All too often, we fall prey to the notion that changing or replacing a team member or team leader will "fix" the team. This is rarely sufficient. The team is a human system; to change its functioning we must disrupt the patterns into which the system has fallen.

Book Notes:
Seeing Systems ...Unlocking the Mysteries of Organizational Life
by Barry Oshry
Berrett-Koehler, 1995.

By examining four kinds of "blindness" that we often experience in organizations, Oshry offers us a way to create a different awareness of how things work.

The four types of blindness are:

1. spatial blindness - not seeing the whole system, only our part of the system.

2. temporal blindness - seeing today's experiences without understanding how the system got to this point.

3. relational blindness - failing to see the patterns of interaction that play out in the relationships.

4. process blindness - not realizing how the whole system and its processes are situated in the environment.

By "seeing the system," we are able to make different choices and change the patterns.

Disturbing the System

Consider the following situation. The development organization in a software company was not producing a quality product on time. Things just didn't work well. For example, much time was wasted in technical arguments about the right solution after a solution had been chosen. And, one of the most creative, valued engineers was messing with other engineers' code at night. This engineer was thought to be the "cause" of the problems. However, his creativity was key to the development of the product. The system appeared to be stuck. Then, another engineer left the company. Suddenly, most of the problems went away! The identified "problem person" changed many of his problem behaviors almost overnight! The manager was amazed.

Such situations where one person seems to be the problem often turn out to be system problems. I'm especially wary of situations where more than one person has "failed" in the same position.

Look for clues that it is the system of interactions, not the person. Some questions to consider:

• Did this problem (or something similar) start before the "problem person" was in this job?

• Do others seem to respond in predictable or repetitive ways to the "problem behavior?"

If someone acts differently than the pattern, how do others respond?

If you think your team is stuck in patterns that limit your effectiveness, you can loosen the patterns. For example, think about what your usual role in team discussions is. Do you take the lead in advocating a solution? Are you usually the one to push for closure when the discussion is going on and on? Whatever your role, abandon it with gusto.

So, if you are usually the initiator, sit back and say nothing until others have put out their ideas. Keep doing this each time the team is together. This won't "solve the problem." Your actions aren't the problem. But, the change will cause various interaction patterns to shift, enabling team members to see the patterns and possibly change them.

For a different sort of system disruption, try dramatically altering the volume of information you send up or down. Let's say you generally manage up by screening out most of the day to day information so your boss isn't overloaded with data she doesn't need. If you want to see a quick shift in communication patterns, start flooding your boss with information about your organization. Or, if you normally believe in "over communication," shift to the "inform only as needed" approach for a time. See what happens.

Things are guaranteed to change and that creates an opening for a different sort of communication.

None of these disruptions are the "cure." They simply create an opportunity for a group of intelligent, well-intentioned managers to create patterns that work more effectively.

"Power is the ability to act as if you can make happen whatever it is you want to make happen, knowing that you cannot and being willing to work with whatever does happen." (Oshry, p. 71)

Teaming tip:

Take a look at a recent event in your organization. Think about why things happened as they did. Now imagine you hold a different position in the system (your customer, a subordinate, etc.). Study the situation from that perspective. Do you see questions you can't answer? Any new views?