The importance of dialogue for collaborative organizations ?
TheVUCA environment organizations operate in, challenges organizations to :
■ develop their capacity for change & learning, link professionals & expertise, tap into the energy and passion of everyone...
■ develop the organization as a flexible network, with professionals contributing in different teams, roles, capacities...
■ pursue active and real involvement of all stakeholders, welcoming diversity and embracing social responsibility
■ incite autonomy, initiative, distributed leadership, transversal collaboration
■ stop looking at things as 'cause-effect' chains and use the 'strenght' of the 'complex system' to chaise moving targets
It is simply no longer possible for a management board to take decisions and then 'pass it on' to others for execution.
The issues are extremely difficult to understand, the solutions not evident, the implementation too complex, the need for stakeholder involvement unrivalled and the intermittent challenges too volatile to even think you can still create a clear vision, translate it into objectives and roll it out as a project plan.
Carefully planned and orderly executed and controlled processes will simply no longer do the trick. The complexity of the challenge is the reason why an organization is becoming a network of professionals and teams, all taking initiatives (not executing orders) based on their sound judgement within a common generative image. People will construct from there, flexible and changing coalitions with other professionals to make things happen.
That can only be done when 'dialogue' is the basic fabric of the organization. Evolving from a 'communicative framework' where decisions are at best explained to all others in the organization, over a 'consultative framework' where stakeholder are consulted and listened to before decisions are made towards a truly co-creative, dialogic framework that is 'making meaning' and enables people to contribute their energy, passion, expertise and experience to further their common ambition. In such a context every member and stakeholder is a partner in that dialogue.
That is fundamentally different from the 'industrial, mechanistic' type of organization we have known so far, where an 'employer' bought the time and expertise of professionals in order to persue his 'objectives'. That model is no longer viable. Instead of the conventional "create a vision - get buy in (or buy it ?) - execute" approach to planned change, we need new conversations that : disrupt habits and embedded meanings; bring increased diversity into conversations so that creativity and innovation are heightened; energize networks of motivated people to propose and try small experiments that, probe emergent practices that eventually could become transformational changes.
In these video's David Snowden explains why a top down leadership is not working in a complex environment and Gervase Bushe explains that the idea of a 'vision' as a clear target to get to in project steps is not working anymore and how it could be replaced by 'generative images'.
Actively promoting dialogue in your organization?
■ Scanning tools and processes■ Process design and facilitation■ Coaching of Leadership Team■ Large Group Activities
Build an organization that sets the scene for dialogue. Avoid 'walls' between individuals, teams, expertise areas, roles, positions, etc... Diversity and Inclusion are the key 'pointers' for organizational design. Leadership : Is it about rules, controle, difference in status, power... or is it actually triggering initiative, experiment, contribution and collaboration. Set up the dialogue about culture, values, leadership and more so about what we actually do and if it creates sustainable value for all.
■ Organizational Design Advice■ Coaching Leaders & Teams■ Cultural & Behavioral Analysis■ Facilitation Design Teams
■ Facilitate Communities of Practice■ Coach Intervision groups■ Coach & Consult L&D teams■ Design Learning Strategies & Tools
■ Design Strategic HR policies■ Analyse impact of current HR practices■ Performance Management processes■ Coaching HR leadership team
■ Team Crafting Exercises■ Team & Team leader Coaching■ Teamwork & -planning Tools■ Experiential Games■ Project Management Support
■ Team Crafting■ Workplace and Job Design■ Career Coaching (Partnership OrientaEuro)■ Consulting on Employee Welbeing
How can we make this work in your organization?
Knowledge only Grows when Shared!
The Move! website provides info on our projects, our approach and a lot of extra resources and information on Organizational Development.
Click here to go There.
The Move! learning app has extra resources and information on Organizational Development and allows to purshase our Toolkit.
Click here to download our App for Android
This site is fully dedicated to the 'Learning Organization' and you find info on distributed leadership, co-creation, intervision, communities of practice, experiential games, jobcrafting etc...
Click here to go There
This is our Move! E-book on Distributed Leaderschip. Click on the cover to access it. (also available in Dutch)
Switch it on is a handy toolkit with 25 activities to trigger organizational learning. You find all info and a handy webshop to purchase the tool as hardcopy or pdf-link.
Click here to go There
Move! is a small OD practice, creating customized services for organizational challenges in customer organizations. We work out of our Belgian office throughout Europe and occasionally beyond. We work in Dutch, French, English and Spanish for all types of organizations, big and small, profit and social profit. Read more here.
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