What is Systemic Consulting? A Post Modern Approach to Organisational Development Sarah Lewis: Jemstone Consultancy

Brief Background Family therapy - Milan School Families as systems Psychology - Social Constructionism Psychology - Social Constructivism Post Modernism Organic metaphor for organisations Organisations as systems Sense-making and meaning making

Some Key Systemic Ideas We see what we talk about Reality is socially constructed Its a multi-verse not a universe Meaning is context bound We live in communication Language contains moral order Organisations are networks of conversation Information lies in difference We seek always to make sense and to go on

What are the implications of this for organisations? The main task of management is meaning making and creating possibilities to go on Organisations are networks of conversation in which accounts are created More than one account can exist, none is the truth, all may be true Conversation/communication contains moral order Affect action through communication

The Raw Materials Stories lived, stories told, stories not yet told Voices Systemic connections System positions Context Language, talk, communication, conversation

The Creation of Change Creating, playing with, connecting accounts Playing with voices Playing with positions Explorations of meaning and purpose Separation of domains of conversation Exploration of systemic connections Articulating context

Methodology and Stance Working with metaphors Identifying strange loops and paradox Appreciative enquiry Coordinated management of meaning Domains of conversation Curiosity Reflexivity Systemic

Strange Loops and Paradox We don’t have a leader We have a leader We are a cooperative We are not a cooperative We are equal We are not equal We need a leader to survive We don’t survive if we have a leader

Coordinated Management of Meaning Cultural System Coordination: How we coordinate with others Meaning: How we make meaning We make meaning together All speech acts are embedded in multiple contexts Organisation Family Myth Life script Relationship Episode Speech Act

Domains of Conversation Sensitivity and sensibility Both/and - coherence Considerations of fit Ethics Elegance, beauty and form Make judgements Consider purpose Eloquence Convergent Structure and order Purpose, obligation, entitlement Adviser Strategy Modernist mind set of certainty Acting ‘as if’ know exactly what is going on Aesthetics: How does it feel? Production: What shall we do? Divergent Move around the system Creative hypotheses Be curious Refrain from advice Connecting fragments Metaphors Explanation: What does it mean?

Appreciative Enquiry Discover and Value ‘What is’ Dreaming (envisioning the future) ‘What might be’ Declare (co-construct the future) ‘What will be’ Design through Dialogue ‘What should be’

Reference Cooperrider, Sorensen, Yaeger and Whitney (eds) (2001) Appreciative Inquiry. Stipes USA Hammond (1996) The thin book of appreciative inquiry. Kodiak Consulting