, to be called on as needed, rather than a new and exclusive set of behaviors. Developing these behaviors will be intentional and directional rather than working toward a specified end. The direction of behavioral changes will be toward increasing intelligence, improving our ability to generate information, and compounding the computational capacity of our corporation. This direction will create coordination within the complex system of the corporation as well as maximize the expression of our personal intelligence within that system. We might indicate the intended direction as being toward the right from the left in the following columns. The behaviors are best interpreted as a whole rather than as pairs: closed open secretive accessible (regarding information) exclusion inclusion impersonal expressive authority-based self-responsible bureaucratic accountable direct control trust in processes hierarchical interconnected rule-bound value-based tightly controlled loosely coupled produced learned directive listen argument dialogue Movement toward the right column is not movement away from the left. These columns are not opposites but, instead, a complex system out of which a wider variety of responses may emerge. These distinctions do not represent values but, instead, diverse ways of being. Our flexibility with them is instrumental in adapting, learning and increasing intelligence. "Whatever is flexible and flowing will continue to grow. Whatever is rigid and blocked will wither and die." I CHING THE IMPORTANCE OF DIALOGUE The one behavioral change that will produce the largest shift in our corporations as we transform our relationship to information, learning and intelligence is dialogue. Although we all have the capability of dialogue, there has been little room for its practice in our organizational life. Few managers have developed the necessary skills or are effective with the art of dialogue. Few have been called upon to generate, lead, or even engage in dialogue throughout their entire career. Our operational definition of dialogue is "a conversation in which the intention is to generate something in the conversation itself that did not exist in any one of the participants before the conversation began." Dialogue is a distinctly different kind of conversation from those in which we are attempting to pass information between people, convince others of the rightness of our ideas, or persuade others to do what we want. Dialogue has a creative and generative intention supporting it. There are numerous skills we can develop that will enhance our effectiveness in dialogue. However, the best place to start is with the realization that dialogue is essential for increasing information, intelligence and learning. Until we realize its value and are committed to the results that it can produce, we will not commit ourselves to developing the necessary skills, nor will we apply them. Our development of the skills of dialogue will emerge through our intention to engage in dialogue and our ongoing awareness and application during the process of our conversations. As we begin to move in the direction of developing new capacities and ways of being, we meet with no real mysteries. There are programs that make the assimilation of new behaviors easier, support their development and provide practice. But the greatest opportunities will be found right on the job, in real situations. The integration of theory and our behavioral practices will occur as they continue to inform one another. Velocity in the development of these practices can be increased dramatically by coaching from a credible source, one whom you trust. The coaching must be developmental rather than interventionist. There is not a right way and no required timeline. New behaviors will emerge in the process of implementation itself. Mismatches in speed of development will cause various breakdowns, which can be used as a source of information to guide the developmental process. The personal challenge will be to orchestrate the dance between the pace of development of the corporation and the pace of your own development. If the "dance"does not sound attractive and inviting, then organizational transformation is not a good thing to initiate. If it has already been initiated, then there is nothing to do except learn to dance or get out of the way. The biggest obstacle that we must overcome in engaging in dialogue is its threat to our identity. Although there is no real threat, it is strongly perceived as a threat. One of the positions dialogue threatens is any authority with which we have identified. Even more threatening for some people is that it opens our thoughts, values and beliefs to question and challenge. Through the course of dialogue the very structure of our identity is exposed and can no longer be protected, not even from internal influences. If you're now thinking that you do not fall within the category of those who feel threatened by dialogue, invite a group of subordinates to open dialogue and get feedback on your behavior or strategies. Questions to this chapter Excerpts: Next | Previous