College of Business Administration

Article Reprints:

R. Daniel Israel

Leadership Values Enhancement as a Discernment Process for Change In Process; All Rights Reserved

Introduction:
The advent of a clearer understanding of the differences between management and leadership and the emergence of 21st century values within organizations necessitates affecting real change within organizations. However, most organizations have failed to accomplish the effective and real changes they have been seeking because they have sought only to tweak the ìhowî to accomplish rather than the ìwhyî of accomplishment. In this article, I propose a model of change grounded in the post-industrial values of collaboration, cooperation, influence, mutual purposes and effective change.

There are two essential purviews with regard to authority and the idea of a company (organization) endemic in the change model: (1) true authority rests in the contemplation of the better good for the organization and its members; and (2) a company is an organized group of associates, cooperating to attain mutual purposes through an attitude grounded in charity toward one another . Essentially, leadership behavior is recognized when an organized group of associates cooperates through collaborative efforts, which seek to fulfill common purposes that are aimed toward real change and the common good. All of this embraced within an attitude and intention of charity . It is out of this form of interactive behavior that a clearer definition of leadership emerges: Leadership now becomes an organized group of associates cooperating through collaborative efforts, while seeking to fulfill common purposes that are aimed toward effecting real change while promoting the common good .

The Operative Intention:
The operative intention permeating the interactive leadership dynamic is: to support and promote real change, while supporting and promoting the well being of those affected by the actions of the actors involved in the decision making process. The intention of promoting ìwell beingî includes promoting the well being of those involved in the decision making process, and those (within the larger organization) who are extraneous to the immediate collaboration. Ultimately, because the leadership dynamic is concerned with the common good, regard for the larger environment and community must be considered if decisions are to affect them. In linking our psyches through a conscious collaborative process that is grounded in concern for attaining mutual purposes and the well being of others, leadership becomes a relational and contextual phenomenon. When an organized group of associates cooperate through their collaborative efforts to affect real change they, themselves, become an organization (sub-organization). This (sub) organization may eventually take on a formal structure such as becoming, e.g., a committee with decision-making authority. Alternatively, this sub-organization may remain more informal and loosely coupled. Whatever form the organized group of associates takes while engaging in the collaborative process, a history begins to develop. The group exists in the here and now and it seeks to affect the future. Thus, not only is the collaborative dynamic relational but because this process is grounded in the history of the group (and organization) the dynamic and the group is contextual. Thus, leadership is not an individualistic, situational event. It is contextual and relational (Israel, 1995).

Change:
Moving an organization toward excellence necessitates a collaborative effort on the part of the entire organization. It entails developing within an organization a value set that reflects both the needs of the organization and its members. Helping an organization become a learning organization entails replacing a status quo way of thinking and behaving with an attitude and pattern of behavior that embraces growth and change (Ross, et al, p. 48). For the person(s) concerned with the betterment of organizations, quite often the executive decision-makers and HR department, creating a milieu of change is no easy task. Finding a process model designed to provide a pattern for effective change is necessary if organizations are to systematically approach becoming learning organizations and thus, organizations dedicated to beneficial change. To be effective the process model must be concerned with the values present within the organization and the concomitant behaviors that result from the enactment of those values. Because most change models, such as the enormously popular "360 Degree Feedback" model, are situational and behavioral based, they do not seek to affect the attitude and values that are present within the socially constructed realities that are organizations (Israel, 1995). Essentially, these types of programs seek to report behaviors: ìThe lesson for using 360-degree feedback as a culture-change intervention is this: form follows function; 360-degree feedback may be used as a vehicle to announce a change in the skill set needed by the organization, but unless the environment presses for the use of these new skills, the announcement will be ignored or quickly forgottenî (Dalton in Leadership in Action, p. 10. Emphasis added).

What follows is an overview of a change model I have developed and use with clients. I call this change model The Leadership Values Enhancement Model (LVEM). This model is grounded in collaborative leadership and 21st century values.

The Leadership Values Enhancement Model:
The LVEM approach to organizational development is not a quick fix. Nor is it a magic bullet. The Leadership Values Enhancement approach is rather like a journey with companions who are seeking to accomplish goals and purposes reflecting their mutual concerns and the well being of their company . It is a dynamic discernment process designed to enhance the quality of ones organization by enlisting four steps that are grounded on certain foundational principles. These principles include, but are not limited to: (a) engaging relational behavior that is collaborative and cooperative in nature; (b) behavior that is non-coercive, i.e., it is influential, and; (c) behavior that seeks to promote the common good, reflect mutual purposes and effect real and lasting change.

It is a commonly held adage that change is necessary if life is to progress and that change is not easy. If this is true for an individual, it is eminently true for organizations. Ever since the emergence of the excellence theories in leadership in the 1980s, many organizations have been particularly concerned with change. In order to make our organizations and ourselves better; we have embraced all sorts of programs and quick fixes. For many people and organizations, seeking self-help programs for the individual self while attempting to incorporate new paradigms for organizations has become the order of the day.

People have sought to provide better service and to bring more fulfillment to their work by trying any new management or leadership development program to come along. From the great man/woman theory of leadership to using "360 Degree Feedback," organizations have attempted to change the way they do things. Some have been more successful than others.

Most organizations and change models have not attempted to speak to the underlying factors that motivate peoples' behaviors and frame peoples' worldviews. Most organizations and change models continue to approach systemic problems with situational remedies and management programs created by an 18th century industrial mindset. When organizations and change models use the familiar 18th century bureaucratic, industrial and hierarchical value set to affect change, in effect, they are using the same consciousness that caused the problems to solve the problems. This has been to no avail (Israel, 1995).

Organizations will affect real and lasting change when their decision-makers and the people who comprise the organizations, focus beyond behaviorist and structuralist change models. Real beneficial change will begin to occur in organizations when influential leaders emerge who recognize the futility of attempting to impose change on people by enlisting change programs that seek only to alter behavior and not seek to enlighten the more fundamental motivation for that behavior. Real change will occur when change agents begin to root their understanding of organizations "in the processes that produce systems of shared meaning" (Morgan, 1990, p.131).

In short, it is time for members who comprise organizations to become aware of the values on which their organizations are grounded. As Morgan stated it is time for those in decision-making positions to begin to realize "that organizations end up being what they think and say, as their ideas and vision realize themselves" (p. 133). Organizations must begin to take note of and clarify the value systems that are operative within their confines. Thus, it is time for members of organizations to become aware of their own personal value set. Values are the operative element within ones psyche that frames ones worldview and affects ones behaviors.

The awareness process by which to gain the necessary non-judgmental analysis of the value-sets present within individuals, and that are enacted within organizations, can be modeled as a four-step process. The process will necessarily include analyzing the structure and culture of the organization, along with the concomitant behaviors mandated by the structure and culture. The analysis process must also include self-reflection and illumination of personal value-sets. To be effective, a presentation of a different value-set and assistance in changing habitual behaviors to cohere with desired changes must be present.

The Leadership Values Enhancement Process:
The Leadership Values Enhancement Model is a four-step process consisting of:

I. Discernment of Systemic Change.
II. Leadership Narrative Analysis.
III. Behavior and Values Analysis.
IV. The Leadership Enhancement Dynamic

Step I: Discernment of Systemic Change
The primary step consists in reflecting on the interactive processes that lead to insighful evaluation and critical anlysis of organizations. The process of discerning structural, behavioral and values based obstacles in organizations begins with either a formal or an informal survey. This may take the form of informal conversations or more structured methods of data recovery. The survey seeks to bring to light what members of the executive team, management and staff see to be the problems that limit effective performance and customer service.

The amount of time to gather this data depends upon the number of participants and the research method the researcher elects to use. The cultural introspection of the discernment process will include an analysis of the organization (the macro level) and members of the organization (micro level).

The data provide an insight into the perceived obstacles to good management that members of the organization have. Because this is grounded theory research, principles of good management, as the members see it, will also become evident. In gaining an insight into the operative principles and behaviors that are occuring within the organization, we are ready to take the next step.

Step II: Leadership Narrative Analysis
Clarifying foundational values is a primary step in creating a disposition for change. By unveiling foundational values people achieve a broader perspective on who they are and the context from which they have emerged. Leadership Narrative Analysis effectively leads people through the clarification process by bringing individuals (and organizations) to an awareness of the distinctions that exist between different value systems. LNA provides participants a clear and rational overview of ethical models out of which they work and live while illuminating the effect these models have on them. LNA brings people to an experience and understanding of what their foundational values are. In LNA the participant is asked to tell a story about leadership. The analysis of the story reveals the storyteller's view of leadership . In so doing it also reveals the participant's foundational value set. LNA does not ask participants to define their values. Nor does it ask participants to describe out of what values they think they are working. LNA avoids the problem Argyris (1982) demonstrated, namely, that peoples' espoused theories (what they think they are doing) and their theories in use (what they do) are quite often two entirely different realities. Because LNA is based on a story told by the participant, Leadership Narrative Analysis sidesteps the problem of the lack of cohesiveness between what people believe and how they act. This is a common problem in attempting to effect real and lasting change in people and organizations.

After an analysis of the stories, the participants are brought into the process of unpacking and demonstrating the meaning of their stories. This process allows the participants and facilitator to gain an insight into both the value systems of the person (micro level) and the value system endemic in the organization (macro level). Knowing the operative models that influence the actions of people and organizations is a value added for the client because it provides an insight into why their organization functions the way it does. LNA compares the values of the participants with the differing value systems endemic in both the management and leadership model. By becoming aware of their foundational values participants have the primary knowledge necessary to affect real and lasting change in both self and organization. Leadership Narrative Analysis allows participants to become aware of the ethic they are practicing. Because the participants' values are clarified and because they have an optional value system to use for comparison, the participants have the possibility of changing behavior if they so choose. The participants may now begin a process to change their behaviors because they now know another value set that they may wish to enact. In short, the participants have been provided an optional model for behavior.

The data gained from LNA becomes the grounding for steps three and four in LVEP: (a) the analysis of values and behaviors within the organization, and (b) the development of programs, seminars, workshops or retreats uniquely designed to fit the need of the organization.

Step III: Behavior and Values Analysis
In step III, the behaviors and concomitant values-sets are examined. The following will act as a concrete example of how this analysis may help an organization.

If an organization has tried many of the template leadership or ethics programs that are available and realizes that there are reoccurring problems, for example, in communicating between departments; there exists a lack of cohesive action by people (theory in use) and what they may have learned from the program (espoused theory). In short, they have discovered that the conventional espoused theory (program) has been ineffective. If the analyses of LNA demonstrate a tendency in the participants' behaviors to be exclusionary with a tendency to be protective, we can see why communication may not be occurring. The values that form people's behaviors and structure their vision, in this instance, are values that reinforce exclusionary and protective behavior, which is not conducive to good communication. People act in certain patterned forms of behavior because value systems act as guide posts that direct and mold our lives. With this primary insight into the value structure present within the culture of an organization, a series of workshops could be developed to help people become less protective and thereby more communicative.

The dynamic Leadership Narrative Analysis approach is comprehensive and is grounded in the realized needs of the participants. Once people are given adequate knowledge to see why they have not accomplished the change they want to accomplish; they are able to begin to remedy their dilemma if they wish.

Effective and lasting change does not occur simply because of values clarification, no matter how foundational the clarified values may be to the person. Coming to know our inner value base is essential but not necessarily sufficient to bring a person to altering behaviors. Will, character, desire and altered forms of behavior must enter into the scheme if one wishes to affect real and lasting change in self and organization .

LNA provides people an insight into the values on which they base their actions. It also offers an alternative value system and the possibility of altering behavioral responses. By clarifying the value models out of which people work, by engaging in programs designed to effect change, people have a chance to engage in double looped learning. LNA provides people and organizations the insights necessary if they want to effect real and lasting change in behaviors and attitudes.

Step Four: Design and Implementation
The Leadership Values Enhancement Model is an interactive process pattern designed to have participants engage in the collaborative leadership dynamic while creating a change program for themselves and their organization. Step four in the LVEP exposes the participants (usually the executive team and/or representatives from throughout the organization) to the process methods necessary to implement a change program: (1) discernment of systemic change; (2) clarification of operative value-sets (foundational values clarification); (3) analysis of behaviors; and (4) design and implementation of necessary training programs to develop collaborative, cooperative, influential habits and attitude.

It is the fourth step that many organizations want immediately to implement because programs appear to be more concrete than process. Most organizations lose sight of the fact that in real change it is the process that enables us to come to realize, in our behaviors and thoughts, the changes we may desire. The process itself is transformational. Beginning a change program with step four reinforces a structuralist and functionalist purview, i.e., the industrial paradigm. It is not until people recognize their need to change and then become aware of their desire to affect real change that they can begin to move toward a new paradigm.

By the completion of the first three steps, the executive team will have recognized the changes they desire to make. They then enter into and participate in the program development and implementation, which is grounded in the realized needs of the participants .

Upon completion of the first three steps in LVEP, the facilitator, the executive team and/or representatives from throughout the organization begin the collaborative process of outlining (developing) the programs, seminars, workshops and meetings to effect real change within the organization. It is within the interactive dynamic of the development and/or reflection on these programs that the executive team and/or representatives from the organization will experience double loop learning.

Now that the executive team, and other participants, share in a more unified vision and coherent values-set, which reflect more completely their mutual purposes, the executive team is more prepared to engage the next step in the change process. That is, forming an additional group within the organization to assist in more fully engaging the rest of the organization (train the trainer). By modeling leadership behaviors of collaboration and cooperation, and by developing and implementing programs, seminars, workshops or retreats the interaction of members of the executive team with this group will ensure continuity in the developing culture of the organization. They will design and implement, in collaboration with other members of the organization necessary training programs. These training programs will help to develop and reinforce the mutual vision, purpose and coherent set of organizational values that reflect an organization grounded in the principles of 21st century leadership.

References:
Dalton, M. A. (1998). 'Using 360-degree feedback successfully.' Leadership in action, 18 (1), 1-11.

Ganss, G. E. (1970). The constitutions of the society of Jesus. St. Louis: The Institute of Jesuit Sources.

Israel, R. D. (1995). Leadership: Personal narratives of practitioners. University of San Diego, San Diego.

Morgan, G. (1986). Images of organization. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Senge, P. M., Kleiner, A., Roberts, C., Ross, R. B., & Smith, B. J. (1994). The fifth discipline fieldbook. New York: Doubleday.

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