Considering that the day was filled with dozens of sessions, ‘my’ workshops, with more than 60 participants each time, can be considered well-attended. Of course, Connective Leadership was the main theme, and the Connective Leadership Mirror was the instrument to be investigated. Or rather: the CLM profile that the participants had created prior to the workshop via a special ‘festival version’ was the reason to find out more about it. This blog attempts to take you, the reader, along in the story as best as possible.
How do you take a system to the ‘next level’?
Imagine: an open space, the song Higher Ground by Stevie Wonder, participants arranged in a semi-circle, waiting to see what will happen. Different colored areas visible on the floor, using sheets of paper in the colors beige, purple, red, blue, orange, green, yellow and turquoise… (see photo). A few introductory Powerpoint slides make a connection between connecting leadership and successful change management in complex circumstances.
Click here to open the Powerpoint presentation. It is useful to have it available with the rest of this story. Although it was made for a Dutch audience, it contains many English quotes and especially a lot of images. (We have searched for copyright-free material as much as possible, but with a view to only showing it briefly on a small format, we have not gone to extremes. We apologize if there is any unintentional unlawful reuse.)
What if … the rules suddenly change?
And then comes the thought experiment. Ominous music sounds - the song Destructo by Nick Phoenix… Imagine that the director-general of the ministry declares all existing rules, procedures and agreements invalid by decree tomorrow morning… what first thought comes to mind? Then follow various prototypes of possible thoughts, such as: “Will my salary still be paid then?” or: “Finally, what an opportunity, now I can push through my plans!” or “Wait a minute, shouldn’t we pay extra attention to each other, because not everyone can handle that on their own.” And so on. These different thoughts are of course related to the value systems of Spiral Dynamics©, which is also the underlying model of the Connective Leadership Mirror. So when the participants can associate their ‘primary reaction’ with one of the value systems after explanation, they are invited to move to the relevant coloured spot on the floor, where they automatically meet ‘like-minded people’, with whom a lively conversation automatically arises.
Experiencing your own Connective Leadership profile
Of course, everyone is free to visit a group of a ‘different colour’. After all, we know that each CLM profile usually includes the complete palette. What is striking is that this seemingly simple method offers the participants a lot of extra information. That was of course also the intention of the workshop: to dig a little deeper into the background and meaning of your own CLM profile. And then learning by experiencing, and entering into dialogue with each other, is a proven approach that is highly valued by the participants. With the knowledge gained, it has subsequently become much easier to understand the visual model of Spiral Dynamics. And note: the most complex version - see the slides - is at the same time the most realistic.
Leadership is a collective process
Speaking of experience. How do you make it clear to managers - who usually feel very responsible for their team, department or domain - that together they form the 'leadership department'? That they have to connect with each other, to ensure that the entire organization becomes and remains a smoothly running process? This is how it works. The participants form a (nice, round) circle together. As usual, everyone leaves some space between each other. The music plays La Rumba del Jefe by Jesse Cook. Many start to sway their hips a little. This seems like an organization in motion, but everyone in their own domain. Then they are asked to move to the middle of the circle until everyone is literally standing with their shoulders against each other, and thus in a sense 'stuck'. The swaying of the hips is now only possible if everyone is 'in sync'. That requires some feeling, looking around and coordination. Plus the realization that the other side of the circle moves just to the left when you move to the right on your side... But then the experience is great: one connected, swaying group. That is the experience of Connective Leadership.
Looking at the same world with a new perspective?
Wasn't it Marcel Proust who said that you don't necessarily have to travel to new destinations, but rather look at the same thing with new eyes? In fact, the Connective Leadership Mirror offers the person filling it in a new set of eyes. And the question on the last Powerpoint slide is therefore: with which perspective will you look at your work tomorrow? The last piece of music by Christopher Cross already provides an answer in a sense: don't wait too long but Ride Like the Wind!
