“And so, without further ado, here’s the author of ‘Mind over Matter’…”

Herman Wittockx

Organizing(Mirrored(in(Nature(The(genera2ve(power(of(A/I(and(guided(contact(with(nature(

-  Context: My history with outdoor & AI -  Part one: Kema case -  Lecture: Generative features -  Part two: Results -  Reflections: Connecting strengths &

Generative power

Herman Wittockx

Organizing(Mirrored(in(Nature(The(genera2ve(power(of(A/I(and(guided(contact(with(nature(

1989: A/I & Outdoor with S. Srivastva 1991: PhD at CWRU 1993- 2000: Open workshops

with S. Srivastva 1993- 2012: Change projects (duration

6 months- 5 years) 2007-2011:KEMA

Genera2ve(

“ That which has the capacity to challenge the guiding assumptions of culture, to raise fundamental questions regarding contemporary social life, to foster reconsideration of that which is taken for granted, and thereby furnish new alternatives for social action” (Gergen, 1982, p 109).

“Organic(system”(

“Mechanis2c(system”(

Herman Wittockx

Man and organizations as Mechanistic Systems

Sender Receiver

Problem Solving

The(Apprecia2ve(KEMA(

Creating a Shared Vision to energize Self Propelling Execution.

•  2007 – 2011: Why: “The future is causing the present”

•  2008 – 2010: What & How: “Leadership is a relational act”

•  2011: Results!

The$apprecia*ve$KEMA$

KEMA$profile$in$2007$•  Incorporated in 1927 •  Headquartered in NL •  Offices in ca. 15 countries •  Customers on all continents •  More than 1350 employees •  Turnover in 2007: € 180 M

KEMA customers •  Energy supply industry •  Energy intensive users •  (Power equipment)

manufacturers •  Retail companies

•  Rail companies •  Authorities and regulators •  Financial institutions and development

banks

Mintzberg((1979)(“Professionals(can(hardly(be(managed(by(enforcing,(opposing(rules,(

regula2ons(and(procedures.”(

The$future$is$steering$the$present!$

KEMA((Leadership(

Leadership(Program(

•  2007 – 2011: Why “The future is causing the present”

•  2008 – 2010: What & How: “Leadership is a relational act”

•  2011: Results!

The$apprecia*ve$KEMA$

What(did(we(do(at(KEMA?(

KEMA Leadership Summit 2008

KEMA Appreciative Leadership Workshops

Strategic Alignment Business units

KEMA Leadership Summit 2011

KEMA(Apprecia2ve(Leadership(Workshops;(Crea2ng(a(Shared(Vision(to(energize(Self(Propelling(Execu2on(

Leadership is a “relational act”, so develop: 1.  Trust 2.  Shared Vision 3.  Generative coaching

15

Outdoor(Apprecia2ve(Inquiry(in((Leadership(Development(

17

Program(to(develop(leadership(capabili2es.(

•  10 Groups of 20 participating managers •  Executed from July 2008 to 2010 •  Facilitators: Prof. dr. H. Wittockx (Belgium), François Héon

MSc (Canada) & Drs. Franke Jongsma (Netherlands) •  An international and cultural mix of participants over

Business Units and Regions to: –  Create space for development of relationships

•  Limited history of existing working relationships •  Focus on process of relationship building

–  Reinforce Global Network in KEMA

The(outdoor(assignment:(‘The(Bridge’(Build(a(Bridge(across(the(river(and(cross(the(river(with(the(team.(Team(is(split(on(both(sides(of(river.((Criteria:(Everyone(is(on(the(other(side,(dry(and(safe.(

The(quality(of(the(process(defines(the(quality(of(the(result.(

Making(sense…(crea2ng(shared(meaning(

The(Vision(assignment:(‘Fes2ve(dinner’(Prepare(a(fes2ve(dinner(for(KEMA(Board.(The(dinner(reflects(the(leadership(development(that(has(taken(place.((Execu2on(in(three(teams:(Cooking,(Decora2on(&(Hos2ng.(

(Network(of(Leaders(as((‘Spokes(of(a(wheel’(

Herman Wittockx

WONDER

Appreciate the Unique

Comfortable feeling of no need for explaining

Nature has no meaning

Nature stimulates the discovery of human nature

Habit of imagination

Habit of the mind Habit of the heart

Nature stimulates the discovery of human nature: Meaning

interaction through meaning making

The rock is your friend

Common fate Stimulates a Shared belief in the future and transcends problem solving thinking

Connecting present - past - future - present

Improvisation! - Causes Problem +

Pas t Presen t Fut u re

Wonder! Imagination!

Vision &!values!

•  Interdependent activities

•  Unequivocal

Physical feedback

•  Egalitarian

In nature people are open books to each other

Inclusion Influence Intimacy

•  Abundance •  Beliefs •  Feelings •  Thoughts

•  Common fate

•  Physical proximity •  Playfulness •  Holistic relations

Theory in use

•  Espoused theory: sharing stories about success

•  Theory in use: the experience of success

Nature brings out Human nature meaning & indeterminism

Meaning is a relational act Knowing is doing: power of theory in use

Organizing mirrored in nature

Subject Intersubjectivity

Nature as a source of organic concepts about organizing

Subject Intersubjectivity

Object

From

To

•  2007 – 2011: Why: “The future is causing the present”

•  2008 – 2010: What & How: “Leadership is a relational act”

•  2011: Results!

The$apprecia*ve$KEMA$

KEMA$profile$end$2011.$•  Offices from 15 to 23 countries •  From 1350 to 1850 employees •  Turnover from € 180 to € 260 M

Actions •  New KEMA companies

acquired in NL, Germany & USA

•  New offices established – e.g. Beijing, Dubai, Hamburg, Portugal, Rotterdam & Spain

•  > 600 fte new (direct) hires in KEMA over the last years

•  New matrix structure in 2011

35

KEMA(Execu2ve(Board(observa2ons.(•  Management Teams of Units develop

themselves now more as a team.

•  Overall: Budgets that Business Units proposed were beyond expectations. Trust is there to reach for challenging targets even in challenging worldwide economic circumstances.

•  Employees are invited to work in the KEMA organization as well as on the KEMA organization: Meaningfulness of work increases.

Remarks(at(the(KEMA(summit(2011(

Summit 2008

Program

Strategic Alignment Business units

Summit 2011

“This group has emotional

intelligence and a high level of coping

with ambiguity.”

Frank Barrett

“I have regained trust in our success, observing how our

managers respond to Change.”

Thijs Aarten - CEO

The(Apprecia2ve(KEMA(

Creating a Shared Vision to energize Self Propelling Execution.

How(does(this(work(for(the(organiza2on(?((

Lecture 3

•  The participants’ experience in the A/I based outdoor learning proces helps them to deal with their organizational challenges

•  Organizing is not about structure, it is about creating a shared future in a particular (business) environment

1.(Strengthsebased(

•  Nature helps you to connect to your inner self and to remain confident in the face of work challenges

•  It generates trust •  This allows organizational arrangements

to remain more flexible and equivocal •  Arrangements can shift in action and be

renegotiated upon the occasion

2.(Connectedness(

•  The A/I based outdoor experience improves relational quality and demonstrates the power of interpersonal relationships in dealing with organizational challenges

•  In organizing, developing trust in the relationship is more important than defining roles or elaborating clear job descriptions

•  The experience creates a living network of connectedness within the organization

3.(Genera2ve(power(

•  Throughout the A/I based outdoor experience powerful metaphors and stories develop that are shared through the organizational network

•  These shared metaphors and stories are then useful as prosthetic device in the proces of elaborating and enacting new organizational arrangements

•  This shows the true generative power of the A/I outdoor experience

Genera2ve(capacity(

… is the capacity to challenge the guiding assumptions of the culture,

to raise fundamental questions regarding contemporary social life,

to foster reconsideration of that which is “taken for granted”, and thereby

to generate fresh alternatives for social action.

Ken Gergen,1982

Organizing(mirrored(in(nature(

•  From its embeddedness in nature, the outdoor experience introduces the participants to systemic and autopoetic conceptions of organizing, as a “natural” way of dealing with the complexity of our environment

•  Because nature has no meaning of its own, the experience also introduces them to the social constructionist nature of organizations

“And with these words, I can see” Pink Floyd, The division bell