Four dynamics

Join the discussion on LinkedIn: How are these four dynamics out of balance in your organisation, and what are the implications? https://www.linkedin.com/posts/antlerboy_four-dynamics-for-effective-organisation-activity-7117401987989614593-S8VW

Segment. Blend. 

Empower. Harmonise.

How are these out of balance in your organisation? And what’s the cost?

Sounds a bit like something on offer in a fancy hair salon, I know.

But these dynamics turn out to be critical for human and organisational effectiveness.

I’ve been playing with these dynamics for years, inspired by Barry Oshry‘s power+systems, and Stafford Beer’s #management #cybernetics (in particular it was one of the accessible books from Barry Clemson that showed me a connection most clearly). Two Barrys… huh.

And I’ve found it a powerful way to diagnose and work on human organisation at all levels – person, #team, segment, whole organisation.

When I see something that works in this way, that’s a clue for me that it’s at least inching towards a deeper pattern in #organisation.

There are four organisational dynamics:

– segment – divide people into groups based on skills, interests, background to develop diverse specialised capabilities.

– blend – come together to break bread. Share knowledge, learning and experiences. Understand commonalities and overlaps.

– empower – each person to use their unique skills and perspectives and develop their unique talents and abilities. 

– harmonise – bring everyone together to work towards a common goal, unifying and aligning efforts around a shared mission and purpose.

Once you grok it, it’s easy to see when one or two of these dominate, and the costs.

Each dynamic has a set of rituals and practices that enforce it.

If you can rebalance rituals and practices over time, you can make organisation more effective.

What do you see when you think about these four dynamics in your organisation?

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Sources and connections:

This is a new version of the presentation, just presented at Stretch Engineering Leadership Conference

This is very close to Barry Oshry’s four dynamics in his culture work: differentiate, homogenise, individuate, integrate.

And heavily influenced by the four organisational dynamics from management cybernetics: adaptation, stabilty, autonomy, and integration.

And also by the core human needs (six of these, from Madanes via Tony Robbins: uncertainty and variety, certainty and comfort, significance and uniqueness, love collection and belonging, contribution, and growth)

Another different take on this which I highly recommend is Ivo Velitchkov‘s Essential Balances: autonomy/cohesion, stability/diversity and brings in exploration/exploitation.

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What do you see when you think about these four dynamics in your organisation?