Module 3: Leading Culture and Managing Change

Deeper into Appreciative Inquiry : a systematic way of analysing stories.

We returned to AI to deepen our understanding of how to use it as a powerful change tool, rather than as simply building a positive attitude. We looked at how we can use the stories we collect through systematically working through the cycle of Observation—Reflection—Planning—Action. After a process of sharing or gathering stories and identifying common themes, learning from them may be accessed through considering questions such as:

• What does this show about what matters to you and others?
• What surprises you?
• What do you think is being taken for granted? (Reflection) and:
• What are you now thinking about?
• What possibilities for action do you see (however small)?

What would it take to get from here to what we’d want instead? (Planning) Now design your action….. 

Some of the ways AI can be used systematically within normal community practices were identified. Perhaps these could be useful in your community:

• Supervision practice/paperwork
• Appraisals
• National meetings
• Team meetings, house meetings or equivalents
• Manager meetings
• Making it part of ‘how we do things here’
• Formation/recruitment
• Exit interviews
• Retention interviews
• Have a compliments file
• Include stories and what they show in CQC reports
• Newsletters
• Stories that we tell at remembrance events – we should be telling them whilst people are still alive

Deeper into the complexity of change and development: Exploring a variety of models that help us make sense of a complex world.

Think of a recent change process in your community—do you recognise the spread of reactions suggested left?

What was your personal initial reaction to that process?
What helps you engage positively in change and support it?
What might others need to make transition from the old to the new successfully?

As well as Theory U and also the Bridges transition model, we found particular value in the idea of:

Technical v Adaptive Challenges

Adaptive and technical challenges - another model for understanding organisational change and managing transition. This was found to be of particular value in providing ways of identifying and understanding different types of change - both local and systemic.

Recognising Adaptive Challenges

• Crises—particularly recurring crises and prolonged experiences of disequilibrium
• Persistent gap between aspiration and reality
• Persistent conflicts
• Where it is obvious that responses from current repertoire are inadequate and new skills are needed

NB: But technical problems and adaptive challenges are often intertwined…..

• Technical challenges are those which can be met using existing skills and assumptions - i.e. “more of the same, but better”
• Adaptive Challenges are those which cannot be resolved with existing expertise - i.e. “now for something completely different!”

Examples of some Adaptive Challenges identified by the group:

• Managing the gap between the vision and the reality of L’Arche 
• Having a shared understanding of and commitment to the mission and how it is realised 
• Upholding a consistent model of authority 
• Achieving consistent standards of care 
• Trusting and supporting decision making processes 
• Managing disagreement effectively in a partnership based structure 
• Effective retention and development of new generations of leaders from within L’Arche

What stops us from achieving the change we say we desire? And what part might discernment play in supporting positive development? We looked at 2 models:

Immunity to Change

How committed are we to accepting that any significant organisational change only happens if there is personal change too?
Are we willing to be changed, to be transformed?
Are you?!

This can also be considered as “discernment in action” as it seeks to listen to the minority voices and discern if there is a prophetic element within them that need further attention and even re-drawing of the proposed change in order not to lose treasure that might otherwise be discarded on the way. But equally, to discern whether appropriate change is being blocked or restricted for other reasons, other agendas or misguided assumptions.

When there is a recurring pattern of problematic behaviour and change being blocked, we should ask:

• Why does the system need this behaviour at this point in time? 
• What is being preserved by this behaviour? 
• In what way are these people right? 

Through reflection and questioning, we can identify the behaviours that create obstacles to the change we seek,. And by examining these we can discover what they reveal about any competing priorities or worries about change and then begin to address these and any assumptions underlying them that may need attention. For example through using this model the group idetnitfied several elements that require further examination if we are to achieve the change we say we desire. Some of these included the assumptions that:

• Our Christian identity and spirituality is founded on weakness, it may be considered inappropriate to desire to be “strong”. 
• Strength and vulnerability might be seen as being mutually exclusive. 
• There may be a fear that the power of communities would be taken away by strong individual leaders 
• Strong leaders may be viewed by some as inclined to dominate, rather than be empowering. 
• A fear that our “specialness” would be threatened by using business principles—we wont know who we are.. 

Negative Capability

“The environment and the foundation the leader must base his decisions on are often insecure. He still has to make decisions with potentially large consequences and he has to know when not making

a decision is right…accepting not knowing is just as important as knowing and deciding. Negative capability is as important as the positive.” Robert French, 2002


What might be some of the key everyday opportunities for leaders to shape development and culture? 

• Supervision—a key opportunity for leaders and managers to both lead and support development, and a tool we discovered is often not utilised as effectively as it could be……………………………..
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• Crucial conversations: the values of L’Arche previously explored through a set of values in communication known as the 7Cs, were explored further on this module by looking at how we react to and conduct challenging conversations, often in conflictual situations. 

From what emerged from this section we invite you to consider the following points next time you are going into a difficult conversation:

• Try to create a “pool of shared meaning” together. 
• Be open to hearing and taking seriously what they know or believe they know about the issue 
• Use “and” instead of “but” - we can live with 2 views, one may not necessarily exclude the other. 
• Speak from “I” 
• Own your own authority and power 

Task Conflict vs Relational conflict

• Healthy teams need task conflict—otherwise we will get “groupthink”. 
• Sometimes we fear that task conflict will lead to relational conflict—and sometimes it does. 

Being clear when we are talking about role or relationship is very important. They are not the same!! Perhaps it is easier in L’Arche than in other organisations to confuse the two.

You can see from the repeatedly defined lines here that we often used this model to remind us when there was a danger of confusing the two in our conversations just in this one module!

Has there been a time when you have inappropriately taken a point personally when perhaps it was really about task or role??

Might confusion of role and relationship make key conversations more difficult in your community? 

“Leadership at the point of our gifts”

Responding to the call from the Federation Leaders to enable the leadership of all . (Atlanta Federation meeting 2012) and building on the conversations of module 2 around how people with learning disabilities hold power and authority in our communities, and how we are called to strengthen this, we looked at how our members with learning disabilities either demonstrate or hold the potential to lead elements of the faith/spiritual dimension of our communities e.g.

• Ask us to be truly present 
• People initiate daily prayers in the house 
• Accessibility makes people’s faith unified & one 
• Leading by example – faith groups/pastoral 
• Uninhibited & unembarrassed 
• Initiate Grace 
• Individual prayers: simple, direct, spoken with confidence 
• Using social media for faith sharing 
• Icons – God is revealed through them 
• Being present for each other 
• Holding in prayers people who struggle 
• Giving faithful, consistent witness 
• Speaking & praying from the heart 
• Active participation in church life: serving etc 
• Prophets 
• Some core members insist they want to pray – others don’t 
• Calling us to slow down 
• They want to go to church 
• They ask us to keep things simple 
• Core member host ‘soup lunch’ in his house 
• Engagement 
• Hold the story of the community and remember individuals - newer members cant. 

And the growing bonds, deeper sharing of personal faith, leadership experience and practice among the Year One participants continue into the late evening………...

Leadership Development Project Interim Report February 2016.

Now that the Year One programme is moving into its later stages, a first formal report was submitted to L’Arche UK in late February detailing what is emerging from the research conducted to date. This report was compiled by Animate in consultation with the participants. It clearly outlines the very positive outcomes being experienced by the participants directly. It also highlights key challenges that will need addressing to ensure that the desired systemic impact on both communities and the wider body of L’Arche UK is achieved. The full report is available on the L’Arche UK Intranet for viewing internal to L’Arche UK only. It has been shared directly with participants, the National Leadership Team, Community Leaders and the National Board.