Memoirs of a Change Agent: T-Groups, Organization

MEMOIRS of a CHANGE AGENT T-groups, Organization Development, and Social Justice

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the permission, in writing, from CrosbyOD Publishing.

Book Layout and Design: Chris Crosby

Editors: Robert, Chris, Gilmore and Patricia Crosby

ISBN: 978-1-0878-0662-4 (paperback)

Cover by Chris Crosby

Interior design by Chris Crosby

Graphics by Chris Crosby

First edition 2019

Printed in the United States of America Dedication

his book is dedicated to Dr. Frank T. Simpson and Dr. TWalter Holcomb. Without the action and influence of these two men this book would not have been written nor the practices in it ever done. If Dr. Frank T. Simpson had not been the first employee and the first Executive Secretary of the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, then perhaps there would have neither been the T-group nor the Organization Development (OD) movement spurred by this exciting social invention! He was the one who invited Kurt Lewin to Connecticut to lead a workshop on Fair Employment Practices and championed the civil rights cause then and for decades! Dr. Walter Holcomb, my professor at Boston University and my first T-group leader, was a masterful educator in the footsteps of Kurt Lewin and John Dewey. I modeled my LIOS graduate program after his teaching style, from which a couple thousand graduated. In keeping with the social justice roots of T-groups, one of the most exciting Universities with whom we contracted was Martin University in Indianapolis. It was named for Martin Luther King Jr. and St. Martin de Porres. Appreciation. To my sons Gilmore and Chris whose contribution is evidenced by the quotes in the book from their writings. What will miss the reader’s eye are the many places where they influenced me. Thanks to Patricia for her extensive editing and to our granddaughter Genevieve Green for her edits. Chris applies his publishing prowess. From inception to publishing there have been over a thousand edits, additions, etc. Chris has done the labor of love of adding each edit in the manuscript! My primary in-depth learnings came from working with hourly workers, union and non-union. More significantly, Chris and Gil still work on those same front lines.

Advanced Quotes for Memoir of a Change Agent

“Robert Crosby’s Autobiographical and analytical account of his discovery and use of the T-group and the accompanying principles of Kurt Lewin’s social psychology, is a must read for both practitioners and academics in order to begin to appreciate the profound influence these have had on our currenttaken for granted approach to experiential learning.” Edgar H. Schein, Professor Emeritus, MIT Author with son Peter of Humble Leadership (2018) “Reading Bob Crosby’s richly constructed memoir lifted me into the swirling vortex of a benign tornado where I could look down below into the historic gale of democratic America’s T-groups, organization development, and applied behavioral science. Page by page, I uncovered diamond nuggets of experiential instruction; an awesome jewel-box primer filled with sage advice and useful tips for world-wide group consultants, those who labor to offer practical wisdom to organizational participants, everywhere, present and future. An exquisite text lovingly imagined for the next generation, Bob Crosby’s personal tour de force should be required reading for aspiring applied social psychologists. With almost a century of reporting, it could have been composed only by one with the intelligent and cosmopolitan experiences of an astute senior practitioner nearing 92. Would it be possible that Bob Crosby attain the longevity of Methuselah to keep these seminal lessons accumulating forever?” Dr. Richard Allen Schmuck A social psychologist of education, he is Professor Emeritus of Educational Psychology at the University of Oregon. Author, Paths to Identity: A Memoir “No one has for a lifetime continuously nurtured the T-group regarding its meaning, the competent practice thereof, and role in providing society with the means to learn how to improve one’s self-awareness, interpersonal relationships especially resolving conflict, organization development, inter- organizational relations, networks, and ways of sustaining democracy more than Bob Crosby. I met Bob during the summer of 1965 in Bethel, Maine and have followed his work and maintained our relationship ever since. His dedication to promoting the T-group and accumulative knowledge regarding the process, its importance and application is unsurpassed.” Dr. W. Warner Burke E.L. Thorndike Professor of Psychology and Education Teachers College, Columbia University

“At last we have a book that integrates the myriad threads of humanity, organization development, T-Groups, and social justice, threads that are often seen as unrelated. More than a memoir, this book is an invaluable resource for general readers and practitioners alike, helping us remember that we belong not only to ourselves, but to one another. Thank you Bob for your legacy of love, learning, and light. And thank you for writing this incredible book, an invocation that summons us to stay awake, aware, fully lit, and actively engaged.” Dr. Gloria J. Burgess CEO & President, Jazz International

“An executive told me, ‘If I need my people to change, I change the people.’ To examine an alternative that does not force compliance but instead invites people to be who they truly are while pursuing business goals, read this book. You will gain the wisdom, history, purpose, and foundational values of OD from a man who has done this his entire career.” Dr. Ronald Short Author and Founder, Learning In Action Technologies “This is life. This is a real life. This is a real OD life. It is also a love letter to the T-group, its founders, its evolution, to NTL where it started, and to its application to intact work groups around the world. I particularly love Crosby’s clear statement that all OD practitioners need to participate in T-groups regularly and often for their own personal growth and development. He couldn’t be more right about that!” Matt Minahan, President, The Minahan Group

“Bob Crosby’s Memoir of a Change Agent is a gift to both current and future practitioners of organization development. He is your personal guide, sharing his rich experiences in the widest variety of conflict settings—union and management, students and administration, citizens and local government. He’s with you, whispering at your shoulder: Here’s what to expect, and here’s how to handle it, and here’s the underlying principle. He demonstrates great skill, but underneath the skills, techniques, principles, and processes, is his burning commitment to social justice. T-groups have developed in many directions since 1946, and Bob has stayed true to its founders’ dreams: the development of change agents dedicated to social action—to the triumph of democracy over fascism, and mutual understanding and respect over bigotry. They would be more than satisfied with how Bob has carried on their legacy.” Barry Oshry, Developer of the Power Lab Author of Context, Context, Context: How Our Blindness to Context Cripples Even the Smartest Organizations

“Robert Crosby has transformed so many lives (like mine). Now he offers his wisdom to a world in so much need of change!” Mark Schaefer, Rutgers University Author of KNOWN “How does significant change come about? When, how and under what circumstances can we effectively make such change work. Robert Crosby, having devoted his life to making this happen, displays not only his humility but also his dynamic wisdom. If imitation is indeed the highest compliment, then the hundreds of T-Groups imitating this pioneer’s work in Russia, Ukraine, Italy, and Mexico and the thousands within our own Country is a testament to the lasting imprint Crosby has had on the field. Read this book as he travels this landscape, and marvel, as I did, with how change is accomplished.” Dr. Rodney D. Coates Professor Global and Intercultural Studies Miami University “In my humble opinion this book is a tour de force. Using the extraordinary events and people in his life, Bob Crosby has managed to turn the birth of the T-group into an edge-of-the seat read about how we human beings, our attitudes and even our prejudices change. As someone who has been fortunate— and honored—to accompany Bob on quite a few of these exciting social science experiments, I can vouch for their validity, excitement and transformational power.” Dr. John J. Scherer, Founder, Scherer Leadership Center Author of Wiser@Work Five Questions that Change Everything “I sincerely loved this book. It articulates the confluence of Robert Crosby’s life with those of other leaders in the civil rights movement and then follows that thread, weaving together the story of the evolution of group processes and T-groups. I took away a clearer understanding of T-groups and their value, and a deep appreciation for the life and intellect of the author. A wonderful read.” John C. Nicol, Former GM, Partner—Microsoft President, Skye Enterprises “In this autobiography, the professional and personal mix. Robert Crosby distills 70 years of organization development wisdom. His story should not only be instructive to OD professionals interested in the history of T-groups and how to facilitate them, but also to anyone interested in history, social justice, democracy, and authenticity.” Mohammed Raei, PhD Leadership Scholar and OD consultant.

“Robert Crosby has written an autobiographical tour de force of his first hand experiences with the birth and growth of T-Groups... He provides a veritable gold mine of practical insights, models and techniques...His views on leadership are both stellar and imminently practical.” Edward Hampton Managing Member Performance Perspectives LLC

“Robert Crosby has created a fascinating history of one of the pivotal movements in OD that we must know if we are to move with consciousness into the future. Memoir of a Change Agent should be required reading for anyone in leadership and anyone who dares to lead a small group.” Kay Collier McLaughlin, PhD Transformative Leadership Consulting

“I'm amazed at the scope and depth of this publication. Robert Crosby has pulled together the people and events that went into the development of this unique training methodology. He reminds us of the great minds that went into its evolution and has captured the many ways it can transform.” Roy M. Oswald Lutheran Pastor Founder of the Center for EQ-HR Skills.

Contents

Dedication...... iii Introduction...... xiii Chapter 1: The Merging of my Several Worlds...... 1 Chapter 2: That Marvelous Moment...... 17 Chapter 3: The Heart of the T-group...... 45 Chapter 4: Why OD Consultants Should be in T-groups...77 Chapter 5: T-group in Industry...... 87 Chapter 6: T-group in Ukraine...... 103 Chapter 7: Recovering From Self-directed Teams...... 109 Chapter 8: A Presidential Visit to a Productive Plant.....129 Chapter 9: The PECO Turnaround...... 137 Chapter 10: T-groups and Authenticity...... 159 Chapter 11: More OD Applications...... 193 Chapter 12: Student Influence without Anarchy...... 209 Chapter 13: Managing Conflict in Community Development...... 215 Chapter 14: The OD Social Justice Imperative...... 231 Chapter 15: The Emerging World Community...... 247 Bibliography...... 253

INTRODUCTION | xiii

Introduction

his book is a wide-ranging synthesis. From democracy Tto the origin of OD, to comments and experiences with extremist groups from both the right and left, to the spiritual domain of the T-group, and on and on. I wrote this career autobiography to help younger practitioners see greater possibilities for their personal influence across a wide range of settings. To enable easy access to some of the themes that are intertwined throughout the book, here’s a shorthand guide in alphabetical order to selected topics. I often read books by jumping around the pages, so here’s a jumping around guide! 1. Authenticity defined, Chapter 10, p. 159. 2. Authority issues with the T-group trainer pp. 33, 65, 75, 91-92, 104, 196/197/223, 224. 3. Campus development, Chapters 11-12. 4. Community development, Chapter 13. 5. Democracy, Chapter 3, pp. 56-62, 64, Chapter 10, pp. 171-172. 6. Fascism, Chapter 3, pp. 61-62. 7. Here-and-now, Chapter 2, p. 28, Chapter 10, pp. 165- 168. 8. Dismantling an extremist group, Chapter 14, pp. 233- 237. 9. Intimate relationship as one ages, Chapter 3, pp. 54-55. 10. Kurt Lewin, Chapter 3, pp. 45-47. 11. OD Interventions, Chapters 5, 7, 8, 9. 12. Popular culture invasion of T-groups, Chapter 10, pp. 173-175. 13. Retribution. What about retribution by bosses with employees after they are in the same skill group? P 97 14. Social Justice, Chapter 14 and throughout the book. xiv | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

15. Socialism and Russia, Chapter 3, p. 67-69. 16. Spiritual Domain, Chapter 2, p. 43, Chapter 3, pp. 69- 73. 17. T-group in non-English speaking settings, Chapter 6. 18. T-group invention, Chapter 2, pp. 19-22. 19. T-group interventions, Chapter 10, pp. 182-190. 20. Thurman, Howard, Chapter 1, pp. 9-12. 21. Unions as important co-sponsors, Chapter 7, pp. 125- 126, Chapter 8, Chapter 11, p. 206-207, Chapter 13, p. 223-224. I am blessed to have two very experienced colleagues/authors/ sons with whom I often talk about the matters in this book. Since the OD dimension is an integrative element in this book, I am concluding this introduction with a definition of OD as written by colleague and son Chris.

What is Organization Development (OD)?

This is a critical question for our field yet answered in many different ways. To start, I share a definition from Dr. Warner Burke of Columbia University. He stated that, “To be OD it must 1) respond to an actual and perceived need for change on the part of the client, 2) involve the client in the planning and implementation of the change, and 3) lead to change in the organization’s culture.” Further, Dr. Burke went on to write that, “...organization development is a process of fundamental change in an organization’s culture. By fundamental change, as opposed to fixing a problem or improving a procedure, I mean that some significant aspect of a culture will never be the same.” Warner Burke’s definition holds high expectations and excludes much OD practiced today. I will lower the expectations INTRODUCTION | xv while still providing sufficient challenge to various practices. To be Organization Development you must develop the organization and the people. Therefore, OD is an activity or intervention that develops the organization to reach greater business functioning (obtain measurable goals) and develops people at the same time. If you do an activity that only develops people then it is not OD and vice versa. OD uses interventions (planned or ad hoc) that include, foster, and impact: ▪ Direct communication (as opposed to indirect, passive, and avoidant). ▪ Clarity of authority (including decision making authority and who is in charge of what). ▪ Task component clarity (who, what, and by-when). ▪ Greater self-awareness. ▪ Systems thinking related to work. ▪ Workplace alignment. ▪ Conflict utilization (one on one and group[s]). ▪ Group process. ▪ Engagement of all levels. ▪ Clarity of direction (measurable goals). ▪ Business problem focus. ▪ Communication skills (Applied Behavioral Science). ▪ Effective use of direct feedback (both giving and receiving). OD can be focused towards an individual, group, or whole organization. Yet just because you work with an individual, group or system does not mean you do OD. To be OD you must have a systemic focus and help build the interactions between people. The core unit of such interactions is the boss to their direct reports. xvi | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Are feedback, coaching, surveys, or 360 degree processes OD? No. But they can be. OD fosters direct communication between members which means that such items often are not OD. However, any coaching, work place survey, feedback process or 360 degree process can be turned into OD by ensuring that the participants are not allowed to stay anonymous and that they have direct, constructive conversations. The tools themselves can be filled out anonymously as long as there is a clear process for each person who filled out the tool to translate what they meant into behaviorally specific feedback and then dialogue with the person with whom they are giving the feedback. Clean feedback means translating each judgment, adjective, or interpretive word to behavioral specifics. The science of communication comes from behavioral specifics. Processes that are allowed to proceed with dirty feedback (filled with adjectives, judgments and interpretive words) have a destructive effect on organizations and cause harm. Plus, if you allow dirty feedback (i.e. opinions and judgments) to be shared anonymously, then you are not only doing harm but also increasing paranoia in the organization. The use of the applied behavioral science in working through conflicts is critical. It can help participants take full ownership of their emotionality and ease through the conflict by being direct and appropriate with each other. The basics of such ownership lives in the statement, “When you said or did X, I felt Y.” Please note that said or do must be articulated as cleanly as possible and I stated “I felt” versus “that made me feel.” The words that made me feel consist of victim language which allows one to think that the cause of emotionality is outside of oneself. Do not confuse this with impact. Humans impact each other and one should strive to learn their impact on others and adjust accordingly. Yet, each of us interprets differently. Therefore, owning that interpretation, rather than INTRODUCTION | xvii blaming it on another, is critical toward being a creator in life and learning about ones unique way of interpreting is a life long journey. Another core tenant of OD is that democracy, meaning learning how to manage from the middle, is a learned behavior. Therefore it will always be relevant and critical for the OD professional to help managers think through how they are managing and move in a direction that will gain more system health. Again, that direction could be toward more use of authority. The founders of OD came out of WWII and were keenly aware that authority could be used in destructive ways. They studied its effect in the now famous boys group study. When you clarify authority you may need to delegate more to provide people with the freedom to act quickly or you may need to pull back the reigns if decisions are being taken, or not taken, in a way that benefits the organization. This applies to work groups, between groups, or projects. In projects, clarity of authority often means that items which need resolution get highlighted, clarified to a single point of accountability, and then monitored to ensure effective execution. Finally, OD involves the importance of the group and group process. Those trained in the Applied Behavioral Sciences are aware of Lewin’s systems theory that bridged the early 20th century divide between psychology and sociology, between nature and nurture. B=f(p,e): Behavior is a function of the person and the environment. As Gordon Allport wrote, “His unifying theme is unmistakable: the group to which an individual belongs is the ground for his perceptions, his feelings, and his actions” (Kurt Lewin, 1948, 1997, p5). This focus on groups takes us to the most critical relationship—between boss and employee. The founders were clear about this and did not demonize bosses. Instead, they saw that the immediate work group is powerful and shapes xviii | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT behavior more than anything else. Further, the most critical factor within a group is how it is led. Kurt Lewin’s boys group study and many since such as Gallup’s studies on engaged workplaces all indicate that positive impacts to the boss employee relationship have a direct impact on the bottom line. Organization Development provides a powerful way to highlight dynamics in the workplace by engaging the employees to reflect and improve practices and processes, while focusing on measurable bottom line results as set out by an engaged leader. -Chris Crosby (2018) CHAPTER 1: THE MERGING OF MY SEVERAL WORLDS | 1

Chapter 1 The Merging of my Several Worlds never met Warren Bennis in person, but in our few contacts Iacross the years this stellar leader of leaders responded graciously, as if we were peers. By coincidence, in his first year as president of the University of Cincinnati, my article about a campus problem-solving event, Student Influence Without Anarchy (see Chapter 12), was published in its Research Journal. In the inside cover of his Still Surprised memoir, he wrote, “Hope you enjoy and learn from this one as I am from yours. Cheers!” That’s just one more example of his amazing humility! On August 3, 2013 he wrote critiquing, at my request, an article of mine in which I quoted him. His response stunned me, “Good job!...capturing both the emotional foundation and the practical/instrumental results of T-groups. It’s a keeper! May I suggest that someday you put your energies and knowledge into a book—the sooner the better—in which you widen the scope and the history plus the promise and future potential of T-groups.” When I later asked if I could use that quote, he responded, “Go for it Bob!” But his suggestion that I write a book—no way! What else could be written? A year later and I could count several new articles about the T-group that poured out of my inner being. What follows is somewhat like a career autobiography that includes stories from my seven-decade career which has been inspired and highlighted by the T-group. I stumbled across it in 1953, just a few years after it’s invention in 1946-7. I have lived a life of lucky stumbles upon great mentors! And yes, I take credit for noticing them and for reveling at their fountain of wisdom. One such mentor was Dr. Ron Lippitt of the 2 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

University of Michigan’s CRUSK (Center For Research on the Utilization of Scientific Knowledge). Ronald Lippitt came to my attention while a graduate student at Boston University School of Theology in 1953-54. Words like transformational easily fit here. I found a new career focus. I read everything in the University library about group dynamics. In the graduate studies process I learned about Kurt Lewin and his student Ronald Lippitt. I was enchanted by Lippitt’s doctoral studies. Under Lewin’s guidance, Lippitt (and colleague Ralph White) conducted a series of research experiments in which groups of boys were led by adults leading by either authoritarian, democratic or laissez-faire styles. As explained on p. 60, the manner in which the boys adapted to the different leadership styles and, incidentally, the ability of the adults to demonstrate democratic leadership showed profound implications for OD. The studies became classics and hold a fundamental underpinning of OD. Years later, as a graduate faculty, I involved students to replicate aspects of those studies. In personal conversations with Ron I would learn of the difficulty leaders had in being democratic as Lewin defined it. Almost always they would unknowingly slip into laissez-faire/ permissiveness! Influence coupled with clarity about authority became a central thrust of my practice and writings. The edited University of Cincinnati article (Chapter 12) referenced above reflects that concern as does the title of my first OD book, Walking the Empowerment Tightrope: Balancing Management Authority and Employee Influence. I first met Ron in 1957 while attending a National Training Laboratories (NTL) and National Council of Churches (NCC) co-sponsored T-group laboratory training in Green Lake, Wisconsin. NTL staffed the event. CHAPTER 1: THE MERGING OF MY SEVERAL WORLDS | 3

My relationship with Ron accelerated in 1958 when I was accepted into the three-week NTL Training of Trainers (T of T) at Green Lake. It was staffed by Dr. Hugh Coffey but with the three pioneers (following Lewin’s untimely death in 1947), Dr's. Lippitt (Social Psychology), Leland Bradford (Adult Education), and Ken Benne (Philosophy) available. We trainees had the rare opportunity to see all three lead their respective T-groups and debrief their interventions. That relationship would grow in the next couple of decades. But I’m ahead of my story. A memory about moving was evoked by my current reading of Richard Schmuck’s new memoir, Paths to Identity. At age 8 my family moved from a little town in Western Pennsylvania to the big city Wilkinsburg, a suburb of Pittsburgh. It was a huge change for me and a blessed one though I did not think of it that way at the time. Many of my beloved cousins in that little town grew up to be very bigoted. My very favorite cousin and I had a fist fight because when he came to visit meat about age 13 he made derogatory remarks about some of my new friends. Clearly my faith had become firmly connected to racial justice! Decades later that same cousin’s daughter adopted two African American boys. He then, amazingly, became a loving grandfather and very different man. At age 15 I was clear about my future. I would become a clergyman. Period. In the journey to ordination (in what is now called the United Methodist Church), I found many intriguing forks in the road. An event that was traumatizing for me and became a defining force in my life occurred in 1944. I was refused service at my favorite hamburger restaurant. I had invited one of my best friends, the bass in my High School quartet, to join me for lunch. The rejection stunned me. Melvin Coles, my African American friend, had hesitated when I suggested it, but I didn’t know why until the lack of service became evident. I spoke to and challenged the manager. 4 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

He made it clear to me that Melvin was not welcome. This remains painful to me even as I write this. It was and remains a defining moment in my life. My Liberal Arts degree at Otterbein University exposed me to expansive ideas, students with diverse backgrounds, and opened me to exciting new worlds. Joseph Campbell has written, “We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” How true for me! By the time I entered Seminary I was thinking about being a youth worker, a recreational leader, or Minister of Music (my College minor). In the summer of 1949 I was hired at Camp Wanake, in Beach City, Ohio. The camp was directed by a visionary man, Melvin Moody. Within 10 years that camp would be known, not only across Methodism, but across many denominations. Its graduates were in camp leadership positions in many states. In the 1960s I was on the national staff of the Methodist Church in Nashville with a portfolio in camping and T-groups. My successor in camping was my mentor— Melvin Moody! Also, Wanake pioneered in a radical transition in church camping. Churches had discovered LB Sharp and his 1000- acre National Camp funded by Life Magazine in the forests of New Jersey. LB Sharp was a doctoral graduate of Columbia University under the tutelage of renowned twentieth century educational philosopher John Dewey. Readers who attended camps may recognize in what follows how radical LB’s world was (and still is) for most institutional camping experiences. Church camps were birthed in the 19th century camp meeting revival atmosphere. So in 1950, camp meant sermons (albeit at a campfire), singing, bible study classes, and city playground sports like softball, dodge ball, and volleyball. Crafts were often plastic based, and the camp was basically centralized; that is, large group gatherings whether at campfires, sports events, or dining were common. CHAPTER 1: THE MERGING OF MY SEVERAL WORLDS | 5

The LB Sharp Transformation of Camping!

“Do in the out-of-doors what can best be done in the out- of-doors” -LB Sharp LB Sharp’s mantra was a radical departure from the city playground brought to the woods style dominant in camps, including church camps. Hiking, cooking, crafts and games from natural resources, and conservation activities done in small groups of 8-10 with their own private space (10 acres if possible). Living in and caring for their lean-tos, tipis (authentic Sioux please), other rustic shelters, the environment and each other became the existential tasks. Significantly, campers measured in LB Sharp’s doctoral dissertation showed improvement in almost all categories (such as math skills) compared to (the control group) students in classrooms back in the city. Centralized camping calls for staff trained in city playground activities who could lead groups with different campers during the day. Decentralized camping demands counselors versed in conservation, cooking using a campfire, natural crafts ( i.e. weaving mats from certain plants), hiking, canoe trips, and knowledge about outdoor hygiene, etc. Most of all, a counselor is with the same group of eight for much of the time, thus they need awareness and skill in group process and group dynamics. Melvin suggested that I attend a month-long session with LB at National Camp to learn more for application to Wanake. I spent a month in a covered wagon in a small group with others in our small conclave sleeping in an Indian hogan, a tipi, and a lean-to. Our staff leader was a renowned conservationist. With books like Fairfield Osborn’s,Our Plundered Planet as a powerful guide, the social justice environmental movement preceding climate change was emerging. 6 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Sadly, we have barely heeded Osborn’s alarm. Imagine our planet today if this Onondaga Nation credo had become dominant: “The Peacemaker taught us about the Seven Generations. He said, when you sit in council for the welfare of the people, you must not think of yourself or of your family, not even of your generation. He said, make your decisions on behalf of the seven generations coming, so that they may enjoy what you have today.” -Oren Lyons (Seneca) Faithkeeper, Onondaga Nation Another rendition is “In every deliberation, we must consider the impact on the seventh generation...even if it requires having skin as thick as the bark of a pine.” In an article I wrote in 1964 for a national Methodist publication I stated, “Are families who vacation by camping equipped to witness by example the wholeness/holiness of all life—plant insect, animal, and human? Are third grade, kindergarten, eighth graders and youth going into their backyards and schoolyards sensitive to the interrelationship of spiders and humans and the role spiders play in protecting vegetation from being overrun by the rapid multiplication of insects? We are stewards of all life. There is a ‘quiet crisis’ in our land depleting the natural resources!” That profound spirituality mostly escapes us. Today our children and grandchildren are already paying a devastating price. A remarkable man was LB and a remarkable month it was. One thing was missing: skilled leadership in group dynamics. I was determined to find that help somewhere! During my senior year at the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, I identified a Graduate School where outdoor education a la LB Sharp was taught. In the fall of 1953 with my new bride Ruth, we headed to Boston University School of Theology (B.U.S.T.) The school not only offered such a course CHAPTER 1: THE MERGING OF MY SEVERAL WORLDS | 7 but also had an arrangement with Leslie College in that amazing complex of Universities within sight of each other (Harvard/ MIT/Boston University). Leslie University had excellent offerings also in this exciting new LB Sharp tradition aimed at the YWCA and other non-church camps. As referenced previously, all camps, church and secular at that time and indeed today, tend to be centralized around city playground sports, competitively oriented, and sometimes (in boys camps) quite authoritarian and historically, even militaristic. During the year at Boston University, except for the course on camping, I was primarily taught by my first T-group trainer, Dr. Walter Holcomb. Holcomb’s major professor at Columbia University was Harrison Sacket Elliot, a colleague of John Dewey. He wrote the classic book Can Religious Education Be Christian? which applies Dewey’s philosophy to religious education. Soon would follow my second T-group. My graduate experience, as manifested daily by Holcomb, was deeply influenced by Dewey! For instance, one day in class he realized how enamored I was with the book about Dewey’s elementary/secondary school in New York City, The Little Red School house. A week later our class was in New York observing classrooms! Less than two decades later I founded an Institute called, The Leadership Institute of Spokane/Seattle (LIOS) and contracted with Whitworth University for the first ever Master of Arts in the Applied Behavioral Sciences. The teaching style? Dewey, as I knew his experiential style, primarily through Walter Holcomb and LB Sharp! Grounding the program was the T-group! Also influencing me was Dr. Goodwin Watson, a younger colleague of Dewey with whom I co-trained in T-groups. He called my CEO in Nashville and influenced him to fully fund a month at Bethel in 1965 in the OD Intern program and had me enrolled though enrollment was closed! There Goodwin 8 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT was my T-group leader. Twelve years after my first T-group the profound influence of Dewey and Lewin were merging for me. Ron Lippitt was at Bethel in 1965. He and Goodwin ushered me into NTL where in 1966 I became an NTL Associate to my delight and surprise since almost all Associates at that time were PhD’s. Though only a semester and a dissertation away from a PhD at Boston University, I had no aspiration to teach but rather to apply my varied learnings in multiple settings. Both Goodwin and Ron saw me as a change agent, a term that I believe Ron Lippitt coined. During my time at Boston University I was surprised to discover that my experience in the evolutionary transformation from centralization to decentralization at Wanake left me much more experienced than that fine, but academically confined camping professor! I enjoyed learning with him and experienced a colleagueship that was rich. But I struck gold elsewhere. When I asked Professor Holcomb for a course about group dynamics he said, “This course is in group dynamics, not about.” I would soon deeply admire Professor Holcomb. I nodded my head without, I realized later, having the slightest idea about what he meant. My first T-group! Soon would follow my second! Six years after its invention as a way to deal effectively with interracial issues at the request of the State of Connecticut, I was lucky enough to stumble, and fall hard into what would be a major organizer of my way of teaching, consulting, and more importantly, being in my life. I emphasize interracial because I fear that this fact which I highlight in Chapter 2 and which was integral to Lewin’s and NTL’s mission still gets lost in the understanding of the basic origin of the T-group. My first T-groups were integrated as were the first that I later led. They crossed race, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, etc. within CHAPTER 1: THE MERGING OF MY SEVERAL WORLDS | 9 a learning group can be a profound experience. However, it is important, as it was in Connecticut, to use such experiences to organize for social justice causes beyond the personal learnings. Individuals will be inspired to take a courageous lonely stand, and also to unite with others for the greater good. I used the word race in this paragraph with great reluctance (see p. 240 to learn why). I only use it occasionally throughout the book. At a meeting in 2012 at Boston University, several African Americans, who had been in the infamous Selma march on Bloody Sunday in 1965, spoke of the T-group as a force in the Civil Rights movement. I believe that experience then, as now, was personally empowering and that it helped create a sense of a larger cloud of witnesses of a community joining Amos and Martin Luther King Jr. to “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Professor Holcomb modeled (I took, audited, or visited, when maxed out on audits, every course he taught) a training and teaching style that influenced what I later brought both to teaching and my consulting practice. Holcomb brought both Dewey’s concepts and his methodology to the classroom. His statement that, “Teachers teach not as they were taught to teach, but as they were taught!” was prophetic for my career. He was one rare teacher whose philosophy of teaching/ training was also the way he taught. Gold! And lighting does strike twice! Within a week of that moment with my professor, Howard Thurman profoundly entered my life! Howard Thurman was walking in the footsteps of the great Quaker Rufus Jones, Gandhi (with whom, at Gandhi’s request he spent a day when in India), Meister Eckhart of the 12th and 13th centuries, and countless others. I knew none of that then. I simply recognized, when he rose behind the pulpit at Boston University’s Marsh Chapel and spoke, that I was in the presence of an amazing soul! In 10 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT the pulpit was a man with a deep, sonorous, rhythmic voice. For me, his was the tongue of an angel. We were captured by his poetic pauses, the prayers that I sometimes didn’t recognize as prayers until they were over, and sermons with the cadence of a lyric poem as if being created in that very moment. Often the sermons had no obvious connection to the Christian calendar. On Christmas Sunday his sermon subject was Faith Part 3 completing what was unfinished for him from the two previous weeks. His scripture readings of familiar verses were in a cadence and with emphases that awakened new meanings. And his sermons, oh his sermons! “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive!” “There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.” “Religious experience is fluid, dynamic, yeasty—all of these. But the mind can’t handle that so it has to imprison it in some way— bottle it up—and then extract concepts.” Each Sunday evening about 20 of us gathered to hear more from this mystic, poet, philosopher, author, civil rights leader. Martin Luther King Jr. who was completing his PhD at Boston University and who would carry Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited with him in his profound work, may have attended. Later I would hear him speak several times. What a moment of history! In that volume Dr. Thurman lifted up the example of the historical Jesus—a Jew under the Roman boot—rather than the supernatural, resurrected Jesus. Christianity must again become, Dr. Thurman wrote, “...a religion that was born of a people acquainted with persecution and suffering.” Instead CHAPTER 1: THE MERGING OF MY SEVERAL WORLDS | 11 of focusing on redemption in the next world, Dr. Thurman pointed to the masses of poor and dispossessed and asked, “What does our religion say to them?” He was not interested in converting people from one religion to another. Rather he wanted each of us to find a depth in our heritage that has a core in common with all humans. Theology is an effort to explain a connective (religare religious) experience. Of course it’s explained differently culture by culture. When anyone claims that their definition is the absolute truth, negativity towards the non-believers, excuses, bigotry, and often violence towards the other ensues. “When it becomes dogma, it becomes propaganda.” -Howard Thurman Profound experience is beyond words! On a book stand in our home in Nashville we had a book titled, Truth is One: Sages call it by many names. This is a saying from Hindu wisdom. Years later I would learn that he was the first black tenured Dean of the Chapel in a white majority University. Also, I would later learn that in that very year (1953) LIFE magazine rated him as one of the twelve most important religious figures in the U.S. Luther Smith Professor Emeritus of Candler School of Theology and author of The Mystic as Prophet wrote, “Howard Thurman was a spiritual genius who transformed persons who transformed history.” Martin Luther King Sr. and Howard Thurman were close friends and both attended Morehouse College. Thurman was an important mentor, so much so that it has been claimed that without Thurman’s influence with Martin Luther King Jr. and other key Civil Rights leaders, that the history of Civil rights might have been different. “I don’t believe you’d get a Martin Luther King Jr. without a Howard Thurman” states a noted scholar. Others state that he was, “The godfather of the civil rights movement.” 12 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Thurman’s meeting with Gandhi in India in 1935 had a huge influence on him. There Gandhi “...said with a clear perception it could be through the Afro-American that the unadulterated message of nonviolence would be delivered to all men everywhere. Further, to be non-violent you must love your enemy!” King would later say: “Let no man pull you so low that you hate him, always avoid violence. If you sow the seeds of violence in your struggle, unborn generations will reap the whirlwind of Social disintegration.” -From William A.C. Polk’s Memoirs of an OREO. Less well known was the influence that Rufus Jones, the Quaker mystic at Haverford College, had on him. He earned his PhD at Haverford. Jones introduced him to the great 13th century mystic Meister Eckhart, Hildegard of Bingen from the 12th century, and the deeper meanings of nonviolence resident in the Quaker tradition. These Thurman channeled to the son of his college friend Martin Luther King Sr. Morehouse College has two memorials on campus— Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurman! My deep appreciation grows the older I get. Recently, I performed a concert with soprano Cathy Sims honoring Nancy Ambrose, the slave- born grandmother who raised Howard Thurman. My major resource was one of Thurman’s 22 books, The Negro Spiritual Speaks of Life and Death. It reflected her teaching and was named by the Reverend Jesse Jackson as an important book in his life. Now back to Dr. Ronald Lippitt, successor to Kurt Lewin at the MIT Research Center for Group Dynamics and then the same at the University of Michigan when the Research Center moved there. After the sessions at Green Lake mentioned above, I next sought out Ron in 1963. I joined the National staff of the Methodist Church with dual responsibilities for CHAPTER 1: THE MERGING OF MY SEVERAL WORLDS | 13

Camping and Laboratory Training (of which the T-group was the core). I was well funded and immediately sought out Ron for both mentoring and to hire staff from his doctoral students in a wide variety of experientially planned (Laboratory Training elements) events in the training of youth workers and camp directors. Some of these included T-groups, but all demanded outside-the-box thinking. Out of the box? Try this: One exotic training later was a National Methodist training for camp leaders in three Sioux Tipi (teepee) villages set up on a beautiful Minnesota lake where our canoes rested on the shore. Each village of three tipis had a competent leader with camping skills and T-group credentials. Rene Pino was a colleague on the National staff in Nashville, and Bill Larson was an Episcopal priest and certified psychologist with a parish in Cody, Wyoming. As part of the event we had T-groups in our tipis! While talking with Ron about a resource need in 1965 at NTL’s Bethel, Maine, he pointed across the street to doctoral student Dick Schmuck who was passing by. I ran after him and there met a man who would mightily influence my life for the next decade and who I still consider to be a special friend. Later Dick wrote, “We are children of the same century and kindred spirits who found each other, with Ron Lippitt’s help, on the concrete steps of a Gould Academy building during the summer of 1965.” Dick would go on to Temple University and then to the Center for Advanced Studies in Educational Administration at the U. of Oregon. Sometimes writing with his wife Patricia, he has authored and co-authored 26 books, a Memoir, and nearly 200 articles applying Organization Development to Schools and Colleges. Their Group Processes in the Classroom is in its 7th edition and has been translated into 20 languages. He became a renowned Lewinian scholar, often working with the Lewin Institute in Poland. I hired Dick—often! 14 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Our work together would fill a book. On one occasion I was asked to help train counselors in a southern state for their summer camp. Turns out that the 20-acre camp housed 150 campers in dorms, was of course centralized, and had campers in Bible study groups each morning! There was no way for them, given those circumstances, to do the new radical LB Sharp type of decentralized camping. My ethical decision: do I help them do what is possible or do I train them to inspire a different idealized future? Dick was a down-to-earth, fun loving, humanizing influence on me. Facing the conundrum of helping this conservative, if not fundamentalist, situation we helped them set goals and proceeded to design, as much as seemed possible, an experientially based Bible study approach. Key in the goal setting was our emphasis on how they wanted the campers to experience the studies. That is, were they going to involve them, or were they going to be authoritarian and have the youth leave with perhaps both a distaste for the studies, and for the Bible itself! Working in this environment (especially in the South with racial overtones—this was the middle 1960s), I remain quite proud of what we accomplished. Our work was a nudge towards smaller group interaction and more openness, but hardly even close to LB’s dream. Reflecting my understanding of Lewin’s change principles, we worked with those who would carry out whatever change could indeed happen. Had we attempted to force-feed small group camping on them it would have failed. It was a conflict of values for us given the fundamentalist beliefs of the adults. In the long run we believed that the children would be best served, despite the ideology, by an experience that was more participative and that the adults might be softened by lecturing less. Was ours the right decision? Howard Thurman might answer, “Always within me is the rumor that I may be wrong! ...and that’s my growing edge.” CHAPTER 1: THE MERGING OF MY SEVERAL WORLDS | 15

Through all these interventions, integration was difficult if not impossible with many clients, especially in the South. I created interracial day camps in Nashville and had confrontations with racists. I was determined that my five children would not grow up as racists. I discovered that we were living in a very racist area of Nashville. So the interracial day camps, frequent African American guests including a family with children of the same age, locating a rare interracial kindergarten, etc. were a high priority for my (then) wife Ruth and me. One indication of our success is that four of our children are married to what is colloquially called People of color. Four of our Methodist kids married partners who grew up in the Roman Catholic Church! Seven of my biological grandchildren are people of color. Soon three will be added by marriage. While all of my consulting work included elements of what T-groups highlighted, there were far fewer opportunities for T-groups in the Church than I had hoped. I was the only staff of our 42 at the Nashville Education Headquarters actively creating T-groups and eventually leading about 40 across the land over a 5-year period. One colleague, Rene Faustino Pino, who made a wonderful cup of Cuban coffee, was trained and joined me on many occasions. I was always looking for the opportunity to integrate the various influences in my life. In 1955 as the new Director of Camping for the Detroit Conference of the Methodist Church (seven camps) nearly half of the counselors that I hired at the largest camp, Judson Collins serving especially Detroit, were from historic black Colleges and Universities. All campers were white! That led to a long, slow but ultimately successful integration of campers. Soon two camp directors of the three managed directly by my office were African American! That summer (1955) I led a two-week training in the LB Sharp and Camp Wanake small group, ecological style with segments of T-group woven into the training! 16 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

These three strands: Civil Rights, LB Sharp, and the T-group, were soon to be at the forefront of my work during the 1960s while living in the South but working across the U.S. All of these interventions were precursors of how I would blend these strands in my future organization development and graduate teaching career. In the title of this book I merge Civil Rights, Human Rights, environmental action, and democracy under the rubric Social Justice. My understanding of organization development was rapidly evolving in the late 1960’s. My experience and contextualization of the T-group became deeper as I integrated it in different environments and across seven decades leading hundreds of T-groups. So the three worlds in my title came together. CHAPTER 2: THAT MARVELOUS MOMENT | 17

Chapter 2 That Marvelous Moment: Its Understated and Forgotten Elements

arl Rogers, one of the most influential psychologists of Cthe 20th century, is reported to have declared that the intensive group movement including “...sensitive, encounter, and T-group was perhaps the greatest social invention of the 20th century.” Many have written about the moment of the T-group inception (from which the encounter movement was birthed) but few underscore these key dimensions—the T-group was birthed in an intact group working on racial tension. That moment became the heart and provided the energy of a newly emergent Organization Development (OD) movement! Prior to Kurt Lewin’s untimely death in 1947, the National Training Laboratories (NTL) was founded and the term Organization Development became mainstream in the 1950s. Before further exploring those dimensions, here is a review of the historical situation that called forth the T-group. “In 1946 the Connecticut Interracial Commission, created in 1943 as the first public agency of its kind in America, was to investigate the possibilities of affording equal opportunity of profitable employment to all persons. Executive director, Frank T Simpson invited Kurt Lewin to come to Connecticut (Burke, 2018). The topic of the workshop was specifically about the possibilities and implementation of the (state-level) Fair Employment Practices Act...” (Nadia Bello, The Civil Rights Origins of Organization Development, OD Practitioner, Vol. 50 No.2, 2018.) Thus the T-group was born in workshops revolving around race and employment issues directly related to racism. While this chapter focuses on a critical forgotten dimension it is also true that the social justice grounding of the T-group and OD has been forgotten. 18 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Kurt Lewin was moved by fears as well as by hopes. He was a Jew who had been driven out of his homeland by anti- Semitism that had become an article of official state policy in Hitler’s Third Reich. His mother died in the Nazi holocaust along with six million other Jews, several hundred thousand Roma (Gypsies), and five to fifteen thousand homosexuals. He found strong currents of anti-Semitism, of racism, of ethnocentrism in his adopted country, the United States. He felt the contradiction between America’s professed democratic commitment to its citizens and what he was observing. He saw democratic institutions eroded by the perpetuation of racial injustice and threatened by mounting and unresolved intergroup conflicts. He feared that the seeds of totalitarianism might grow to destroy democracy in the United States and in the world. For him it was imperative that the forces of research, education, and action must be united to eliminate social injustice and minority self-hatred and to wisely resolve intergroup conflicts. At about that same moment of history William Polk contrasts his freeing experience in Europe with what he faced returning to the USA, “Our consistently favorable relationships with the English natives were a source of anger and frustration for white soldiers. Nightly ballroom dances left many of the white soldiers standing around the wall while black soldiers were invited to dance just about every dance” (Memoirs of an Oreo, p. 84). In Europe ethnicity was the issue, especially towards Jews and Roma (Gypsies). Hitler exploited this reality which led to the horror of the holocaust. Certainly political figures would (and do!) exploit the racial hatred of many in the US if democracy is not relearned in each generation. Nadia Bello writes “The origins of the T-group are so ubiquitous within OD, that T-groups themselves are a symbol, not just of NTL, or group dynamics, but of OD. CHAPTER 2: THAT MARVELOUS MOMENT | 19

The story told about T-groups, however, is that three men (Lewin’s students), standing on the shoulders of one man (Lewin himself), giant that he is, ‘discovered’ the process that led to the creation of T-groups, which lead to the founding of NTL. The rest is OD history. History, however, is the opposite of mythology. A version of events that only recognizes the men who discovered, classified, and named, is in keeping with the biases that inform so much of the history and practice of Western science and social sciences. It ignores the contributions, in this case, of African Americans and indeed of women, as it was a woman who was at the center of the invention of feedback as a term (Anderson, 2015; Burke, 2018). It also ignores the social milieu that allowed for this event to happen.” Bello further states, “As a historian, I want to assert that the civil rights context and actions of actors that led to the creation of T-groups is important to OD history—that, in fact, it is OD history...revisiting Connecticut in 1946 creates new meaning, new interpretations, and new stories.”

Aha!

That electric moment, the aha insight, came during that workshop about fair employment in New Britain Connecticut in 1946. A two-week program was led by Lewin with Ron Lippitt, Ken Benne, and Lee Bradford of the National Education Association. Quoting Warren Bennis, “About 50 people participated...social workers, teachers, businesspeople, and a few community leaders with what we would now call street cred who had once been in gangs.” Their primary method was discussion. Kurt Lewin, Director of MIT’s Research Center for Group, Dynamics, had assigned a research observer 20 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT to each of three groups. The observers were concerned about the discussion’s effects on attendees and about their transfer of learning to back-home situations. A chance unplanned incident with participants early in the week brightened the eyes of Lewin, Benne, Bradford, and Lippitt. The observing staff met each evening to review the research, paying attention not to the content of the conversations, but rather to how the participants were interacting with each other! A researcher might report: “...and he and Mrs. X became involved in a heated exchange. Others took sides. Others seemed frightened and tried to make peace.” (Bradford, Gibb, Benne, 1964) Early in the workshop, a group of participants wandered in and overheard the staff review of the day’s events. Warren Bennis stated, “They were fascinated by what they heard. Analyzing how a group formed and evolved was much more fun than simply being in one.” (Bennis, 2010). What happened next was history, initiated by a woman. As Ron Lippitt is quoted as describing it in The Practical Theorist, “Sometime during the evening an observer made some remarks about the behavior of one of the three persons that were sitting in—a woman trainee. She broke in to disagree with the observation and described it from her point of view. For a while there was quite an active dialogue between the research observer, the trainer, and the trainee about the interpretation of the event, with Kurt an active prober, obviously enjoying this different source of data that had to be coped with and integrated. At the end of the evening the trainees asked if they could come back for the next meeting at which their behavior would be evaluated. Kurt, feeling that it had been a valuable contribution rather than an intrusion, enthusiastically agreed to their return. The next night at least half of the fifty or sixty participants were there as the result of the grapevine reporting of the activity by the three participants. CHAPTER 2: THAT MARVELOUS MOMENT | 21

The evening session from then on became the significant learning experience of the day, with the focus on actual behavioral events and with active dialogue about differences of interpretation and observations of the events by those who had participated in them. The staff were equally enthusiastic, for they found the process a unique way of securing data and interpreting behavior. In addition the staff discovered that feedback had the effect of making participants more sensitive to their own conduct and brought criticism into the open in a healthy and constructive way.” A participant that attended the next night’s evening debrief wrote this in their journal: “I think the thing that impressed me the most was how eager Dr. Benne and the other faculty leaders seemed to be to enter into critical analysis of their own leadership, and to make changes in their plans and performance if better ideas seemed to be forthcoming. This attitude seemed to make it possible for all of us to enter into this type of objective and constructive discussion.” (Training in Community Relations, Lippitt, p. 140). Lewin warmly received not only the initial group that had wandered in to the nightly debrief, but welcomed the rest of the attendees as well. Each evening more and more came. Often, upon hearing the review, they became dynamically engaged and sometimes defensive about the information. “Lewin and the others realized that a group that scrutinized its own process as it formed and changed was something new and valuable.” (Bennis, 2010). John Scherer writes, “Ron Lippitt told Bob and me it was like an electric current went through Lewin as he got excited about what was happening in that moment—the difference being surfaced between the way the two participants had experienced what happened and what his faculty had experienced.” 22 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Further, quoting Matt Minahan of American University, “That’s what made the moment where the participants spoke their truth to the faculty in Connecticut so powerful. If the leaders are willing to be challenged and accept feedback, it opens the door for all to do so, peer to peer.” According to Bradford, Gibb, Benne, in 1964, “To the training staff it seemed that a potentially powerful medium and process of re-education was somewhat inadvertently hit upon.” During a group conversation they decided that the following year they would report these interaction dynamics in the midst of the discussions! Most participants are unaware of such dynamics except at some level of discomfort when tension surfaces. In this way participants would learn how to focus on the processes that are constantly taking place between them and the other people in the conversation as well as the content. Thus was birthed the T-group which still creates an electric moment of openness for most new participants. Edgar Schein reports that by 1958 when he had his first T-group, the U.S. leaders were Leland Bradford, Ron Lippitt, Douglas McGregor, Robert Tannenbaum, and Ken Benne. Most humans are unconscious about communication patterns, group norms affecting behavior, and systemic issues that drive interactions. People often think conflicts are interpersonal when they’re really systemic. Even worse, many blame conflicts on the personality of the other. Any accusation of another such as being selfish/dumb/crooked/irresponsible/ flaky/lying/stupid/weak/a loser/bad/fake/etc., are examples of psychological projection. That is when an individual attributes characteristics they find unacceptable in themselves to another person. None of these labels are descriptive but rather adjectives that tell more about the person speaking than the one addressed. One T-group activity has participants identify the adjectives they use most in reference to others and then explore the meaning of these in their experiences of life. CHAPTER 2: THAT MARVELOUS MOMENT | 23

In the T-group such forays into one’s past are done to highlight a here-and-now conflict. Thus the projector is invited to drop the adjective and specifically describe the behavior of the other. Often the sender is stumped and realizes that the reaction to the other was projective and therefore not about the other! Consciousness about group processes such as who interrupts whom, what decisions are being made and how, are beneath the radar for most. Sensitivity to such group processes led to the early T-groups sometimes being called Sensitivity training. Later that term was sometimes used in a very different way! In such trainings insults were hurled at others to get them used to it to desensitize them. That was the opposite of the original intention. And few humans are aware, let alone accepting, of their own emotionality. Mad, sad, glad, afraid, joyful just begins to list emotions available. Few access that full range except as very young children. Socialization trains us otherwise. As stated previously, if we are unaware of our internal state we blame others and project our unaware self onto them. When T-group training is done well it raises consciousness about these aforementioned dimensions and helps one move through the world with a new awareness! Having created the National Training Laboratories for Group Dynamics (NTL) and located summer T-groups in Bethel, Maine, this new invention soon became internationally known. As stated by Ronald Lippitt in 1949, “It is critically important to emphasize that NTL’s original mission was to train and develop change agents, as they came to be called. It ...was organized specifically as a training center for teams which would take leadership in action-training-research projects in the fields of education, industry, government, social work, labor, religious work, volunteer organizations, and community life.” Participants from across the globe began the trek to Bethel to 24 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT join others for what became a stunning movement. Strangers came into this strange land of the T-group to learn together. Slipping under the radar for most was a subtle but key, and certainly understated, dimension that altered the invention in significant ways. Quoting Benne, “The specific research question of the workshop had to do with a comparison of retention and utilization of workshop learnings in back-home settings by teams from the same community and by persons who had come alone from their communities. The hypothesis that greater utilization of workshop learnings would be made by persons participating as community teams was confirmed by data gathered through field interviews before and after the workshops...” Germane here is this quote by Lewin scholar Richard Schmuck, “Lewin reminded his students that a focus on the intact group as the target of social-skill training necessarily differed from current visions of how to engineer community change.” Indeed! As if we had created something new, I have touted our use of the T-group with intact, rather than stranger, groups as an innovation. Well, it IS cutting-edge today but was not invented by us! Missing in my consciousness even in telling the 1946 story over and over, and perhaps in the consciousness of others, was the simple fact that the T-group was invented during an intervention with an intact group or, at least, a cluster of community cousins with a common issue some of whom interfaced before and after the event. CHAPTER 2: THAT MARVELOUS MOMENT | 25

What is meant by an Intact Group?

Since the Lewin quote (above) references “community change,” I assume he meant working with such a cluster of community cousins. Many participants in development projects are volunteers reasonably united around the task. At the Connecticut workshop this was also true. We at Crosby & Associates define an intact group as a boss with direct reports. At a plant in Davenport, Iowa, our T-groups included (union) hourlies, their supervisor, their union shop steward, and key people with whom they interfaced (i.e., a technician, engineer, quality control, etc). President Obama subsequently visited this plant in 2011 to celebrate its exemplary productivity. More about the Davenport intervention is described in Chapter 8. We have defined an intact group narrowly to mean the boss (CEO, plant manager, supervisor, etc.) with their direct reports. But broadly, it can mean an association like the Union Executive Board, or even, as in most of our T-groups, matrixed employees who interface regularly but who report to different bosses. In a recent event, we had 34 participants in three T-groups from 7 countries and 3 continents who connect by the Internet regularly. These matrixed variations, in-house or intact defined narrowly or broadly as Lewin apparently meant, lead to an understanding of this understated dimension. In short, the Connecticut intervention was an intact (in- house) event—not a stranger event. Again quoting Bello, “... many of the key players in the Interracial Commission at this time, who were keenly invested in social and organization change, were African American. Key to the creation of the Connecticut Interracial Commission was the brutal beating of John C. Jackson (1866-1953), the Minister of the Union 26 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Baptist Church in Hartford, CT. During WWII, Reverend Jackson traveled to the South on a train and refused to get into the segregated car. As a result, he was badly beaten (Caplan, 2011). The outrage over his assault prompted legislators to establish the Connecticut Interracial Commission. There was also Edythe DeLoach (d. 2010), an African American woman who became the Interracial Commission’s second employee as Executive Secretary and later Business Manager.” After Lewin’s untimely death in early 1947, Bradford, Lippitt, and Benne continued the work through NTL. There evolved this key difference: What was first done with an intact group was now being done with stranger groups. Now, instead of an organizational intervention as in Connecticut, participants were attending a training with persons they hadn’t known before. Here was a change from an intervention in a system to a training event for strangers! I remember a suggestion that persons should attend in pairs from their organization. In some trainings in the 1960s, as the director of T-groups in the Methodist church, I insisted that at least two from any entity attend to address the back- home transfer issue. Also, most T-groups in the Methodist Church were community cousin groups. By this time the Episcopal Church had developed intensive Parish Life Missions for the local parish. I was privileged to lead one of these. Derived from the T-group, it was an intervention aimed to raise awareness in parishioners (cousins) to the plight of people (unnoticed cousins!) living near the church who were in dire need but ignored by the church! Cohen and Smith report that there were some trainings in the late 1950s for specialized groups such as the American Red Cross, Puerto Rican government workers, public school teachers and administrators, etc. My first Trainer of Trainers session in 1958 was co-sponsored by NTL and the National Council of Churches. So the distinction between intact, cousin CHAPTER 2: THAT MARVELOUS MOMENT | 27 and stranger is muddy at times. While acknowledging ambiguity here, I am claiming that some significant shifts emerged in the character of the T-group: most, I believe, were unplanned. First and foremost, the 1946 group came together to deal with race issues in Connecticut. When this intact (in-house) group told even recent there-and-then stories (somewhere else, certainly not with all of people present in the room, and a past event), it often rekindled feelings that members had and were now having in this here-and-now experience with each other! Certainly, prior to the T-group emergence the next year these here-and-now emotions likely were not surfaced though the substance was noted. In our current practice with a cousin or intact group the references are often to recent past and possibly recurring events. We lead the participants to honor their feelings which are an important part of the data (feelings are facts!). We also give space to engage in problem-solving about the issue raised or to set up a time to do so. In contrast, there-and-then stories told by strangers do not carry the existential freight as among intact or cousin group co-workers. A skilled trainer, of course, could use such a story for learning. They could help encourage openness about the probable anxious emotionality of the speaker, the response of others in accepting or rejecting/ignoring the initial statement, or a possible decision by default group process moment, when many talk about the there-and-then topic despite being apathetic or even irritated by it. T-groups were increasing rapidly in the 1950’s and being led by enthusiastic but often untrained trainers. Such trainers were rarely trained in the broader social-psychological dimensions of the historic T-group. Interventions tended to focus on personal growth. 28 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Second, this led to a subtle, and sometimes outright, disdain for the there-and-then. It is true that the ability to talk about an issue or story from the past is common, but the ability to be in the here-and-now is a skill all adults need to learn. It is also true that each there-and-then has a here-and-now dimension. At work there-and-then issues constitute the agenda of meetings.

Place Time There Then There Now Here Then Here Now Figure 1 Here-and-Now Chart The capacity to deal with that issue across these four where- and-when dimensions is critical: there-and-then, there-and-now (it happened then and I’m feeling it here now), here-and-then (it happened among us yesterday: we made a commitment but didn’t do it), and here-and-now (I agree/disagree with what you just said.) I mentioned that skilled trainers welcome any opening participant’s statement as a learning opportunity. The unskilled even went to the extreme of cutting off any there-and-then statements with sharp retorts about their inappropriateness. I agree that the content of these are of less value in stranger groups, but when moving to Intact groups the there-and-then substance becomes much more relevant to most or all of the participants and often ignites strong emotions. A typical early statement by trainers historically and in our style is something like, “We don’t provide a topic and we don’t guide the discussion of the topic. Rather, we attempt to help with the dynamics happening while you engage.” I’ve heard novice trainers say you can’t have a topic, which, of course, is impossible. Whatever someone speaks about is the topic. CHAPTER 2: THAT MARVELOUS MOMENT | 29

Third, since strangers lacked common existential intact or in-house issues, emphasis moved towards the personal/ interpersonal. Now indeed the T-group provides profound opportunities for such growth, and also for group process awareness directly applicable to back-home situations. Noticing patterns in the T-group, the same patterns one experiences again and again in life, is the raw material for identifying one’s part in creating and sustaining those patterns. The sharp anti-popular-culture notion embedded in Wallen’s Interpersonal Gap (Northwest Regional Laboratory, Portland, Oregon), stresses that one’s usually pre-conscious intentions are instantaneous. Then, they are encoded into actions in a millisecond (silence/words, facial expression, tone, body posture, gestures), which in turn are instantaneously decoded by the other person. I am responsible for what I say and do, but sometimes they will not reflect my intentions. Feedback gives me an opportunity to restate in a way that more accurately conveys what I intended. Likewise, at least where there is tension, the chances of the other(s) to misunderstand are huge. Each party must hold Howard Thurman’s statement that, “...Always within me is the rumor that I may be wrong.” Dialogue begins there! This circular process is never-ending. Whereas in popular culture the belief is that actions determine the impact or effect on the other (“I know you by your actions”), with Wallen there is that critical millisecond between the action and the impact when the receiver interprets the action, “I know you by my interpretation of your action.” Such a notion is radical and transforming, “I am now responsible for my notion of you and for my own emotional state which reflects not only your actions but my perception and interpretation of your actions.” Personal authenticity and self as creator mean nothing until one digests this elusive notion. 30 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Warren Bennis similarly writes about the arc of distortion, “We very often communicate to others elements that we do not intend to, and that may be at some variance with what we intended to communicate...Further the other ‘hears’ something that the sender did not intend, and in the ‘hearing’ of others in the same conversation, did not communicate!” Thus dialogue and behaviorally specific feedback is absolutely essential! I recently was in a meeting where a form of retributive equity was the dominant norm. When a participant judged that they were offended they demanded apology and refused to clarify what they had received or to have the sender clarify what the sender intended! Their response, “You know perfectly well!” indicating that the offense was intended! No inquiry-no healing. Cognitively learning this is a long journey. Learning it integrated into one’s being is a lifelong process. The T-group can provide a jump-start for one’s journey. When personal growth becomes the dominant emphasis, however, other important elements of this social invention are diminished or even completely lost. A close friend attended an NTL T-group led by a psychiatrist who did one-on-one therapy with little interaction. On the last day, he called attention to some group process materials on a table that they could take if interested. Thus the original strong emphasis in T-groups about these here-and-now (mostly unconscious) operative norms and behaviors were relegated to an article to perhaps take and read if interested! Echoing the above, the fourth unplanned consequence of the move from the Connecticut in-house to stranger groups was that group process (sensitivity to) was too often muted or ignored. Group processes are generally less dynamic among strangers than among intact groups, who become aware for the first time of dysfunctional patterns historic to their group. Most of these have been held in the preconscious/ unconscious realm! Therefore, unless the trainer holds group CHAPTER 2: THAT MARVELOUS MOMENT | 31 processes in high regard and is knowledgeable about them, they are likely to be undervalued and under-emphasized as in the NTL psychiatrist illustration above. The reader may be interested to know that the psychiatrist was a friend of mine. He was interested in T-group processes and, after the incident referenced, sought coaching. Fifth, transfer of learning is much more complex when in a stranger group. A major challenge immediately recognized was the transfer of learning difficulties faced when participants returned to their workplace. NTL, in the 1950s, implemented 2-hour, daily, Application Group sessions to attempt to fill this void as well as the specialized groups mentioned above. Activities such as In-basket, where participants attempted to sort/prioritize items in the manager’s basket for maximum time management, were the curriculum. The majority of T-groups have been composed of people meeting each other for the first time. Thus they were called stranger groups. Laboratory training was an early common term for the workshop that included T-groups. Even in corporations like Avis, which in the 1960s offered many T-groups, stranger groups were the unquestioned practice. Teaming with Dr. Schmuck, we did national workshops for youth workers combining T-group training with planning and practicing for interventions with youth groups in churches. With insights from these and other experiences, we wrote: “Laboratory training is based on the important premise that what is learned during the laboratory may be employed in real- life situations...The term ‘transfer’ describes the utilization in a second situation of what has been learned in a former situation. A denial of the importance of transfer would be tantamount to saying that what one learns in the laboratory is to do better in laboratories.” Later we state: “The problem of transfer is complicated by ‘cultural-island’ approaches to laboratory training. Participants are removed from their work 32 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT day worlds to help ‘unfreeze’ daily mindsets, expectations, and patterns and to take fresh looks at themselves, their colleagues, and their back-home situations. In contrast, transfer would be greatly enhanced by learning new skills in virtually the same situations as the ones in which they must be applied.” Indeed! The ability to transfer learning also greatly increases when T-groups are done in-house with intact groups! That intact group distinction, though historically referenced, is very cutting edge in practice today. To work effectively with intact groups, we have developed new strategies that maintain some significant continuity with the older forms, while also incorporating some key innovations. (See chapter 5.) Transfer is greatly enhanced when the training is done with an intact group, or at least an in-house group of matrixed employees who interface regularly with each other. The historic T-group was less structured and thus more ambiguous. I led dozens of these and attest to the dynamism and in-depth learnings in this model. However, I believe that it was too ambiguous for business settings. At least, it did not survive those situations. What follows is an excerpt from an article by my son Gil Crosby, T-Groups as a Catalyst for Individual, Group, and Organizational Change, OD Practitioner, VOL 50, No 3, 2018. The model he describes has worked for us with thousands including in intact/cousin groups, across countries, industries, business types, and with union and management. “Following his first T-group in 1953 my father created a broad OD strategy using T-groups, along with leadership coaching, conflict management, work with intact teams within a system, and whole systems large group facilitation, all in service of results as measured by the organization’s own metrics. While each facilitator must follow their own instincts, the T-group model discussed here is grounded in a CHAPTER 2: THAT MARVELOUS MOMENT | 33 reliable approach that includes alternating between theory sessions and time spent in T-group. The theory sessions are an ever-evolving blend of Emotional Intelligence (EQ), Behavioral Science, and Systems Thinking. During T-group activity the group is given a consistent task: each person is to articulate their wants, their thoughts, their emotions, and their observations of the group dynamics, all with a focus on the ‘here-and- now.’ The facilitator helps the participants incorporate this task, even while discussing whatever emerges, such as work problems and dynamics. Dialogue deepens as participants take responsibility for their own reactions, for active listening, for clearing up misunderstandings, and more. Shifting from theory to T-group and back again helps the group manage the intensity of T-groups while applying the theories. One’s issues with authority is worked live during a T-group through any reporting relationships that are in the group, and through interactions with the facilitator. The facilitator, by virtue of being in that role, is an authority figure during the workshop, and whether they are active or passive. They are a blank screen for all the projections and reactions that the participants carry towards leaders. Rich learning comes from exploring reactions to the facilitator. Unlike traditional teachers, that keep themselves separate and above their students, these T-group facilitators are part of the process, and we believe should hold themselves to the same standards that they are teaching. Intensity and learning are also managed by pairing participants with a learning partner and using a fishbowl method during T-group activity. While one group is engaged in the T-group task, the learning partners silently watch and take notes on their partner in the T-group. 34 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

This observation sharpens the skills of describing behavior that are critical to effective feedback. Because the notes are written, it allows the facilitators to coach on the observations. The observers also track their hunches about their learning partner’s emotions. This is a doorway to empathy for the observer and an opportunity for the observed to explore more deeply their own emotions. After each round of T-group, the partners give feedback in private. The learning partners alternate between spending time in their own T-group and spending time observing their partner’s T-group. This structure builds feedback skills and engagement. Introverts more readily engage in the privacy of their pairs, and reluctant participants are pulled along as their learning partners and T-group peers genuinely work on themselves. Individuals, groups, and organizations have identified T-groups as a catalyst for change. Specifically, they’ve seen increased skill to: foster a productive and safe work environment by giving clear direction, taking accountability, nurturing communication up, down, and across the hierarchy, managing conflict, connecting with emotional intelligence, and continually developing themselves, others, teams, and the organization. A critical mass of such cognitive and behavioral change creates a culture that reliably achieves tough organizational goals.” However, what evolved exploded into a pop culture invasion of this profound social-invention. By pop culture I mean: current norms about communication such as straight talk, tell it like it is, and confusing blame and projection with authenticity! As such training became popular in the late 1950s and 1960s, everyday social culture became the culture of most of these groups under the guise of truth and honesty. For instance, straight talk and truth on TV shows and in common life was CHAPTER 2: THAT MARVELOUS MOMENT | 35 equated with accusations like you don’t care about people, or you’re trying to control me, or you’re being selfish, etc. The reader recognizes that these judgments/opinions are projective, reflecting more of the speaker’s life story than of the one addressed. They are not clear descriptions of either the feelings of the speaker or of the behavior the speaker sees and hears. This so called straight talk is the same blaming, playground-talk one grows up with. With unskilled trainers, these pop norms took over. Thus, the original T-group purpose became, at times, wildly skewed. Occasionally, individuals were encouraged to drink alcohol at dinner preceding an evening session. This was meant to enhance behavior and is based on a belief and common misunderstanding that openness means spilling your guts or telling personal secrets. It does not (see p. 36). A 1970s graduate of our masters program (with the T-group at its core) was sent to such a group sponsored by his new company. Despite being pressured, he refused to drink. Leaders of such groups were confused between authenticity and the kind of talk one might expect to hear on a soap opera or a talk show—that is, personal confessions and accusations mentioned above. Knowing this reputation was another reason why I never called it T-group and why I was pleased when managers gave it their preferred name as noted elsewhere. Recently a top executive who was extremely pleased with the results we helped him achieve told me that, “Had I known you were doing T-groups I would have said a resounding no!” After a decade of first-hand struggles with this issue, I wrote a piece entitled Touch ’N Tell, after the name given to such groups by students at Gonzaga University. I listed how T-group trainings can get distorted in the hands of unskilled trainers. Here are examples of popular culture as it shows up and often is reinforced in T-groups, Encounter, Sensitivity, therapy, Gestalt, or any group aiming at personal growth. A more through version is in Chapter 10, p. 173-175. 36 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Popular Culture (Increases Data Distortion): ▪ Openness is telling secrets. Explaining (excuses again) is fine. ▪ “Do what you feel.” ▪ Telling it straight is to blame, “You’re a jerk.” ▪ “You’re irresponsible.” ▪ “I know you by your actions.” ▪ People talk about people in the group, but not to them. Triangulation is a way of life. Culture of Skilled Communication (Increases Data Flow): ▪ Openness is sharing my feelings and thoughts now, not personal secrets or confessions. ▪ Explaining is defending. Name it, “I'm afraid I am being misunderstood,” and then choose to explain or not. ▪ Notice what you feel, and choose what you do. ▪ Telling it straight is to report impact (feeling) and to describe behavior. ▪ “I know you by my interpretation of your actions.” ▪ Talk directly to people in the first person. Avoid third- person language when referring to someone present. Openness is an awareness and skill missing for most of the world. It can be defined asmy ability and willingness to share work data and feelings I’m aware of in the here-and-now. Strikingly, how to be in the here-and-now, which is fundamental for consciousness, is a missing core capability! Originally called the Basic Skills Training Group, it was soon nicknamed T (for training) Group, and became well known nationally through coverage in the popular media of the 1950s. Life Magazine, perhaps the best known journal at that time, featured it in one issue. They called it, Sensitivity Training, which in the early years had been a phrase referring to participants becoming sensitive to group processes and group dynamics. However, Life highlighted a growing popular CHAPTER 2: THAT MARVELOUS MOMENT | 37 trend to identify this new training as a pop-psychological, new-age, hip activity. That kind of marketing led to the popularity and proliferation of T-group training led by leaders both untrained and unaware of the T-group’s original intentions. Early names included Sensitivity groups and, in the 1960s, Encounter groups. Again, the original focus had been about being sensitive to group processes. It now shifted to emphasize personal growth. They blurred the distinction between personal confession and openness. Precision about emotionality was also blurred. One could say, “I feel that...” (which signals that a thought is coming) and have it go unchallenged as if an emotion had been stated! Discovering John Wallen in the late 1968 was a major turning point for me and fundamentally sharpened my OD and T-group work henceforth! His basic skills were thus: The John Wallen skills ▪ Behavior description—the ability to describe behavior without adding judgment/interpretation. ▪ Description of feelings—the ability to describe one’s internal emotional state. I.e. name one’s feelings. ▪ Paraphrase—an effort to understand the other by sharing the meaning one is deriving. ▪ Perception check—the ability to guess the feeling another is having. Self-differentiation ▪ The four Wallen skills increase one's ability to self- differentiate and are essential and profound when attempting to be differentiated while exploring one’s family of origin (FOO). Incidences in the T-group or work place that seem more intense than what might be normal, are assumed to have the possibility of origin in one’s early family experience. (See Chapter 5, p. 91-92) 38 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Like a magnetic field, this emotional field is activated out of proportion to the apparent stimulus. Working these issues while maintaining an appropriate here-and-now openness perspective is an art form of the T-group leader. Son Chris writes, The T-group is a powerful venue to explore differentiation work because it allows for distinct structures to sharpen what is internal and what is external. Dr. Sawtell, Department of Neuroscience at Columbia University states, “The brain has to compute what’s self- generated versus what’s external.” In other words, a continuing task of the brain is to try and separate out what is me from what is you. T-group allows one to build the discipline to use John Wallen’s skills to do just that. An accurate Behavior Description is the external. However, the ability to accurately do Behavior Description is significantly impacted by the amount of tension or anxiety there is at any given moment. That is one reason why Wallen calls it the hardest of all communication skills, and further, why it is a key to increasing emotional intelligence. Perception Check is a guess at something external, the emotion another is having. T-groups allows participants to practice these skills from the inside and outside group, yet the outside group has these two skills as its primary tasks. Feeling Description is an attempt to name one’s own self- generated emotions. And finally, Paraphrase is exploring the meaning of the other. What another person means is external to you, but often they aren’t even clear so it is tricky and that is why Wallen calls it meaning exploration. Of course, all of this is happening as an internal process in one’s brain, that is why it has to compute it as Dr. Sawtell states. It is because of this that one must be careful not to get seduced into thinking that your perception check, paraphrase, or memory of what you or the other said is a fact. Use them as exploration tools CHAPTER 2: THAT MARVELOUS MOMENT | 39 and be clear while doing so that it is your computation. In contrast, judgments/interpretations are the opposite of Wallen skills and are self-generated. They add labels to the other and trick the mind into thinking they are external when they are not. They also hide emotions and inhibit the capacity to compute what is self generated versus what is external. Yet many, if not most, think that their judgments/interpretations are facts. The human dilemma is that these self-generated beliefs about external reality (they are pushy, micromanaging, uncaring, etc.) carry with them such emotional weight that they seem to be realistic truths. Once that emotional weight sets in, it then becomes a conviction of objectivity that even empirical data can often not overturn. These unchecked and untamed judgments/interpretations run rampant in one’s brain and are what causes most of the problems within and between us. -Chris Crosby (2017) One example of the weight such a conviction of objectivity can hold is in police reports. The Spokane police were aware that many reports written up by patrolmen were full of judgments. Those receiving them found it difficult to know what had actually happened in the confrontation. As an example, “I spotted a troublemaker!” and similar write-ups were frequent. Two of the five hoped for outcomes reported in the Spokesman Review were 1) help officers achieve more specific reporting in order to increase objectivity, and 2) help increase the policeman’s awareness of how their feelings influence their communications. All ranks attended a series of three hour sessions. I asked NTL to be named as a coordinating agency and they accepted with me as the staff in Spokane where I lived. The reader will recognize that the two hoped for outcomes listed are 40 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT interrelated. If you’re not aware of your feelings you cannot be objective. So feeling awareness and behavior description were the core elements in the training. A modified T-group was the key method including practice in writing behaviorally specific reports. Prior to the training sessions I rode with officers in their patrol cars. When I mentioned the “troublemaker” quote during one ride the officer responded, “That was me!” He proceeded to tell me what had happened. “I went into a luncheon shop and immediately saw a man with long hair and a beard.” Hardly a description that warranted a confrontation with a police officer! Then it was hippies, and people with darker skin than descendants of Europeans, who were judged by appearance rather than a misbehavior. The results of the intervention were measured by reviewing reports written prior to the intervention and those written afterwards. By that criteria the program was a success. That Police Department was 50 years ahead of its time! There are also implications to the world of therapy. In addressing therapists, Louis Ormont states, “A therapist can be successful only to the degree that they can readily identify their own feelings...our feelings are the ultimate clues in teaching us what is going on in the group—and in ourselves. Left unidentified, our feelings are too likely to govern our actions. Our own unidentified feelings enslave us to the whims of manipulative group members; they dispose us to believe people’s distortions and to lose sight of what is going on. And worst of all, our unidentified feelings are what keep us in the thrall of our own past histories.” In the 1970s I attended two Esalen Institute Encounter groups led by nationally famous staff. They bore little resemblance to my extensive experience during the previous decade with T-group founders and highly trained T-group leaders such as Goodwin Watson, Hugh Coffey, John Wallen, CHAPTER 2: THAT MARVELOUS MOMENT | 41

Richard Schmuck, Jack Sherwood, and Warren Schmidt. Esalen, located in California, was highly respected at the time. In one that I attended, the leaders were heroes of mine— Sam Keen and Rollo May. I had read May’s Man’s Search for Himself several times! The event with them was powerful. It was a one-on-one therapeutic session with us watching as they worked with each participant. Its value was unquestioned by me. My point is to show the wide variance in practice in groups called Encounter or T-groups. In the other encounter group there was also almost no interaction among attendees. Judgments were viewed as feelings. Pop culture was normative! That is, one would frequently hear statements such as: “I feel that you are trying to control me.” (Again, “feel that” is a thought.) The skill I expected would have encouraged a more descriptive, “I’m irritated (description of the speakers feeling, whatever it is) when you start speaking while I am in the middle of a sentence (description of the behavior of the other, whatever it was).” Why does it matter whether one says “feel that” for a thought? In common practice that’s how people talk. However, in a training that aims for growth in emotional intelligence it is critical that participants know when they are naming a feeling or a thought. I was alert to this nearly three decades after my first T-group. “I feel that” or “I feel like” was the group language in the Esalen groups mentioned above. Talking to many afterwards, they were exhilarated to be able to share feelings. They had not! They obviously had feelings about the thoughts they shared, but these were not made clear. Often the “I feel that” ends with a judgement. “I feel that you are being pushy.” We want people to know the difference. If I say “I feel that” those listening will know that I mean “I think that.” However, why do that when I am aware of the distinction? “I think” is clear. My fear is that one will lose their own clarity if they loosely use language. 42 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

My source for what I’m writing here, besides from the personal experiences and conversations already referenced, includes my staff experience at Gonzaga University where enthusiastic faculty were leading Encounter Groups which normatively had become Pop culture groups. As an NTL Associate, I was hired as Director of Training at GU to help turn around the prevailing practice to one where openness as described above was taught and experienced. It was not an easy task! Further, in 1970 I led a National Council of Churches Training-of-Trainers with 40 participants who had already led (collectively) hundreds of T/Encounter groups. The lack of a grasp of the skills of description of feelings and behavioral specificity and distinctions between personal confessions and openness were disturbing to me. Only once these distinctions are clear can one sort out when and how openness is appropriate in the workplace and other life arenas. The same is true for Emotional Intelligence. Without these distinctions one cannot identity one’s own emotionality. Later, I led three two-week T-of-T sessions, and have often coached beginning trainers and graduate faculty attempting to lead T-groups. Coaching, unless continuously observing someone leading a group is, I think, minimally helpful. It is not organization development unless it is part of a larger strategy as defined and illustrated often in this book. My purpose in writing this is to encourage dialogue about the most qualitative and practical way to think about and learn to lead T-groups. I’m aware that we are one of the few firms doing in-house T-groups. We call them Skill Groups and embody them in our Tough Stuff training. The original T-groups were embodied in what was called Laboratory Training. Then, as now, the small group time was roughly 40% of the experience. CHAPTER 2: THAT MARVELOUS MOMENT | 43

Certainly some practitioners are doing high quality T-group trainings. Many know of and value the multifaceted dimensions of the classic T-group. Those dimensions include the personal and interpersonal blended with group process awareness, decision making clarity, and systemic alertness. However, the social justice and intact/cousin aspects are often missing. Laboratory Training (which embodies the T-group) is grounded in Kurt Lewin’s passion for democracy. Two of his students, Ronald Lippitt and Ralph White, in 1960 wrote Autocracy and Democracy out of their experiences as doctoral students leading the famous authoritarian, democratic, and laissez- faire study of boys’ groups in the late 1930s with Lewin. I summarize this in Chapter 3, The Heart of the T-group. A spiritual domain runs deep in me and, I believe, in any significant group or community sharing. The T-group can embody a spirituality that is beyond the tendencies of any particular expression of belief or non-belief. The Latin root word for religion may be religare. It means to bind together or to connect. Hence, a religious experience is a connective moment with others, with the environment as in seeing the sunset or a deer in the wild, with existence or, in the wisdom of Hinduism, with constantly expanding existence! Buber’s I-Thou, rather than I-It in relationship to others, provides grounding for a deep respect for each group member. Warren Bennis, as a young man, led T-groups with the noted MIT philosopher of religion, Huston Smith in the School of Humanities. The MIT catalog listed it as Existential Philosophy. The spiritual component of the T-group was quickly noticed by many. “Truth consists not in knowing the truth, but in being the truth.” This familiar quote by the 19th century Dane, Soren Kierkegaard, struck a strong note among many in the various faith communities. The T-group looked very much like a vehicle to develop being and strengthen the community. More on this is in Chapter 3, p. 69. 44 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

The T-group and its derivatives have evolved. Much has shifted unconsciously. I believe that its demise was a result of these largely unknowing changes. I want its original thrust to be known, even as new inventions unfold by the many creative practitioners in our field. Recognizing the transfer dilemmas when the participants are not intact or cousin, encourages creative designing. Chapter 10, T-groups and Authenticity, references there-and- then interventions intended to help participants see parallels with back-home situations. Grounded in our origins, we continue to adapt OD today. We were birthed dealing with interracial issues, led by a creative genius who escaped fascism but lost his mother and other family in the holocaust. He had a passion for democracy! We became aware through the T-group invention of our fundamentally unconscious living about emotionality as well as group and systemic dynamics. We expanded our horizons to organizations and communities. And significantly we were birthed in an intact/cousin group for the purpose of achieving a precise and profound social justice change! To achieve that we had to become more conscious, more aware. The primary goal was not self-development, but rather social change! This is our T-group and OD birthright! This is the ground on which we stand and the ground from which we create new forms. Quoting Yeats, “Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold, mere anarchy is loosed.” I’m believing that what I’ve stated above is our centre, our ground. Has anarchy been loosed in OD because we have lost our roots? CHAPTER 3: THE HEART OF THE T-GROUP | 45

Chapter 3 The Heart of the T-group

ith social justice as a motivating force, the T-group and WOD have several elements that lie close to its heart. The T-group was stimulated by an interracial workshop focused on fair employment and grounded in Kurt Lewin’s passion for social justice. It is a pulsating experience for most attendees. At its heart there lies a multifaceted chamber which, when well led, unfolds into an event that many describe as “the most memorable and powerful training in their life.” Attending to the here-and-now of group process (about which most people are unaware), in the midst of an otherwise cognitive discussion, strikingly enhances one’s grasp of group processes. It also intensifies one’s awareness of emotionality and increases one’s ability to effectively deal with tense moments. The man who seized and synthesized that moment was Kurt Lewin!

Kurt Lewin Father of Social-Psychology

He was born in Mogilno, Prussia (later Poland, after WWI) of German Jewish parents and moved to Berlin in 1905. Kurt Lewin became active in both Socialist and women’s rights issues in 1909 at the University of Freiburg. Because of his association with Jewish Marxists, it was clear that he had to leave Germany in 1933 with the rise of Hitler. This beyond comprehension tragedy of course had a profound influence energizing his passion for democracy! To remind the reader, Lewin’s mother died in the holocaust of 1941 to 1945. Preceding that were camps where prisoners lived in inhuman conditions. 46 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Through teaching at the University of Berlin, Lewin was becoming known as a Gestalt Psychologist. Later writings reflected his insights, such as:

Psycho-Sociological Problems of a Minority Group (1935) Bringing Up the Jewish Child (1940) The Background of Conflict in Marriage (1940)

Kurt Lewin first coined the phrase “Action Research” and spawned the development of numerous applications of it. Lean manufacturing, which originated in Japan and swept across U.S. plants, is but one example of a process that uses action research as the core implementing activity. Action research is distinct in that it not only involves the people who will be affected by any change (and who often carry out the change) in the analysis of the problems, but also in the identification of possible solutions. So-called lean manufacturing in the U.S. is frequently lacking on both counts. Too often, American companies try to impose a solution discovered elsewhere and neglect the action research process through which it was developed, sustained and constantly improved. Dr. Richard A. Schmuck, Professor emeritus at the University of Oregon and doctoral student of Ron Lippitt, wrote a definitive book on action research: Practical Action Research for Change. Those trained in the applied behavioral sciences are familiar with force field analysis. Lewin emphasized a focus on reducing restraining forces rather than increasing driving forces, which was and still is a popular tactic. Don’t neglect either; unfreezing primarily comes from a careful identification and reduction of restraining forces while driving forces also need to be given due attention. Lewin applied these concepts to all walks of life. A biography of him is titled, The Practical Theorist. Being present CHAPTER 3: THE HEART OF THE T-GROUP | 47 while Nazism was creeping into the fabric of the German psyche, he saw decent citizens—Christians of both Catholic and Protestant persuasions—naively embracing Hitler. The need for order and a perceived strong leader in a country stuck in post-WWI disorder was too compelling and seductive. Lewin recognized that social change for individuals is almost always highly influenced by group norms. Consulting with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, his innovation was to help farmers attempt new practices in the bleak 1930s by bringing together neighbors to support each other in these strange new farming practices. The International Herald Tribune carried an article about Mozambique where there is “...a promising new effort to reverse a worrisome trend, that being individuals with AIDS who fail to collect their lifesaving antiretroviral medicines. 20% quit treatment or died. After Dr. Tom Decroo organized patients into groups of six, only 2% died. ‘No one abandons treatment in the group,’ said Innocence Alface. ‘We give courage to each other.’ When patients are organized into these small groups, they’re not ashamed anymore...when a person is in a group, he feels, I’m sick, but I count!” That’s Lewinian! And it gives students following in his legacy a powerful systems-theory way of being in the world.

Group Processes

Many trained in the applied behavioral sciences are aware of Lewin’s systems theory that bridged the early 20th century divide between psychology and sociology, between nature and nurture. B=f(p,e): behavior is a function of the person and the environment. As Gordon Allport wrote, “His unifying theme is unmistakable: the group to which an individual belongs is the ground for his perceptions, his feelings, and his actions” (Kurt Lewin, 1948, 1997, p5). 48 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Pursuing the goal of helping participants bring to consciousness that which usually lies just below the surface of awareness (the preconscious, as distinguished from the unconscious, dealt with more in therapy), the T-group leader does not lead in a discussion of the topics in which the participants are engaged. Rather, the leader brings to consciousness that about which individuals and groups are usually unaware: ▪ How are decisions being made (e.g., what to talk about)? How are members dealing with disagreements, influence and authority issues? ▪ Is there an appropriate interactive balance in the verbal interchange? ▪ Who consistently interrupts whom? ▪ Do members speak for themselves and encourage the same in others? ▪ Are pronouns accurately used, i.e. does one say “I” when speaking for self rather than “you,” and then say “you” when accurate and “we” when they are speaking for more than self? ▪ Or do they say “we” when “I” would be accurate? ▪ Do members speak directly to another or do they speak in the third person about someone who is present? ▪ How aware and open are members about emotionality in the group interaction? ▪ Do they say, “I feel that” when they mean “I think?” ▪ Can they separate feelings from thoughts? ▪ Can they differentiate judgments from the verifiable descriptions of behavior (what the other said and did)? ▪ What norms/rules are members operating from about how to behave, most of which are both unspoken and outside of usual awareness? ▪ Strikingly, participants are encouraged to be aware in the here-and-now. CHAPTER 3: THE HEART OF THE T-GROUP | 49

“Most humans are much more aware of the past or anxious about the future, yet all that we have is the fleetingnow.” -Alan Watts

Only with here-and-now awareness can one notice these group dynamics and participate in actively creating an effective group.

More about the T-group and Work

The Personal and Interpersonal Domains

While the familiar focus in adult education had been cognitive, i.e. learning concepts, the electrifying focus in this new social invention shifted to the affective (emotionality, attitudes, values). The T-group methodology encourages an awareness of that which usually lies beneath the surface (the preconscious) about group processes. That awareness made it inevitable that a pursuit of one’s emotionality, another area that often resides in the preconscious, became a major element in this innovative way to learn. One was not just in a workshop about group dynamics conceptually, but in a training where one was surrounded by and paying attention to the here-and- now dynamic moment. Further, being called a Basic Skills Training Group (later shortened to T-group) the motoric element emerged on par with the cognitive and affective domains. Experimental try of new behaviors was encouraged. This was virtually unknown in the education arena except in vocational, music, sports, and anything that demanded hands on skill development. For almost all humans, emotional awareness has been reduced from the full range they possessed as a baby (mad, glad, sad, afraid) to the range remaining after the socialization process. That reduction impacts the core emotional awareness skill of behavior description. The ability to notice one’s accusation(s)/judgment(s) and pause to accurately describe what one has seen or heard is a skill woefully lacking and rarely taught. Judgments are in our heads; behavior description accurately states what is outside of us. Behavior description is essential if one is going to live a sane differentiated life, in a confused undifferentiated world. Further, behavior description affects the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) area of the brain which is located between the Prefrontal Cortex and the Limbic area. (O’Conner, 2006) CHAPTER 3: THE HEART OF THE T-GROUP | 51

Especially, my capacity to separate my personal judgments from a behavior description of what I sense (see, hear, touch, smell) is a critical element in balancing these two parts of the brain. As noted earlier, children believe that their judgments are facts. Adults remain stuck there unless they learn how to describe behavior, describe and own emotions, paraphrase, and tune in to the perceived emotions of others, all emphasized significantly by John Wallen. Without these skills, emotional awareness is shallow. The T-group, competently led, nails these! Greg Crosby, a fellow in the Group Psychotherapy Association and a Faculty in Interpersonal Neurobiology, says, “Limbic area functions are emotional regulation of positive and negative emotions (which includes the Fight/ Flight/Freeze response), attachment and memory. The ACC is called the gear shifter since it can get rigid and argumentative when stressed. The ACC also has the capability of being flexible and sorting through difficult problems and distressing communication. This takes poise and patience. It allows for a refreshing pause inside the brain to make sense out of the communication moment. Communication skills such as paraphrase, perception check, and behavior description are so helpful to brain function because they allow one to slow down the response time before reacting, thus avoiding a reactive response.” “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” -Victor Frankl, a holocaust survivor! Openness, defined to mean my ability and willingness to share what I’m aware of in the here-and-now (I’m sad, glad, mad, afraid), is an awareness and skill missing for most. Openness also means data flow. In a survey of 600 companies a question that almost always scored poorly was, “I have a hard 52 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT time getting the information I need to do a good job!” The T-group’s primary goal is to increase openness and can do so, but usually not without some frustrating moments as this ambiguous learning unfolds. Unskilled trainers turned openness into personal confession, which everyone already knows how to do and is counter-productive in business settings! While openness is about what’s happening between us now, personal confession is the sharing of private stories from outside the group such as past history (e.g., I’ve been married four times). That lack of clarity is but one example of how the original intent became lost. While the sharing of secretly held stories may be important in certain therapeutic settings, it was not the original intent of the T-group. Applicability to life outside-of-work rates high in our post- session evaluations. What about the transfer of this in-depth learning to friendships, family, and, specifically, marriage? For a decade I led couples trainings with psychiatrist Dr. Jon Bertram Von Stolk in Edmonton, Alberta. Early in his career he had been the senior surgeon at Lambarene in Africa working for one of my childhood heroes, Dr. Albert Schweitzer. It is written that Schweitzer “...leaned heavily on him.” Many couples had approached him (usually it was the women who initiated the contact) about relationship issues. His belief was that the core of their difficulties was in a lack of capabilities that are perhaps best learned in the T-group mileau. Anecdotal success stories were abundant, and follow- through with each couple was standard practice. The late Dr. Von Stolk continued these until he retired. Over the decades, spouses of those in our industrial T-groups would seek us out thank us for, “...whatever you did to my spouse!” Many, especially women, mentioned that “He now listens to me!” The Red Cross in Spokane hired me to work with Vietnam vets. I said that I would do so if 1) their spouses were involved, CHAPTER 3: THE HEART OF THE T-GROUP | 53 and 2) that vocational counseling would be included. They had already planned the latter, but the involvement of spouses was a new twist with which they readily agreed. So, as I did with Von Stolk, I led a series of 3-day sessions utilizing the T-group with special emphasis on helping couples use the Wallen skills with each other. Today demands a new set of competences. In Glasser’s book, The Identity Society (1972), he describes 4 stages of history. In describing the fourth stage, Civilized Identity, he writes: “..two human qualities are necessary to gain a successful identity: love and worth. First, one has to love and be loved to be involved with people whom one cares for and respects. Second, one must do a worthwhile task that increases his sense of self- worth and usually helps others to do the same.” The Civilized Survival stage of the past 10,000 years began a slow demise when the fourth stage started to emerge by 1950. We’re living with remnants of that survival world clashing with this new emergence. Perhaps the shock of WWII and the birth of the atomic arsenal awakened many to the folly of the age that is hopefully receding. The arising Identity stage demands that people throw away their labels and connect in a more profound way. The horrors of WWII showed the world the worst case scenario of what can happen when people label others and then, as if such pre-judgments aren’t destructive enough, determine who lives and dies because of those labels. Perhaps the world then, but not now! A recent study asserts that “41% of Americans and 66% of millennials say they don’t know about the Auschwitz death camp...22% haven’t heard of the holocaust.” The identity stage also demands democratically created structures within which divergent ethnicity, cultures, religious beliefs, and life styles can have a new birth of freedom! 54 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

There is a similar analogy to marriage; Eli J. Finkel wrote an Opinion article (The All-or-Nothing Marriage - Feb.16, 2014 NYTimes) stating, “To understand marriage today, it is important to see how we got to where we are.” After describing, “...the era of the institutional marriage (until around 1850), with the prevalence of individual farming households where couples joined in the pursuit of food production, safe shelter, and protection from violence,” Finkel calls the next era emerging companionate marriage. It lasted until roughly 1965. Companionate marriage saw the shift from rural to urban life with men increasingly engaged in labor outside the home and women mostly continuing to do the work within the home. This era he says, “...amplified the extent to which the two sexes occupied distinct social spheres.” During this time many began to look to marriage more for love, companionship, and nesting. This gradual evolution with expanded horizons is reflected in these lyrics from the popular WWI song, “How ya gonna keep them down on the farm, after they’ve seen Parie.” Finkel then speaks of the rise of the self-expressive marriage, “Americans now look to marriage increasingly for self- discovery, self-esteem, and personal growth. Fueled by the countercultural currents of the 1960s, U.S. citizens have come to view marriage less as an essential institution and more as an elective means of achieving personal fulfillment.” Finkel later quotes sociologist Robert N. Bellah, “Love has become, in good part, the mutual exploration of infinitely rich, complex and exciting selves.” A critical caveat is that those who still struggle daily with issues at the lowest level of psychological well-being, including the need to eat and drink, followed by the need for safety are mostly left out of this opportunity! Quoting the sociologist Steven P. Martin he states, “...among Americans who married between 1990 and 1994, the divorce rates were 46% for those without a high school education, and 16% for those with a college degree.” CHAPTER 3: THE HEART OF THE T-GROUP | 55

After eating at Osteria Le Carrozze with my wife Patricia, near our beloved village of Volpaia in Tuscany, I wrote a passage for my book A Month in Medieval Volpaia, Tuscany: Diary of a Temporary Citizen: “A Dutch couple arrived midway through our lunch and sat at the only other table on the small veranda. As I was leaving the man asked, ‘How long have you two been together?’ Since Patricia had walked ahead, I responded, and then said, ‘Why did you ask?’ ‘Well, because you talk to each other!’ I mentioned that something new constantly (even a lost memory recovered) emerges as we grow older. They seemed delighted. They are young—only 52 years old. More profoundly, our conversations are grounded in the always new moment, for unless one is able to live fully in the present, life is missed. Fresh feelings of sadness, happiness, anger, and fear are either stimulated by our surroundings (both from the natural environment and from other humans and animals-certainly cats!) or between us. We keep current with our feelings toward each other in the here-and-now and also recall past moments. Patricia’s first forty years (and my forty-nine) before we met yield memories that enlighten each of us to the other, and our years together since provide a rich amount of shared stories: I want a partner With whom I can dance... Who joins me in the quest of life Lived simply, Who does not ask Of me Or us Or life Too much of what it cannot bring The capacity to be here-and-now provides grounding for the other dimensions of communication. 56 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Is learning to access the here-and-now available elsewhere than in the T-group arena? Absolutely! Those who seek it, however, are likely those who are consciously on a personal growth journey. When we use T-group in industry, as we have with thousands including both union and non-union employees, most participants have never been aware of or sought such learnings! Our follow-through with managers, union officials, human resource personnel and the participants themselves indicates positive personal results. It is, however, inevitable that the learnings created some dilemmas in addition to the benefits when the learnings are transferred to one’s home. Of course, dilemmas open up possibilities if one can seize them. Stereotypes and fears run deep. They are learned slowly through socialization and are filled with deep emotions. Practitioners who do not honor the distinctions mentioned earlier between openness and personal confession, judgment and behavior description, may contribute to those fears. So while we focus our T-groups to facilitate achievement of business and social justice results, participants use these essential learnings in all arenas of their lives.

Democracy, Lewin, and the T-group

Lewin, and his contemporary John Dewey in education, were apostles of democracy. To miss this about Lewin is to miss the ground on which the T-group and OD are rooted! T-groups are grounded in his passion for democracy which with its radical call for equality, though a struggle to achieve, is rooted in profound social justice whether in the family, community, industry, or larger society. Contrasted to democracy was his experience of fascism in Germany (paraphrasing Robert Paxton, The father of fascism studies) which aroused so-called populism by sophisticated propaganda techniques for an anti-liberal, anti-press, anti-socialist, violently exclusionary, ultra-nationalist agenda. Fascism demanded CHAPTER 3: THE HEART OF THE T-GROUP | 57 allegiance to a master race. As any authoritarian entity does, it identifies an enemy, whether Jews in Germany, Bolsheviks in Italy, or brown-skinned people elsewhere! The Nazis claim to make Germany great again also demanded a savior! Elsewhere I mention the holocaust. Given that immediate history, of course he had a passion for democracy. When we know about that history, so should we! In the late 1930s, Lewin’s doctoral student, Ronald Lippitt, undertook a study of boys’ clubs where they attempted to limit the research to a single variable—the style of the adults leadership. A year into the study another student, Ralph K. White, joined the project. Eventually they used the terminology Autocratic (though two variants surfaced), Democratic (though some attempts turned laissez-faire), and laissez-faire/permissive, a style that surfaced in the study by the unintended behavior of mature adults who were instructed to be democratic or, in some cases, to be autocratic. The switch from autocratic to permissive happened when conflict occurred and reflected, apparently, the leader’s life-long learning about what to do when things get rough! So, one of the unintended findings was the discrepancy between how these sophisticated leaders were carefully instructed to behave, and how they actually behaved. Democracy, which is one form of authority, was often seen as authority-less! In a strange interpretation - given that we live in a society aspiring to democracy and structured with laws and checks and balances—this familiar word is also seen as permissiveness in the business world. “You can’t run a business like a democracy where everyone decides!” is a common way of thinking. Say democracy and business leaders think permissive or consensus and, of course, reject it. But rejection does not free them from the dilemma of how to lead. Clarity about these dynamics is directly related to productivity. 58 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

It is significant that the word democracy does not appear in either the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution of the US. It was apparently then also seen as majority rule with no governing authority. We are a republic. In a republic, the powers of the government are limited and defined. The rights of minorities are protected from the possible tyranny of a majority. We elect people democratically, but they are bound by constitutional limits. Democracy, in the classic boys study, was distinguished from permissiveness. In that definition it is not complete freedom of the individual. That is anarchy, or laissez-faire or permissiveness. Freedom is an important dimension in democracy, but only if it is contained within order! In a work setting, we use the term order to mean leadership that ensures involvement of all employees in problem-solving while persistently working to clarify expectations, numeric goals, and roles (including who decides what…based on work flow needs as well as hierarchical position). Order that essentially honors only the bosses thinking and has them make all the decisions leans towards autocracy. Whereas, order that essentially says all employees thinking carries the same weight and allows decisions to be made at anytime by anybody without clarity or structure leans towards laissez-faire. Both are equally destructive. Democracy is an effective principle in politics and in the business world so long as it maintains a balance between the two extremes. In a permissive society it’s everyone for themselves. In a highly ordered autocratic society the slogan claiming that it is good for the masses crushes the individual. Democracy is a way to define authority. Those who equate freedom with democracy without these distinctions can easily confuse permissiveness with democracy. CHAPTER 3: THE HEART OF THE T-GROUP | 59

White and Lippitt extrapolated, from the research, other factors critical in democracy. My adaptation is as follows: 1. While freedom of speech is essential, curtailing certain freedoms of action is critical in the interest of community. It is not do as you please, but rather choose what you do within the parameters of the social fabric. (Joseph Campbell said, as recorded in The Joseph Campbell Companion, “Self-preservation is only the second law of life. The first law is that you and the other are one.”) 2. Compromise is utterly essential. “Creative, artistic compromising is a necessary characteristic of most sound decision making.” (p. 296, Autocracy and Democracy, White and Lippitt, 1960—the primary source for this section of this chapter.) 3. After a decision is made by a majority, or more often by those imbued naturally (parents, teachers, managers, etc.) and/or those delegated by election such as mayors, governors, congress, presidents, or courts, “... then freedom and individuality should bow to unity and coordination.” Hitler thought that half measures were an inherent curse on democracy, not realizing that democracy, that is real democracy, allows for decisive, autocratic, efficient actions when needed, but often functions more slowly due to more conversation and open disagreement. 4. After discussion, the minority must yield to the decision of the majority. While retaining freedom of speech, the minority must realize that democracy leans heavily on the validity of decisions made by the majority or by delegated authorities. To consistently undermine majority decision making with actions intended to block majority rule diminishes the effectiveness of democracy, no matter which party is in power. The loyal opposition 60 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

is essential. An obstructionist opposition breeds distrust of governance and hopelessness. The same holds true in business: us and them must be discouraged, and decisions at all levels must be supported. 5. There must be a belief that there is equal opportunity. In business this translates into equal opportunity for advancement based on performance, rather than favoritism, and on sufficient pay for the job. In many studies people have rated feeling respected by their boss as even more important than compensation. Effective and emotionally intelligent engagement is the key to productivity and morale. White and Lippitt conclude that, “The most efficient procedure does appear to be, as a rule, democracy—if democracy is sharply differentiated from laissez-faire, with clear acceptance not only of active leadership but also of the firm use of authority when firmness is called for, and explicit delegation of authority to certain individuals when such delegation is appropriate. A leader or boss must be prepared at one time to exert authority so broadly and energetically that his opponents are sure to call him autocratic, and at other times to let other people take all the initiative...or all the glory. A parent, teacher, or employer who wants to be democratic and also efficient should continually seek to broaden the base of participation in decision making, whenever participation is really functional and not too time consuming; yet they should usually (not always) exert active leadership and they should unhesitatingly, without the slightest feeling of guilt, use their natural authority whenever the situation calls for firm control or for swift, decisive coordinated action.” (p. 292 ibid) Democracy is at times clumsy and slow. “All men are created equal” said the Declaration of Independence. Today we all know how difficult and long the journey to attain true equality still is. CHAPTER 3: THE HEART OF THE T-GROUP | 61

In 1776 that did not include the slaves from Africa, women or Native Americans. Originally there was an anti-slavery passage that was excluded. Jefferson argued in court, decades before the Declaration, for the abolishment of slavery. He lost. He, a slave owner, believed the phrase, “all men are created equal” to be self-evident, and would ultimately resolve slavery. The founders of the T-group wrote, “Democracy is an ideology which above all others demands that its practitioners be masters of skills of human relationships adequate to help groups of people make intelligent decisions concerning the changing problems that confront them...Without appropriate and experimentally tested skills and methods for building efficient cooperative relationships, democracy has no hands and feet.” (School and Society, 1947, quoted in T-group Theory and Laboratory Method, Bradford, Gibb, and Benne, 1965) There are many in societies across the globe whose socialization has led them to look for an authoritarian leader to save them. Fascism, with its ultra-nationalism and xenophobia, has emerged across the centuries. Its 20th century resurgence was formulated in Italy in 1919 by Benito Mussolini. Though it evolves into an authoritarian state, its beginnings are slow. In the 1920s and 1930s, in Italy and Germany it slowly gained public support. The Nazis were an outlier dismissed party in the 1920s until their sudden success at the polls in 1933. Even when Hitler became chancellor it was commonly thought that any excesses could be contained. Gradually what is associated with fascism began to emerge. While Hitler came to power by the ballot box, Mussolini’s Black shirts gained him the Prime Ministry through violence. Hitler (and Mussolini in a similar way) began their demise of democracy. The press, oddly enough echoing a communist line of Lenin and Stalin, was deemed “The enemy of the people,” or “fake news” in current parlance, as were those who disagreed with the leader. Distrust in government institutions 62 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT was fomented. The Nazis claim to restore Germany’s greatness made it clear that to do so only “der Fuhrer” could be trusted! A group to blame and stereotype was identified. Leading up to World War II there was a fascist movement in America led by the very popular Charles Lindbergh who in 1927 became the first person to fly solo and nonstop from New York to Paris. He was instantly a worldwide celebrity. Five years later his toddler son was kidnapped and murdered. He was one of my heroes as a little boy! He became the leading voice of America first, an isolationist, anti-Semitic, pro-fascist group. However, after Pearl Harbor he strongly supported the U.S. war effort and later became a staunch conservationist. He reviewed Hitler’s Luftwaffe, Germany’s Air Force. He was convinced that Germany was unbeatable and wanted the United States to stay neutral. Toni Morrison’s Harvard lectures are the core of her book, The Origin of Others. In it she explores what motivates the human tendency to construct Others by saying, “Race is the classification of a species, and we are the human race, period. Then what is this other thing—the hostility, the social racism, the Othering?” As only she can, Morrison confronts the low self-esteem that needs an Other portrayed as inferior in order to feel superior. The person of another language, religion, skin color, ethnic group, becomes an alien to be feared. Morrison asks, “...how does one move from a non-racial womb to the womb of racism?” Here tapping into our history of racism in the US today, those targeted are people of color and Muslims, a minority religion. There Hitler tapped into centuries of prejudice against Jews and rallied racists to the “great” cause. In the late 1920s, the young Austrian artist noticed that some political leaders became popular by rousing crowds through slanderous statements about their enemies. The mantra became, “Don’t respond with substantive arguments but rather belittle the other.” A successful artist with a paint CHAPTER 3: THE HEART OF THE T-GROUP | 63 brush he was not, but he became an “artist” with his lashing tongue and his ability to rally crowds to shout slogans against Jews. “Blood and Soil” is a direct quote by neo-Nazis marching in Germany in the 1930s. “Jews will not displace us” and “Blood and Soil” were slogans shouted in Charlottesville by neo-Nazis recently. In the 1950s Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy mastered slander as a style. His attorney was Roy Cohn. He attacked the government, especially the State Department and later the Department of Defense. Cohn taught, “When someone disagrees, attack, attack, attack!” The movie Good Night and Good Luck is a gem for anyone who wants to understand that disturbing period of U.S. history. In mob-mafia jargon Cohn was known as a “fixer,” one who get his clients freed from any charge. Cohn later was, for 13 years, the mentor and feared attorney of New York Real Estate mogul Donald Trump. Fascism is not an ideology that gets one elected. It creeps into the social fabric of a nation with most citizens lacking awareness. Milton Mayer wrote, They Thought They Were Free, after interviewing Germans following WWII. Ultranationalism and xenophobia become strong elements. Patriotism becomes, not a commitment to the founding principles of the nation, but to the leader. Leaders unversed in history can be unaware of their own fascist tendencies. Roy Cohn leaned toward a strong authoritarianism as do fascists. He was sought for advice after being the chief architect of McCarthyism. He had well known clients in New York City such as mob leaders John Gotti, Carlo Gambino, Carmine Galante who was said to be the Mafia “boss of all bosses,” and “Fat Tony” Salerno. Roy Cohn, a super “fixer” in mob jargon, died in 1986. He had been disbarred by the State Supreme Court. They claimed that his conduct in four legal matters was “unethical,” “unprofessional,” and, in one case, “particularly reprehensible.” He had a mighty influence on the USA, extending beyond his 64 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT death to the future President Trump who would one day walk through the White House in frustration shouting, “Where’s my Roy Cohn?” This was in response to his inability to get Attorney General Sessions to fix his problems. He resigned at Trump’s request. Cohn taught these mantras to his clients, 1) “never respond with substance (ideas) but instead attack, attack, and countersue immediately,” and 2) “no matter what happens, no matter how deeply into the muck you get, claim victory and never admit defeat,” quoting author Sam Roberts. Lewin emphasized that democracy must be learned anew in each generation. It must be experienced, not simply conceptualized—in the classroom, at home, in community events, at work. Yet rarely is this true. Richard and Patricia Schmuck write about the lack of democracy found in their visits to 25 rural K-12 school districts, all west of the Mississippi River, in their Small Districts, Big Problems: Making School Everybody’s House. Each district had at least three schools (Elementary, Middle, and a Senior High); thus they studied more than 75 schools. The Schmuck’s have written extensively about the application of all this to the school and classroom. Their Group Processes in the Classroom, in its 8th edition and translated into many languages, can now rightly be called a classic. I recommend it to managers in industry! Dick has written (sometimes with Patricia) 24 books and nearly 200 articles. My three business books illustrate the direct application of Lewin’s theory and practice (and his students) to the workplace. My Cultural Change in Organizations (CCIO), tells in mostly story form what I believe he intended without using the word democracy. A word of caution—since the popularly accepted Oxford Dictionary definition of democracy seems more like Lippitt and White’s laissez-faire, perhaps a different word needs to be used when urging democratic principles, certainly in business where, CHAPTER 3: THE HEART OF THE T-GROUP | 65 as noted before, the word democracy is usually associated with permissiveness or consensus. Lewin laid the ground work for teaching his version of democracy experientially. For instance, authority and who decides was a major theme in the early T-group movement. I’ve seen participants split from the group to create a new group only, in time, to return with new learnings about authority. Usually the learnings come from less dramatic but still profound confrontations with a T-group leader or, in a business setting, with a supervisor, CEO, or manager in the same T-group. The transfer of unfinished childhood authority issues onto teachers, employers, and, in the T-group setting, the trainers, seems universal. Certainly this seemed apparent in our Italian, Ukrainian, Egyptian (with participants from many nations), Jamaican, Canadian, Mexican (with participants from eight countries), and U.S. events. We consider this opportunity to help participants deal directly with this issue - often directed at us, the T-group leaders, in expressions of anger that quickly emerge into mutual respect—one of major potential learnings gained in a T-group. As they deal with their current authority dilemma, they are then also open to a richer understanding of democracy, decision making, influence, and the skills and differentiation needed to lead or follow in a democratic way. A T-group trainer must distinguish between and move across the poles of 1) order and freedom, 2) firmness and warmth, 3) emotion expression and emotion description, 4) thinking and feeling, 5) openness and personal confession, and 6) judgments/interpretations and the ability to describe behavior. The leaders must strive to continually help participants learn from the immediate moment. Perhaps, above all, they must catch those moments when authority issues surface. As noted above, these are often issues, though veiled, with the trainer. They likely reflect the participant’s earlier history with authorities at home, school, and work. I 66 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT illustrate this later about a Navajo student. Research for over a half-century has confirmed that democracy generates creativity and initiative far more than autocracy or laissez-faire. These foment scapegoating. Market conditions and product relevance being good enough, democracy (again, not permissiveness) also enhances productivity, bottom-line results, morale, and the equalizing of opportunity for all. Words like Communism, Socialism, and Capitalism, which are umbrella economic terms, get confused with democracy as written about above. The most vibrant economies have been a mix of all three! Communal (communist) economics is well characterized by the slogan, “From each according to their ability to each according to their need.” Government ownership funding, and/or management of a commodity or service is communal. Examples are public schools, libraries, Medicare, the VA, road repair, the Military, police and fire departments, the 2.2 trillion COVID-19 package, etc. The United States subsidizes the fossil fuel industry by over $600 billion a year. In addition, the US military spends at least $81 billion a year protecting oil supplies. This is socialism at its communal (communist) extreme! People who ‘oppose socialism’ are fine with these various communal and socialist practices. No complaints unless the money is given too much to support health, food stamps, etc. Incidentally, prior to communal ownership of the fire departments, for example, there were roughly 80 great fires in the 19th century—New York, Chicago, Seattle, Moscow, Pittsburgh, Montreal. At that time fire protection was private enterprise (capitalist) with only those who could afford it having their homes protected. Food stamps, and some social welfare and health services are communal or socialist. The Affordable Care Act commonly known as “Obamacare” is a mix of Socialism and Capitalism with many physicians and dentists in private practice receiving Medicare patients. The word umbrella CHAPTER 3: THE HEART OF THE T-GROUP | 67 above means that there is a continuum of meaning under each economic word thus leading to a continuum of definitions. The Nazis in the late 1920s took on the name National Socialism as part of their attempt to engage the suffering lower economic classes who were positively drawn to whatever idea they had of socialism. Hitler had a racist, anti-Semitic agenda and would use whatever slogan would help him achieve that. He heatedly opposed the socialism embodied in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, in Russian (CCCP). The Soviets were defining a far left communal (communist) form of socialism while the Nazis had a so-called capitalism almost completely controlled by the party after 1934. Some economists have called these two countries a command economy or state capitalism. This illustrates how complicated these various economic labels are. While useful for propaganda, their meanings are multiple. For instance, a current term, democratic socialism, has its own continuum of meanings. Martin Luther King Jr. declared, “We are saying that something is wrong with capitalism...there must be a better distribution of wealth in this country for all of God’s children and maybe America must move toward democratic socialism.” This is a call for a more balanced use of capitalism and socialism. Intelligent conversation requires clarification of what one means when they use these terms. Socialism is government ownership and/or management of a commodity using public tax receipts and then selling the commodity or allowing private owners to manage it. Examples are the US Postal Service, Social Security, sports stadiums built partially with tax dollars but then owned (depending on city laws) by private citizens (capitalists) who reap the profits or losses. Private prisons, a multi-billion business as I write this, are tax funded and therefore a socialist/capitalist partnership. In 1978, I went to Moscow alone. I wanted to go to the country which was declared our greatest enemy. I also deeply admired their great poet Pushkin, Russian music, and 68 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT their artistic history. Communist ideology and practice were dominant. At that time, the Soviet Union was still attempting an extreme communal system where government held ownership of production and distribution. Even with such tight control an underground economy developed. Hedrick Smith in his The Russians estimated that the underground economy was worth about 66 billion as computed at the official Russian exchange rate. On the street, that is in the thriving black market, the ruble was worth 30 cents to the dollar. A decade later a dollar would buy ten rubles! A verse in my poem, Oletsa Arbat reflects that reality: Money changers, money changers. Russian roulette, “Ten rubles for a dollar, friend.” You learn to answer “Nyet.” However, we did not always say “nyet.” From my experience chronicled below, I learned to keep dollars as I entered the Soviet Union. I bought a beautiful Russian hat for about 200 rubles ($20 at the street exchange) at GUM, the premier Russian department store. In dollars it would have cost me $200! Yes, I was nervous making these exchanges. Hedrick Smith was writing about 1971-74 when he lived in Moscow as the New York Times Moscow Bureau Chief. I had read the book but was ill-prepared for what I found on my first trip! When I entered the country in 1978 I was told that I must exchange my dollars for rubles. I did so only to discover that nobody wanted my rubles! They wanted dollars or silk stockings or cigarettes. Attempting to hail a taxi near Red Square, about 12 miles from my Intourist hotel where I had been placed, no one would take me. A very kind elderly couple realized what was happening and paid, in dollars, for my ride! Even in my Intourist government owned and operated hotel I had to use my American Express card for every purchase. Each glass of wine required the card. No tab, and definitely no rubles! CHAPTER 3: THE HEART OF THE T-GROUP | 69

Patricia returned with me three times a decade later. Still there were mostly empty shelves in stores. We stayed in some homes but could only shower if this was the week when water was turned on in this area of the city. Our hostess in St. Petersburg (called Leningrad then) took us to the famous Heritage Museum which had the largest collection of paintings in the world! Entering we were each given a single sheet of toilet paper because there would be none inside. The Communist (communal) ideology of collective production and distribution was a huge failure in reality! The Soviet experiment failed because it leaned almost completely on communal economics. The USA thrived by mixing all three! The Scandinavian countries are sometimes vilified (or praised) as Socialist. They do have a stronger social welfare system than in the USA though our socialism is strong and loved even though an uneducated populous doesn’t realize the examples of Socialism that I chronicled above. The Scandinavian countries also have a vibrant capitalist economy. Part of the clarity that OD practitioners bring to society is our understanding of these distinctions.

The Spiritual Domain

Though spirituality is much more than affiliation with a particular Religion, it’s no accident that churches discovered the T-group early. In the 1950s, the National Council of Churches (NCC), an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States, co-sponsored, with the National Training Laboratory (NTL), a series of Labs and Training of Trainers at Green Lake, Wisconsin. They were staffed by NTL certified trainers including founders Lippitt, Bradford, and Benne. NTL housed the T-group movement inside the National Education Association, directed by Leland Bradford. The NCC’s member denominations, churches, conventions, and 70 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT archdioceses include mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace churches. Together, they encompassed more than 100,000 local congregations and 45 million adherents at that time. Church leaders saw the T-group as a dynamic embodiment of an authentic and loving community. At least a hundred trainers emerged, leading countless thousands in church sponsored T-groups and in incorporating these dynamics into church retreats. The Episcopal Church invested heavily in such training. The middle 1950s Life magazine article mentioned earlier featured the Episcopalian’s T-group movement. The Episcopalians developed ways to bring some of the dynamics of these groups, though not the T-group itself, to the local parishes. I founded a for-profit secular Institute in 1969 with the T-group at its core (Leadership Institute of Spokane/ Seattle). Its first board chairman, Episcopal Bishop Jack Wyatt, was an experienced T-group trainer! As the National Director of T-group training in the Methodist church during the 1960s, I was quite involved with and aware of the history noted above. What I have learned since is that the early T-group movement also had a profound influence in the Catholic Church. As a result, a marriage encounter movement developed and spread rapidly across the Church. Many Protestant Churches copied the model. In 1969 I was hired by the Jesuit Gonzaga University to supervise their popular encounter group retreats. Encounter groups were a West Coast development derived from the T-group movement. They had become so popular on campus that more than a thousand students attended over a three year period. Apparently, the experience at Gonzaga was also happening at other Jesuit Universities globally, at least in the development of Organization Behavior/Development programs. At Gonzaga, I also taught Group Process by involving the graduate students in a T-group. CHAPTER 3: THE HEART OF THE T-GROUP | 71

The experience of being and learning through the use of a T-group quickly became relevant to various expressions of faith. Of course, ecumenically speaking, it is equally important to remember the Jewish roots of Kurt Lewin. To connect with others, one needs to find their core. Robert Browning wrote, “There is an inmost center in us all where truth abides in fullness.” Baptist mystic Howard Thurman wrote, “There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.” Thurman’s quote supports John Wallen’s Interpersonal Gap Theory, with its bottom-line transformational discovery that I create my own emotions! You don’t make me feel what I feel. I am not on the ends of strings that others are pulling to make me feel or think what they want! I am creating my own life! In a blaming culture, this learning comes hard! Alan Watts, not speaking directly about the T-group, but about in-depth learning notes, “Tools such as these, as well as the tools of language and thought, are of real use to men only if they are awake—not lost in the dreamland of past and future, but in the closest touch with that point of experience where reality can alone be discovered: this moment. Here life is alive, vibrant, vivid, and present, containing depths which we have hardly begun to explore.” Ruth Emory writes, “The authentic individual will not pretend to stand on ground which is not in reality his/her ground. This is really you, and not a put-on person. Authentic life means that people can feel able to trust you because they know you mean what you say and really are as you seem. There is an assurance that even though they may hate what you are and stand for, they can depend on it. You are no will-o’-the- wisp.” 72 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

In the T-group we are constantly urging participants to affirm each other with a simple “Thank you” or “I liked that!” In data referenced earlier from 600 companies, one of the poorest scoring questions was, “I only hear what I’ve done wrong-never what I have done right.” Yet it is common wisdom that positive reinforcement is the most powerful motivator supporting desired behavior. “Catch people doing something right!” said Tom Peters. The German priest Meister Eckhart wrote 700 years ago, “If the only prayer you ever say, in your entire life is ‘Thank you,’ it will be enough!” From Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, Mawlānā, Mawlawī, and more popularly in the English-speaking world known simply as Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet and Sufi, comes this quote, “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field, I will meet you there!” And from 19th century Persia comes this, “It is incumbent upon us, when we direct our gaze toward other people, to see where they excel, not where they fail.” (Selections from the Writings of Άbdu’l-Bahá). Going deep, Carl Jung writes, “The decisive question for man is: Is he related to something infinite or not? That is the telling question of his life. Only if we know that the thing which truly matters is the infinite can we avoid fixing our interests upon futilities, and upon all kinds of goals which are not of real importance. Thus we demand that the world grant us recognition for qualities which we regard as personal possessions: our talent or our beauty. The more a man lays stress on false possessions, and the less sensitivity he has for what is essential, the less satisfying is his life. He feels limited because he has limited aims, and the result is envy and jealousy. If we understand and feel that here in this life we already have a link with the infinite, desires and attitudes change.” These are simply tip-of-the-iceberg illustrations of the spiritual depths that undergird any significant individual and group exploration akin to that pursued in the T-group. CHAPTER 3: THE HEART OF THE T-GROUP | 73

Universal Themes Themes often surface in T-groups that are called psychological, and are also spiritual. Low self-esteem, “I’m not good enough” still haunts many of us. The Trappist monk Thomas Merton put it this way, “It is the unaccepted self that stands in my way and will continue to do so as long as it is not accepted.” Love of self is fundamental. Leviticus 19:18 reads “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus, who quotes this, is seen as a Prophet in Islam, a Savior in Christianity, and his followers called him a Rabbi which means Master or Teacher in Hebrew. It surely means that the capacity to love your neighbor— the disinherited—the stranger—the immigrant, is deeply connected to your capacity to love self! The Buddhist statement, “You are accepted just as you are” means that one no longer has to struggle to find acceptance. Internally receiving that acceptance, thus loving self, contrasted with being selfish which is driven by self-loathing, brings to one an amazing sigh of relief. I no longer have to look to others for approval! Loving self frees me to be compassionate. Social Justice is driven by compassion for others. It is realizing that no one is a stranger—no one the Other. “The truly good...liberate those in debt and bondage” is written in the Quran (Al Quran 2:178) The statement ascribed to Jesus,“...I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35) is followed a few verses later by, “...when you did it to the least of these, you did it to me.” Another closely related theme that emerges in the T-group is the ability to accept praise without deflecting. A simple “thanks” to the person giving praise is difficult for many, let alone expressing praise with specificity about what the other said or did. According to data gathered from the 600 companies referenced earlier, supervisors/managers rarely give such praise even though specific praise is well known to 74 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT be a high motivator. Praise without specifically is not apt to be believed by those struggling with low esteem. It’s not unusual to have participants show up “in role.” In an intact/cousin group with hourly workers, a supervisor, a union steward, perhaps an HR staff, etc., participants most often start interacting from their role rather than human-to- human. Learning that I “have a role” rather than that I am that role is a huge shift. Can I function with others as a human who has a role responsibility and who also can interact with my feelings? In life I am a human with various roles: child/ parent/teacher/counselor/boss/union leader/HR staff, and on and on. To avoid becoming a robotic role one must “...find the genuine within” says Thurman in the complete quote on page 71. Otherwise, he warns, “...you will for the rest of your life be on the end of strings somebody else pulls!” Being stuck in a role is to be on the end of strings pulled, probably, by role expectations. Think of parents who are so stuck in their (important!) role that they can’t be genuine with their children. Since many of our T-groups involve both managers/supervisors and hourly workers, breaking down the role stuckness while still honoring the role function is critical and exciting at work and in life. As a young Seminary student I experienced this struggle myself and saw many fellow students already stuck. When they prayed in chapel they would have a certain tone that we called ministerial. Young wives of these students, many of whom were pastoring small churches, were developing a pious persona. Martin Buber in his classic, I-Thou invites relationships to be person-to-person rather than I-It. When stuck in a role or a stereotype of the other, the spiritual depth and humanity of these others are missed. HR personnel often had, in our cousin T-groups, difficulty being genuine. Some of the most exciting breakthroughs, especially in our two-year twelve week Alcoa graduate program was when these professionals (average age CHAPTER 3: THE HEART OF THE T-GROUP | 75

45 years with lead HR roles in Plants) discovered that they could be genuine and function even better in their role. Lamenting that his parents had spent their lives stuck in one identity, Carlos Castenada has Don Juan say, “Life is too short to have just one identity.” I would add, “Or to be stuck in a role(s).” Authority issues surface in the T-group. In Chapter 5 I illustrate this in my story of the Navajo student. Humans have authority issues arising from simply growing up! Unexplored and unresolved, these can haunt one all of their life! Participants bring such baggage to the T-group. Unfinished authority issues are transferred from one’s relationship with a parent(s), to teachers, to the Iman, priest, rabbi, etc., to bosses (“You can’t trust bosses”), and to the T-group leader who is alert to that possibility. Writes Matt Minahan, “In NTL (stranger) labs, there is no question about who the authority is (the trainer). We invite and welcome feedback and challenge. We are quite clear and speak about our roles. We invite questions and questioning. We choose to answer some directly and in the moment; some we choose to defer until later in the lab when the group is at a different stage or working on different issues. But all challenges to our leadership are welcome.” The same is true for the OD consultant. The story of Pierino in Chapter 13 (p. 217) and the quotes at the beginning of that chapter illustrate this.

More about the T-group and Work

Almost everything in the T-group has a parallel at work. The T-group is really a hologram. In an authoritarian organization participants worry about getting it right. In a consensual culture anyone can veto what’s being currently discussed. We’ve been doing many T-groups with hourly workers and salaried personnel mixed in the same group. The issues in the 76 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT organization show up in the training! Avoid conflict in the T-group and it’s a good bet that issues are being avoided at work. As the leader makes these parallels, participants engage more deeply in the training, begin noticing such parallels themselves, and learn ways to break dysfunctional patterns. Not only is transfer of learning enhanced, but participants more quickly get that this unusual way of learning is relevant! The T-group is key for those who want to enhance data flow, conflict utilization, clear messages, decisiveness, and personal authority. Additionally, timely schedule completion, clarity about commitments, by-whens, single point accountability, and follow-through are learned both in the T-group and the workshop surrounding it. In short, the T-group, contextualized well, offers immense gains for organizations seeking to be both humane and productive. After all, these two dimensions are twins, not polar opposites. Learning to be present, here-and-now, in all of life is exhilarating and enriching. Two thirds of the business participants in our T-group trainings report, in an anonymous questionnaire, that this event is the most applicable training to both work and their other life moments than they have previously experienced. At its heart democracy, the ground upon which the T-group rests, is a constantly evolving social justice system. It is freedom secured by structure and law. Difficult to learn, it always lies in danger of tipping to styles of too much order or freedom. And in the chambers of the heart of the T-group, lies a continued exciting opportunity to offer this profound and radical life experience. Under autocratic and laisez-faire rule humans know what to do to survive. Democracy, on the other hand, must be learned by each generation! The T-group sparked the early OD movement and allows for the effective interaction and other skills needed to thrive in a democracy. Application of this invention in OD today will nurture this spark and, perhaps, ignite a renaissance. CHAPTER 4: WHY OD CONSULTANTS SHOULD BE IN T-GROUPS | 77

Chapter 4 Why OD Consultants Should be in T-groups

ny consultant/coach/trainer who has not had several AT-group experiences (Tavistock/encounter/intensive) will surely miss some profound intervention opportunities when doing their work! The interventions that competent intensive group leaders make are often on target in any human interaction. However without knowing these, golden moments may be missed. Why several? Because leaders and group compositions are different and because participants in their first such intensive group leave with distorted beliefs about what the trainer/leader did. The more powerful the experience for the individual, the more likely the distortion. While honoring other intensive group experiences, my focus is on the T-group from which sprang, especially the encounter movement but more significantly, OD itself! Thus I claim that the T-group is an essential element in the training of OD consultants. Many groups focus on personal growth. The T-group, while also helping individuals, comes from a multifaceted grounding that also embraces social justice, group processes, and organizational systemic issues with strong roots in Kurt Lewin’s passion for democracy. The invention in 1946 lit a spark in the OD practice led by those who initially learned from Lewin. The first OD theorists and practitioners not only attended T-groups, but then led them and thus learned how to intervene in non-T-group settings in a much more profound and existential way. In 1958 Dr. Edgar Schein, a young MIT professor, attended the Human Relations Lab at Bethel. He writes, “Doug McGregor asked me to go to this Lab so I went to please the 78 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT boss, but was not at all optimistic about what I would learn in such a three-week adventure. Later he would write, “Little did I know that this would turn out to be a most significant event, both professionally and personally...This kind of learning enables learners to discover things about themselves, their impact on others, and the deeper dynamics of groups that cannot be learned in other ways.” As late as 1965 the core training for OD professionals was the T-group. That year I was fortunate enough to be invited to NTL’s first month-long OD Intern program at Bethel, Maine. The core of the experience was a T-group. They were led by W. Warner Burke and Goodwin Watson, and included sessions with a variety of faculty such as Chris Argyris, Robert Morton (Grid Management), Will Schutz, and Joyce and John Weir. There were also opportunities for interaction with Leland Bradford, Ron and Gordon Lippitt, and other legendary leaders in the budding OD/T-group movement. Both lead trainers were Columbia University Professors. Goodwin became the long-time editor of the prestigious Journal of the Applied Behavioral Sciences. He was a (younger) colleague of John Dewey. I was in Goodwin’s group. One of our two basic books was T-group Theory and Laboratory Learning, edited by Bradford, Gibb, and Benne. The other, Personal and Organizational Change Through Group Methods: The Laboratory Approach, was by Edgar Schein and Warren Bennis. That Schein at about age 37 was co-authoring with Warren Bennis is impressive. He would become a preeminent leader in the field. His books such as Process Consulting and recently Humble Inquiry, Humble Consulting and with son Peter Schein, Humble Leadership, and Organizational Culture and Leadership have become must reading. Warren Bennis, Ronald Lippitt, Matthew Miles and several eminent others were contributors to the T-group theory book. It is no accident that OD became prominent with the emergence of the CHAPTER 4: WHY OD CONSULTANTS SHOULD BE IN T-GROUPS | 79

T-group, that these early leaders were T-group trainers, and that a month- long OD training planned by the founders of OD had the T-group at its core. Also, it should not be taken lightly by current students, practitioners, and University teachers of OD that I’m claiming that a T-group experience is essential if you are going to practice anything resembling the early meaning of OD! Without a grounding in the T-group, OD and change management loses its heart and incisive grasp of interventions that highlight deeper dimensions of work and life. Personal learnings can come from many sources in life, but the T-group encompasses the individual and the group dimension. This integrated training pulls together the best about EQ, touches deftly on one’s family/culture of origin and it’s influence, and helps conceptualize and engage participants in the practicing of various situational conflict styles. It also brings to consciousness group processes such as decision making by default and interaction patterns. In addition the T-group supports being your own clear self while increasing compassion for the other which is no small part of why participants consistently rate the experience high. Edgar Schein writes about his early T-group experiences, “The most important thing I learned is that the very skills I had acquired in the T-group were needed for such successful action in our staff group—good observation, careful listening, insight into my own filters and biases, and, most important, skill in handling disagreement through careful reflection and feedback around observed behavior.” Further, when doing this with intact groups (or among people who work together daily), the conversation comes back again and again to work issues, especially those that are unresolved. 80 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

As trainers we don’t care what is talked about, but rather, how the participants are engaging with each other. We present the T-group task this way:

Speak for yourself

I want I think I feel

Actively listen and engage with others

Notice and intervene to improve the group patterns and dynamics while remaining aware of the here-and- now moment as contrasted with the there-and-then, i.e. the past or concern about the future.

The lack of awareness of the present moment means that life slips away while I worry about the future or focus on the past. Most participants are not aware of their emotion in the moment. Helpers, whose focus has often been on the helpee, are often stunned to discover that they themselves lack clarity about their own immediate emotional state. One must know what they feel to wisely choose what to do! We don’t care what the immediate subject is. We help them focus on the T-group task. Thus much is learned about the way they view work issues. Themes of critical importance do arise and we help expedite these in the larger system. Transfer of learning is enhanced as they successfully work on business issues using skills being taught in the training. In our unique business adaptation, as described in Chapter 5, we have an outer circle which is of equal importance for learning as the inner one. OD consultants desperately need CHAPTER 4: WHY OD CONSULTANTS SHOULD BE IN T-GROUPS | 81 the skill set expected there! The observer is expected to write what they see and hear without judgments and to hunch the emotionality of the one being observed. It is a rare (1 in 20) person who can do this and yet that ability brings a scientific dimension to both OD and T-group work. Also, if one is confusing judgments with facts, EQ is severely limited. A recent participant joined us shortly after attending an EQ conference. They had neither learned about this critical dimension in that conference nor had built the competence in performing the skill to our standards. Therefore, they had little awareness of their emotionality. The notion that people can become emotionally intelligent by learning concepts without engagement is an oxymoron! The ability to pull back from an accusation/judgment so as to describe accurately what one has seen or heard is a skill woefully lacking and rarely taught. Judgments are in our heads and come from our history; behavior description accurately aims to state what is outside of us. That is why the skill of behavior description, coupled with the ability to recognize, name, and own one’s emotions, is so essential if one is going to be an OD consultant. Also, it is essential if one is to have a sane differentiated life in a confused undifferentiated world. Further, as noted on page 50 and 51, behavior description affects the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) area of the brain which is located between the Prefrontal Cortex and the Limbic area. (O’Conner, 2006) Especially, my capacity to separate my personal judgments from a behavior description of what I sense (see, hear, touch, smell) is a critical element in balancing these two parts of the brain. Children believe that their judgments are facts. Adults remain stuck there unless they learn how to describe behavior, describe and own emotions, paraphrase, and tune in to the perceived emotions of others, all emphasized significantly by John Wallen. Without these skills, emotional awareness is shallow. The T-group, competently led, nails these! 82 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

The difference between the T and a traditional discussion/ lecture is the same as between swimming and talking about swimming. The T is an experience in Group Dynamics and other dimensions mentioned above, not only a discussion about them. OD will not be the dynamic it can be if current practitioners attempt to learn by reading and discussion alone. OD cannot be taught on-line alone. It demands serious time in T-groups and serious time in field work with experienced practitioners. Discussion is not an experiential activity unless the participants stop and discuss the interaction itself! Who is talking, actively listening with paraphrase or parrot (repeat back the words you thought you heard). Who interrupts and who is most frequently interrupted. How was the topic chosen? (Please don’t say that there was no topic! There is always a topic.) Questions such as these move the discussion from the cognitive domain to the experiential domain. The affective (values/emotions), and the motoric (skill development) domains must be engaged.

Attend a T-group more than once.

It’s not about learning to lead them, though we do need a new generation of practitioners, but it’s about being a better consultant and human with your clients. It’s about broadening and deepening your intervention capability. Every intensive group is different. Even with the same leader the participants are different. And even if they weren’t, there is always a new depth to reach! Our graduate program had a continuing T-group (or intensive group depending on the training of the faculty leading) in each module. A concept such as Wallen’s Interpersonal Gap was being discovered by these adult students (average age 45) in greater depth in the second year of the program—and on and on in life I will add! CHAPTER 4: WHY OD CONSULTANTS SHOULD BE IN T-GROUPS | 83

In Chapter 5, I describe the fishbowl T-group model in detail. Traditional T-groups are quite different. Here is a quote from Matt Minahan (from American University) describing one person’s experience at the beginning of a traditional T-group, “Oh, man, are we gonna sit here all day? In this silly circle? I wonder what the agenda is? Why won’t they just tell us what we’re going to do? If someone doesn’t speak up soon, I’m gonna go nuts...And why don’t the leaders just lead?” Matt’s quote is an example of the inner monologue of some T-group participants on the first day. He goes on to say, “It does seem like a bit of torture to subject people to a large circle of colleagues and peers or even strangers for several days, without a given topic, without a clear plan, and with leaders who aren’t leading in expected ways. And yet, that is exactly the fertile ground in which mountains of learning erupt that make the silence and early ambiguity worth it.” Anxiety increases when there is less up-front structure provided during a T-group experience. Having had extensive experience in both models, I think the classic T-group adds more ambiguity than ours. Ambiguity, but not too much, leads to learning. Our fishbowl model retains its fair share of ambiguity (spelled life by us to highlight that life is indeed ambiguous!). The plus for our model is that it more easily can be done in business. The classic T-group, for all its power, appears to have been too ambiguous and therefore too anxiety- arousing in attempted applications to the business world. By contrast, our fishbowl model has been sustained, with executive support, for years, as in Alcoa from 1991 to 2008, across some 15 plants. In Alcoa, it was initiated by Don Simonic, likely the most successful manager in Alcoa’s history. For instance, with Simonic’s sponsorship, after two years of T-groups and other work at Alcoa’s Addy, Washington plant, Business Week reported a 72% productivity gain therefore avoiding a possible plant closure. That work was conducted 84 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT and crafted by wife, Patricia, and I working closely with the internal Human Resource Manager Tom McCombs. Of course, Don Simonic was the plant manager always in the mix driving the intervention. The OD intervention, which included intact/cousin fishbowl T-groups, was soon being touted by Alcoa’s CEO Paul H. O’Neill. A video of a board meeting shows him in front of various logos on the wall which he considered to be symbols of his strategies. One of these was LIOS, the name of the institute that I founded in 1969 to house my consulting work, and the nickname of the subsequent Applied Behavioral Science Graduate program that I contracted with Whitworth University in 1973. In Don Simonic’s next assignment, with Tom internal and several contractors extensively trained in our T-group methods, we did comprehensive OD including Survey Feedback with each intact group, across 4000 union and management personnel. Close to a thousand at two plants were in our fishbowl T-groups. Please get it that the T-groups were a part of a comprehensive OD strategy. For that larger strategy see my book, Cultural Change in Organizations or Chapter 1 of son Chris’s, Strategic Engagement: Practical Tools to Raise Morale and Increase Results - Vol I. Chris’s two-volume set has most of the other interventions we used to obtain those incredible results. During those two years it was reported that Simonic’s two plants (in Knoxville, Tennessee and in Evansville, Indiana) made a third of the world-wide profits among the165 plants!

What Participants say about T-Groups

Many in the field of leadership, management, and organization development cite their T-group experience as the moment that changed their lives for the better. They said they learned to notice process, to operate in the here-and-now, to test their CHAPTER 4: WHY OD CONSULTANTS SHOULD BE IN T-GROUPS | 85 observations and inferences before acting, and to empathize with others in way that had not happened previously. Others say, “I’ve never had such a powerful experience in my life” or, “I expected a traditional management course taught by a trainer, and discovered that my learnings came from myself and the folks in the lab.” “I couldn’t imagine what we were going to do for a week...and though I’m real ready to go home now, I could stay for another week, given how cool this has been.” “I went through this almost 20 years ago at PECO Nuclear and it is the only training that has ever stuck with me. I use the skills and concepts every day.” –VP, Nuclear Power Industry. “My employee grew more (in this training) than he has in the previous 24 years I have known him,” Plant Manager, Manufacturing Corp. So, despite the person who Matt Minahan quoted earlier in this chapter saying, “Oh man, are we going to sit here all day?” the above quotes are very typical of what people say at the end of their first T-group.

Where to find T-groups to attend

Even currently T-groups, reports David Bradford of Stanford, have “...a central role at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. It is seen as one of the must electives. We teach eleven sections of the course and about 85% of the students take it. Alumni regularly name it as one of the most important courses they took as an MBA.” Annually, Stanford also offers a high quality 6-day residential T-group as part of the GSB Executive Program. David Bradford of Stanford is the son of Leland Bradford, who with Kenneth Benne and Ronald Lippitt led the first T-groups in 1947 after Lewin’s untimely death. The work they initiated is constantly evolving and also continues, at least, 86 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT through NTL’s Human Interaction Laboratory, Stanford, my own consultancy (Crosby & Associates), and in the religious domain. The Center for Emotional Intelligence & Human Relations Skills, formed in 2007 by trainers from various churches, offers training to Faith-based groups in several locations. The group was founded by the seasoned Lutheran Pastor Roy Oswald, it offers quality training in the T-group tradition. Twice annually, in Seattle, WA, Crosby & Associates offers our trademarked week-long T-group based workshops (which we call Tough Stuff). At these trainings, participants can take an additional 8 hour seminar called train-the-trianer which surrounds the workshop. While most of our T-groups happen within organizations as part of our broader culture change strategy, the Seattle workshops and a shorter crash course we run in Jamaica are open to the general public.

Here are four sources of public T-groups:

Center for Emotional Intelligence and Human Relations Skills ww.eqhrCenter.org

Crosby & Associates www.crosbyod.com

The NTL Institute www.ntl.org

Stanford Graduate School of Business www.gsb.stanford.edu/exec-ed CHAPTER 5: T-GROUP IN INDUSTRY | 87

Chapter 5 T-group in Industry

T-group Innovations: Our Tough Stuff® Model

Tough Stuff is the name eventually given to the T-group experience I created for use in industry. It stays true to the essence of the original laboratory training, but is adapted to highlight its relevance to the workplace. Most locations with significant success included Tough Stuff as a major component of their strategy. Our standard length is eight days (an initial first week experience of 5 days and a 3 day follow up about 6 weeks later). Participants consistently rate it an 8-10 on its “applicability to work.” These are some of our T-group features: 1. We prefer intact work groups. The group make up of the plant President Obama visited because of its high productivity included (union) hourlies, their supervisor, their union shop steward, and key people with whom they interfaced (i.e., a technician, engineer, quality, etc.). 2. Each group had a meeting sharpening roles and specific measurable goals prior to the week long session. 3. Each group had a follow-through session 2-3 weeks later which included more time in T-group, or as they called it, Skill Group. “Basic Skills Training Group” was the early 1947 name before being shortened to “T-group.” The follow-through sessions also include added conflict-management training. 4. This unique adaptation uses an inside-outside group structure in a focused way to sharpen feedback and interactive skills. Participants are taught and held to the standards of communication set by John Wallen 88 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

(see p. 37). (Credit for this innovation goes to my LIOS colleague Dr. Ron Short). a. The first form Skill Group takes is that of a fish bowl Here, five to eight people sit in a circle facing each other inside a group of five to eight observers. Each member of Group A is paired with a member of Group B, commonly called a learning partner, who observes and gives feedback to their A learning partner between sessions. L B B A A B A A B B A A B Figure 2 T-group Configuration b. The trainers (L on the above chart) intervene to help the participants use the skills being taught or to point out various group dynamics and patterns. They do not provide a topic or lead the discussion like a typical facilitator as is often expected by the participants. Thus ambiguity and anxiety are present in a similar way like the traditional T-groups I knew. The trainers may also briefly join the inner circle to interact or make a comment. c. The inside group (A’s on the above chart) are given a specific task of how to interact and what to look for yet they are not giving a specific topic to discuss. CHAPTER 5: T-GROUP IN INDUSTRY | 89

d. The outside group, the learning partners (B’s in figure 2), observe one person and are given a specific structure and standard to track observations and use when they give feedback. e. The typical beginning sequence of sessions is: i. Group A is in session for ten minutes. ii. Group A’s learning partners give them feedback for five minutes. iii. Group A again is in session for ten minutes. iv. Group A’s learning partners give them feedback for five minutes. v. Group B is in session for ten minutes. vi. Group B’s learning partners give them feedback for five minutes. vii. Group B returns for ten minutes. viii. Group B’s learning partners give them feedback for five minutes. 5. This rotation continues for the length of the training. The time in session may be altered by the trainer who may structure occasional sessions of the entire group. This enables members to have direct access to each other, including the trainer. 6. The skill groups are interspersed with theory sessions of one to one-and-a-half hours where skills and concepts about self-awareness, interpersonal communication, conflict management, group process, and systems theory are presented. The total amount of time in Skill Group varies from twelve to fifteen hours during the first week, which is comparable to the early T-groups. 7. With Dr. Short’s innovation, the outside group becomes as important as the inside group and it takes immediate feedback to a new level. The learning partners task lies at the very core of the work. They are to take 90 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

extensive notes, observing one person whom they are facing. On the left-hand column, they are to describe behaviors (what did the person you are observing do or say). On the right-hand column, they are to hunch feelings (mad, sad, glad, afraid, etc.). Wallen calls this skill Perception Check. It is a rare participant who can do this on their first attempt. The skills taught to the participants in the outside group are critical and have an obvious application to work. They are the very feedback skills needed by managers to effectively coach their employees to higher levels of performance or by employees to bring issues to their boss in a way that is devoid of blaming and focused on specific concerns. 8. We have a strict definition of what openness means. At first, almost all attendees interpret openness as gut- spilling or as telling secrets about oneself that are otherwise held private. The inability for novice trainers to distinguish between personal confession and openness has been a major factor leading to the demise of Encounter and T-groups. Openness is the sharing of my feelings, wants, and thoughts now, not personal secrets or confessions. It is accurate data flow. It is a trust-building way of being. It is not always appropriate in life and work, but the T-group is an ideal arena in which to try on this basically new behavior for all attendees. Participants need to be more emotionally aware so that, with awareness, they can choose wisely. It’s not Do what you feel, but Feel what you feel and choose what you do. At the beginning of the very first Skill Group session, the trainer must be on high alert to nip confessions in the bud! Personal confession is appropriate in therapy. It is not openness as we define it, which is a skill that must be learned as an adult. I have done teenage T-groups CHAPTER 5: T-GROUP IN INDUSTRY | 91

which are useful but they comprehended far less than an adult with more life experience can integrate. 9. Personal confession can be touched lightly when guided by a skilled trainer. In the 1990s, family of origin (FOO) work became deeply integrated into our T-(Skill) groups. The art here is to help participants, in intense interpersonal moments, dip quickly into their FOO history without turning the T-group into a therapy session and therefore leaving the here-and- now conflict. “You seem more intense now than I expected given what’s happening between you and Mary,” the trainer might say. “Does someone else come to mind?” If yes is the response, the trainer then attempts to help the focus return to the immediate conflict with emotionality related to this event and separated from the historic family unfinished business. We have (in extended programs) a counselor on staff who is available for further consultation about such an incident. In the Skill Group we use a brief dip into FOO to enlighten the here-and-now moment. This evolved FOO integration connects, historically, with Kenneth Benne’s observation that, “...the here-and- now includes a time dimension of the past and the future.” (Bradford, Gibb, Benne, 1964) Sam Keen put it this way, “If we don’t know that the story we were brought up with is optional, then we live it out blindly and unconsciously.” Sometimes in our extended six week or two year twelve module program we would go deeper into family of origin work. One striking experience was that of a young Navajo person who was very hostile with me even before we had much interaction. I guessed that there may be some authority issues here and asked him about his dad. He said, “I don’t talk to my dad.” Reluctantly he agreed to visit his dad and ask about his history. 92 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

He discovered that his father had been a Navajo code talker in World War II. Speaking in Navajo these men (and then men from other tribes) confounded the Japanese ability to translate their codes. They were often sent to the front of battles. This silent father of his was forbidden to tell anyone about his mission except that he was a Marine. Finally, in 1968, the mission was declassified. The young man also learned that the code talkers had never received adequate recognition from the federal government. He took that on as a cause and used it for his action research project (the final project needed to graduate from our masters program). I am proud to report that he with others eventually succeeded in getting the federal government to give his father and the Navajo code talkers their deserved recognition! Many T-group participants begin by thinking that they are straight shooters. They interpret openness to mean direct talk that is loaded with judgments about the other. This too, demands a quick intervention by the trainer so that norms in the group do not get tilted toward destructive confrontation. In the stranger groups, this is not as devastating. In an intact group, however, secret-telling and accusative language create chaos that can be long lasting. Immediate interventions can quickly turn the quality of the conversation into one where such distorted notions of openness become positive moments of emotion and behavior description. As Hamlet succinctly put it, “Aye, there’s the rub!” Too few adults know how to describe behavior. Children grow up being socialized to judge and call other kids by pejorative names when provoked. They point fingers, blame, and see causal factors as being outside of their control. This is sometimes accurate in the sense of the wider society, but I’m writing here about daily interactions with others. Most carry their childhood socialization into adulthood. The ability to pull back from an accusation/judgment so as to describe accurately what one CHAPTER 5: T-GROUP IN INDUSTRY | 93 has seen or heard is a skill woefully lacking and rarely taught. Judgments are in our own head and behavior description is what is outside of us. That’s why the skill of behavior description is so essential if one is going to live a sane, differentiated life in a sane, differentiated company. Dr. John Wallen, author of the Interpersonal Gap, claimed that behavior description is the most difficult skill to learn. We agree. It is also absolutely critical if one is to give clean feedback unencumbered by the giver’s judgments/projections/opinions! It is, therefore, an essential skill for managers. Implications for OD Practice The first major implication from what I have written above is that team and even some leadership development, not just T-group training, needs to be done with intact groups. This minimizes the problem of transfer of learning. A second major implication is the importance of behavior description as understood and taught in our unique T-group innovation. Even if the OD practitioner never does a T-group with a client (which would be unwise to do without training and apprenticeship), it is our belief that knowing and integrating our strict definition of both behavior description and openness into one’s habitual communication is essential! For instance, if I think that feedback is giving others my judgment of them rather than feedback as stating the specific behaviors that I’ve seen and heard, then I am fused and probably unaware of my emotionality in that moment. My judgments, besides not being facts, come from deep within me and are a clue about what lenses I wear looking out from my eyes. They tell the story of me and how I uniquely view the world. I know of no one who wrote with more clarity about this than John Wallen, (Chinmaya, A., Vargo, J.W.) for me a giant in the field of OD and interpersonal communications. His precision about communication and his skill exercises 94 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT permeate all of our books and our work. Like no one else, Wallen emphasized behavior description. Without that skill of specificity, feedback is reduced to judgments about the other and to endless blaming. His Interpersonal Gap is an interpersonal systems theory that turns communication upside down, in that it helps those who comprehend it to realize that: 1. The receiver of the communication, not the giver, holds most of the keys towards resolving any confusion arising in the conversation since it is the receiver who knows if they are confused or irritated by an interaction. The sender may or may not sense this. 2. I create my own emotions based on my interpretations of your actions. You don’t make me feel—I do! 3. My unique interpretations of the other (responding to words, gestures, face, and tone), sometimes leads to my misunderstanding the other. I don’t know the others by their actions, but by my interpretation, which is often (especially in tense moments) different from their intentions. Wallen claims that more than 50% of all conflicts come from this gap in understanding. 4. Until I comprehend this, I will live a lot of my life as a victim pointing my finger elsewhere as I search for answers to repeated communication dilemmas. The tracking by the observers in the outside group of their hunches about emotions, related to the behavior listed in the left-hand column, is the door to empathy. At the beginning, those in the observer role often list judgments on the left and more judgments on the right column. Once this awareness is heightened by a skilled trainer, the participants ability to chart each column with greater accuracy almost always increases. The practicality of more precision soon becomes evident. Without specificity 1) goals and roles are fuzzy, 2) so-called feedback is often blame, 3) employees and bosses don’t get CHAPTER 5: T-GROUP IN INDUSTRY | 95 what they really want, 4) workplaces are devoid of empathy, and 5) huge wastes of time and energy follow.

Integration with Task Work

It is our contention that for OD and T-group training to be effective it must be integrated with the real problems and challenges that are taking place within the location. “Goodwin Watson (1947) warned that the skill training had to accomplish more than the warm glow of participation to achieve objective results by truly implementing a data-based project cooperatively” (Schmuck, 2008). The following is an example of how we help each client do so. During a recent 7-week intensive training (spread out over nine months) with a manufacturing company, each participant had a project that was cross-functional and that was expected to contribute to the bottom-line. The CEO signed off on each one. Work on this was interwoven into the sessions, all of which included continued Skill Group sessions. For a systemic analysis of each project/task we use our adaptation of Daryl Conner’s theory, Sponsor/Agent/Target/ Advocate (SATA), popularized in his book Managing at the Speed of Change. Especially we insist that “you can only sponsor your immediate direct reports” (Crosby, 1992 and 2011). Thus, if a supervisor isn’t aligned with bosses above, the crew almost always follows their immediate supervisor’s lead regardless of what higher-up managers are espousing. We have each person chart their project or their cross- function task. We use SATA as an analytic tool that helps each person build their strategy to achieve success in the socio- technical aspects of the change they’re attempting. It is not unusual for these to net significant results. For more complete understanding of SATA read Strategic Organizational Alignment by Chris Crosby. 96 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

In Mexico recently with a multinational firm, our Tough Stuff had 34 participants (in three groups) from eleven countries. It is a part of a strategy which the top manager has begun putting in place (The Vice President of Supply Chain of Central and South America). We have worked with him for 13 years in other companies. He distributes a book (Crosby, 2011) which describes the training and his preferred OD strategy and announces it as a “blueprint” for how he wants his company to be. It is important to highlight that the T-Group is not a stand-alone intervention! Thus, Tough Stuff, or any OD intervention, is done in the context of business goals. For instance, when we present decision making, participants will identify current decisions that aren’t being made in a timely manner and the right person to be the SPA. At midweek, the VP joins each of the three T-groups in a session that deals with their relationship to him. In it he models what is being taught in the Tough Stuff event. He has been in many of our trainings over the years and is highly skilled. This is sponsorship at its best! Even in this 5-day training, we have attendees identify cross-functional, day-by-day issues or projects which cross department lines. Our goal is to have them identify conflicts that are delaying effective work. We believe that most so-called interpersonal conflicts are really systems issues stemming from misalignment of bosses higher in the chain-of-command rather than where the conflict appears to be happening. To set up the SATA analysis of the Mexican training, the VP took an active role in the formation of six groups that focused on different mission critical initiatives. This is yet another example of how sponsorship can maximize a training event and enhance the transfer to work issue. On the 10-point anonymous scale rating Applicability to Work, this international group scored the training a median of 9. Some readers may wonder whether this adaptation of the CHAPTER 5: T-GROUP IN INDUSTRY | 97

T-group to business still impacts the individual’s personal life. Rating the question, Applicability to life outside work, the median was also a 9! Retribution?

Recently I was told you cannot have bosses and employees in the same group. Yet that is what we do and have done with 100’s of groups. Then I was asked, “How do you avoid the problem of people saying things, when bosses are present, which leads to regrets and undesirable consequences?” Patricia and I were amazed. We and associates have led Skill Groups with well over 10,000 people. We insisted on at least one three day follow-through session and often had two. We never heard of any retribution. These were long-term interventions where we spent hours on the floor with hourly workers hearing what was going on for them. No one said that they got retribution from anything they said in Skill Group. I believe this was for several reasons 1) the top sponsor in each organization is in the first Skill Group held in their location and models being a learner, 2) I contract with that leader to intervene with them as much or more than the other participants, 3) I pay close attention to the observation notes being taken and focus on the descriptive accuracy of these notes versus on fixing the person in the inside group, and 4) we pay close attention to the distinction between personal confession and openness (pp. 90-91) and believe it is an essential element regarding retribution. To further expand point 1, the CEO/ manager plays a critical role in stating the business purpose for holding such sessions at the start of the training. Once they have their initial Skill Group experience they make an opening statement at the beginning of each subsequent session and join the Skill Group midweek to interact with the participants! Elaborating on Point 3 above, often the first notes taken by the learning partners contain judgments/interpretations 98 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT and therefore about are themselves rather than about what the person in the inside group was doing. In regards to David and his learning partner, I coached them as I coach everybody. This is illustrated in Chapter 9. David Helwig, the VP, was in the first Skill Group held in his organization. His enthusiastic permission and openness to me intervening with him was evident. I put him in the middle circle with an hourly worker observing him. Our feedback in the reflection session was to the observer who was attempting to be descriptive and do a perception check (see p. 37). Only occasionally would we coach the person being observed. When training counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists to do this work, I noticed that they almost always wanted to work with the person who was inside the group rather than with the observer giving feedback. In short, their training pulls them to do therapy. I am very alert to this and confront it immediately. David was eager to model learning. On one occasion I remember him, upon return to inside group, saying to a participant, “My observer noticed that after you spoke I didn’t respond at all, but went on to another subject, so I want to know what you were saying. I apologize.” David, or any boss that embraces learning, leaves the Skill Group bonded with their people and with clarity about the unique roles that each have to play! The workers are expected to speak descriptively rather than with blaming language. We also build the participant skills that are needed to receive blaming language in a way that develops differentiation of self and fosters learning. This is done through 1) recognizing blame or interpretive language as not factual therefore as information rather than definition, 2) helping the person being blamed to hold such moments loosely and inquire by saying, “What did I do or say that led you to that judgment/interpretation?,” and 3) by helping both parties stay with the conversation long enough for clarity and learning to be reached. CHAPTER 5: T-GROUP IN INDUSTRY | 99

The skills used to receive blame means that in such moments learning can take place by both parties. The words that one uses to judge or interpret others have historical meaning to those who use them. It is only possible to learn about myself if I get it that my unique history has brought me to this moment of judging/interpreting the other. If I am able to step back and reflect on my own words used, then I have the ability see the other as they really are rather than the words I use about them. Conversely, if I do not take another's judgments/ interpretations as a fact about me, then I can learn about the actual behaviors that I did and reflect on them. From here I can expand my choice of behaviors in such moments. If I just stick to judgments/interpretations as facts about others or toss away harsh criticism off hand, then I have missed the profound lessons such moments can bring. We did not market T-groups or OD. We marketed that we could help solve organizational issues. As indicated in Chapter 9, page 148, David turned to me and asked if there is anything that could help them handle conflict. That was several months into working with him at PECO. In the model that appeared in my book, Cultural Change in Organizations the T-group is listed as number eight in fictional plant manager “Peter’s” discovery of how the change was happening. It reads, “Develop a critical mass of strategic employees who have high interactive skills...” I called the fictional change agent Merlin for several reasons, but one was so I could have him do some magic. For instance, when Peter suggested “self-managed teams” he disappears and then reappears and explains the automatic disappearance at that suggestion. In 1966 I became an NTL Associate. I did many T-groups with NTL Associates such as Robert Golembieski, Goodwin Watson, Jack Sherwood, and later about 15 with John Wallen. In John’s, which was not a Skill Group but a traditional style T-group where 12 or 15 participants were seated in circles 100 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

(rather than around tables which was the traditional T-group), I learned to intervene when someone was giving feedback if it was not descriptive, hopefully without losing the passion of the moment. In the general sessions we trained people in behavior description, feeling description, paraphrase, perception check, and the distinction between openness and personal confession. None of this precise skill training was true in the traditional T-groups that I led with other trainers. However there was often attention brought to the person giving the feedback and certainly it was far cleaner with NTL than in the encounter groups I mentioned at Esalen (p. 40). Bosses and employees should not be in the same intensive group where blaming is confused with and even called feedback. Trainer’s must be alert, aware and able to intervene with the John Wallen skills mentioned above. Participants must be trained on these skills and then helped to use them especially when there is tension. If this is done, then it becomes a huge advantage to have boss and employees, union and management, the lowest levels mixed with middle managers and the highest levels, and any other contentious relationships all together in the same training. Not only does this lead to bonding but it also causes immediate transfer of learning to the workplace. In our Skill Group training we are alert to this immediately!

Software Implementations

We also have had many software implementation successes. Chris was a full-time Alcoa CSI (one of 22 business units in Alcoa at the time) employee doing, in many plants, OD as chronicled in this book before working for four years implementing Oracle as the Change Management Lead embedded in the IT department. OD provides crucial socio- tech elements usually missing in IT software implementations. Working with the project leads, Chris put in place the socio- CHAPTER 5: T-GROUP IN INDUSTRY | 101 tech macro elements which, when done well, almost always lead to project success. Alcoa CSI's Oracle project, part of a global Alcoa project called EBS, was a huge success by all measures. Those measures included no customer disruptions and zero missed shipments at go live in a project that implemented at 18 locations spanning 7 countries. Plus, satisfied end users! A key factor in the success was having the end users involved in deciding when the project was ready to move to the next phase (the sequence is conference room pilot, end user acceptance, and go-live). They did so by raising the core issues and making a suggestion to the local plant lead team. In turn the lead team would recommend go or no-go to the regional lead team. At Alcoa CSI, with Chris’s help, IT leaders facilitated this process. In other business units IT made recommendations to the regional lead team without the critical input from the end users nor the understanding that came out of the process from the local plant leaders. In some of those situations, where IT made the suggestions, huge disruptions happened and on time delivery dipped greatly for significant periods of time. Gil also was hired as an external contractor for an Alcoa business unit for two years helping to implement Oracle in 15 different plants. After our two-year intervention with Aldus (later sold to Adobe), the Director of Publishing Engineering (and later Partner and General Manager, Microsoft) John Nicol wrote, “...we completed PageMaker 6 on time and reclaimed market share, after our previous version was a year late.” Paul Brainerd, the inventor of PageMaker which was the first desktop publishing computer program (1985), was another superb sponsor. My book, The Cross-Functional Workplace was written influenced by that intervention. I worked with Paul at all of his USA locations and in Europe. All of his software products were influenced by our methodology. We did survey 102 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT feedback with intact groups. Perhaps a hundred, in cousin groups were in Tough Stuff. Paul was an eager participant and open learner as were all of the managers.

Summary

The unique innovation by Ron Short to use the inside-outside of the fishbowl style of T-groups to focus on feedback skills is cutting edge because of how we integrate it with business goals and constantly help the participants make direct day- to-day implications to work. When done in this fashion, significant transformations happen like those highlighted at the Davenport Plant visited by President Obama in 2011. In my career, those interventions that tend to be sustained have integrated T-group opportunities as described in our model, for both hourly and salaried employees, into the equation. The EQ maturation, systems understanding, awareness of the distinction between behaviorally descriptive feedback and judgmental pseudo-feedback has direct relevance for the success of the business. Also the movement from victim to proactive creator and their new ability to manage conflict more constructively bodes well for the health of individuals, and companies. These are potentially deeply learned in a T-group. Work on real projects and/or cross-functional dilemmas done in the context of this in-depth experience increases the possibility that the learning will be sustained across the years. CHAPTER 6: T-GROUP IN UKRAINE | 103

Chapter 6 T-group in Ukraine

This chapter provides a window into the excitement that has surrounded our international T-group experiences in Ukraine, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Jamaica, Egypt, Chile, and Wales. In Italy, Mexico, and Jamaica nearly a thousand employees have been involved. Sons Gilmore and Chris have also done T-groups in other countries. Skilled simultaneous translators (and headphones) were essential!

olodja had just said,“Ya ne mogu” (I can’t). I asked him if Vhe would be willing to say, “Ya ne budu” (I won’t). This was a defining moment for him and us—the two trainers. Actually the translator had missed the distinction and mistranslated. My meager knowledge of Russian had been the right knowledge for this moment. Volodja, a determined man in his mid-forties, strode across the room and planted himself firmly in front of me. “You don’t understand, I can’t.” Again I repeated, “Are you willing to say, I won’t?” There was a long pause. It seemed like forever to me. It settled in this poorly maintained and crowded room like a fog descending on all twenty-four of us. When Volodja said, “I won’t,” I knew that he and many in the room had just jumped through Alice’s Looking Glass into a new paradigm —that of self-awareness, that of choice. He had been saying, “I can’t,” about an arena of his life where he truly, not other forces, had control. 104 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Choice!

I am of the first generation given an opportunity to live an adult life in the paradigm of the training (T) group world. My first T-group was in 1953 at 25 years of age. There I discovered constant interactive and group process evolving, no matter what the topic: ▪ I have feelings as well as thoughts. ▪ Unspoken norms are influencing behavior (systems thinking). ▪ I can consciously influence that about which I am aware. ▪ I had been living reactively in an unconscious victim state in many of my interactions. ▪ I am the choice maker in my life. These were stunning and exciting new awarenesses for me. The twin values that came through to me in that experience were choice and a far more profound experience of democracy than I had known. The T-group was part of the curriculum at Boston University’s School of Theology. The trainer was my professor. The authority issues were more real than in a non-university T-group, because the professor had legitimate authority. We did not drift into an egalitarian notion of democracy resembling anarchy, but rather resembling political democracy with its system of clarity about authority. Here I was in one part of the old Soviet Union where choice had been a luxury for the privileged few and democracy an illusory dream. When Volodja said, “I won’t,” he was beginning to understand that he was in charge of more of his life than he had realized—not the State, not his parents, not unseen forces. CHAPTER 6: T-GROUP IN UKRAINE | 105

Our three day workshop extended to six days and we agreed to return the next year for eight days of intensive T-group training. Already, these folks had tasted the new paradigm and were hungry for more. We arrived in chilly Kiev one year later, energized about our second planned T-group training with a non-English speaking group. Their excitement was contagious. Nine articles had been translated focusing on the integration of management, OD, and self-learning. Many of the articles were taken from my book, Walking the Empowerment Tightrope. A light snow fell as we drove to the retreat center, a favorite vacation spot for Soviet dignitaries in the former empire. With its early white winter blanket, the setting and the buildings resembled a series of Swiss chalets. Amidst the scenic view sat the fabled Russian house on chicken legs, from the story of Baba Yaba that had enchanted Eastern European children for centuries. As Sergey, Volodje, Lana, Sveta, Victor, Anastasia and others arrived, we were grateful again for the privilege of entering this tortured world with these soulful people. We shared dormitory-like, simple accommodations. The usual Soviet type dilemmas were apparent: ▪ No duplication. ▪ No easel or newsprint, except what we carried from the USA. ▪ No toilet paper, except what we had brought. ▪ A minimum of heat. As the training began, we continually faced the issue of heat or rather, no heat. Doors were left open unless policed, so that what heat was available was compromised. Tanja, the site manager, had to quit the training because her workers didn’t function without constant supervision. Thus the furnaces that energized the steam heat system went out without her presence. 106 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

The issue of personal responsibility came to the fore when Patricia, the co-trainer, and I gave the group an assignment and then left the room. An hour later, when we met for reports, no one had worked. They said, “We don’t work when you are gone.” Indeed, they hadn’t. (I remembered the familiar Russian joke, “We pretend to work, you pretend to pay us.”) Here were adult managers who complained about their dependent workers, who themselves would not close doors or do task assignments unless supervised. Of course, these experiences became key opportunities for learning. This truly was Laboratory Learning. The T-groups were done mostly in our Skill Group style; six participants in the middle, six observing with one-on-one pairings, interspersed with theories and practice on the John Wallen skills described on p. 37. Participants constructed a family genealogy. Significant to the Ukrainian (and Russian) genealogy is the common absence of recent family members. Grandfathers were especially missing. “My grandfather fought against the Germans. Once they were defeated, he fought with the Ukrainian resistance against the Russians. He disappeared.” It was impossible for us not to be caught up in the tragic history and impoverished present state of these people. Pain reigns. Laughter about their society’s sense of futility is the pain reliever. When I look into their eyes, I see a soulful quality that seems to transcend the everyday drudgery of their existence. My Russian improved—slightly. “Sto delat!” I heard again and again with a shrug of the shoulders—“What to do?” Our requests to Victor for duplication, paper, heat or a bottle of wine were met with the phrase “Trudna no ne ne vas moshna”—Difficult, but not impossible (Victor Felixovich Gura had attended a LIOS Summer Institute and has hosted us in Kiev). CHAPTER 6: T-GROUP IN UKRAINE | 107

With our Russian translator at our side, repeating every word rapidly, we led our T-group. Here were people who had known only the extremes of the decision making spectrum all of their lives, either authoritarian or submissive. Now they were in a T-group without a familiar task and invited to be in the here- and-now and speak from the “I.” Feelings about authority were buried deep and were powerful! At the one extreme of the decision making spectrum, they had experienced a public policy as totalitarian as any in history. On the other end, they had experienced a social policy of submission in their work experience. At home, the young men were coddled and prized after the loss of tens of millions across the Stalinist decades. How does one define oneself in such a confused milieu? The eight-day T-group centered experience, preceded by the six-day training the previous year, remains for me a peak life experience. In the midst of it and in my memories, I experience a gauntlet of emotions-despair, joy, anger, affection and...hope. When Victor and Lana had a daughter, Katerina Victorovna, in December of 1993, we became her God-grandparents. As I write this book, she and I are Facebook friends. Also Victor remains a special friend. He called me on my recent 91st birthday. He frequently joined us on one of our yearly visits to our Italian home village Volpaia. Katerina joined us there on one occasion! Yes ...hope! 108 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT CHAPTER 7: RECOVERING FROM SELF-DIRECTED TEAMS | 109

Chapter 7 Recovering From Self-directed Teams: The Addy Experience The opposite of autocracy is laissez-faire. A fact, mostly forgotten, is that in Lewin's famous boys study the laissez-faire group had more incidents than the autocratic group. Yet, many OD professionals herald consensus and self-directed teams as ideal.

he first words I heard from the new plant manager as he Treached out to shake my hand were, “I hate consultants, but my boss of the Primary Division Rick Rawl told me that I have to keep you.” I had been at the plant for five months. Tom McCombs, a graduate student of mine in the 1970s, was the HR director at this Addy, Washington magnesium plant. His education with me had been in OD. He had been at Addy since it opened in 1975. It was revolutionary in U.S. business. A new industrial plant opened using autonomous or self-directed work teams. These were teams with no formally assigned supervisor. There was one department head over four shifts! Tom writes,“We soon realized that we needed a Shift Coordinator on each shift. Each Shift Coordinator covered seven departments.” This still allowed for a huge amount of autonomy. While other organizations had attempted such work groups, no heavy industry plant had ever begun its life in this way. Like the Uddevalla Volvo plant in Sweden (which eliminated foremen in the 1980s), the Aluminum Company of America’s (Alcoa) magnesium plant was heralded as the “wave of the future.” Visitors, intrigued by the concept, flocked to both plants. The Uddevalla plant closed in 1992. Critics say the organizational structure fostered a management philosophy that was more like abandonment than empowerment. Proponents 110 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT emphasize the humanistic environment and gradually improving productivity as unacknowledged signs of success. Nevertheless, the plant had not achieved competitiveness with other Volvo plants or foreign competitors. While the story of the Uddevalla plant has been described thoroughly, the remarkable turnaround at the Alcoa plant remains either untold or, worse yet, the increased productivity is ascribed to the emphasis on self-directed teams or a more effective use of technology. This is how myths become truths and blur reality, or at least my version of reality. I say this because my colleague (and wife) Patricia Crosby and I were called in as consultants to this plant and helped Alcoa with an intensive change process that lasted two-plus years. Keeping in touch with Tom, I knew that the plant was in trouble. In fact, Alcoa was threatening closure. On my invitation Tom came to Philadelphia where some were advocating self-managed teams. He had been at Addy since its inception. Guided by his input PECO went with a supervisor system that expected and trained managers/supervisors to be clear about authority/decision making and maximize influence of subordinates. This, of course, is what is supported in our books and what effective T-groups highlight. Knowing that Patricia and I were nearing the end of our two years with David Helwig at PECO (See Chapter 9), Tom, with his Plant Manager’s agreement, invited us to Addy. I was spoiled and needed to learn once again that sponsorship from the Plant Manager was more than having him agree with HR to have us come. My history with David Theilman at Easy Loader, with Ross Smith at Carnation tomato processing in California, with John Ward at Rancho Seco, with William Bishop of the Department of Energy in his support of my work on a three billion dollar project centered at Los Alamos, and with David Helwig at PECO was so profound that I had become complacent about the need for CHAPTER 7: RECOVERING FROM SELF-DIRECTED TEAMS | 111 compatibility and continued support from the top! David and I had been in sync. As fine a man as was the manager at Addy when we arrived, we were not walking on the same path. Abdication of the leadership/ responsibility was evident at the plant when we arrived in late 1989. Decision making by consensus was rampant, and almost everyone had the ability to veto or at least slow down decision processes. Merrill and Reid’s Social Style identified the dominant styles of 80% of the employees as either Amiable or Expressive. The culture rewarded these traits so strongly that no one among the management had a primary concern for the Driving Style that emphasizes strong concern for bottom-line results! McCombs, Patricia and I were doing survey feedback and T-group based workshops with a cross-section of the plant with some success but not enough to change the direction towards closure. Five months into our work I called the VP in charge of the plant and indicated that we would be leaving Addy because results aren’t satisfactory. His response,“Please stay. In two weeks there will be a new plant manager. Meet him and decide.” I agreed. Thus I soon met the man who “hates consultants.” Don Simonic, a former football player and coach was known as a “kick *** and take names” boss. He would soon tell me, “I knew that there must be another way to manage, but I didn’t know what it was!” Deep in him was a compassion, a clarity, and an ability to delegate with accountability combined with already developed ability to make decisions and challenge. He quickly let the unexpressed depth emerge. He arrived as plant manager in mid-1990. His ability as a leader together with his capacity to 1) be truthful, 2) set breakthrough goals, 3) connect with employees, and 4) develop clarity about authority throughout the system was essential to the plant’s turnaround. 112 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Simonic credited his dad for teaching him, “Always tell the truth the first time. Then when asked again you don’t have to try to remember how you first answered!” Somehow I sensed that when we first met and he made his “I hate” statement about consultants. Though judging it as abrasive, I admired his candor. That’s what I responded to—and we developed a relationship that grew richer across the years. Together, certainly including Tom McCombs who was extremely competent and trusted by the employees, we exposed the myths about self-directed groups! Terms such as self-managed, self-directed, or autonomous work teams typically refer to work teams with no foreman, supervisor or manager who is held accountable for the teams functioning. But whoever creates a team can un-create it. Whoever creates the team is, thus, accountable. In addition, organizations—like nature— abhor a vacuum, particularly in leadership. So, someone fills this void, however indirectly or ineffectively. The primary task Simonic faced was to get authority— especially in the supervisory ranks—clarified and in place in the system. Where the role and authority of the supervisor are missing or not clear, the authority of the worker is also confused. In such a vacuum, a few workers will often take over and become the new authorities, for good or ill. Likewise, staff authority becomes confused. If line managers don’t seize the reins of responsibility, staff and/or employees will understandably step in to fill that authority vacuum. Although this could be seen as helpful in short-term emergent situations, it will be confusing to all and detrimental to the system if it continues. The Alcoa plant, though in serious trouble in 1990, was hailed by Business Week in mid-1993 for boosting productivity by 72%. In November, 1992, Metals Week called this plant the, “only ray of hope for U.S. customers.” The article cites Alcoa’s “ground breaking productivity” as an example of this success. CHAPTER 7: RECOVERING FROM SELF-DIRECTED TEAMS | 113

We had been working with Don only a few months when he surprised me by saying, “I want you to start a graduate program here like the one Tom McCombs went through!” It seemed impossible to me especially since we were a contract program and the final decision would be in the hands of the University with which we were affiliated. Tom and Patricia challenged me to check it out with LIOS President Brenda Kerr. She was a visionary who had the courage to act on her dreams. During her presidency student population increased far more than with any other presidency. With a skeptical tone I reported Don’s request. Faster than lighting she responded, “Great! Let’s do it!.” We began the next fall with nine hourly workers grandfathered in as second year students because of their extensive work with us the previous year at Addy. Thus began the grassroots Alcoa program that would last 15 years and graduate several hundred including about 50 hourly (mostly union members) with Don driving it and with the support of Alcoa’s CEO, Paul O’Neil. He had noticed the productivity in plants with students and our consultant interventions. Brenda and Denny Minno (husband and wife) with their counseling and family of origin expertise joined us on the faculty. This was truly a grassroots movement and never an official Alcoa program. When Don moved to the Knoxville, Tennessee and Evansville, Indiana plants he immediately sent his direct reports. Many objected arguing about the dire straits of both plants. He had guided them (tricked?) to make a list of those who absolutely could not be away for 12 weeks over a two-year program. All of their names were listed. Then came a classic Don Simonic response, “There’s my list! Do you think I’m spending this much money to send people who aren’t the most critical to our success?” 114 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

The psychological function of leadership is to define limits and, in doing so, create enough structure for employees to feel safe. This is why leaders always emerge where there is an authority vacuum, whether it be among youth in the city streets, nations that are floundering, or a work group that is told to “do it yourself ” without the necessary clarity about authority. In such a quagmire, a manager will usually micro-manage the crises and generally abdicate during non- crisis times. So in our consultation process at the plant, Patricia and I teamed with sponsor and leader Simonic and human resources manager Tom McCombs who had a 15-year history at the plant. Simonic, in his role as plant manager, exhibited strong leadership. That is, he was clear about 1) where he was going “We’re going to reduce costs per pound by from $1.48 per pound to $1.21 in nine months!” (Addy was selling at $1.35 and thus losing $0.13 per pound!), 2) how they would get there “By involving people in improving processes and working together,” and 3) the need to be connected with his employees while staying the course against resistance. In short, he was willing and able to take charge and tune in to his employees. No organization can for long allow a team to function with poor productivity or quality, unsafe work practices, or high absenteeism. Yet, such supervisor-less or permissive-led groups may continue functioning ineffectively for years while management frantically tries indirect ways to influence their performance. One such indirect way is to change personnel in the groups. Usually, once a negative work culture develops, new employees get sucked into the negative culture unless they are unusually clear about their own personal authority and will stand up against work norms that discourage eagerness or diligence about work. Such clarity and strength to oppose a new group are rare as most strive to get along in new situations. CHAPTER 7: RECOVERING FROM SELF-DIRECTED TEAMS | 115

Further, hiring Dr. Ron Short to help our research, we established a one-to-one correlation (high validity and reliability) between how groups were managed and absenteeism and safety. Eight teams were measured. The group with the highest scores on role clarity, and influence with management had 2% of the safety problems while the team with the lowest scores on those (and other) dimensions had 28% of the safety issues. The highest scoring group had the best productivity and quality metrics, and half the absenteeism of the lowest team. More remarkably, on the instrument measuring the group’s effectiveness on the above mentioned categories (plus conflict management, communication, etc.) the correlation between high group effectiveness and safety, etc., placed the second highest scoring group to be the second highest in safety, etc., the third was third highest, and on and on to the lowest!

Clarity about so-called Self-Managed Teams

Self-managed means different things to different people. Think of it this way: A self-managing unit manages what it manages and doesn’t manage what it doesn’t manage. Sound crazy? Stay with me and consider this example and the diagram in Figure 3. Suppose a unit is expected to manage the following items: ▪ Safety. ▪ Productivity. ▪ Quality. ▪ Environmental impact. ▪ Its own meetings effectively. ▪ Discipline of employee tardiness, absenteeism, rule violations. If there are four units, will all of the units manage all of the items well? Of course not. It is likely that the time-honored, 116 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT bell-shaped curve will be in force here as it is in traditionally managed units. Notice that I’ve switched my reference from teams to units. Team implies working together, teaming. Some units don’t need teaming but do need more individual freedom. For instance, maintenance employees may work in pairs but rarely as a larger team. Social service personnel often need to be freed from team obligations to do individual work. The question is: How does the unit need to be organized in order to function productively? Certainly, the answer is not always teaming.

Unit B Unit C

Unit A Unit D

Manages Manages Well Poorly

Figure 3 Normal Distribution

Even Unit A will not manage perfectly. So, who manages when the employees are not managing well? This is the question that must be addressed. It is a fundamental issue of modern organizations—finding the proper balance between management authority and employee influence and helping the supervisor develop the art of intervening when needed while avoiding micro-management. Supervisors (call them what you please—it doesn’t matter) and the managers above them have single point accountability, CHAPTER 7: RECOVERING FROM SELF-DIRECTED TEAMS | 117 and their goal is to create increasingly more autonomy until employees are able to function like Unit A in the bell-shaped curve. When the unit is not functioning in a high-performing way, the supervisor has single point accountability to step in and say, “I need this to be handled by (a certain time). If not, I’ll manage it.” Thus, each unit defines the degree to which it is supervised by the effectiveness of its own self-management. In essence, the supervisor’s offer to the unit is, “If you manage the work process effectively, I won’t need to manage you.” But don’t expect a supervisor to achieve this with hourly employees if the supervisor is being micro-managed from above and is not experiencing appropriate delegation! The whole system must be in sync. Managers/supervisors will manage, not as they are told to manage at a training, but as they are managed! After an initial honeymoon, so-called self-management is very difficult. The larger the group, the more difficult it is. Many such units look more like group tyrannies than the honeymoon dreams of consensus. When I first arrived, I met with each team. There were 10-15 members. In the team with the lowest scores and worst safety record, there was a clear leader who did all of the talking despite several attempts on my part to involve others. “You don’t need to hear from them. Right gang? We agree on everything!” Although self-managed sounds permissive, what often happens is that it creates informal leaders who lead the group in an authoritarian way. One important concept that often gets lost in the rush to restructure is this: self-managed units are a method, not an end. The end is to achieve the organization’s mission, values, and business objectives. The end is not to create teams, however defined. Whether there are so-called self-managed units or more traditional foreman/worker units, there is no escaping the need for organizational clarity about authority and influence. 118 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

In real life we citizens of a democracy manage ourselves, but hopefully within the framework of law and societal and organizational expectations that our body politic has created. In a similar manner, work units develop norms or ways to work—or avoid work. If the norms are unproductive someone must have the authority to intervene before the organization faces a business crisis. Authority is not bad or good—it simply is. Pretending that it does not exist is the kiss of death; sharing it, with balance, is empowering to all—bosses and employees. The early phase of the change process at Addy was Don meeting with small groups of employees organization-wide. “Here’s where I’m taking the plant. I’m eager to hear your reaction. I’m enlisting you to help me pull this thing off.” Warren Bennis writes about the “unconscious conspiracy that prevents leaders from taking charge.” He goes on to say, “When everyone is his or her own boss, no one is in charge, and chaos takes over. Leaders are needed to restore order, by which I mean not obedience but progress.” Referencing the assassinations of John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King in the 1960s, he writes, “We lost our leaders, found no one to replace them, and decided to do it ourselves.” Organizations live in much pretense about authority. Managers say, “We will decide,” when they mean, “We will decide unless I don’t like that decision. Then I will decide.” Such pretense is destructive and disempowering in the workplace. The 20th century’s most renowned educational philosopher John Dewey warned that there is no freedom without structure. Without knowing about Dewey or his philosophy, the most productive organizations have found the right balance between freedom and authority without making a sham of freedom or becoming tyrannical. A key toward creating that balance is delegation with accountability. Since they are knowledgeable, most employees want some say in the design of work processes and procedures, CHAPTER 7: RECOVERING FROM SELF-DIRECTED TEAMS | 119 in general resource allocation and procurement, and in measures that affect the safety of their work place. First they want clarity about assignments—who does what and who decides what. These are the questions that must be answered to give them that clarity and influence: 1. What is currently decided by the boss with little or no input, what is decided by the boss only after consultation, and what decisions are delegated? 2. What changes in the above decision making patterns are desirable within the next three, six and twelve months? 3. What training, coaching, or information will be needed to support such a change? The answers to the above questions can help move each group on its own path and, therefore, the organization toward more humane and more productive goals. Rather than making this a new program with grand announcements about moving the organization in one direction or another, the leader needs to let the meaning of autonomy become clear in the doing of it—by modeling it, by delegating, by walking the talk. Joel Baker is a graduate of our Alcoa Corporate Program. On his first day as supervisor he received a couple dozen phone calls from crew members requesting that he call someone, frequently to order materials. In each case, Joel said, “I’d like you to go ahead and place the call yourself. That way you will be sure your request is recorded correctly and, when appropriate, you can get specific commitments about delivery date and pricing.” He repeated this response every day for two weeks, until the calls quit coming in. When he followed up with crew members, they were enthusiastic about the increased control they now had over their work processes, both in quality and productivity. They were now making the contacts that they were perfectly capable of making. 120 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Thus he avoided the kind of employee resistance that meets a leader who announces a new program of self-managed, autonomous teams. New programs are not what’s needed; rather, people need clarity about authority, responsibility, and opportunity. Returning to question 2 about the speed—three, six, twelve months—at which changes in decision making authority will occur, it is important to recognize the essentially evolutionary nature by which (relatively) orderly and effective shifts in the balance between management authority and employee influence take place in an organization. At Addy, the goal of achieving $1.21 in nine months was exceeded! $1.08 was the striking result! However, a sudden, revolutionary switch in a more traditionally managed company to self-managed, autonomous work teams, like moving directly from Profile 1 to Profile 4 in Figure 4, is dangerous and likely to fail. To many employees and supervisors, it simply means that the boss no longer has authority and the workers are in charge. The baby’s thrown out with the bath water. Profile 1 Profile 2 Profile 3 Profile 4 Safety Safety Safety Safety Doing assigned work Doing assigned work Doing assigned work Doing assigned work Some decisions about More decisions about Decisions about work work work Costs Costs Costs Quality Production output Quality Coordinate work Employee Tasks Orders materials Coordinate work Production output Monitor above Production output Order materials Control as needed Order materials Safety investigations Coach as needed Safety investigations Recommendations Discipline Order materials about discipline Absenteeism Monitor above Absenteeism Costs Control as needed Vacations Decisions about work Coach as needed Overtime Safety investigations Discipline Absentee- Monitor above Discipline Quality ism Safety investiga- Control as needed Coordinate work tions Quality Coach as needed Production output Coordinate work Discipline Vacations Vacations Overtime Absenteeism Monitor above Overtime Vacations Vacations Control as needed

Supervisor Tasks Overtime Overtime Coach as needed Figure 4 Stages of Autonomy CHAPTER 7: RECOVERING FROM SELF-DIRECTED TEAMS | 121

While employees can function well in all of these Profiles, there will be a pull from most towards the right. Some people do work best in a Profile One style. Especially new employees want to be told what to do and how to do it. This is why no one style should be imposed on an organization. Here are four guiding principles regarding change: Principle #1. Authority can not be eliminated. It always exists. It exists even if people pretend it doesn’t. Figure 4 represents a range of low to high autonomy as exists in daily work. Principle #2. Movement towards autonomy is what effective leadership is all about. As I indicate earlier, leadership is not a program with a catchy name! The process is simply effective management or, rather, effective leadership. It is as natural as the flow of water. With encouragement it can evolve in accelerated ways, just as water will flow faster if impediments are removed from the stream. If you name it, you polarize it. People will be for or against any perceived radical change. Go with the flow and accelerate it where you can. Principle #3. Be careful what you ask for. While movement from traditional to non-traditional is generally wise, it is not always so. In the graph shown in Figure 5 there is a correlation between movement to the right and improvement in costs, safety, and quality. This data comes from a study where supervisors first chose the profile that most matched their work unit and then rated their profiles on a eight-point scale for safety, costs, and quality derived from hard data. Eight represents a perfect performance, zero the opposite. Over 150 supervisors and groups are represented in the data presented in Figure 5. 122 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

0 Profile 1 Profile 2 Profile 3 Profile 4

Safety Cost Savings Quality Figure 5 Rating of Work Groups by Supervisors So if movement to the right on the graph in Figure 5 is generally associated with better performance, shouldn’t every smart manager institute a Profile 4 structure immediately? No! What if you have a Profile 1 unit that scores world class in safety, costs, and quality—a unit whose members feel respected by their boss, from whom they want an orderly, stable work place? Despite the general trend noted above, some Profile 1 groups score quite high—think of great sports teams, for example. In short, if it ain’t broke (you know the rest). In addition, without careful attention to the checks and balances outlined later in this chapter, it is common for units attempting radical change to end up at Profile 5: No apparent direction, no accountability, and no clarity about who does what or decides what: a permissive style that is off the chart. CHAPTER 7: RECOVERING FROM SELF-DIRECTED TEAMS | 123

Principle #4. Don’t move every unit at the same speed or expect every group to look the same. Beyond the caution not to move radically, it is important to acknowledge the particular nature of each unit and make its shift toward greater employee influence a unique product of the unit’s own special character. This is why programs often fail—when they are applied as inflexible templates for all occasions, denying the special way in which we each view ourselves. People and organizations don’t respond well to straitjacketing! Supervisors can manage more than one crew. A supervisor at a plant in North Carolina with three crews rated one crew as a Profile Two, another Profile Three, and the other Profile Four. Obviously each crew required a different approach. Principle #5. Be wary of the word team. Think of it this way. Are your direct reports or crews really a team like, for instance, a sports team? Members of the typical maintenance crew often work individually or in pairs spread throughout a plant. In what way are they a team? Why not think of them as employees who have some things in common, who need to collaborate occasionally, but who really need to be free to function independently rather than become a team? Look at any group of employees (salaried or hourly or volunteers in an agency) and ask, “What does each person need to succeed, and how can those in charge provide leadership to pave the way for success?” If teaming is crucial, then create an effective team. If not, don’t. Team is a method, not an end! 124 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Principle #6. Encourage the movement toward more autonomy within a larger strategy. Simply moving towards autonomy without a larger context and strategy and without making tough leadership decisions (for instance about having the right people, the right number, in the right places) will relegate the movement towards autonomy to a program status—another program-of-the-month which will not be sustained. The movement toward employee influence and autonomy are big ideas, but they must rest within an even larger picture. They must serve concrete business objectives. Reducing furnace downtime was a critical non-financial indicator. Every percent of ore recovered was worth a million dollars. Simonic shifted responsibility from the engineers to the teams with a new manager in place. Rita Vickery became the new department head managing the Shift Coordinators. Each team had always elected their own team coordinator and continued to do so. Each team had about 15 employees. Each shift worked 12 hours at the request of the employees. Rita, a previous hourly worker at Addy, became a participant in our 2-year Alcoa Graduate program. She was definitely up to the task of monitoring, holding people accountable, and in short, managing the wide scope of her responsibilities. Definitely! We had a weeklong training built around our version of the T-group with specific emphasis on the new role and skills needed for the engineers to function as change agents/ resources to the teams rather than to approach the teams as if the engineers were their bosses. Recovery results were public as in a sports game! With the teams responsible and decision making clear, recovery was remarkable. This was key to the 72% productivity gain reported by Business Week magazine. CHAPTER 7: RECOVERING FROM SELF-DIRECTED TEAMS | 125

Despite Addy's amazing productivity gains, the plant closed in 2001 due to high energy costs in the state of Washington and low magnesium prices on the world market. China, with lower labor costs and lower environmental standards became too difficult to compete with. As of December 2018, China produced about 82% of the world’s magnesium supply, according to a U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity summary. This does not negate the remarkable turnaround at Addy. Simonic went on to two of the largest Alcoa plants of the 165 in the world. Both the Alcoa, Tennessee and the Evansville, Indiana plants were in trouble. He quickly brought Tom on board. Don’s skill at measurable goal setting and delegation with accountability helped him manage simultaneously these two plants in two states! He brought Patricia and me on board so that, with Tom, we could replicate our Addy strategy. These are the two plants where two years later they made between 1/4th and 1/3rd of Alcoa’s world-wide profits. I brought several staff from LIOS to help in the many T-groups (called by Don Leadership Training). Despite the large size of these plants we did a thorough intervention as written throughout this book. We cascaded measurable goals from Don to the hourly workers. We also developed strong support from the Union Leaders. The combination of strong sponsorship from Simonic and the Union Leaders led to many hourly workers being trained through T-groups, survey feedback and more, including how to intercept and deal with conflict as it surfaced on the floor. Certain hourly workers became so skilled at working conflicts that the supervisors would request help from them when conflict emerged that disrupted work! Many attended the Alcoa graduate program. At one plant employees went from 200 grievances in one year to 17 the next! Based on Richard Walton’s book, Managing 126 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Conflict: Interpersonal Dialogue and Third-Party , Roles we have trained over a thousand, usually union members, in how to intervene in a conflict. Walton’s facilitator qualities necessary in order to do effective work were: 1. High expertise in process work. 2. Low power over the fate of participants. 3. High control over process. 4. Moderate knowledge of issues involved. 5. Third party neutrality. While sometimes the request to conduct a third-party came from a supervisor or a manager, most often they were spontaneous happenings on the floor. Knowing the flow from ventilating (the first raw reaction in a conflict) through behavior description to specific measurable agreements, these skilled fellow workers would intervene on the spot! Union President John Melton at the Wenatchee Alcoa plant where the grievance reduction happened put it something like this, “I’d hear these two guys yelling and go up to them and say, what the s**t is happening?” They didn’t know that they were in the hands of a very skilled facilitator or that they were involved in a process. When John (and many other Steelworkers) heard individuals complain about their boss, he would say to them, “Let’s get together with the boss.” It wasn’t long until the supervisors and fellow employees deeply appreciated their neutrality and capability. Elsewhere a high- tech company of 85 employees went from 22 grievances in a year to 0! CHAPTER 7: RECOVERING FROM SELF-DIRECTED TEAMS | 127

So what began at Addy lived on in many Alcoa plants in the U.S., Mexico, and Italy. Regarding our stunning success in Knoxville, Tennessee and Evansville, Indiana, the Division President wrote: “Several years ago our Rigid Packaging operations in Alcoa Tennessee and Warrick Indiana were incurring severe financial losses that threatened their viability. We were successful in achieving a turnaround valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. We made cost reductions and radically restructured the two organizations. The underlying fundamental and most significant change was a human intervention (Crosby's goal alignment, survey feedback and leadership development ala Skill Groups). Clarity of common goals, single point accountability and crisp performance metrics were the keys to our turnaround. When my colleagues queried why we were spending so much on Bob Crosby, I responded ‘because he’s worth it.’ His full on contact engagement was a critical element to the team’s success. 25 years later both plants are operating successfully including new products and new markets.” -George Bergeron (Past) President Rigid Packaging Division Alcoa CEO Alumax Metals and Reynolds Metals (Alcoa) Retired as Executive Vice President of Alcoa

CHAPTER 8: A PRESIDENTIAL VISIT TO A PRODUCTIVE PLANT | 129

Chapter 8 A Presidential Visit to a Productive Plant

n the eight years prior to the president’s 2011 visit, nearly 1300 Iemployees were in Tough Stuff sessions at the Iowa Alcoa plant. They were a key element in the midst of a larger OD strategy. During the eight-year intervention nine consultant/ trainers led the Tough Stuff sessions and/or worked in a fifteen-million dollar project. This work throughout the plant was preceded by a joint T-group with the union executive board and top management! We began this way in several locations in the U.S. and Mexico. I was referred to Mark Vrablic, the plant manager, to operationalize a joint union-management decision at the top level called “Partnership.” The top executive team and the union in Pittsburgh had created this program. With no further definition from headquarters and the adverse reaction and lack of skill about collaboration, chaos reigned at local levels. The plant manager had experienced our T-group model while in our Alcoa graduate program. For the Union President we could provide references from union leaders in other plants who had positive experiences with us and from among the 50+steelworkers and the electricians union who had attended the graduate program. Prior to beginning with the joint T-group we had private conversations with the Union President and his board members, along with the plant manager and his direct reports. A one-week T-group then followed, as well as two three day follow-through sessions, three and six weeks later. During the T-group we administered Dr. Jay Hall’s Conflict Management instrument (Teleometrics International) which revealed a preference of nearly all of the participants to be passive during conflict. Equally as revealing, it also showed that the least likely behavior of nearly all participants was to 130 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT collaborate or compromise. To have a partnership succeed we needed the kind of in-depth training that T-groups can offer, which enables persons to become more versatile in their approach to conflict. Besides new concepts about conflict styles, T-group training offers existential exploration about one’s affective domain around values and emotions as they are manifested in this unique interactive event! In the T-group participants experiment with new ways of behaving in moments of tension. These are not role plays but real encounters in tense moments in this safe group setting. Participants not only become more aware of the positive value in styles they had previously negatively judged, but actually develop new skills to use which had not been available to them before! It was Tom McCombs, our colleague referenced in the Addy chapter who referred the Iowa plant manager, Mark Vrablic, to me in 2002. Later Tom led the work with four other graduates from the Alcoa Corporate Leadership Program (which, as mentioned, I designed and led for 15 years). Each had also attended the Train-the-Trainer which teaches how to lead T-groups. Tom led the work until 2010. Intact or mixed cousin groups became the groupings for the Tough Stuff sessions. They included a pre and post session where they clarified their roles as machinists, maintenance, engineers, with the union steward and the supervisor fully involved throughout the pre, post, and Tough Stuff week. All consultants/trainers, except one, had been my students in an Organization Development graduate program, and all had experienced apprenticeships and/or a Train-the-Trainer session to learn how to lead T-groups modeled after the NTL Train-the-Trainer that I attended in 1958. The OD strategy included a project to increase revenue and reduce costs. The goal was to add 15 million to the bottom line. For three days over 100 gathered in a large meeting room where they joined one of eight theme groups: maintenance, CHAPTER 8: A PRESIDENTIAL VISIT TO A PRODUCTIVE PLANT | 131 production, human factors (not HR, though some HR personnel joined this group), quality, purchasing, engineering, etc. It is significant to note that, by macro design, more than 50% of the participants were steelworkers! I only did this type of planning process if more than 50% of the participants were front-line employees or otherwise directly involved in the daily work related to the issue. That is a macro design issue as explained on p. 210. Those employees understand the day-to-day problems in a unique way because they live with them. They also know the history of what has and has not worked during implementations in ways that neither technical people nor managers know in the same way. Therefore, their ownership and judgment of the plans developed greatly increases success. Involvement in creating the solutions, of course, increases ownership. This directly reflects Lippitt writing in 1949 about the 1946 Connecticut event. “The large representation of 54% from the two most discriminated against groups, the Negro and Jewish minorities, promised a group of delegates strongly motivated to act. Also, it would be expected that they would have a high emotional sensitivity in many of the diagnostic discussions.” The top leaders who had participated in the initial joint T-group brought to the event a more positive attitude towards collaboration that influenced the workers. Equally as important were new, sharper skills in communication with paraphrasing, specificity, and the ability to raise issues in a non-blaming way resulting in more effective dialogue and conflict resolution. Above all, no time was wasted arguing whether or not this joint activity should be attempted! It was now clear that achieving the goal would benefit all. By the third morning, each theme group, guided by a very structured process, had a timeline for the nine-month plan. These were merged into a 20-foot master chart (later put on Microsoft Visio to post throughout the Plant), and kept updated by the Project Manager. 132 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

It is significant that, of the over 100 action items, about half had a steelworker enthusiastically volunteer to take single point accountability. They were eager to shepherd actions important to them. It was not only a highly successful project, but a launching pad for the OD strategy and further T-groups throughout the plant. It grounded our work as a business intervention! In the mind of most staff and employees they weren’t involved in a strategy, or a program. They never heard the terms T-group or Tough Stuff. To them this was continuous process improvement, this time involving the right players and with structured follow through—a rare commodity! The manager of this Alcoa plant, Mark Vrablic, was a superb sponsor of this work. He was also constantly fine- tuning with Tom as the strategy unfolded. The T-groups at Davenport were called Skill Groups rather than our trademarked name Tough Stuff. The T-group, whatever it’s called, becomes the heart of the training. It’s not the name but how it is led that is critical! In my history, where a strategic intervention has been sustained, this dynamic training has been experienced by a critical mass of employees. Learning to be present here-and-now in all of life is exhilarating and enriching. Two-thirds of the business participants in our T-group trainings report, in an anonymous questionnaire, that this event is the most applicable training to both work, and life outside of work, that they have ever experienced. I began this chapter noting our joint Union/Management T-groups. As the mantle is passed to a new generation, I will share a story written by son Gilmore about another joint T-group beginning. He, son Chris, and their colleague Mark Horswood were the staff for this event: The T-Group based workshop has just begun. The 24 participants and 3 faculty members have introduced themselves, and the CEO (who is participating himself) CHAPTER 8: A PRESIDENTIAL VISIT TO A PRODUCTIVE PLANT | 133 has briefly explained why he has sponsored this weeklong workshop and its follow-up session. The plant he runs has been losing money for years, and he believes that the people must learn a new way to work together if the plant is to survive. Relationships are tense throughout the organization, especially between management and labor. Because of his trust in the facilitators, the CEO has taken the risk of inviting twelve members of the Union leadership, including the president, who is barely on speaking terms with the CEO, along with eleven other members of the plant leadership team. There are formal and informal layers of reporting relationships in the mix, and years of animosity. As the participants sit in a large circle (un-encumbered by tables) to begin the week, there is no escaping the initial awkwardness. The Union President choses to stand near the door, in his own words “uncertain” as to whether he will stay. The workshop, and a broader OD strategy is designed to help the organization decrease tension while increasing business performance. The facilitator has already worked with the management team on their own group dynamics and, with his colleagues, will be working with every team in the organization during the weeks and months to come. He has also met with the Union leadership, both to show respect, to inform, and to allow them to get their own feel for the OD strategy and his team of facilitators. It doesn’t hurt that one of the facilitators used to be an electrician in a manufacturing plant. Following the CEO’s kickoff, the lead facilitator asks the participants to talk in pairs. Working in pairs is a critical part of the workshop structure. He explains that they will be doing this a lot throughout the week, and they will be learning as much from each other as they will from the facilitators. He even walks the room, saying, “So you two 134 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

are a pair, and you two, and you two,” etc. to assure that pairing occurs. The task is to talk about what they just heard…what they think and feel about it. Instantly 50% of the room goes from being quiet to being verbal. This simple structure is repeated throughout the week, with different pairings, and is a big asset both to learning and to decreasing stress. Lewin knew that group change was more powerful than individual change...pairing brings peer-to- peer influence to life, while also allowing some privacy for processing one’s experience. In these workshops, people quickly get it that they are all peers in being human, even while they have different roles in the organization. Now the room is buzzing with talk. The facilitator regains attention and invites anyone to speak. After an anxious silence, the conversation with the CEO begins. People admit their fears, “You guys are just here to brainwash us,” and their hopes “We need to work together so maybe this will help.” The CEO admits that he doesn’t have all the answers, and that he and the management team had made some mistakes. The HR Director explains why he thinks the workshop is needed. The Union VP says, “I don’t know what he just said, but I’m against it!” The room goes silent. The HR Director begins to fight back. The facilitator says something like, “This is a good example of why we are here” and manages to lighten the mood without taking sides. Even though the facilitator is working for his customer (the CEO), neutrality when helping with interactions is vital to effective facilitation. Everyone relaxes. The president choses to stay. The workshop proceeds. While it is possible to stubbornly stay outside the learning process during one of our workshops, it isn’t easy. This is in no small way due to the brilliance of Lewin’s understanding of group dynamics. It’s hard to stay separate when your peers are participating, and even harder when the peer CHAPTER 8: A PRESIDENTIAL VISIT TO A PRODUCTIVE PLANT | 135 pressure is coming in the privacy of paired conversations. Most people are willing to give the process a chance, and the next thing you know, people are learning about themselves and trying on new behavior! It’s tough to resist. The same was true during the management-labor workshop above. The process was rolling along, and then sometime shortly after the Active Listening Skills theory session, a critical incident occurred. Sitting in the same T-group, and talking to each other directly, the Union President looked the CEO in the eye and said, “I don’t usually listen to you when we talk. I’m just wrapped up in what I am wanting to say.” The CEO said, “I do the same thing. I don’t listen to what you are actually saying either.” From that moment on they made a commitment to actually listen to each other and to be honest if they don’t think it is happening. They shifted from adversaries to collaborators for the remainder of that president’s term, and the entire plant shifted into a more collaborative direction. It wasn’t just a critical incident for the workshop... it was transformational for the organization. Amongst many emergent joint management and labor strategies that followed, they also became co-sponsors for a series of T-group based workshops, and the Union President became a reference for our work. When a critical mass in an organization increases their capacity to foster a productive and safe work environment by giving clear direction, taking a stand for what they believe in, holding themselves and others accountable, fostering communication up and down the hierarchy, managing conflict, connecting with emotional intelligence (EQ) to all levels of the organization, and continually developing themselves, others, and the organization, high performance as measured by industry metrics follows. Participants consistently say T-group learning enriches their personal 136 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

and professional lives. My hope is that T-group learning, with proper discipline, once again becomes a movement. From, T-Groups Adapted for the Workplace, an unpublished article by Gilmore Crosby In Loving Memory of Cotton Mears, II About ten graduates of the Alcoa corporate program went on to their own careers in organization development and in leading T-groups in our model. They attended the two week Train-the-Trainer program which I adapted from my 1958 NTL Train-the-Trainer, and apprenticed. One of those graduates died on November 2, 2019. We called him Cotton. He was a highly skilled T-group leader. Cotton made a career of OD and used our T-group model at the core of his work during his last few decades. Before that he was a pot tender and union steward in an aluminum smelter. When Patricia and I first met him, we were stunned by his humble authenticity. He then became a student in our two- year Alcoa graduate program, attended our Train-the-trainer, apprenticed, and went on to a wonderful career. He and other hourly people and staff who went into that career were deeply trusted at the floor level, but also by top management. Cotton's highest degree was high school. In our Alcoa graduate program you could receive a Masters Degree if you had finished college or you could finish college if you only had two years to go. Cotton was out on both of those counts! Our contract was with Antioch. During Cotton's final year Antioch told us we could offer a Masters Degree to one nominee regardless of their scholastic history. So we nominated Cotton. When told his response was, “What would I do with that? I don’t need any degree. Why don’t you give it to someone who needs and wants it?” Which is what we did. A profound and beautiful man! Carey “Cotton” Wayne Mears, II was 62. CHAPTER 9: THE PECO TURNAROUND | 137

Chapter 9 The PECO Turnaround

ccording to David Helwig, “...the original crisis at the APhiladelphia Electric Company (PECO) was, of course, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) shutdown of the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station (PBAPS) in 1987 where operators were found sleeping. This was the first plant shut down by regulators for non-equipment related issues. Significantly, after investigation, the NRC concluded that there was a widespread pattern of mismanagement in the nuclear business of the company and that independent oversight was inadequate.” David Helwig was a key player in the turnaround. At that time he was in his 30s and a senior manager in the engineering department. In the initial management changes he was asked to assume the role of General Manager of Nuclear Quality Assurance, charged to determine what meaningful independent oversight looked like, and to implement it. Throughout Helwig’s career he showed the courage to take on the corporate establishment and built a substantial industry credibility. David had the intuitive wisdom to realize that he had never done anything like this before and requested permission to seek outside support. This was readily agreed and is how he and I connected. I was one of a legion of resources brought to bear on the organization especially through Management Analysis Company, a California firm dedicated to the Nuclear Industry and led by former Navy personnel. Helwig’s position placed him on the senior staff where he was 15-20 years younger than anyone else. Helwig continues, “Shortly thereafter, Corbin was recruited from PSE&G (46% owner of PBAPS) where he had been for only a brief time after retiring as a Captain from the Nuclear 138 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Navy. I was one of Corbin’s direct reports. He was extremely critical and dismissive of anything PECO which was not challenged by any of those more senior to me on his staff. As I became more frustrated by this dynamic, I consulted with Crosby about it and, following his advice and coaching, went to see Corbin alone after hours to tell him my perspective on things. His response was to tell me that he had finally found someone internal with the experience, knowledge and confidence to differ with him. He then challenged meto disagree with him in front of others and actually forbade me to come to him privately with additional differing opinions. This obviously created a myriad of challenges for me with interpersonal dynamics with which I needed a great deal of assistance and advice. The situation actually led Robert Crosby recommending that I go to a T-group experience which was life changing in terms of my understanding of myself and appreciation of the perspective of others. That in turn led to me sponsoring key PECO personnel to attend our first internal Conflict Management sessions (T-groups led by Crosby).” Helwig devised a rather elaborate scheme of independent oversight and then went to INPO to have it reviewed. "The feedback: it was not likely to have a lasting impact unless it was oriented to stress line management accountability above all else (i.e.—one couldn’t inspect in quality)." So, back to the drawing board and soon a recognition that sponsorship of quality did not lie in the Quality Assurance Department, but in the hands of the managers and supervisors of the work being inspected! Thus the strategy had to be aimed at building sustaining sponsorship throughout the plants being evaluated and inspected. Thus here was a new and profound systems perspective! For more on the critical distinction of sustaining sponsorship read Strategic Organizational Alignment by Chris Crosby. CHAPTER 9: THE PECO TURNAROUND | 139

Also, by this time the new Conflict Management (T-group) training had made such a difference in the effectiveness of NQA that it was rather easily transitioned into a nuclear wide program integrated with and of comparable impact to the new Supervisory Development Academy. Thus Helwig and I became a very effective duo! Providing powerful sponsorship for the turnaround was Helwig who had legitimate authority and the guts to learn and to move, and Corbin McNeill Jr. who supported Helwig and also moved in countless innovative ways across PECO! I applied the same OD style that I had been honing since the 1950s. My prior experience at Los Alamos funded by the US Department of Energy, and Rancho Seco Nuclear in Sacramento, helped open the door. At Rancho Seco I crafted a turnaround on a motor operated valve project that was months behind schedule. I cascaded a survey feedback process across the entire plant which surfaced, not only issues within each intact group (beginning with the top executive team led by a remarkable man—John Ward), but systemic issues in the plant. The survey feedback process highlighted role clarity issues. There was a wide discrepancy between roles defined on paper by administrative staff and what was actually being done by employees. To gain role clarity throughout the plant that work began with the crews, that is from the bottom up. Beginning with crews, we created clarity of roles by simply asking, “What do you do.” Here is the process as outlined in Walking the Empowerment Tightrope: “In a large organization work teams at the hourly level were asked, ‘What do you do and what should the job include?’ Supervisors then reported the responses to their managers in a joint session and listed on large newsprint sheets possible duplications and possible gaps as they 140 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

heard the reports. A discussion ensued with decisions made confirming, adding to, or deleting functions. This was then reported back to each group by the supervisor. This process continued up the organization using the same process with the top management team. Within this organization there were 14 engineering functions located in various departments; 50 possible duplications were identified, of which 12 were later considered to be actual dysfunctional duplications of work; 15 possible gaps were identified, of which 8 were deemed important and yet had not been assigned anywhere in the organization. Involving the people who do the daily work is the most effective way both to develop living role assignments and to provide management with an opportunity to make decisions about the best placement of tasks. This also informs all persons about their roles.” Let us return to the Peach Bottom shutdown. Infamously, operators were found sleeping on the job, playing video games, engaging in rubber band and paper ball fights, and reading unauthorized material. As if in anticipation of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operators (INPO) yet to be developed human performance model, blame was not simply placed on the operators. “Latent organizational weakness” was targeted by industry experts and regulators alike. INPO President Zack Pate came to the unprecedented conclusion that, “Major changes in the corporate culture at PECO are required.” In September of 1988 NRC Chairman Lando Zech told senior management officials of PECO, “Your operators certainly made mistakes, no question about that. Your corporate management problems are just as serious.” Clearly a culture characterized by low morale and apathy prevailed. By April 1988 this unusual CHAPTER 9: THE PECO TURNAROUND | 141 emphasis on mismanagement contributed to the President of PECO resigning and the retirement of the CEO. I began working with David Helwig, the General Manager of Quality Assurance in the fall of 1987. He was the sponsor and champion of the work written about in this chapter. Nine months after my arrival, Corbin McNeill Jr. became the CEO. Often when a new CEO arrives, the current OD strategy ceases to be supported. In this situation, that was not at all the case! McNeill had a previous experience with an OD consultant which was very positive. He also required Conner’s change management procedures to be learned in each department. With my significant variation (which is you can only sponsor your direct reports) Helwig used the learning workshop to actually plan for a major transformation of the quality department! The novice trainer was stunned that Helwig had communicated with all 30 participants that this event is an actual planning session with each expected to leave with actions to achieve their piece of the pie. Other departments in PECO did as they were instructed and created a pretend change scenario even though a couple departments had huge change problems facing them. To our knowledge they never did apply what they were supposed to learn in this pretend scenario workshop. McNeill’s influence was huge. So was Helwig’s. No McNeill—no Helwig—no turnaround. Certainly many others deserve credit. One was Dick Smith, the new Peach Bottom VP. When Human Resources began to put OD under its jurisdiction, he insisted that Jack Fontaine, filling the new internal position of Senior OD Specialist at the Peach Bottom plant, report directly to him and not to headquarters in Philadelphia (a reporting arrangement for OD that was adopted and sustained throughout PECO Nuclear). The neutrality and independent functioning of OD is best preserved when it is not seen as an arm of a function that 142 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT has high influence over hiring and firing. Jerry Rainey, the Maintenance Manager at Peach Bottom, Jack McElwain, and Ronnie D. Gregorio are among many who deserve recognition. Quoting from a personal letter from Helwig, “After about a year, the PECO board insisted that Corbin get an assistant to relieve some of the burden. Corbin summoned me to his office at the end of the day on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and told me that I would be his assistant on Monday when we returned to work. After gushing over this proposal, I came in on Monday and indicated that I really didn’t want the assignment since I didn’t think that he would know how to work with an assistant and since I didn’t see myself being anybody’s assistant anyhow. It took about a week for you to help me figure that one out but ultimately we worked very effectively together for about a year in that capacity. I was then made VP Nuclear Services which encompassed everything except plant operations and NQA (engineering, security, project management, construction, maintenance, etc). Most notably this included responsibility for the Nuclear Maintenance Division (NMD), which serviced the turbine/ generators and reactors during refueling outages. I had never before had responsibility for a large craft workforce so, following my instincts and your advice, spent a lot of extra time putting myself in a learner mode with these folks.” Next Helwig writes about a highly significant change that makes him, and the learnings he credits to OD, vital to the PECO turnaround. “At the time, refueling outages took 80- 90 days at Peach Bottom and Limerick. Goals were set to shorten these outages to be good, that is the USA industry scale (60 days). I took on the challenge to shorten the duration of NMD work accordingly and Operations was supposed to fit in under our duration (they were supposed to be refueling outages after all). CHAPTER 9: THE PECO TURNAROUND | 143

I told Corbin that NMD could complete their work in 45 days but that the station was not prepared and wouldn’t be able to even make their 70 day target. I’m not sure if he doubted me or not but he basically said ‘prove it’ and ‘we’ll see.’ Well, NMD was finished within 45 days and then deployed all of our resources to assist the Limerick Nuclear Plant to complete their work which wasn’t done until 110 days! Not surprisingly, I became Limerick VP within a few weeks. Again, I had no prior experience with operations so, following our formula, once again spent a lot of extra time in my learner mode. Things were not well organized and planned but, even so, the next Limerick refueling outage was only 54 days.” Helwig continues, “At that time, there were 2 GE nuclear plants like ours (one in Spain and one in Switzerland) that were routinely having 30-35 day refueling outage so I got myself invited to both to see what I could learn. My learning was really quite profound and it was all about leadership, focus and involvement. I decided that we would start with answer, that is have a 2 year fuel cycle, the shortest BWR (a type of nuclear power design called a Boiling Water Reactor) refueling outages in the world with a continuous operation between, and get every player involved in figuring out how to get there. There were a tremendous number of moving parts but we managed to pull them all together achieving subsequent sequential refueling outage lengths of 35 and then 23 days. All subsequent PECO refueling outages have been of that or shorter duration. All of this, of course, had extremely close scrutiny by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and was met with a challenging degree of skepticism but passed on all fronts. Rather quickly, our breakthrough was recognized throughout the industry which led to more requests for visits than we could possibly accommodate. We hosting several multi-day workshops under INPO sponsorship and had to limit the attendance. 144 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

The management and technical approaches developed by our team were rapidly adopted throughout the industry and still today are considered best practices.” Helwig’s closing statement, “Only after quite a few years have I come to recognize how all of what I learned from you (and about myself) led to such a huge transformation.” Readers need to know that what he learned was the Lewinian OD I had learned from Ronald Lippitt, Richard Schmuck, and the application of a specific systems theory, a la my important adaptation of Conner’s pioneering work! Again—the critical reality that you can only sponsor your direct reports no matter how high your authority role is! Despite having been at another nuclear plant prior to PECO, I knew nothing technically. However, deeply rooted in traditional OD with Helwig at Nuclear Quality Assurance we did a thorough survey feedback with all intact groups starting with Helwig’s top management team. Thus roles, goals, and the personal responsibilities of each, including Helwig, became clear. With the follow-through on commitments made in the survey feedback sessions by both employees and bosses within each intact group, accountability was normalized. Note that both employees and bosses had commitments with set completion dates (by-whens) and would report out about them at a subsequent follow-through meeting. T-groups (called Conflict Management) with cousin groups were normalized and continued for years. Gilmore writes, “I became the Senior Organization Development Specialist at Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station (PBAPS) seven years after my father finished his consulting role at PECO. I was delightfully stunned to realize that what my father had taught was very much in place though my father had not been assigned to Peach Bottom! The leadership was committed to individual and group feedback, to collaborating across departmental and functional CHAPTER 9: THE PECO TURNAROUND | 145 boundaries, and to empowering the workforce. Dad’s OD is basic and practical…like having intact teams self-assess using survey data and take action to solve their own challenges. I had learned his methods in my previous work with him, and that made me a strong candidate for the position. However, practical or not, such methods had been absent at PECO, as they are absent in most organizations. Dad’s influence on Peach Bottom had primarily come through the T-group based Conflict Management trainings (also known as Crosby Trainings, an endearment that was used in other organizations where dad had done T-group based work), which had involved a broad cross-section of PECO Nuclear. Most of the people in leadership positions had been through Conflict Management by the time I was hired, along with a large cross- section of the hourly workforce, and an aggressive approach to moving people around the various PECO locations further assured that the skill set was spread. When I arrived Dick Smith was the President of PECO Nuclear and Jerry Rainey was the Senior VP. Rainey was fully committed to having an OD practitioner trained by my father at each nuclear location (Limerick, PBAPS, and Chesterbrook) and reporting directly to the site VP. My VP arrived the same week I did, had not been around while dad did his magic, and so I was thankful for the strong sponsorship my position got from Mr. Rainey. Furthermore, while many of dad’s practices had continued through the culture and through the efforts of the OD Specialists, no one within the organization knew how to lead T-groups. Rainey and other leaders recognized the role such sessions had played in the PECO turnaround, and I was happy to fulfill the demand by revivingConflict Management. My years at PBAPS were a great experience.” Jack Fontaine also deserves credit. Later a faculty at LIOS, he acknowledges that I took him under his wing immediately upon his arrival as the OD consultant at Peach Bottom (which 146 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT was seven years prior to Gilmore’s arrival). Helwig, though having no legitimate authority beyond his own department, asked me to check in on this newcomer in OD. Jack tells delightful stories about our first meeting. Though Gilmore’s book, Leadership Can be Learned applies to any organization, it embodies the essence of our systems thinking approach to leadership and the OD methods that Helwig applied at PECO. The quotes from Helwig provide details that accurately reflect the sometimes resented powerful influence that he had. He was powerful because he had the guts to act, was an engineer with high technical expertise, and strove to continually learn. He learned socio-technical processes from his consultant and operated in a realm above most others. The world record outages were driven by socio-tech processes virtually unknown, or at least not applied, in the Nuclear technology and project management world. Systems thinking especially a la Sponsor, Change Agent, Advocate, Target and other OD socio-technical components such as by-whens and single point accountability were essentials in the transformation! By 1996 both Limerick and Peach Bottom were designated excellent by INPO, and given strong Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance (SALP) ratings by the NRC. Many factors contributed to this stunning success story. The following are the key organization development strategies that were employed: 1. Clarify Goals and Cascade Alignment. The fundamental task of business leadership is to align employees in the same direction. Workplace goals represent that direction. Effective goals are clear, simple, numeric, and measurable. McNeill and Helwig were aces at leading! They set clear measurable goals, such as increased capacity factor (a measure of how much electricity a generator produces relative to the CHAPTER 9: THE PECO TURNAROUND | 147

maximum it could produce during the same period) and then led towards them, always insisting on the highest standards of safety above all else. Each goal was balanced and had clear metrics. They continually communicated the goals and engaged the organization to understand, monitor, and support efforts to achieve them. Equally important is that they stayed in touch with their employees to learn and clear up misunderstandings regarding the direction they set. Helwig began to understand that alignment must be built layer by layer, and that you can only truly sponsor your direct reports. Innumerable change efforts have crashed and burned due to failure to understand these principles. Skip a layer and you create what Conner aptly called a black hole, sucking the energy out of the initiative. When on top of their game, PECO Nuclear’s leadership followed Daryl Conner’s change model with the adaptation listed above. Each layer of sustaining sponsorship was carefully brought on board and charged with the task of driving change to the next layer of the organization. Through cascading dialogue, each layer was positioned both to lead and sustain the current goals of the organization. Such attention to detail, coupled with an unrelenting drive towards excellence, characterized the PECO Nuclear story. 2. Develop a Critical Mass of Employees with High Interactive Skills. At the time of the crisis, PECO nuclear had created a culture where problems were being swept under the table and conflict was being avoided. To combat this, McNeil, Helwig, Smith and other PECO management used their OD resources to help create a culture of openness to ensure that vital information would not remain underground. To this end, a critical mass of employees at all levels of the organization were developed capable 148 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

of managing authority relationships with a high degree of maturity. To teach such a culture, the learning must be experiential (learning by doing and reflecting on the experience). Additionally, such learning must be reinforced continually in intact, intergroup, and larger cross-functional tasks. As written earlier, several months into the work Helwig asked, “Do you know a way to help us with conflict?” Without hesitation I emphatically answered, “Yes!” Thus began what Helwig quickly labeled, Conflict Management. The training continued for years after Helwig and I were long gone. The emerging leadership of the organization almost universally attended, as did a vast majority of the workforce, often with layers, functions, and even locations mixed together to achieve a unique team building. Based on the principles of Social Scientist Kurt Lewin, who stands to a significant degree as the founder of organization development, the trainings utilized the power of group learning. The primary methodology was a modified T-group which focused the participants on immediate behavior change and emotional intelligence to a degree that cannot be matched through individual coaching or traditional classroom learning. The result was a wide spread behavioral skill set including an increased capacity to foster a productive nuclear safety environment by 1) giving clear direction, 2) taking a stand for what you believe in, 3) holding yourself and others accountable, 4) fostering communication up, down, and across the hierarchy, 5) managing conflict, 6) connecting with emotional intelligence to all levels of the organization, and 7) continually developing yourself, others, and the organization. Helwig attended the first Conflict Management training. He not only modeled open non-defensive learning, but he focused on active listening which is almost always the least developed CHAPTER 9: THE PECO TURNAROUND | 149 skill among drivers. Afterwards in meetings he would ask me to publicly interrupt him if he didn’t seem to be listening. He was a powerful model of open learning! Once his listening skill increased he was getting data from deep in the organization that greatly enhanced the quality of those results. Once I was with him when supervisors were talking about work on the plant floor. He wanted to talk with some hourly workers. While the supervisors had been speaking in a flat affect, the workers spoke passionately about what they were facing and with specific illustrations rather than the generalities heard from the supervisors! He was seeing the value of talking directly and not just through staff! It was not long before Helwig realized the following. “At this point, Conflict Management (T-groups) had made such a difference in the effectiveness of NQA that it was rather easily transitioned into a nuclear wide program integrated with and of comparable impact to the new Supervisory Development Academy.” An early participant, John “Jay” Doering, reflecting on his T-group learning and its impact said, “It was during one of our practice sessions in Conflict Management, when I remember Bob leaning over us prodding us deeper into the process, that the light bulb started to illuminate in my head and I got a sense of what was really going on. That began a revolution in my thinking about leadership and organizations and behaviors, etc., which has been the basis of much of what I do ever since.” Jay later rose to the level of VP of Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station. He sums up the impact of the T-group learning experiences on the PECO culture in this way: “Before Conflict Management we thought we were open, but the real meetings would happen after the meeting. People talked about each other and pointed fingers. After Conflict Management we started dealing with each other much more directly. At times it 150 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT is difficult, but it is much more productive.” Again quoting Gilmore, “At the core of such learning is the assertion that hierarchical relationships are emotional, that the emotional tone of the organization is a key variable in human performance, and that a mature and rational approach to emotionality is an essential foundation for sustained performance. An explosion of research supports the assertion that the critical factor in career success is not IQ, but rather EQ, otherwise known as Emotional Intelligence. While high IQ can be a blessing, it can also be a curse if coupled with an inability to connect with others and turn one’s ideas into action. For ages, people have unwittingly pursued this curse, trying to control their emotions by denying or ignoring them. Ironically, such an attempt is based on fear of emotion, and hence is irrational. Worse, it blinds the individual to the data available from their own inner guidance system. If blind to emotion, one is more likely to act off it without understanding the root cause of their action. To be rational about one’s emotions, one must use their cognitive brain to pay attention to the messages that emotion is providing. Fortunately, science is proving that by working on awareness of emotion in yourself and in others, you don’t have to be an Einstein to increase your emotional maturity, which in turn is a major determinate of success and happiness. As Daniel Goleman pointed out in Working with Emotional Intelligence: ▪ EQ accounted for 67% of the abilities deemed necessary for superior performance ▪ EQ mattered TWICE as much as technical expertise or IQ Although the process of working on EQ and other behavioral skills through Conflict Management was an alien experience for most, the results spoke for themselves, and helped reinforce strong sponsorship for the process. The CHAPTER 9: THE PECO TURNAROUND | 151 process was even applied in 1999 to the new operator’s class at Peach Bottom. The prior class had been marked by conflict between the operators and the instructors, as well as low marks by the NRC for teamwork and leadership. The class that incorporated Conflict Management passed with flying colors.” The following is a scale of interactive skills from my second organization development book, The Cross-Functional Workplace. These same behavioral traits were reinforced at every level of PECO Nuclear through experiential learning:

Leader’s Interactive Skill Scale

Inner Beliefs & Stage Description of Level Perceptions of Reality Empathic connection with “I can walk in your moccasins +6 others, yet still decisive and be myself which includes being decisive.”

High +5 Is clear about wants “I’ll tell you what I need in order to succeed.” Acknowledgement of “I help create the dance.” +4 one’s own part in the interaction Non-blaming; is speciﬁc “Telling it straight is to give +3 about behavior and non-interpretive feedback.” emotions Med Blaming, but is “Naming your behaviors +2 behaviorally speciﬁc proves my judgement.” Inner awareness, but “My judgements are the truth +1 manifest in blaming about you.” Inner awareness, but “If I stay quiet, things will be 0 non-commuincative ‘cool’.” Inner awareness, but “Telling the truth will make it Low -1 outward distortion worse.”

-2 Unaware, with ‘cool’ “Let reason conquer blaming emotions.” Figure 6 Leader’s Interactive Skill Scale 152 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

One outcome of a focus on the skills in Figure 6 is to increase the employees capability to be proactive about the support and resources they need to get their jobs done. Ultimately there is no more emotionally loaded role than that of boss. A critical mass of leaders working to encourage open communication from subordinates is the essential foundation for high performance. If a boss reacts defensively, and/or with blame to requests or difficult information, then only the boldest subordinates will continue telling them what they really think. With this in mind, encouraging critical feedback and pursuing clarity in such a moment (“please tell me more—what precisely did I do or say that led you to that conclusion?”) is a key focus in the T-group experiential learning process. In short, PECO Nuclear learned a painful lesson. Without intentional on-going people development, communication problems emerge and complacency increases. 3. Reinforce Goal Alignment and Continuous Improvement Conversations in all Intact Teams. After an initial period of experimentation, PECO Nuclear adapted an expectation that every team stop periodically to assess how it’s functioning. This strategy of work group continuous improvement was sustained for years at PECO Nuclear through the survey- feedback process, and through New Reporting Relationship (NRR) meetings, based on a model originally developed by the US Navy, and shared with me by a former Navy OD specialist Dick Daleke. The Navy required that an NRR be done the first day on a new command. Their research indicated that effectiveness and productivity decreased for six months with a new commander on board. However, with an NRR, downtime was reduced to one month! NRR precise steps and the instructions given by the facilitator are detailed in Chris's book, Strategic Engagement: Vol I. NRR meetings clarify expectations on CHAPTER 9: THE PECO TURNAROUND | 153 the first day and allow for a back and forth exchange on topics such as current work issues, communication expectations, how to raise difficult topics, decision making, and more! They support a smooth transition when a leadership change occurs and reduce anxiety by allowing all topics on peoples’ minds to be addressed. They also highlight and create continuous improvement opportunities during the change. Coupled with the other OD interventions, each team session drove the following systemic characteristics, again excerpted from The Cross-Functional Workplace: Characteristics of Healthy and Unhealthy Systems

Dimension Unhealthy System Healthy System

Management Frantic Centered

Inﬂuence None Appropriate

Alignment Not well aligned Well aligned

Communication Gossip-Closed Openness and dialogue

Consequence Capricious discipline Clear consequence Management

Decision making Consistently extreme Flexible and clear (either consenual or authoritarian) Interactive skill Low High

Task Goals Unclear Clear

Accountability Fuzzy Single point

Implementation Poor Effective

Rewards None Appropriate

Sponsorship Poor Clear

Figure 7 Characteristics of Healthy and Unhealthy Systems 154 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

4. Drive Cultural Change in Key Cross-Functional Projects. A classic example of this occurred at PECO Nuclear as they changed their approach to outages. At the time the industry norm was 70 days to refuel a nuclear plant. Each plant lost somewhere in the vicinity of a million dollars a day in lost revenue. The potential payoff was obvious and huge. Building on the results from the prior change management training turned planning session, Helwig had me work for nine months with his 20 project managers who were trained in traditional project management. They had no knowledge of OD socio- technical aspects critical for success such as 1) clarity about sponsorship as being only legitimate with one’s direct reports, and 2) the need for by-whens, tied with the concept of single point accountability, etc. PECO Nuclear practice had been to tie by-when’s to group accountability! They were learning that groups aren’t accountable, individuals are! The T-groups interspersed with continual OD case consults on the problems they were facing gave them the missing elements in project management! Soon they were having incredible success in their projects. (See, Strategic Organizational Alignment by Chris Crosby.) Helwig took all these learnings with him to do amazing things at the Limerick Generating Station. He helped them organize their outage cross-functionally, and instill the behaviors, including basics such as working to and adhering to a clear timeline, resulting in a more organized effort. PECO’s leadership at the Peach Bottom plant seized the model, and set a string of record length short outages coupled with equally unprecedented problem-free operating runs. CHAPTER 9: THE PECO TURNAROUND | 155

Change doesn’t come if the effort is limited to trainings (although trainings are often part of change). Change is mightily enhanced by implementing desired behaviors in the context of key initiatives. Outage execution, for example, is an excellent time to reinforce single point accountability, clarity of decision making (especially those that cross departments), conflict resolution skills, and the surfacing of issues. The organization becomes the classroom, with each layer responsible for continuous improvement by rapidly surfacing and resolving issues (such as the possibility of missing a deadline), and by giving and receiving behavioral feedback. Such efforts include participative large group planning processes with a cross-section of the organization including the hourly workforce. My blend of community organizing and organization development improves the quality of the output (planning that includes the people who execute the plan is almost guaranteed to be a better product), increases ownership and immediate word-of-mouth communication, and most importantly, the odds of a successful implementation. The same methods have been applied to many organizations in pursuit of key goals and they reliably achieve results. 5. Create a cadre of key line people early in the process who can help facilitate the change. Part of the strategy at PECO Nuclear was to develop a group of people who can carry on the work called a “cadre.” The cadre played a key role in assisting the change process, decreasing the organization’s reliance on external resources, and continuing to develop the organization from within. These people, recruited from the hourly as well as the management ranks, were equipped with above all else high interactive skills fostered through the Conflict Management workshops and additional training. 156 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

At Peach Bottom, they were woven into every initiative, and provided the following on a formal and informal basis: ▪ Coaching regarding conflict, communication skills, etc. ▪ Third party conflict resolution ▪ Meeting design and/or facilitation ▪ Survey feedback and NRR. Helwig required NRR sessions whenever a new boss arrived or a significant number of new employees came on board. Cadre members were woven into key initiatives and many rose through the ranks of the organization, one as high as President of Exelon. This is another example of how Helwig’s influence moved across much of the organization. NRRs became required in some other departments. For instance, at the Peach Bottom plant which had set off the original crisis at PECO with its shutdown, when son Gilmore was hired as the Senior OD Specialist some seven years after I had left, NRRs and many of the other OD stables (survey feedback, by-when’s, single point accountability, knowledge retrieval of best practices, attendance and strong support of the Conflict Management trainings) were still in place. They had become normal practice! Further Peach Bottom set new outage records! David Helwig went on to a highly successful career at Commonwealth Edison and beyond. To quote Commonwealth Edison’s CEO John Rowe a year after his arrival, “Helwig, who overhauled PECO Energy Co. of Pennsylvania, was hired by ComEd last year to help lead what proved to be a successful turnaround of the utility’s troubled nuclear power program.” Until his retirement David Helwig took his magic with him. That magic included a heavy dose of traditional OD that permeates this book! CHAPTER 9: THE PECO TURNAROUND | 157

Conclusion

In short, the transformation of PECO Nuclear was no fluke. Many variables came together, including great personnel. Nonetheless, the organization development approach described above was a best practice and critical enabler, transforming the organization from a rigid and demotivating hierarchy to an empowered culture built on a clear and thoughtful balance between management authority and employee influence. Leaders, certainly including hourly workers, learned how to take clear stands and stay connected. The same methods are reliable and reproducible, and continue to be implemented in nuclear and non-nuclear organizations to this day.

Much credit is due Gilmore Crosby for writing the original article which was the foundation for this chapter. 158 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Postlude

Many years later two scholars called me about that turnaround. They read from a current used training manual called Conflict Management and asked if it was familiar. “Yes. I wrote it.” A perennial change question is, “Do these changes last.” Perhaps if grounded in historic OD and then grounded with a significant mass of those who have attended a T-group (called Conflict Management at PECO, and named Tough Stuff by a worker elsewhere who said these skills are not soft, they are tough), they will last as long as there is leadership that sustains it. A fundamental change principle illustrated by my reference to the various names given for the T-group or survey feedback or the PECO change is:

Whatever the Change is, don’t Name it–Do it!

Naming it is to polarize opinions about it. “I’m for it.” “I’m against it.” For or against what? According to whose interpretation? For instance, when the Fusina, Italy plant won the Alcoa European Award for Lean Manufacturing and were told so, they looked puzzled and asked, “What’s that?” Engaged as they had been in defining the current situation and problem- solving progress toward the goals they viewed it as, improving work processes, not a new program! Knowledge about previous successful practices, including from Japan, were retrieved. They then derived implications for Fusina. They owned it! Effective change is integral to the organization’s direction and makes it easier to succeed. Effective change is not something more to do. Rather, it is a way to do what is essential more effectively. It is not a burden. It lifts the burden. Bottom Line: Do the change. Be it. CHAPTER 10: T-GROUPS AND AUTHENTICITY | 159

Chapter 10 T-groups and Authenticity

In contemporary culture and public discourse, one is often called “authentic” if they simply say whatever is on their mind. Never mind that it may not be the truth. Or it may be a judgment hurled at another. Such a defense mechanism is used to avoid responsibility for one’s negative traits by attributing them to others. It tends to divert parties involved from a discussion of issues to reactive/ blaming stances. If the persons being blamed allow themselves to be triggered, the result is a blame/blame moment. To be authentic one must have an awareness of one’s emotions, sensitive trigger points, words and non-verbal actions, and their impact on others. True authenticity leads to deep compassion for others, especially toward those who seem quite different or strange. It is not self- aggrandizing. It is our grounding for being able to act with integrity for social justice! ix years after the birth of the T-group, I stumbled upon my Sfirst T-group while a graduate student at Boston University. This is my story of how I see authenticity as the fundamental base of the T-group experience. A fundamental goal of such groups is to provide an environment, a set of skills, and a collection of supporting ideas that help an individual learn to be who they are in relationships with others versus pretending (consciously or unconsciously) to be someone else. This leads to open, effective personal relationships and productive organizations. Choosing to be authentically present with others involves discovering, clarifying, and expressing such things as what you believe, value, want, and feel—that is, communicating to others the essence of who you are. Authentic data flow is critical to organizations competing in today’s global market. 160 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

It is neither possible nor desirable to live in a state of constant authenticity. That would take our message to an absurd extreme. Those we deal with in important relationships will benefit from knowing our thoughts, feelings, and wants, but with the understanding that our position need not always prevail. It is also clearly unwise to disclose all of our inner experience to others all of the time. The goal is informed choice, which requires an awareness and acceptance of inner experience and a basis for deciding what to share and with whom to share it. Below is an outline of our Skill Group sequence. The Skill Group is our fundamental arena for enhancing authenticity.

The Sequence and Processes of Skill Groups For more depth on the processes involved in our Skill Group see pp. 87-91. 1. Group A is in session for ten minutes. 2. Group A’s learning partners give them feedback for five minutes. 3. Group A is in session for ten minutes. 4. Group A’s learning partners give them feedback for five minutes. 5. Group B is in session for ten minutes. 6. Group B’s learning partners give them feedback for five minutes. 7. Group B is in session for ten minutes. 8. Group B’s learning partners give them feedback for five minutes. The rotation above continues throughout the training, with the length of sessions being altered by the leader. The leader may also call for occasional sessions of the entire group (A’s and B’s and the leader) so that all members can have direct access to everyone, including the leader. CHAPTER 10: T-GROUPS AND AUTHENTICITY | 161

The Skill Groups are interspersed with theory sessions of one to one-and-a-half hours in length, where skills and concepts about self-awareness, interpersonal communication, conflict management, group process, and systems theory are presented. The total amount of time spent in Skill Group during our industry adapted T-group experience varies from 15 or 20 hours to 80 in our graduate program. The original T-group model had two-hour sessions. I first experienced a fishbowl in 1962 in a Training of Trainers session led by Ronald Lippitt and Warren Schmidt. We observed group processes. Dr. Ron Short’s innovation was to pair an observer with a partner inside to give immediate feedback on the insides member’s use or lack of use of the Wallen skills and “I” messages, etc. In these five-day events we end with a scaled, anonymous evaluation of the applicability of this activity to the workplace. With 10 being high on the scale, the average evaluation varies from 7 to 10, with 9 being the most frequent. Where tension is high, the five-day session may include a pre-session with the organization’s leader (CEO, president, plant manager, union leaders, department manager, director, or whoever heads the unit) clarifying the bottom-line goals (numeric), work processes, and people management. This introduction tends to lead to greater alignment and individual clarity about one’s own responsibility/accountability, and the context for the subsequent organization change. Such training does not stand alone, but is most powerful if it is part of a larger organizational change effort that includes work with intact groups, cross-functional projects, and structured formal follow-through sessions. While work with the leader is the most critical component of successful change, a Skill Group intervention enriches the work. Theories taught can only be learned conceptually without the experiential component added by a Skill Group 162 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

(T-group). The T-group allows for a continuous arena to integrate the three learning domains of affective, motoric, and conceptual. Most theories taught are common sense about communication, conflict, listening, and systems. Yet, because most humans think of learning as the transmission of ideas (except in sports or learning a trade), these concepts, no matter how well presented, are often ho-hum except when interspersed with the Skill Group methodology.

The Author’s Personal Story of the Early T-group

Primarily, the early T-groups focused, in order to achieve the social justice goals, on sensitivity to group processes (who decides what, who interrupts whom, what are the emerging norms or rules of conduct, how are issues of inclusion and influence dealt with, how is conflict handled, etc.) and how emotionality is integrated in group and personal life. Primary values were to increase the capacity for personal choice (as opposed to unconscious reactivity) and for democracy. This unique educational twist was provided by structuring the T-group to focus on group maintenance and process rather than task and content. Leaders of T-groups varied, from those who said little to those who were very active. No matter how much the T-group leaders worked to help illuminate maintenance and process, members experienced culture shock and often perceived that their trainers said little or nothing. In 1958, I had the opportunity to see Ron Lippitt and Ken Benne leading T-groups at an NTL lab. After observing Benne, several fellow trainees (in our Train-the-Trainer program) were adamant that he didn’t know how to lead a T-group! We saw him, over the course of several days, fill the walls with newsprint (mini-lectures) and interact with energy more than the average member. Yet some members reported that he didn’t say anything. Actually, CHAPTER 10: T-GROUPS AND AUTHENTICITY | 163 they were referencing the first couple of days when they were expecting task and content (about subjects for discussion) rather than inputs related to their initial group formation, personal anxiety, and confusion.

Epectation of group members Task Content is that the focus (work goal) (subject matter) will be on…

Maintenance and Process Here-and-now interactions, noticing defensive gatekeeping (bringing others (eplanative) behavior and into the conversation), other patterns, group The T-group encouraging disagreement, decision making processes, focuses on… listening skills during tense group development stages, moments, awareness and tuning into the other, self- sharing of emotions, speaking differentiation, and sharing for self (“I statements), immediate impact by use of behavior description feeling and behavior rather than judgments, description.

Figure 8 T-group Focus Therefore, his comments seemed irrelevant and remote to them. Apparently, they seemed like non-comments. Indeed, he was not fulfilling the popular notion that a leader presents an agenda for discussion. Several of the train-the- trainer students were equally critical of Lippitt. These trainees, only eleven years after T-groups had been invented by the very three we were observing, had already been on such a divergent path that they would have excommunicated the founders! How had this happened? Here is my belief: Previous to this 1958 training, there had been few, if any, sessions to train-the-trainers of T-groups. Based on many later experiences of poorly led groups, I imagine these trainees had initially attended a T-group where they perceived (like many anxious participants) that the leaders were silent. Never mind 164 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT that the leaders might have behaved like Benne or Lippitt did in 1958. For initial participants this leaves a vacuum because they are not providing leadership about an agenda or a topic as is expected. When I heard their critique of the founders I asked, “How do you do it in your T-groups?” “I begin the group by saying ‘Life is a series of islands. We go from one to another and there are snakes on each one.’ Then I don’t speak for the next two hours.” For me this in an abdication of leadership which will likely increase the intensity enormously. The T-group leaders responsibility is to allow some ambiguity, some tension, and then intervene so that participants can learn in those moments. Too much intensity or none will usually reduce learning. Also I want the trainers to be in the mix. What’s going on for them? If no one would speak I would feel anxious. I might say, “I’m anxious, am I the only one?” Such a question after my own statement is most often responded to by several participants and builds new norms for sharing. I want the trainer to have their skin in the game! CHAPTER 10: T-GROUPS AND AUTHENTICITY | 165

The Seminal Constructs of this Paradigm

The T-group is a radical paradigm shift that is characterized by these emphases: 1. Here-and-now. 2. Personal authenticity and authority, and responsibility for one’s own creation (choice) of life while not denying that there is true victimization. Here it is the ability to make a clear distinction about what I control and what is outside of my control. 3. Social justice as broadly defined in this book. It certainly includes personally and collectively acting to correct injustice!

The Here-and-Now

Perhaps the most striking feature of T-group is the emphasis on the here-and-now. And yet, what else is there? We live constantly and only in the here-and-now. We are almost always thinking. As you read this you may feel excited, bored, puzzled, angry, or any number of feelings. So we are thinking, feeling, sensing creatures. Yet most of us seem unaware of the moment. Spiritual masters write about attaining the capacity to be aware of the here-and-now. Quoting Alan Watts, “For the animal to be happy it is enough that this moment be enjoyable. But man is hardly satisfied with this at all. He is much more concerned to have enjoyable memories and expectations—especially the latter. With these assured, he can put up with an extremely miserable present. Without this assurance, he can be extremely miserable in the midst of immediate physical pleasure. 166 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

This is the typical human problem. The object of dread may not be an operation in the immediate future. It may be the problem of next month’s rent, of a threatened war or social disaster, of being able to save enough for old age, or of death at the last. This spoiler of the present may not even be a future dread. It may be something out of the past, some memory of an injury, some crime or indiscretion, which haunts the present with a sense of resentment or guilt. The power of memories and expectations is such that for most human beings the past and the future are not as real, but more real than the present. The present cannot be lived happily unless the past has been cleared up and the future is bright with promise.” Participants again and again say, “This isn’t real.” The journey into T-group learning is hastened when one instead says, “I feel anxious” while they focus on this moment. My comfort is in the past (perhaps at work or home) or in knowing the future (“Where is this leading—how will this apply?”). The past is an illusion. It is an interpreted memory of a past event. It is one’s story uniquely held. Others (i.e., brothers and sisters) at the same scene have a different story. The past does not now exist. It exists as part of the present experience as a memory. Experiencing the now is easy for most when the moment is pleasurable. Even then, some refuse to experience the pleasure and, rather, choose to experience suspicion or mistrust as a constant state. Prior to T-group experience, they might call this mistrust state reality, rejecting the idea of choice, that is, that reality is subjectively held—one’s personal, chosen interpretation. It is the anxiety and fear in the new T-groups, the childhood training of denial and, therefore, the desire to escape the heat that CHAPTER 10: T-GROUPS AND AUTHENTICITY | 167 leads to pain. The anxiety and fear is not the problem. It’s the learned attempt to deny present emotions that intensifies pain, fear, anger, etc. Again quoting Watts, “Sometimes, when resistance ceases, the pain simply goes away or dwindles to an easily tolerable ache. At other times it remains, but the absence of any resistance brings about a way of feeling pain so unfamiliar as to be hard to describe. The pain is no longer problematic. I feel it, but there is no urge to get rid of it, for I have discovered that pain and the effort to be separate from it are the same thing. Wanting to get out of pain is the pain; it is not the reaction of an ‘I’ distinct from the pain. When you discover this, the desire to escape merges into the pain itself and vanishes.” The T-group leader is calling attention to life, which is being lived in each moment and includes pleasure and pain, hope and fear, joy and sadness, love and anger, peace and conflict. Watts continues, “For most of us this conflict is ever gnawing within us because our lives are one long effort to resist the unknown, the real present in which we live, which is the unknown in the midst of coming into being. Living thus, we never really learn to live with it. At every moment we are cautious, hesitant, and on the defense. And all to no avail, for life thrusts us into the unknown willy-nilly, and resistance is as futile and exasperating as trying to swim against a roaring torrent.” This is why the T-group exists. The traditional classroom lecture treats learning as an activity of the mind. In order for the T-group to act as a catalyst—integrating mind and emotion— it must first allow participants to wake up, be conscious of what is now, including the emotion of the moment and the anxious attempts to find a topic or assurance from the trainer. 168 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

More Watts, “Tools such as these, as well as the tools of language and thought, are of real use to men only if they are awake—not lost in the dreamland of past and future, but in the closest touch with that point of experience where reality can alone be discovered: this moment. Here life is alive, vibrant, vivid, and present, containing depths which we have hardly begun to explore. But to see and understand it at all, the mind must not be divided! The moment must be what it always is—all that you are and all that you know.”

Personal Authenticity and Authority

Grounded in the here-and-now, one can begin to take personal authority for one’s part in the daily dance of life. I am choosing. I am not a victim, except in my unconscious living. The intent is not to quarrel that there is never a victimless state (an abused child, a stray bullet, etc), but to focus on my part in the dance of life. Noticing patterns in the T-group which, of course, are the same patterns one experiences again and again in life, is the raw material for identifying my part in creating and sustaining the patterns. Wallen stresses that my intentions are instantaneously encoded into actions (silence, words, facial expression, tone, body posture, gestures) that are also instantaneously decoded into impact by you. This circular process is never-ending. But whereas in popular culture—the belief is that actions determine the impact or effect on the other (“I know you by your actions”), with Wallen there is a critical millisecond step between the action and the impact. The step is the interpretation by the receiver of the actions. So, I know you by my interpretation of your action. CHAPTER 10: T-GROUPS AND AUTHENTICITY | 169

Such a notion is radical and transformative. I am now responsible for my notion of you and for my own emotional state which reflects not your actions, but my interpretation of your . actions This is a vital way to think about interpersonal relations at work, home, or everyday interactions. Please do not confuse this with physical violence. Of course if someone approaches you with a fist, knife, or gun they are responsible for their actions. Personal authenticity and self as creator means nothing until one digests this elusive notion. Learning the above cognitively is a long journey. Learning it integrated into one’s being is a lifelong process. Even as you read this you are not reading my ideas but rather your ideas. That is, you can only interpret each of these symbols (words) from your history, and experience, and your here-and-now context. All is interpretation. I know only my story. Even as I hear your story or your interpretation I must interpret what you say. It’s a wonder that we ever communicate. Each person reading this is potentially reading something different. Those who believe that there are words written that are not subject to interpretation (as in sacred writings) will resist mightily. Accepting that all is interpretive means that we cannot know with certainty the purpose of life or our future. I must look within for meaning and purpose. As the evolving cave man made noises to communicate, we make more evolved noises. If I am Russian I make the noise “marose-jun- a-o” when I see a frozen, white substance. If I am American I say “ice cream.” Until recently that Russian noise symbolized vanilla ice cream while Americans saw 52 flavors. Noises! We make noises and interpret. All is interpretation. 170 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

INTENTION ACTION IMPACT

IMPACT ACTION INTENTION

Figure 9 Intent and Impact The T-group is an avenue for this journey. Participants are encouraged to shift from a blaming or dependency state. Feedback is no longer laying judgments on others, as viewed by popular culture. Rather, it is mutual sharing of the perceived feelings, impact, descriptive behavior of the perceived action, and acknowledgment of the receiver’s part in the dance. Judgments may be shared and owned by the judger as uniquely related to the judger’s life history. Such feedback is delivered and received in the context of Dr. Tim Weber’s statement, Feedback is information, not definition. In other words, I do not define who I should be by what you say. Rather, what you say informs me about my unique impact on you, and provides data for my continuing choices about how I live my life. Such a notion about feedback and personal authority is the goal of the T-group journey, albeit a long trip. At first, the key for the trainer is to help the novice participant move from the belief that their judgments are a fact about the other to the ability to translate judgments into descriptions of the others behaviors and own their emotions. Those next giant steps—sharing these when appropriate and staying connected as unfamiliar emotions surface—are the beginning of the journey. CHAPTER 10: T-GROUPS AND AUTHENTICITY | 171

Democracy

Kurt Lewin fled Hitler. Referenced earlier in 1936 at Iowa State, he and students Lippitt and White, did the classic study of the effect on groups of boys led by adults using three styles of leadership. At set times during the study, each boys group switched leaders to different adults using either Authoritarian, Democratic, or Laissez-faire leaderships styles. The conclusion strongly supports democratic leadership. A curious incident occurred that I have not seen in the write-up of current work. Finding authoritarian or permissive (laissez-faire) leaders was easy (I have replicated this during trainings, and also found it easy for a leader to follow instructions to be authoritarian or permissive). But in the boys experiment, those asked to be democratic ended up being permissive. They would say to the boys, “What do you want to do?” which is a permissive question. Ron Lippitt, then took over the democratic leadership role because no one else who was asked to do so had that capability! He was able to help the group explore options, note resources, predict consequences, make choices, and be clear about boundaries. If enlightenment is to find the balance between the extremes, then Americans, for all their philosophical allegiance to democracy, have often not found that balance between the extremes of authoritarian and permissive. The history of parenting and organizational leadership has been of swings from one extreme to the other. The balance is illusive. The T-group and the workshop (which includes general sessions with theories and skill practice) are arenas for such learning. In finding personal authority one must have the capacity to take a stand and stay connected. That’s the democratic leader. The trainer demonstrates this balance by keeping the boundaries clear about what they decide and what participants decide. The temptation is to become permissive and focus on 172 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT connectedness leading to an implicit (if not explicit) teaching that all should decide. It is a widespread virus in T-type groups, as well as in experiments in new OD practices. Ron Short, in his remarkable article The Eye of “I” states, “The T-group was a crucible that challenged normal, third-party, objective science and opened us to a parallel world—a reality that is so close, intimate and obvious that it is invisible to most of us most of the time. Because we keep this world hidden, we unknowingly participate in, and are carriers of, a highly contagious, and sometimes fatal, Socially Transmitted Disease (STD).” OD practitioners unversed in the profound origins of the T-group and OD tend toward a more permissive style and support consensus without the checks and balances needed. More crucially, they are also likely unversed in the distinctions between democracy, laissez-faire, and autocracy. If I were King, I would require that all aspiring OD practitioners study deeply and, if possible, participate in a replication of the boys study of Lewin. The other extreme, of course, happens where a trainer becomes brusque and loses connection. Such a trainer often backs away from conflict or, if in a conflict, insists that the other share feelings, etc., while the trainer remains closed. Consistent behavior of this sort models inappropriate distance and an imbalance toward authoritarian behavior. The balance between authoritarian and permissiveness are interpreted by participants in different ways influenced by one’s peculiar family history, and by what they experience with the T-group leader day by day. By being balanced, trainers teach this balance. This is how learning is transferred to the organization, family, and community units. CHAPTER 10: T-GROUPS AND AUTHENTICITY | 173

The Popular Culture Invasion of Training Groups

As such training became popular in the late 1950s and 1960s a fascinating phenomenon occurred: popular culture became the culture of most of these groups in the guise of truth and honesty. As referenced earlier the original purpose became, at times, wildly skewed. Tactics were used such as encouraging participants to drink alcohol to more freely spill their guts or tell personal secrets. Leaders were confused between authenticity and what one might expect to hear on a soap opera—that is, personal confessions and accusations. Here’s a more thorough description of popular culture as it shows up and often is simply reinforced in T-groups led by unskilled trainers: 174 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Popular Culture Skilled Culture That Increases Data Distortion That Increases Data Flow

Openness is telling secrets. Openness is sharing my feelings and thoughts now, not personal secrets or confessions.

Eplaining (ecuses again) is fine. Eplaining is defending. Name it. Say something like, “I’m afraid I am being misunderstood and then choose to eplain or not.

“Do what you feel. Notice what you feel, and choose what you do.

Telling it straight is to blame. Telling it straight is to report “You’re a jerk. impact (feeling) and description “You’re irresponsible. of behavior.

I know you by your actions. I know you by my interpretation of your actions.

People talk about people in the Talk to whomever you’re talking group, but not to them. to. Avoid third-person language Triangulation is a way of life. when referring to someone present.

Focus is on psychological Focus is on behavioral specifics motivation rather than behavior: and effect on others: “They don’t care about people, “What did they do or say that you and that's why they are so are interpreting dictatorial and not dictatorial. caring? “They have low self-esteem and “What did they say or do that you that's why they blame. are interpreting as low self esteem. “Their parents didn’t love them “Apparently you’re troubled by and, therefore, they are very that assessment. How is needy an needy. important word for you? CHAPTER 10: T-GROUPS AND AUTHENTICITY | 175

Continued Popular Culture Skilled Culture That Increases Data Distortion That Increases Data Flow

Causation is outside self: I trigger myself. I make me feel. “You made me feel... I am constantly creating my own “You made me do it. internal state. “You triggered me. Emphasis is on skills in Being able to own my feelings, communication as techniques. separate descriptions from There is a right way to say it. interpretations, paraphrase, etc., helps me sort out who I am and who the other is. I define myself. Emphasizes congruency within the self and the importance of language, but downplays skills as techniques.

Family history used as an ecuse The purpose of making a family of (“My dad beat me, and so I can't origin connection is to be present help what I do). now, making choices and not ecuses from my unique (personally created) interpretation of my past.

My contention is that many growth-type groups (whatever they are called: T-group, OD Group, Skill Group, Encounter, Therapy) may become a reinforcement for popular culture. What is new for people in these groups is that most participants have not experienced talking about these things in a public setting. The following are insidiously exhilarating: Telling and hearing secrets (“I’m having an affair!”). Blaming directly (face-to-face instead of behind one’s back as usually happens). Playing Psychologist (“You have low esteem”). 176 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Using family history as an excuse and receiving sympathy from buddies who confirm your view of your awful parents, or your awful spouse. Being supported for saying, “You made me feel...” or “I feel that (a thought)” and believing you have just shared a feeling. In Chapter 2, I mentioned that I attended an encounter group at Esalen, a popular new-age institute in the 1970s. The word feel as in “I feel that...” was used again and again during the weekend. During one session I counted 50 uses of the word feel without one person describing a feeling. I believe most participants left the group I attended with the same soap opera popular culture skills they entered with— the ability to blame, to psych-out others, to not distinguish between a thought and a feeling, to not distinguish between an expression of emotion (“It’s wonderful”) and a description (“I’m happy”), to blame their past for the present, to not distinguish interpretation from fact. Effective training is based on the premise that what is being learned during the training will be transferred to life situations after the training. The term transfer describes the utilization in a second situation of what has been learned in a former situation. In stranger groups participants are removed from their workday worlds to help un-freeze daily sets, expectations, and patterns, and to take fresh looks at themselves, their colleagues, and their back-home situations. Elsewhere I’ve made a strong case for the power of intact/cousin T-groups, but stranger groups can also open eyes and doors. With a constant eye on transfer such training often includes application activities of a simulated nature, where individuals enact puzzling personal and work situations. Instead of focusing on changing the other(s) they focus on changing their own pattern—shifting their dance. Break your pattern and the other will probably respond differently. CHAPTER 10: T-GROUPS AND AUTHENTICITY | 177

Certainly the interventions in the Skill Group focus on the participant’s capacity to realize their own essence and to be a clear self while staying connected with others. This is aided by attention to language since my language creates my reality. Participants are encouraged to speak for themselves (“I”) when such is accurate, and to speak with others (“we”) when referring to those who have genuinely concurred. Joseph Campbell has written, “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” The word being does communicate my primary goal when leading such a group. Who are you really? What is your essence? Who are you, authentically? What do you value, care about, want, feel, think, believe? Both you and your organization will benefit far more from you being you than from you being a pretense package. Does this mean I should always, everywhere, be authentic? Of course not. My organization needs my opinions, my feelings, and my wants (translated into “what I need to succeed in my work”) and my understanding that my opinions and feelings and wants will not always prevail. It isn’t possible to share all of these internal knowings. I share them appropriately. What or when is that? That’s the rub, and that’s the art. And that’s also the journey. “A core process morality in a ministry (helping relationships) with youth is that of striving for authenticity.” This statement captures the essence of Ross Snyder and his student (later my colleague), Ruth Emory, as they struggled to help adults be rather than pretend with youth. Notice that it is not a morality of authenticity, but rather one of striving for authenticity. It is not a mountain top we someday reach. It is a journey. Snyder did his writing in the context of adults coming clean with youth. He focuses on the phoniness in the older ones when they pretend to know more than they know, be who they are not, or deny the errors and inadequacies that are part of being human, younger or older. In the words of the 178 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Polish poet, Wistawa Szymborska, “Whatever inspiration is, it is born from a continuous ‘I don’t know’...It’s small but it flies on mighty wings.” Snyder also asked these questions of adults and youth: “Will I stand and fight for others? How do I overcome the evil I meet? In what ways do I support a system of justice? Justice— on the inside of us—is our willingness to become involved when some other person’s right to life and growth is being violated. To fight only when our own existence is constricted or threatened is not yet a mature morality...We are all members one of another. And when fundamental rights are denied to any person, by just so much are the structures of human dignity and inclusiveness weakened for all of us.” Being authentic is knowing what you care about and standing up for that. It is being in touch with and owning your emotional states: fear, hope, joy, anger, love, hate, whatever. It is being aware of your defensiveness and acknowledging it and choosing to defend or not defend. It is to accept not knowing and feelings of inadequacy, or knowing and feelings of confidence and success. This is close to the original meaning of the word meek (praus in Greek). In its origin, to be meek implies wholeness and integrity. A related meaning is knowing who you are or not thinking of yourself as better or worse than you are. A hungry baby who cries is meek. Jesus, overturning tables and cleansing the temple (Christian New Testament), was being meek, whole, and acting with integrity from his perspective. You, when you’re proud of your actions and are sharing this fact with significant people in your life, may be meek. That is, you may be sharing with wholeness and integrity. Ruth Emory also wrote: “Individuals are fully aware of the possibilities as well as their limitations, and are not denying them. CHAPTER 10: T-GROUPS AND AUTHENTICITY | 179

They are able to say that they do not know something and not be frightened by the necessity for such acknowledgment. They invite a critical scrutiny of their ideas and really welcome what comes without either supinely acquiescing or loudly defending. They expect others to be authentic and they help them discover who they are and where they live, and are sensitive to—but not thrown by—their inconsistencies as they find their personhood. They are open and able to receive messages about themselves without becoming unduly hostile or resentful. They speak to others in the group honestly, from a wholeness of spirit. They give their whole being to a group, come with all they are and do not hold anything back since it is important to be as honest as possible. They say what they truly believe to be the case insofar as they can see it, and not what they think they are expected to say; but they also speak responsibly, not out of whim or smallness of spirit.” Such authenticity begins with self-differentiation. Before I can be authentic, of course, I must know who I am; I must distinguish between me and my history, my judgments, my projections, and the external world. I must accept that experience is not external to self but, quoting Ronald Short, “continuously created” within. Only then will I speak for myself and not believe that what I am experiencing is what all are or should be experiencing. My reality is not your reality. With such clarity I may avoid believing that my feelings are our feelings, my thoughts our thoughts, my perceptions our perceptions, my reality our reality! Authentic behavior is grounded in such differentiation. 180 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Having led hundreds of groups, Dr. (PhD in Psychology) Ron Short writes, “I look back on how the T-group has changed me, our profession, and set the direction for the future of our discipline. Because I now see things differently, I see different things. The T-group was a crucible that challenged normal, third-party, objective science and opened a parallel world—a reality that is so close, intimate and obvious that it is invisible to most of us most of the time.” Self-differentiation is conceived in the context of one’s FOO. Unique to the LIOS adaptation is the integration of one’s FOO to the T-group. Even in our one-week events we touch lightly on participants FOO. When the intensity between two people seems disproportionate to the immediate conflict between them, we invite the participants to explore whether or not they have entered the emotional fieldof their early family. As an educational intervention, the critical issue in T-group is to bring a past emotional memory back into the immediate conflict rather than, as one might in therapy, linger on the past event. This may be explored elsewhere by the participant, but the purpose of the intervention in T-group is to enhance the understanding and resolution of the immediate presenting conflict. Such family of origin work almost always leads the participant to a deeper appreciation of the life situation of their parents as people rather than roles, and to a more adult- to-adult relationship with authorities in their lives. The core of the work is to develop the capability to be a self and stay connected. Human development, at least through the teen years, is characterized by the child’s tendency to solve dilemmas in the parent-teacher-child authority relationships: by dependency (“I’ll do what I’m told”), counter-dependency ( “Don’t tell me what to do” or “Tell me this, I’ll do something else”), or cut-off (“I’ll run away from home” or later “I’ll move a thousand miles away from the parent”). CHAPTER 10: T-GROUPS AND AUTHENTICITY | 181

The imbalance between being a self (which sometimes means one must take an unpopular stand; i.e., saying “no” when the other wants a “yes” or vice versa) and staying connected in an empathic, caring way is carried into adult life, and certainly manifested at work—especially in the boss-employee relationship. Authenticity, as discussed, represents striving to achieve the balance of being a unique self and maintaining a fundamental connection with not only parents, bosses, and all humans, but with the cosmos. In one way, I am unique like the just-born Buddha who immediately took seven steps and said, “There’s no one in the world like me.” Perhaps all babies are baby Buddhas and their first cry signals their uniqueness. Ironically, the journey of adulthood is to rediscover that elemental truth. Likewise, we are all connected. Perhaps this is our primary essence. You and I are one. All are a manifestation of the same energy. Family of origin work in the setting of the Skill Group can accelerate such a journey. Striving for authenticity reduces the pretending, game- playing way of being in the world. It opens the door for intimacy in relationships, for integrity in the marketplace, and for openness among people of differing backgrounds. Organizations need authentic leaders, not manipulators. As used here, the word leader means a person of any rank or role with integrity and a high order of self-awareness, who will decisively take risks and guide others into the unknown future. And while money and material riches can be manipulated by the inauthentic, in the long run people are motivated to work for and be loyal to those whom they trust. Accuracy about data, truth about problems, confidence about commitments, clarity about authority, interdependency across departments, trust between bosses and employees, effective delegation and autonomy all flow from authenticity in relationships. 182 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

T-group Leader Interventions

As stated earlier, a typical early statement by trainers is often something like, “We don’t provide a topic and we don’t guide the discussion of whatever you talk about. Rather, we attempt to help with the dynamics happening while you engage.” In a business environment, topics often arise about tough issues they are facing! Our task is to assist them to be 1) here-and- now (there is always a now component), 2) speak from the “I” when appropriate—I feel, I think, I want (you or we is also sometimes accurate), 3) Talk directly rather than about others in the third person, and 4) paraphrase when differences surface. In addition, we note dynamics such as how decisions (for instance, about the topic being discussed) are being made in the here-and-now in the group (often by default). As in the classical T-group, we may also mention the current stage of this group’s development. Factors such as who is talking to whom, how differences are being managed, or what patterns are emerging are also noted. One common pattern is that each person speaks but no one paraphrases or builds on what the other has said. All of these are here-and-now moments with there-and-then implications because these behaviors often run rampant in the workplace. “I imagine this is also familiar at work,” says the trainer. Heads nod affirmatively. “Solve this here and you will more likely be able to solve it there.” Our there-and-then interventions take them briefly to their workplace and help them begin to see the relevance of this T-group moment. In Volume l of Process Consulting, Edgar Schein writes that T-group trainers see themselves “...as someone who helps group members to discover the kinds of events that are occurring in the group and the effects such events are having CHAPTER 10: T-GROUPS AND AUTHENTICITY | 183 on themselves and other members.”

1. Invitational. Participant Behavior Intervention Rationale “I feel that... “Would you be willing to Builds differentiation between say, I think...? thoughts and feelings and ownership of learning. “Yes, I think... “Now would you be willing Acknowledges ownership and to identify or guess what you invites eploration of the were feeling if you had that relationship between thoughts thought? and feelings.

2. Forced choice. Participant Behavior Intervention Rationale “I didn’t feel anything. Are you willing to say “I’m Many participants are out not aware of a feeling of touch with their rather than “I didn't feel emotional state. anything? Moving from certainty “I didn’t to “I’m unaware is a significant step.

If, yes... “Did you like or dislike it? The forced choice offers an opportunity for the participant to begin eploring their internal state.

“I don’t know what Ask other group members, This invites other participants I'm feeling. “Guess what they might be to shift from passive to active feeling right now? Collect and to use perception check in three to si perceptions. te inner group. The feedback likely helps the initial speaker get clearer about their own emotion.

3. Here-and-now, here-and-now, here-and-now. Participant Behavior Intervention Rationale “No, I’m not willing “So, what’s it like for you to It’s easy to lose the continual to say what you have me ask you these new here-and-now. suggested or do a questions-interrupting as I Translating “What did you forced choice. did? feel? (two minutes ago) to “What do you feel now in response to these questions? is to remain alert that there is always a new now-now-now-now! 184 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

4. Say I when its I. ou when its you. Participant Behavior Intervention Rationale “You know when you Would you be willing to say, Clarity about such language are so frustrated that “When I am frustrated I helps the learner get clear you feel like giving want to give up. about self and separate self up. from others. Secondarily, such clarity will sometimes help communication with others.

5. Dead persons rule. Participant Behavior Intervention Rationale Talking about someone Wave hand in front of This is a great eample of a present in the group in person being talked about common organization practice the third person, i.e., and ask “Wait. Is this that shows up in the “Skill “When theyor “When person alive or dead? The Group. Triangulation, or talking X. Insert any name rule is: if the person is alive about others and not to them, is for X. you are to speak to them customary. Thus, by encouraging directly. direct talk, the potential of (Thanks to Rob Schachter transfer and application to work for this.) or home is increased.

. Impact report. Participant Behavior Intervention Rationale Long eplanations. Interrupt by saying, “I’m Learning how to share impact having difficulty staying is often a struggle for Skill with you. Am I the only Group members. one? The impact question can be Or any moment which Other eamples are, “I asked at any time, I find it is having an impact on really liked what you just especially useful when long you, as a trainer, yet the said. “I am puzzled by eplanations have become a the group members are what you said. “I am primary mode. staying quiet. sad/afraid/mad/happy etc. Adding “Am I the only one? Follow each by, “Am I the takes the focus off the trainer only one? and distributes it to the group.

. Parrot and Perception Check. Participant Behavior Intervention Rationale Argument which is “Wait, before you make your The ability to verify what the often manifest by point, tell them what you other said before differing is a “Yes, but… or think they said! practical and underdone skill. careful eplaining. Perception Check is guessing Learning the other’s emotion the others emotion. Ask, helps one learn the importance, “What do you imagine they angst, and passion of the other. are feeling? CHAPTER 10: T-GROUPS AND AUTHENTICITY | 185

. Try it this way. Participant Behavior Intervention Rationale Long sentences or What if you were to say, Participants need models of confusing attempts to “I liked what you just brevity and gentle directness. be direct. said. Or “I’m troubled Such clarity from the trainer, by what you just said. with the trainer being authentic, will speed the learning process.

. Family of Origin. Participant Behavior Intervention Rationale The intensity of emotion To A: “Wow, you When one’s intensity doesn’t or epression seems obviously feel deeply. Is seem to fit the immediate much greater than one this reminding you of circumstance, likely one is would epect from the someone, or something, triggered into an early, painful, event that just occurred. somewhere else? unfinished family event. I.e. participant A reacts Participant B has possibly with strong accusations become someone else! when participant B says, One might be irritated or “I don’t want to talk frustrated with B in this about that anymore. illustration, but the added intensity indicates something more. The purpose of pursuing this is to shed light on the here-and-now interaction between A and B, not to engage in therapy.

1. Decision Making. Participant Behavior Intervention Rationale Whoever speaks first “I’ve noticed that whoever Helping the group see determines the subject. first speaks and thus creates unconscious norms (patterns) a topic, others chime in or pushes members toward stay quiet. Then later consciousness and people say that they were responsibility. bored or didn’t think the The pattern referenced here session was productive. is oh-so-familiar in groups at Why do you do that? work. Often, no matter what Also, do you ever notice the stated agenda, someone will this happening at work? speak up fast and that becomes If you can solve it here the agenda. This results in an you will be more able to unconscious shifting of time, solve it there. topics, and priorities. To transfer consciousness and choice back at work, participants must eperience it here-and-now and learn how to change the pattern. 186 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

11. Consensus. Participant Behavior Intervention Rationale A question from a To A, “Is talking about A critical phase in authenticity member A, “I’d like for important to you? training is to assert oneself us to talk about , A replies, “yes. without permission from the followed by member B To A, “Well, why aren't you trainer, other members, or saying, “I don't want to still talking about it? without consensus. talk about that. Then A being silent.

Member A “ said To A, “Oh, did I miss This set of questions are a way they didn't want to. something? is your to gently eplore one’s family boss? Your older sibling? of origin. Your parent? Note - be careful, the sarcasm here could be received as a put-down rather than playful wisdom. Perhaps use a more direct statement such as “does represent...

“Well, if the group Interruption by the trainer Until one asserts, it is difficult doesn’t want to... “The rest of the group didn't to merge one's authenticity with say anything. So why don't compassion, and connection. we make it official, from now on when you want to speak, get ’s permission.

“Cut it out! (laughing) I'm going to talk about it now!

12. Breaking patterns of rescuingdefending others. Participant Behavior Intervention Rationale Group member A, speaks To member A, “Are you Helps participants to to member B, about defending member C right understand their own member C, and says, “I now? If yes, “Why is it motivation to rescue others. don’t think that's why they important for you to tell Helps members assume did/said what they that to member B? responsibility to speak for did/said. I think they themselves. wanted to...(while Or, to member C, “Do you member C remains quiet). think member A is This behavior has been defending you? If yes, re-occurring in the group. “What is your reaction to that? CHAPTER 10: T-GROUPS AND AUTHENTICITY | 187

13. Discouraging coercive group norms. Participant Behavior Intervention Rationale Multiple participants Ask the multiple Takes “heat of coercion attempting to coa a participants to speak off of targeted member. member to be a with each other about Allows space for members certain way in the why it’s so important to to make freer choice; group. them that this person be clarifies other members' a certain way. motivations.

14. Breaking over-dependence on trainer. Participant Behavior Intervention Rationale Members blaming the “Given that you’re feeling Members are reminded that trainer (authority figure) bored, angry, frustrated, they are in charge of their for their internal state; etc., what might you do to own internal state. They e.g. bored, angry, shift your feeling? OR create it, and can re-create it. frustrated, and epecting “How do you do that? How the trainer to take do you create yourself to responsibility. be bored? (It is also appropriate for the trainer to share their emotional response to being blamed.)

15. Clarifying intentions. Participant Behavior Intervention Rationale “I would like to have a “Because...... ? Makes unspoken assumptions more open or straight clearer. forward relationship with you, John.

1. Authority Issues. Participant Behavior Intervention Rationale “We’re trying to have “I feel ecited, and How one handles authority in a conversation here. I appreciative that you spoke the skill group is directly wish you would stop directly to me. I also feel a transferable to the workplace. interrupting. bit scared, frustrated, and The ability to confront the want to defend myself. facilitator skillfully and directly I'm going to do my best to translates to giving difficult honor your request. Yet, I feedback to one’s boss. also will honor my task, The facilitator must invite which is to help the group feedback early in the workshop, use these skills, by making and commit to hold themselves interventions when they are to the same standards of skill not used. I imagine we may use as they are teaching. still have some conflict. Participant feedback is how the If that happens, my T-group came into being, and commitment is to use the each moment of feedback to skills to best of my ability. the trainer paves the way for Does that make sense to increased feedback within the you? group. 188 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Examples of Norm-Setting Skill Group Interventions These intervention help participants get in touch with group processes that have previously been out of their awareness and with their essence. That is—with who they are—to celebrate that—to get it that who they are is very ok! They are also intended to encourage an increased capacity to be responsive to others. By using these norm-setting interventions early in the life of the group, the mood moves from fear and anxiety (what will others think or do to me) to eagerness about learning. As the group matures members begin taking more and more ownership of their own feelings, thoughts, and wants, and they tune in to the others. Members, at their own pace, take steps toward more authenticity and more wisdom about the way they want to be with others.

Example Intervention

“One word, everyone name their current feeling. Pick a person and say, “Let start with you. Then go During the inner group around the group and have each name one feeling discussion, members are word related to the current here-and-now moment. not naming feelings. Warning - Be careful to not allow people to answer “I am not feeling anything or words that convey a physical state rather than a feeling (such as “comfortable).

“Are you getting what you want in the group? During the inner group or discussion, members are “What do you want of yourself or of others right not naming wants. (Thus now? many are being passive.) or “Are you creating what you want in the group right now?

A “hot topic emerges “As you talk about that issue, what is happening and participants do not here-and-now within you and between group pay attention to dymanics members. that happen in the group. CHAPTER 10: T-GROUPS AND AUTHENTICITY | 189

Here are a few more - How Reference to There-and-Then Enhances Skill Group Work

Because the T-group is set up as a learning environment that runs counter to the traditional deductive content emphasis of education, the learners are jolted into a new paradigm of personal responsibility for their own learning. Many participants have primarily known a dependent style of education. The typical beginner response to the T-group leader is one of blaming the leader for not teaching or providing structure. The T-group trainer does provide structure, albeit one that is different from most participants’ expectations. Lieberman, Miles, and Yalom have spelled out four key functions of the intensive group leader: Emotional Stimulation, Caring, Meaning Attribution, and Executive Function. Though their research has been contested, I find these four functions not only critical to the T-group, but also directly applicable to the management function in organizations. Furthermore, I find that the emphases—high caring and meaning attribution with medium emotional stimulation and executive function—are essential to high performance in teams and organizations, as well as in T-group-type learning groups. That is why we strive to develop T-group trainers who are conscious of these functions and view each Skill Group session with a lens to common issues at work. All T-group experiences contain patterns and dynamics that parallel daily work life. Trainers can look for these opportunities and point out the there-and-then connections to help the learner more quickly discover applications to work. This is especially important in internal trainings where participants work together. The art is to make the connection to the there-and-then, but not get stuck there. Immediately bring 190 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Example Intervention The group discussion “I’ll bet this happens at meetings in your organization. That is, always is set by whoever no matter what the stated agenda, if someone starts talking speaks first. others join. Does it? Okay. Break the pattern here and you'll noticeand maybe break it there. Alternative Intervention: “It seems you all decide to talk about whatever subject is brought up first. That is, it’s an unconscious decision. Is that familiar back at work?

The same two people “I’ve noticed during the last two sessions you, Joe, and you, talk most of the time. Mary, did most of the talking. A couple of you were silent. Familiar at work? Oh, yeah. Well, those of you who are talking and those who are silent, how are you creating this pattern? How could you break it here? Do you want to do so? the group back to the here-and-now. The T-group is a hologram of the workplace culture. In an authoritarian organization participants worry about getting it right. In a consensual culture anyone can veto what’s being currently discussed. I’ve been doing many T/Skill Groups with hourly, union workers and salaried personnel mixed in the same group. The issues in the organization show up in the training! As the leader makes these parallels, participants engage more deeply in the training, begin noticing such parallels themselves, CHAPTER 10: T-GROUPS AND AUTHENTICITY | 191 and learn ways to break dysfunctional patterns. Conclusion

Training for authenticity in organizations is critical for those who want to enhance data flow, conflict utilization, clarity of expectations and decisiveness blended with autonomy. Authentic personal authority invokes compassion and blends into effective collaboration. It leads to a shift from a blaming to a make-it-happen culture, and one that completes schedules on time because of clarity of commitments, by-whens, single point accountability, and follow-through. In short, the T-group, contextualized well, offers immense gains for organizations seeking to be humane and productive. After all, these two dimensions are twins, not polar opposites.

CHAPTER 11: MORE OD APPLICATIONS | 193

Chapter 11 More OD Applications n 1969 I was hired by Gonzaga University in Spokane, IWashington as Director of Training, hardly a position held in many, if any, other College or University ever! Here was a Jesuit community reaching out to an ordained Methodist minister to lead retreats at a Catholic University! My NTL Associate credential was a major factor in that decision. At that time only NTL gave legitimacy to those who would lead such groups. The presenting reason for my hiring was the rapid and popular growth on campus of encounter groups. Carl Rogers, arguably the 20th century’s pre-eminent psychotherapist, had led a campus weekend encounter with students and faculty. He began with the total group and then divided them into groups of roughly 15 and staffed these with Gonzaga staff who had previously attended his encounter sessions in California. I write about the destructive norms that developed in Chapter 10. Participating in one of Rogers’ groups, simply put, did not qualify one to lead such a group! Warren Bennis, writing about an early T-group failure in a government agency, quotes an executive concluding: “Ideas about giving them three weeks of training couldn’t be considered. Anyway it didn’t take much training because all his trainers did was sit there. They hardly opened their mouths during the two weeks. He would train the officials himself and he thought possibly one afternoon would be enough.” I deeply admire Carl Rogers and communicated that appreciation to him in a brief breakfast chat a few weeks before he died. But I do believe that his trusting nature went too far in his support of persons to lead the groups that he himself masterfully led. 194 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

At Gonzaga I reported to Vice President Father Dave Clarke, a brilliant and compassionate man. I recently wrote about two close beloved colleagues (who led Mass at the Encounter weekends) there in my book, A Month in Medieval Volpaia, Tuscany: Diary of a Temporary Citizen, “Forty years ago, the older Father Chuck Suver of the Gonzaga University campus St. Aloysius Church and young Father Pat Carroll (the charismatic student chaplain) differed about whether I should receive the host in the Mass on Sunday morning following the weekend trainings that I directed at G.U. I loved both of those men. For Suver, my not taking the host was a reminder of the painful brokenness of the church. For Carroll, my taking it represented a fundamental connection among Christians though not realized yet. It was for him, I think, a symbol of hope. While inclined to agree with Father Carroll, I always chose Father Suver’s position. Often the three of us embraced and shed tears at that moment.” With Father Suver and university support, we spent a month at Eastern Washington State Hospital working with eight patients diagnosed as schizophrenic. Our work was inspired and informed by the work of Philip G. Hanson, PhD, at the Houston, Texas, VA Medical Center. An NTL member, he directed a Human Interaction Training Laboratory for 30 years. He modified the T-group to be leaderless. The eight at Eastern were allowed to dine together, set and clear tables as in a home rather than eat cafeteria style, manage their own medications, and live in proximity to each other. Each weekday for a month we led a workshop as one would have experienced at an NTL laboratory as influenced by John Wallen. Modeled after the earlier NTL labs, roughly 50% of the workshop was in theory and basic skills practice and the other 50% in T-groups that, like Hanson’s, were leaderless! After each group we would help them debrief the group processes (interaction patterns, who spoke most/least, what usually CHAPTER 11: MORE OD APPLICATIONS | 195 unrealized decisions were made, what norms were emerging, what conflicts arose and how were they handled in light of the five styles in the Jay Hall instrument, etc.) and interpersonal interactions based on the Wallen skills being taught. At the end of the month, the eight participants returned to homes in Spokane with six of them making a successful transition over time. On campus we assisted in resolving some of those inevitable internal conflicts among staff. I assisted students in more effectively leading some contentious student-generated meetings where shouting and disorder had sometimes been the norm. A delightful evolution occurred at Gonzaga. Father Clarke and the new President Father Twohy became interested in how I could impact student unrest on campus which in the late 1960s was a national movement. Likewise Father Tom Greif, Dean of Students, enlisted my services. A significant campus intervention with 600 students guided in small groups by a booklet is described in Chapter 12. In the Education Department I taught courses called Group Processes using T-group methodology. Again working with Dr. Richard Schmuck, we led a weekend retreat with professors and instructors from both Gonzaga and Whitworth College. We helped them set clear measurable goals and design interactive classroom activities including practice opportunities with peers attending the training. I then followed through with those who so requested in their classrooms. I’ll never forget the excitement by both teachers and students in a math class that had previously been solely taught by lecture. A couple years earlier I had worked with the Alaska Department of Vocational Education to train teachers from across Alaska. There were three phases. 1) T-group training for these teachers in Fairbanks, 2) designing and role-playing new 196 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT classroom practices, and 3) follow-through by staff visitation at their locations. Dr. John (Jack) Sherwood of Purdue University and Episcopal trainer Reverend William (Bill) Larson joined me for this eight-day event. In the Spokane community with Father Suver and university support, we set up, helped recruit, and led the first trainings for the Crisis Clinic of Spokane’s Mental Health Clinic. Some of these interventions were done as a Gonzaga service to the community and others through my consulting contracts. A consulting contract that had front page coverage in the Spokesman Review for a couple of months (with superlative behaviorally descriptive reporting by Rick Bonino) was my facilitating of citizens in planning for the next phase of development of Spokane’s beloved 1974 World’s Fair park. I was hired to help citizens develop options for the next stage. There were 5 options. Architecture firms loaned artistic staff to create what became an excellent slide set featuring all options. The slide set was then viewed by thousands of citizens in school classrooms, clubs such as Rotary, Lions, and Kiwanis, churches, and other community groups. Participants could vote their preference in this non-binding activity. I then shared the results to the Parks Board. The path to that moment was quite conflictual! For the two months of weekly meetings a group favoring greening the whole park would begin with accusations and angry shouting, insisting that I should eliminate the amusement park option. I would listen and parrot/paraphrase their demands and acknowledge their mistrust of me. “You have betrayed us!” Each time I would state several times that, “My charge is to help all five groups. If you want a group dropped talk to the Parks Board. That is in their power, not mine.” My son Gil started his OD career watching me run these meetings. He saw how I handled being vilified and he still chose to be an OD consultant! Our debriefs were precious! CHAPTER 11: MORE OD APPLICATIONS | 197

Here’s his account: A small group of citizen activists, who had driven the park board nuts enough that they had sought dad’s assistance, now turned their ire on dad. They thought he and the city government were already bought out by a company in Texas that wanted to install a theme park at the site. They never believed his neutrality (even though it was true), and they began every meeting by essentially yelling at him for about half an hour. He withstood their intensity like Obi Wan Kenobi deflecting blaster rays. Once their venting was exhausted, the citizens would get down to work developing slides depicting five options for the park. There were about 50 citizens in each meeting, but it was only the small group that wanted to keep the park in a completely green and natural state that fought dad every step of the way. They even tried to get the parks department which oversaw the contract to fire dad. The other four groups just wanted peace and quiet so they could do their work. At the end, thousands of citizens got their chance to vote on the five options, including the hated theme park option. A middle option that was mostly green but with some development came out on top. The day after the results were presented the Spokesman-Review newspaper reported that, “Park Board President Mary Black told Crosby and Group Members ‘You’ve done such a good job...I just feel like it’s Christmas.’ ‘I think you have performed a miracle’ said Councilwoman Sheri Bernard.” The park reflects the chosen option to this very day. -Gilmore Crosby (2019) 198 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

This project was a profound example of extremism, in this case liberal. Another community consulting project was the citizen involvement in the construction and improved programming of the Spokane Juvenile Court. This task included the retrieval of knowledge about best practices in juvenile detention from several U.S. cities. First, the citizens and staff traveled to these sites and followed strictly the guidelines set forth in Knowledge Retrieval Implication Derivation (KRID). Second, they shared this knowledge with citizens at a subsequent planning session back in Spokane. Finally, the citizens derived implications. KRID separates retrieval of knowledge from derivation of implications. Whereas consultants are usually expected to make recommendations (derive implications), in this model they bring knowledge (data) and the recipients derive implications and actions. Any consultant recommendations come only after the citizens/employees have done their own derivations! I learned the KRID process from Ronald Lippitt and Charles “Chic” Jung, a student of Lippitt. It strongly influenced my consciousness in my decades of consulting. On one visit with Ron in Ann Arbor he invited me to join him that evening at a local public school where, utilizing KRID principles, with Ron’s guidance, a fair of successful classroom practices was being held. Prior to this event it was discovered that a successful school practice in one school was only known to other teachers in that school when they read an article about it in a national education publication. KRID became a model for me in subsequent work in many industries. Indeed at PECO energy, David Helwig, when he was the VP of an engineering department of 600 employees, made it a requirement that when any new practice was being considered, a successful practice must be located (anywhere in the world) and shared with those creating the improved practice (e.g., root cause analysis methods, a new departmental structure, CHAPTER 11: MORE OD APPLICATIONS | 199 an engineering idea for a nuclear facility, lean manufacturing, a new software system, etc.). KRID methodology was required as part of the process. For my over two years in Philadelphia as a full-time OD staff to Helwig, one of my major tasks was to plan and lead these sessions. We brought expert knowledge by video with follow up speaker phone conversations with the makers of the video. The sequence would be something like 1) show the video, 2) raise comments/questions to achieve clarity about the practice, 3) share these by phone with the originators of the video until clarity about the practice is highly achieved, 4) brainstorm implications that might be derived for our particular situation, 5) clarify the brainstorms, and 6) select those actions to be incorporated into planning for the new practice at PECO. We rarely brought people to Philadelphia or sent staff to visit. If we did either, we applied strict KRID standards to the presentation. Simply stated, if a practice is presented as something you must or should do, it will be met with forceful opposition and resisters will say things like, “You don’t know our situation! It won’t work here!” Each situation is different. Also, successful practices deserve to be shared in a way that does not create predictable barriers to their even being understood. 200 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Effectively using a Survey (Survey Feedback)

Just as T-groups were integral in our work, so was survey feedback. A potential client with a limited budget called me about doing a T-group. I told him that instead of one T-group he would get more benefit by using his budgeted dollars doing survey feedback. I will not do a T-group without a follow through. Survey feedback will be more effective if managers and a significant number of employees are grounded by having been in a T-group. However in many very successful interventions we cascaded survey feedback through the entire organization without doing T-groups. Survey feedback is a very powerful intervention. In the early 1980s, John Scherer and I began a company emphasizing survey feedback. The methods our company used followed the process set much earlier by colleagues of Ron, Floyd Mann and Rensis Likert. Lippitt had become a champion of and master of survey feedback (contrasted to surveys with their data not fed back to each discreet work unit). Done well, there is no more powerful organizational intervention. As illustrated elsewhere, survey feedback, starting with top management and cascading with intact groups to the hourly/ crew employees, and including the identification of systems issues, became the core of my OD practice. Ron viewed our work “...as doing more to encourage survey feedback than anyone since Mann and Likert.” We hired Ron to help train a network of consultants that were going to use our survey instrument, The People Performance Profile (PPP). We sold the PPP to 600 companies! To help the reader distinguish between surveys as commonly done and survey feedback, here’s an excerpt from a chapter of mine in a previous book. “We know what does not work. It does not work to survey people and not show them the results. It also does CHAPTER 11: MORE OD APPLICATIONS | 201

not work to survey people and have top management or an outside expert develop recommendations (prescriptions). It does not work to survey people and have a general session where results are reported and nothing visible to the employees is done. These approaches have all been tried hundreds of times and have, with rare exceptions, been found wanting. People tend to become irritable and defensive, with a resulting lowered morale and decreased work efficiency.”

What Does Work?

Begin with the assumption that the expertise to identify problems and, especially, to work out solutions to most problems exists within the organization. The suggestions that follow encourage you to involve the participants in generating the data, interpreting the data, and forging recommendations for next steps. This assumes that the people in your organization have expertise and knowledge and that the job of management is to tap that vein of experience. The late Dr. Ronald Lippitt spoke of a fundamental right, “They who put their pencil to the survey paper should also see and work the data” (from a private conversation with John Scherer and Robert Crosby). Dr. Fred Fosmire, former Vice President of Organizational and Employee Relations at Weyerhaueser, writes, “Survey feedback methods, when implemented competently by managers who are receptive to feedback, may be the most powerful way we know to improve organization effectiveness. ...There is no more effective way than survey feedback (turning data into action) to involve people quickly at the key points of data gathering, problem-solving, solution recommendation, action, and follow-through. This will increase morale, improve work processes, heal broken work relationships, shift culture, and put into action effective, high-performing behaviors 202 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT more quickly than any other intervention” (from Walking the Empowerment Tightrope, Chapter 5). During the following decade, Ron was always available for consultation. David Theilman, CEO of EZ Loader Boat Trailers in Spokane, Washington, contracted for a survey feedback intervention cascading from his top management group to all intact work groups within a period of a few weeks. This process includes the identification of systems issues that permeate the total organization. One example is role clarity or lack there of, including whether others expect me to perform tasks that I am not prioritized to do. If this or any other variable is off throughout the organization, then it’s off at the top! Young man Theilman was very open to having such work done with him, his reports, and board, which was dominantly family and noticeably older than him. Completing this work in a couple of months, EZ Loader became the market leader in their industry! Here are results as recorded in Culture Change in Organizations: …absenteeism drop 40%, …industrial accidents drop 21%, and …worker’s compensation claims drop 29%, …while sales increased 23%. The insurance agent for worker’s compensation called and asked for a meeting. “What did you do?” The answer was simple. “Survey feedback.” No slogans. No safety program. Simply improve the organization with emphasis on the intact group environment! Survey feedback done well has elements of T-groups. It enhances democracy with clarity about the important and nurturing role of authority. My son Chris in his book Strategic Engagement: Practical Tools to Raise Morale and Increase Results describes the facilitator’s focus during the dialogue part of survey feedback: CHAPTER 11: MORE OD APPLICATIONS | 203

During the dialogue your task is to help the group interact as constructively as possible by focusing on the following: ▪ Help the conversation go from general to specific. I.e., notice discussions that are stuck at the judgment or interpretive level. Guide those conversation to specifics by asking for illustrations, specifics, or what the other said or did. For each general statement, the speaker normally has a specific example in mind. Do not allow the group to waste time arguing judgments or generalities. ▪ State decision clarity; the conversation is, at its heart, a consultative process between the boss and employees. Meaning, the employees have influence, yet the boss has the final decision. ▪ When tension rises, use the John Wallen skills to help people connect and slow down the conversation. ▪ Encourage participants to speak for self (“I” language). ▪ While creating the action list, help the employees and boss set clear by-whens. These become agenda items for coming meetings. ▪ If employees are talking about people in the room, then help them talk directly to the person. The mental model of talking about a person rather than to the person is called triangulation. ▪ If the boss struggles to create an action that is clear, then provide assistance by stating what you think is the action. ▪ If the boss is assigning themselves most of the actions, then help them delegate actions appropriately. ▪ Notice actions that call for reciprocity. “To succeed on this particular action, I will do this while you do that.” ▪ If an employee is nervous to mention something that you think may not necessarily be a big issue, then support the employee to raise it and have a constructive dialogue. 204 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

▪ Notice employees politely waiting for their turn that others do not notice and call on them (gate keeping). ▪ Help the boss slow down if they are creating actions too fast before learning enough from the group. ▪ At the end of the dialogue, ask if you can do all this given your current resources? If not, what actions shall be delayed? -Chris Crosby (2018)

Across the decades we have measured our work by our client’s measurements! That’s why in my 1992 book, Walking the Empowerment Tightrope, and in a later OD Practitioner article I wrote, “OD is driven by the organizational mission, values, and business objectives, and supports strategies to achieve these. For me the OD function is better located with the business unit than with Human Resources. Even better is for OD to be its own function reporting to the CEO.” For example, the amazing financial success reflected in the quote on page 123 could not have happened without the solid sponsorship of my work by George Bergeron to his plant manager Don Simonic, and then from Don throughout his two plants. Such strong sponsorship does not ensure success. To be of maximum effectiveness OD must be seen as a neutral function- certainly not an (enforcement) arm of management. If seen as thus it is quite limited. Since OD is often housed in HR, they must find ways to establish clear lines of neutrality to be trusted in certain, especially conflictual, situations. Once again from Chris’s book, Strategic Engagement more on Neutrality: Neutrality means not taking sides when helping two parties or workgroups deal with their issues, even if you agree more with one or the other. Facilitators must use their neutral third-party status as the need arises. Once a facilitator takes a side, they are emotionally part of the group which they CHAPTER 11: MORE OD APPLICATIONS | 205 chose to be right, and their ability to help disintegrates. In the role of consultant, neutrality is critical to help a group work through their issues. To further my point, the following bullets are adapted from Cultural Change in Organizations. ▪ Neutral about the issues. A facilitator can best be neutral when coming from a not-knowing position. Not knowing the inside jargon and technical aspects of the project (or issues) heighten the facilitator’s awareness of the continual need for clarity. ▪ Capable of asserting personal authority, both in moving the process and guiding conflict resolution. ▪ Clear about their role as facilitator, which includes personal clarity that they are not present to be the sponsor, nor the advocate of substantive ideas, nor the project manager. In short, this is not the facilitator’s project. They should not convince others of its importance. That is the sponsor’s job, especially the Sustaining Sponsors (the immediate boss of each participant). ▪ Clear about the problem-solving steps crucial to this activity. This includes the ability to 1) organize a large group of participants, 2) manage a multi-step process to identify the critical issues blocking success, and 3) plan wisely to resolve these issues. ▪ Highly skilled in their ability to achieve project clarity. This is especially true in two dimensions. First, the systemic change roles as outlined by Sponsor/Agent/ Target/Advocate. Second, task-component clarity as defined by SPA, clarity of the task or action, and by- whens (completion date through dialogue). -Chris Crosby (2018) 206 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

With neutrality, the OD practitioner is well positioned to be an organizer, a term borrowed from community action. Put your skin in the game, is the motto (thanks Rob Schachter). This means that the organizer will take risks and will be held accountable like everyone else for achieving the business objectives of the client. There are big stakes in organizations. People are living out their lives there. The stance of the organizer is that they are a player in an important game. However, the analogy breaks down if the organizer is seen as partial to any one group: e.g., union, hourlies, mid or top management. This organizer helps the whole organization achieve its goals. I have worked in organizations with racial and ethnic diversity, with union-management conflicts, with sexual abuse and gender issues being surfaced, and with employee-boss hostilities. As a neutral function we in OD were often the facilitators of the resolution of these conflicts. At any new plant I would ask to immediately meet with the union leader. I would ask for a respected employee to take me around the plant and to introduce me rather than have a person from management do so. I was constantly alert to find hourly workers, union and non-union, who could do functions not typically assigned to them. Mark Horswood had been a Union electrician at the Evansville, Indiana Alcoa plant. After our initial work at the plant which included Mark among hundreds of others, he attended our two year Alcoa graduate program, our Train- the-Trainer, and began a new career as an OD consultant and T-group (Skill Group) trainer. During these years at the plant he became the project manager of a critical and highly successful revenue enhancing effort. Having a union employee as project manager was norm breaking. At first, timeline dates were slipping. He then began preventative meetings at the beginning of the month asking those with single point accountability how they were doing CHAPTER 11: MORE OD APPLICATIONS | 207 towards making their agreed on timeline dates. When workers reported a lack of support from their supervisor, Mark would take appropriate action to get that support in place. Sometimes the supervisor merely needed to be reminded. Other times the supervisor was understaffed and needed additional help from their manager. Occasionally their manager needed to be clear with a supervisor about prioritizing the employees work on the project. This preventive move was a key to the remarkable success! My work to integrate and resolve Union/Management tension paid off immensely. In one crucial problem-solving project at an Aluminum plant in Evansville, Indiana, the Union President Jess Sharber, introduced me to a crowded room of union employees by saying, "He’s a member of Local 104.” What a dream introduction for a consultant!

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Chapter 12 Student Influence without Anarchy

onzaga University in Spokane, Washington, had a student Gpopulation of 2,700 in 1969 (today nearly 8000). Amidst student unrest nationally, Gonzaga students skipped classes to take sides in a campus controversy. To address the problem they held a session which quickly became stormy and was seen as ineffective. Because of this, the Student Body President invited me to design a process. The process eventually involved over 500 Gonzaga University students. I was, as mentioned in Chapter 11, hired to be the University Training Director. I intervened in a wide range of situations mostly on campus, but also some off-campus. The event referenced above was called Project Influence. The objective was to involve members of the university in an exploration of the issues facing Gonzaga and in creating recommendations for improvements. Our approach was to determine problem areas through interviews. Over eighty issues were identified to problem-solve in voluntarily constituted small groups. The project engaged the students, faculty, administration, parents, alumni, friends, trustees, and a few regents. From the small workgroups came over two hundred recommendations which were presented to the various decision making groups at the university in a process that made the management of that many recommendations possible. Similar attempts to involve students at other universities have been reported by the public press as usually consisting of a mass meeting with floor mikes—a glorified bull session. Few opportunities have been provided where students were allowed to help determine the actual issues and offer solutions to them in small problem-solving groups. A crucial variable in the project (see Macro Design Elements, p. 210) was the 210 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT firm commitment from those in the institution who made the decisions that they would be held accountable to respond to every recommendation presented to them. The Gonzaga project created diverse changes on campus such as the granting of keys to freshmen women for their residence hall, numerous procedural changes at the library, intervisitation hours for residence halls, numerous classroom and department innovations, and an increase in the number of groups where faculty, students, and administrators work together on projects related to their own life. The initial step in the project was to share the process with the University President and the Student Body President. Then these two joined the Academic Vice President and me as the internal OD consultant to form a planning committee. A project manager was chosen (a graduate student) with a high knowledge of the process style of the consultant, rapport with the university community (both students and lay and religious faculty), plus skill and ability to initiate. The Student Body President provided me with an able, working associate. The project manager reported to me in my role as Director of Training. He was given the freedom to go directly to anyone in the university without checking with me. The planning committee did an analysis of two programs on other campuses that had not achieved the desired goals. On the basis of this analysis a three phase design was built. Phase one included a public description of the project by means of articles in school papers and poster displays, emphasizing the recommendation aspect and playing down the catharsis aspect of the project (many students feared that the project was developed simply to defuse tensions). Further, a clarification was made of the nature of influence, i.e., that it is not a permissive or even a participative mode, but rather a consultative decision making process where people make recommendations to bodies which will continue to have CHAPTER 12: STUDENT INFLUENCE WITHOUT ANARCHY | 211 decision making power. There were interviews of over 600 students, faculty (lay and religious), administrators, parents, alumni, friends, regents and trustees to determine what issues were affecting the university. These were summarized into eighty-eight issues by a committee of students and faculty. Registration for the discussion of issues carried an option to add a topic that concerned the individual if it was not among those isolated during interviews. A guidebook was developed and given to each participant during phase two activities, consisting of actual problem- solving work on the issues identified in phase one. The guidebook directed each group through the problem-solving process in a structured and orderly manner. It included a telephone number for retrieval of information about the issues or for obtaining process consultation during the hours when the problem-solving groups were working. It also announced a mass meeting at 3:30 p.m. on the second and final day of the project and helped groups prepare to have a spokesman ready to give a second report to the assembled community. Small groups of approximately eight members each were formed of those who signed up for a specific issue. The guidebook asked each group to appoint a recorder but not a chairman. Meeting places were assigned at pre-registration. When a large number signed up for the same issue they were divided into smaller groups. Gonzaga canceled classes for the work on the problem-solving sessions, conducted on one evening and throughout a full day. The mass meeting was only for reports. Specifically it was not just a session for someone who desired to speak, but only for the presentations of the recommendations arrived at by the problem-solving groups. The booklet guided them to specificity about their recommendation(s) and clarity about to whom it should be sent. Each group chose a spokesperson and rehearsed them to use their one-minute report time well. Sixty 212 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT reports in sixty minutes kept the audience engaged. Both the Student Body President Dennis O’Leary and Richard Twohy, S. J., President of Gonzaga gave brief responses. President Twohy said, “If I don’t respond to the recommendations, throw out my files and smoke my cigars.” He began his remarks with a quote of a 12th Century Norman Law. “That which touches all should be decided by all.” There was a commitment by the University Cabinet, Trustees, and Student Body Council to make responses to the recommendations by February 1, 1970. The responses were made on time by the appropriate decision-makers and consisted of over ninety pages of typewritten reactions and further plans for action. Non-attending students could not believe that we were planning more than a bull session. Despite the efforts to inform them otherwise, many did not hear that there would be responses to the recommendations. The student participation was less than we idealists hoped for, though the 500+ students who gave the evening and next day to this process were an enthusiastic and committed group. Campus leaders, both elected and informal, were almost all there. The booklet guiding each group was a step-by-step process. It was later published by Jossey-Bass for use in city citizen development work. While the recommendations were shared with the appropriate persons in the university, (e.g., the library staff received a copy of the comments regarding the library), a weakness was that a few of the comments were accusative and not specific or clearly descriptive. In following up, communications to students about extensive work being done on the recommendations were sometimes ineffective. However, there were also unexpected ways that the project influenced campus life (for example, students and faculty in one department did their own Project Influence about that department). With some faculty it positively improved classroom participation. CHAPTER 12: STUDENT INFLUENCE WITHOUT ANARCHY | 213

One group, influenced by former Student Body President Don Jensen, recommended having an alternate college of about 50 within the university that would be much freer in it’s teaching style. This was not accepted but then became the core concept for an alternative school developed for K through 12 in Spokane. Don Jensen was the first principal. Three couples joined as the founders—The Perenger’s, Richardson’s, and Crosby’s. Project Influence was a hopeful sign on Gonzaga’s campus. It provided us with a model of participative, consultative government at a time when many realized, as never before on the campus, the general wisdom of, “That which touches all should be decided by all.” To be more precise, this was a consultative process where the revised law would be, “That which touches all should be influenced by all with clarity about the decision making process.” Not quite as catchy, but more reality based!

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Chapter 13 Managing Conflict in Community Development

A HUD Development Project and other examples “You know damn well that everything we’re talking about here has already been decided in some dark room somewhere.” “Give me the mike! I want all you people to know that we aren’t deciding anything here tonight. The City Council will decide-not us. Isn’t that so? Admit it. I want you (the facilitator) to admit it...” “This is rigged You guys know exactly how it will turn out.” “If we do this the Feds will break into our homes.” “I’ve decided on a compromise. I think my group needs the money we’ve requested but the other four groups are being selfish. They don’t understand the people. We don’t need that much money for their projects.” ost of the above explosive statements were uttered by Mcitizens from lower socioeconomic groups in front of audiences ranging from 75 to 400 people. They occurred during my time working on a variety of county and city projects. One of the most memorable was a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) project that involved citizens in recommending how to use federal funds in their neighborhoods within the guidelines provided by the federal government. The Northwest Regional Foundation was the primary contractor for the project. They took responsibility for a) the design and implementation of the macro or over-all process, b) street work, i.e., reaching the people in the communities, c) record-keeping, d) assistance in designing community meetings, and e) liaison with city authorities. 216 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

These aspects are part of the critical macro aspects that I highlight later. Bob Stilger was a master at communicating/ relating with city staff including the Mayor. Susan Virnig met with citizens, often one-on-one. She engaged them about their concerns and responded to their questions about, for instance, what would happen at the meeting. Both Bob and Susan had remarkable ability to relate well with people. The consulting firm with which I was associated was contracted to 1) help design the total macro decision making process, and 2) help micro design and lead community meetings. It is axiomatic that a large group meeting is apt to be successful in direct proportion to the effectiveness of the pre- work and the integrity of the post-work. It is difficult for a facilitator to behave non-defensively and to feel assured of his/her own integrity when confronted with statements like those quoted at the beginning of this paper, if the facilitator is not, prior to contract signing, confident that such fears are not realistic in the immediate project.

Macro Design Elements

In order to be so assured, the facilitator needs to be able to influence elements of the macro design. Think of the step-by- step process used by the facilitator in meeting leadership as the micro design. The facilitator may be excellent, but will likely fail if the context/macro aspects aren’t carefully handled. Even if the facilitator is subcontracted, as is often the case in large-scale community development work, they can still be involved in the planning of the macro elements that will influence the success of the community meeting. In a rather formal meeting of such a group, I was on the agenda to tell what I was going to do at a public meeting. I said, “In order to have an effective public meeting I need to have you list concerns that you think might block the effectiveness of such a meeting.” Concerns raised CHAPTER 13: MANAGING CONFLICT IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT | 217

included “...under what authority was the facilitator hired?” The subsequent discussion led to a clarification of my role, the authority of citizens on the committee, a careful examination of the goals of the public meeting, a change of dates for the meeting, and plans to gather important information that could not be gathered by a public meeting. Also, the key macro-question to be answered, not through promises but through effective planning, is accountability. That is, how can I know that the authorities will be accountable to the citizens for their time and effort. How can I know that I am not being duped? How can I know that I am participating in trust building between government and citizens rather than joining in building one more monument of mistrust? The following tables enumerate forces that hamper citizen participation efforts, first, by citizens themselves and, second, by public officials. A macro-design needs to be especially sensitive to—and accepting of—these forces.

Table 1. Forces Hampering Effective Citizen Participation (By Citizens) 1. Mistrust of government. 2. Tendency to scapegoat public officials (both elected and employed). 3. Tendency for certain citizens to use public meetings as a forum for their pet project. (Some citizens make the same speech at all meetings no matter what the subject. A public meeting provides a focused dumping ground for years of accumulated fears.) 4. Tendency for certain citizens to use public meetings to “nail officials by asking insinuating questions to imply or deliberately accuse officials of dishonesty, insincerity, or ineptness. 5. Tendency to use community meetings for the development of a “new elitea power block that cuts out other citizensa win-lose situation with devious strategies. 6. Tendency to assume that all officials are alike and know all (a recreation specialist may get attacked for street conditions). 7. Past negative eperiences of continuous meetings without any apparent results. 8. Lack of problem-solving skills and lack of knowledge about substantive issues (street paving, sewage, etc.) and public processes. 218 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Table 2. Forces Hampering Effective Citizen Participation (By Public Officials) 1. Mistrust of outcomes of community meetings (such meetings often have been gripe sessions with no substantive results). 2. Concern that citizens’ lack of knowledge about many issues will lead to unrealistic solutions. 3. Fear of being misquoted or of being pushed to give a simple answer about a comple problem. 4. Confusion among themselves about who makes what decision. (That is, government, like all other institutions, is comple and sometimes a mystery to officials. “I don't know is a truthful answer but unacceptable to many citizens.) 5. Bewilderment about why they should plan for their accountability since they see themselves as trustworthy and competent. 6. Fear that citizens will think that they have the final say. This reflects the split personified in the counter-dependent person who believes one has power only if one gets one's own way. Such a person may see no middle ground between being the final decision maker and having no influence. 7. Past negative eperiences of continuous meetings without any apparent results and of situations where they took concerns of citizens, turned them into programs, and heard the citizens “ungratefully claim the programs didn’t match their concerns.

As consultant I was able to develop enough trust to begin the project by: 1. Joint planning with the Northwest Regional Foundation and city staff about the whole decision making process. 2. The explicit development of accountability sessions during the first year timed to follow city government decisions about the recommendations from the neighborhoods. These sessions were called fairs where the emergent neighborhood steering committee reported to their fellow citizens the results of the city government decision. Since 100% of the recommendations (true for four straight years) were accepted, the fairs were low-key activities. But, if the recommendations had not been accepted, these fairs (funded by the project) could have been used to organize the citizens for action. At the various community meetings attended by several hundred, I made clear upfront that, if unhappy about the decisions made, they could use the fairs to organize! This was the single most important macro design factor that led to successful meetings! The city officials knew that there CHAPTER 13: MANAGING CONFLICT IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT | 219

would be accountability, and the citizens began to realize that these were not bull sessions to appease the populace. Without such a strategy, I would not have accepted this contract. No matter how good the facilitation, the project would have failed! 3. Encouraging the media who were interested in and skeptical about the project to give careful television and newspaper coverage matching citizens’ recommendations and city decisions. 4. Personal trust development with key city persons where I dropped some of my own fears and stereotypes. 5. Having continued clarity and confidence that our collaborating agency (NRF) would do an effective job with their responsibilities. Thus my confidence that the citizens would be influential was a grounding that enabled me to turn my energy toward micro- design elements or what to do at meetings. In this regard the expectations of the consultant are of major importance.

Micro Design Elements

Guidelines for designing large meetings: 1. The facilitator should be neutral about substantive outcomes. 2. The facilitator needs to be skillful in interpersonal processes. For example, the leader should engage in paraphrasing, perception checking, summarizing, and other things which facilitate interpersonal communication. 3. Allowing citizens and city officials to ventilate distrust and fear is useful in the long run. 4. During that ventilation the facilitator should 1) clarify their role (“I’m a meeting leader not a resource about streets or recreation. They’ll be here later.”), 2) empathize 220 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

(responding to the first statement at the beginning of this chapter, “Thanks for stating that. I’m sure that you’re not the only one here who’s thinking that’s true.”) (“Sure, this looks to you like a rip-off ”), 3) clarify the decision making process when appropriate (responding to the second quote at the beginning of the chapter: “You’re absolutely correct, the City Council will make the final decision—that’s their job. Our job is to make recommendations and it’s certainly true that we can’t guarantee what will finally be decided. But after they decide we’ll come together again to celebrate or protest with the media present and reporting! Thanks for bringing this up.”), 4) support the opposition (“Mrs. Jones has petitions with her against getting these funds. She’s at this table to my right.”), and 5) keep the meeting moving. The key is to look for the kernel of truth in the statement, and not defend or let others do so, and look elsewhere to hear from others. Move on! Don’t get stuck in an engagement with one speaker. 5. Clear goals written in large print on handouts at the door help bring clarity. Federal guidelines, the macro-design steps, and any pertinent information needs to be written simply and distributed on different color sheets for easy reference. 6. Presentations must be brief followed by small group discussions for ventilation and clarity after each presentation. This is usually followed by limited time for total group questions or comments. 7. Often at the session I have people briefly talk with someone about their hoped for outcomes. Then I ask for a few comments, not questions. Every comment, as those at the beginning of this chapter, provides an opportunity for clarity and sends a message that this is about participation. If you ask for questions, most responses will be statements disguised as comments. “Don’t you think that...?” Usually CHAPTER 13: MANAGING CONFLICT IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT | 221

that means that the so-called question is a deeply felt opinion by the speaker. It’s a trap. When one senses such, the most productive response is, “I’m guessing that you feel strongly about that. Right? If so, would you say more?” Avoid this dilemma by asking for comments unless there is specific information that needs clarification. As soon as possible the facilitator should turn questions over to officials. However, at the ventilation stage, this is difficult for people with strong involvement since it is likely that some officials will get hooked by the counter-dependent remarks being made. I do my best to head such arguments off at the pass. Occasionally I’ll quietly move over to someone and quietly say, “I hope you don’t respond,” or “If you respond, speak to that fact but please don’t respond to the attack.” Soon officials begin approaching me for judgment. Also, I begin to learn who answered what best. Some city personnel have uncanny ability to cut through the mud and respond succinctly. Others get stuck in technical language. When I get a technical language staff trying to answer, I play an active role as translator. On one occasion, I joined a staff member in a dialogue response. It is easy for me to play dumb in such a dialogue because I am not knowledgeable in the technical language of planners or city personnel.

Three Concepts from Applied Behavioral Science

The concepts of Conflict Utilization, Knowledge Retrieval, and Implication Derivation (Jung & Lippitt, 1966) constitute three sets of processes that guide me in running large meetings. In conflict utilization, statements such as those made at the beginning of this paper are viewed as a resource, both for understanding the situation faced and for developing micro- 222 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT design elements. While the speakers may not respond to reason it is likely that they are reflecting fears of less paranoid citizens who can be addressed rationally. The people making these statements are allies in that they reveal fears and concerns that most citizens would not mention but have wondered about. In this context, enemies are those who have those concerns and don’t mention them. Effective consultants can tell their allies from their enemies! George Reedy in his poignant book, The Twilight of the Presidency (World, 1970, p. 197), says, “Things that are truly holy cannot be splattered no matter what is thrown at them. And that which can be befouled deserves its fate.” If the facilitator has all possible assurance that the project has macro- integrity, then he knows that it will stand the test of truth. The persons quoted at the beginning of this paper aren’t polite, sophisticated, deferential or kind. They may be very uninformed. But they are forthright, albeit in a blaming way! In a meta-way they are testing: —to see if citizens can dissent, —to see if anarchy might prevail, —to see if those in authority will melt or cry or defend or impose tight controls or listen. Their statements help expose misunderstandings and some mistakes in the way the project is conceived. They support the consultant’s goals for more clarity and effective accountability and more openness. If they are listened to, dealt with firmly and gently and answered rationally, they are allies. If they cannot incorporate rational responses into their behavior, they isolate themselves. In an aluminum plant in Fusina, Italy recently purchased by Alcoa, Patricia and I were hired to help with the transition from a government owned to an American owned plant. Early in our two-year career there, Plant Manager Jeff Reynolds held a CHAPTER 13: MANAGING CONFLICT IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT | 223

series of management meetings with roughly eighty attendees. Union-management relationships under the previous owners were very poor. Jeff invited the three unions to participate and they agreed to send eight. There was one clear spokesman. He called himself Pierino. They sat in the front row. Jeff made a brief statement and then introduced me as the facilitator. Pierino was frantically waving his hand. I acknowledged him and he said with a strong voice, “How do you expect us to trust management!? They’ve treated us badly for years!” “Thank you for asking that. I’m sure many are wondering that in this room right now. I don’t expect that. As you know, trust takes time to develop. Again thanks for saying that.” Several times he again voiced accusations with a strong (hostile?) voice. Each time I responded thanking him for bringing up whatever he did. I looked for the kernel of truth in each statement, did not defend, and retained control until the atmosphere had cooled. The unions began to work well with management. They began attending the T-groups in which eventually two-hundred employees and management participated. This profoundly mixed key union and management personal. They eagerly participated in intact workgroup survey feedback, a project management event (like mentioned in the Davenport chapter), and in a Lean Manufacturing implementation that involved workers throughout the process beginning with creating the current situation. The latter eventually won Alcoa's European Award for Lean Manufacturing. A little aside here: Pierino and I became very good friends. He suggested that Patricia and I join other union employees at a nearby wine garden for wine and song. At every training they attended they, at break time, wanted to sing. That I knew their beloved music, sometimes the words better than they, didn’t hurt at all! At the next wine event I suggested that we invite a couple of managers. Pierino hesitated. “Pierino, they love 224 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT to sing!” Thus the wine songfests became still another OD intervention. I was studying Italian, but profound conversations, let alone the trainings, would have been impossible without Sylvia Sparago, our amazing translator, with whom I still communicate twenty years later. While not possible (or even necessary) with most clients, my evolving friendship with Pierino strengthened his clarity and acceptance of my role. After that initial encounter, he continued to work on his authority issues at one of our Fusina, Italy, T-groups. With my limited Italian it was difficult, though not impossible to converse. On one occasion while driving me to a wine and song evening, he taught me an Italian song which I later sang in concerts in both Seattle and Volpaia, Tuscany. For fifteen years we returned to Italy. Often we included a return to Venice where we had lived during our two Fusina years. For years we had wine with Pierino.

Further Guidelines for Utilizing Conflict

1. Look for commonalties. Do this by listening carefully to the extreme statements. For instance, in a school conflict, one citizen insisted that youth could not be trusted to decide on the expenditure of $3,000. In the heat of the argument, he mentioned $500 would be different. His opponent said they could be trusted but we should help them with the decision making. The seeds for compromise are in the $500 and the “We should help them“ statements. That’s where I started. 2. Ask participants to get into the shoes of the other side but not with those words. Rather, to the first speaker above say, “Is there anything youth would decide that would pleasantly surprise you?” To the second say, “Is there anything that the students would decide that would displease you?” CHAPTER 13: MANAGING CONFLICT IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT | 225

3. Paraphrase a rambling accusative statement, not to primarily show empathy but to condense the statement to 10 seconds, clean-up evaluative words, and encourage others to respond to (what I think is) the essence of the comment. 4. If a person is counter-dependent, as evidenced by his refusal to ever completely agree (yes, but) with what you judge is a reasonable compromise that addresses their concerns, confront him by saying something like, “Every time I think your concerns have been met, you say ‘yes, but’ which causes me to think that you’re really against any solution. Is that accurate?” If they continue to hedge, it will be necessary to say “I’m sorry, but we need to move on.” 5. If compromises are not forth-coming, have small groups suggest them. Only as a last resort, suggest one yourself. If you do so, avoid getting hooked into a defense of it. 6. If one group seems disenfranchised so that a power imbalance exists, give that group a clear voice without letting them take over the meeting. Tell everyone, “All persons have a right to speak even if their point of view isn’t held by most.” Leading meetings of citizens is like walking a tightrope. Formal methods in small working groups for decision making have not been established. The group needs order to proceed without that order becoming a controlling tool of a new elite. People need direction for a problem-solving process, including access to information and freedom from being told what to think. On several occasions I guided public meetings with a step- by-step guide complete with “Do this” and “Don’t do this” columns. I always began by guiding them to not choose a leader, but rather follow the guide! That method was so powerful that I have decided to include the work session guide that I used in several sessions 226 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Work Session Guide This outline is a proven and effective way of helping a group quickly move from the sharing of ideas to making specific recommendations for action. Following these steps will help each member of the group to participate and keep any one person from dominating the discussion.

Do Dont Step 1 Choose a time keeper. Don’t choose a chairperson. (1 minute) Take turns telling why you think Don’t let people ramble this subject is a problem and who past the two-minute limit. Step 2 is or might be affected by it. (15 minutes) Go around the circle, giving each Don’t let someone dominate. person a chance to speak. Anyone may “pass. Limit each statement to two minutes.

Summarize similarities in what Don’t argue. Rather, be has been said. Then summarize clear about the similarities the differences. and differences. Step 3 At this point, if differences are (10 minutes) very marked, it may be wise to separate into two or more groups, even if only one or two persons are in any of the new groups. Recommendations can be written by one or more persons. Discuss the possible options and Don’t argue about facts. If then choose one or create a new you disagree about what is one. true, call in a resource You can make your recommen- person for additional Step 4 dation more specific by writing it information. (30 minutes) in the form of a goal, objective or policy (refer to the current goals, objectives or policies for helpful ideas). Also ask resource people for assistance in identifying specific geographical areas. CHAPTER 13: MANAGING CONFLICT IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT | 227

Do Dont Write your recommendation on Don’t forget, if one or Step 5 both the 3 5 card and the more disagree on a recom- (10 minutes) newsprint. Sign your name(s) to mendation, you can fill in the card. your own card and newsprint and sign your name.

Choose a reporter to make a 30-second report to the large Step group. Prepare for this report. (10 minutes) Post newsprint on the wall by the question you are addressing.

Step Listen to the various reports. (15 minutes)

Dot vote. Place your dots by attaching red dots to indicate positive support of recommenda- Step tions, or attach your yellow dot to indicate “I am very opposed to this recommendation. It is important to orient the resource people and to keep them on the task of giving relevant information and away from the task of implication derivation. If resource people start giving advice, intervene to keep them on task. It’s up to the citizen to derive implications from the information received. Giving information and options is the assignment given experts. Knowledge Retrieval, as described in Chapter 11, refers to the retrieval of resources and information (facts about costs, recreational equipment ideas, etc.) needed by citizens to make intelligent recommendations. Without such retrieval small groups are, indeed, pooling ignorance. Thus knowledge retrieval and implication derivation are two separate parts of a related process. A clear distinction between them reduces the possibility of an unproductive win-lose conflict. To illustrate, 228 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

experts are typically pushed to be practical, to tell people what ought to be done and then many citizens feel controlled by such advice-giving and react. The experts become defensive and counterattack with all the weapons at their command. Positions are polarized; a win-lose situation develops, with all of the resultant waste of resources and bitterness. Expert resources are ignored or opposed and citizens develop further mistrust of government and those citizens who are supporting the officials. At a community meeting, staff wanted to offer an example of a land-use plan by superimposing the example, which was developed in another community, on a map of the local area. Such an idea makes fuzzy the distinction between knowledge retrieval and implication derivation. Instead, I had them present practices developed in other places with similar problems using films, charts, and narrations that made clear what happened without, in any way, making judgments about the feasibility of that plan for the local situation. After a series of practices were presented I then asked the citizens, in groups of six, to derive implications. My instructions were: These practices may or may not have elements in them that could be useful to us. Certainly no one of them would likely be adopted exactly as it is for this area! Choose a recorder and spend the next 30 minutes and list ideas from the presentations that you hope get considered by the citizens’ committee as they continue their work on the alternative plan. Resource persons to clarify what happened in the practices are available. Such a process communicates respect. Citizens feel respected for their ability to derive implications. They are not asked to do this in a vacuum. Respect here means giving information without telling people what to think. Almost universally experts are asked to make recommendations which are answers to a problem. Emotionally this sets up resistance. “You don’t know our situation!” The task for experts in these kinds of situations (water rights, CHAPTER 13: MANAGING CONFLICT IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT | 229 laws about land use, sewage issues, small park development, wheelchair ramps, traffic patterns, costs, etc.) is to share knowledge. If they do have recommendations, these should only be shared after the citizens have shared their implications!! In a similar situation at a nuclear plant, employees developed some fifty action items after an expert team had begun the session sharing knowledge from their analysis of the situation. Only after the employees listed their actions from implications they had derived, were the experts allowed to share theirs. The experts had been stunned when David Helwig, highlighted in Chapter 9, informed them that I would facilitate the session and had a process for them to follow. When the experts shared recommendations, they offered nearly fifty, most of which were already listed by the employees! When the employees discovered that the experts had about a dozen not listed they were quite excited to hear what these were. There was no pushback. There was probing inquiry! The experts were delightfully stunned and felt appreciated. KRID ensures that the experts are respected for their knowledge and fairness. Citizens can build uncanny resistance to knowledge if they believe they’re being sold on a particular solution. Once the function of the expert is clear, his or her resources are eagerly sought. 230 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Facilitator Leadership Qualities

To do what I describe, facilitators must trust their judgment, think and act on their own feet, use feelings and intuition as a guide, and encourage constant feedback whispered in the ear or said out loud. They must make and take responsibility for such controlling moves as timing speeches, calling for majority vote (as a last resort), refusing to accept a motion against the insistent demand by a person who wants to cut-off discussion (by saying, “Yes, I heard your motion and I refuse to accept it... I want to hear Mr. Jones’s idea”). They must refuse to answer a question that the speaker insists is to be answered by the facilitator with a firm statement that “I am not a resource on that question. I’m calling on Jane Smith to answer that. It’s her area of expertise.” It is a haughty position. It demands a high concern for task, a high concern for persons, and a high trust in one’s competence and judgment. And it is a humbling position. Just when things seem on course and two people are engaging in a heated but apparently productive discussion of a key substantive issue somebody will frantically wave there hands to comment. Sensing the apparent importance of the impending interruption to the discussion, you assist the interruption and say, “Wait a minute, you two, this person wants to get in.” The citizen stands up, opens a tattered journal and reads some text that nobody can understand but which proves to the speaker that, “this whole thing is a conspiracy to destroy their home.” You stop them as gracefully as you can, but you may want to cry, laugh, swear, or to affirm that in some strange and awesome way life is absurd...or at least it helps to think so at times. CHAPTER 14: THE OD SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPERATIVE | 231

Chapter 14 The OD Social Justice Imperative

D is unabashedly pro-democratic. It was born dealing Owith a civil rights issue by a man who lost his mother in the Hitler holocaust with 6 million other Jews, several hundred thousand Roma (Gypsies), and thousands of homosexuals. It was strongly influenced by significant social-science research done by Lewin in Germany and then in the U.S. in the 1930s. At Iowa State University Lewin, with students Lippitt and White, he did research which indicated that democracy is the most effective system for humans. Democracy is a broad word. Whatever else it does imply equal rights for humans and a system of government that supports that. Democracy allows a variety of economic forms so it is not to be equated with a society that is primarily capitalist, socialist, or communal. The United States has prospered with a blend of all three economic systems. Short-handing what I stated in Chapter 3, while private ownership (enterprise) is huge, government ownership or management of a service (socialism) such as the postal service, social security, or a blend of government funding and services provided by privately owned medical clinics (Medicare) are quite popular in America. The word socialism is misunderstood and politically slandered. Also strong in America are communal government services that, using taxes, are given to the people (economic communism). Public schools, fire and police departments, the military, the veterans administration (VA), and road repair are but a few examples of communal economics. More than a decade ago I sat with a table of relatives back east whom I hadn’t seen for many decades. They started dissing socialism. So, one by one, I named the above illustrations and asked which ones they would change to be privately owned. 232 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

I reminded them that fire departments, until some cities had disastrous fires, were private enterprises protecting only those who had paid for private protection. They sat there with their mouths agape! My judgement, however, was that their minds were closed. Deeply held emotional beliefs are rarely dislodged by information, no matter how accurate. We stand on the shoulders of two giants for democracy— Kurt Lewin and John Dewey who both understood that there is no freedom without structure. Also there is less freedom with an uninformed electorate. Remember that the Nazis were elected to power! Democracy is the grounding of the T-group. In the most definitive book ever written about the T-group, T-group Theory and Laboratory Training, (published in 1964) there is this statement, “The founders of the first (T-group) laboratory training, ...saw the group as a link between the individual person and the larger social structure.” They saw it as a “medium for helping the individual toward greater integrity...and for achieving changes both in himself and in his social environment; and the facilitation of changes in the larger social structures upon which individual lives depend.” OD is not neutral about democracy. However, I believe it has been quite confused about what that means. At a conference for OD professionals, led by the staff of Graves value systems, 85% of all attendees registered as sociocentrics which is a permissive everybody must decide style. It led to consultants advocating for such as self-managing teams with no or minimum clarity about authority. As stated elsewhere, after a romantic beginning, such groupings have been a disaster except where, by chance, a leader emerged with positive work norms. Nearly half of the time, in my personal experience, negative norms emerged. Authoritarianism or permissiveness is insidious and creeps into our lives. Sometimes even supporting democracy one must wage CHAPTER 14: THE OD SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPERATIVE | 233 wars or use methods that are decidedly undemocratic! Such was the situation for me shortly after I arrived in Wausau, Wisconsin in 1961. In 1946 Frank T Simpson of the Connecticut Interracial Commission invited Lewin to help with interracial employment. Sixteen years later the Wausau Daily Herald would feature on the front page an article about my controversial speech at the annual Brotherhood Month joint luncheon of Rotary, Lions, and Kiwanis clubs. Annually the President of the Ministerial Association was invited to give that speech. I was reminded that this occasion had always been a feel good event about brotherhood. However I chose to speak about fair housing which was a hot topic in the state and in this conservative upstate community. When I had first arrived in town and was unknown, I had joined a local John Birch Society as it was being organized. As the new assistant minister at the Methodist Church I was on the Boy Scout committee. Several members invited me to go to the organizing meeting and help root out communist clergy who were right here in River City! I knew (believed) that this group did not use violence or I would not have joined. For instance, had this been the Aryan Nation, I would have quietly and politely declined. I know this is an extreme example, but in Armenia in 1990 at a 3 AM meeting I was asked to join a left-wing militant group which opposed the Soviet Union’s control over Armenia! I quietly and politely declined. The John Birch Society was a reincarnation of McCarthyism in the late 1950s and early 1960s. I had a long history with McCarthyism and with the House Un-American Activity’s Committee (HUAC) which preceded it and was founded in 1938. My dad and I had first-hand experience with this in our church in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, when there was a deliberate attempt by a wealthy parishioner to distribute 234 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT literature and accuse our clergyman of being a communist! Here is some background for those that do not know this history. The HUAC was founded to combat Nazi subversion. It became what President Truman would later call, “...the most un-American thing in America today.” In College and Seminary I had written papers about those movements, and knew exactly what this group was about. It was backed by Fred Koch, father of Charles and the late David Koch who throughout their careers have funded both conservative and right-wing organizations. They have also given to African American institutions and colleges and are known as a patron of the arts. The word both in a previous sentence is important. Conservatives tend to conserve what they believe are core elements in society. They tend to be moderate. The words right wing or left wing applied to conservatives and liberals (another umbrella term with varying meanings), indicates a more extreme position in either direction. The KKK, McCarthyism, Black Guerrilla Family, Weather Underground, Antifa, Aryan Nation, and the John Birch Society are examples. While my list contains both left and right-wing groups, violence, as I write this in 2019, is primarily being done by white/far-right extremists. According to a 2019 study by the Anti-Defamation League, from 2009 through 2018 the far- right committed 73% of domestic extremist-related fatalities. As of August 31, 2019, the number of mass shootings in the USA this year has reached 297 according to the Gun Violence Archive’s tally. That’s more shootings than days so far. The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as a single incident in which four or more people, not including the shooter, are shot and/or killed at the same general time and location. An article about David Koch in the New York Times is headlined, “The Ultimate Climate Change Denier.” It is written by Christofer Leonard the author of a book about the Koch brothers. He states that they have, “...built a political CHAPTER 14: THE OD SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPERATIVE | 235 influence machine...unrivaled by any in corporate America... to defend his fossil fuel empire.” One way they did this is to fund scientific studies to refute the climate change claims made by most scientists. Continuing on with the Wausau story, I subverted this Wausau group with an assist from the local Rabbi who had fled Hitler. We strongly contributed to its demise a year later. Here is how: The committee had already planned a series of public meetings. They had already invited a Milwaukee prominent John Birch Society leader to speak at the first of the three sessions. I suggested the Rabbi who had first hand knowledge of fascism from his German experience. They were delighted! Then someone mentioned my frequent reference to neo- fascism in the USA and asked if I would be the third speaker in the series. “I’d be delighted!” Though the public was mostly positive, the committee was disappointed in the Rabbi’s talk. His description of fascism in Germany under Hitler was too close to a description of what the John Birch Society was. I was next. My title, Neo-fascism in America and its Threat to Democracy. These people were as naive about fascism as are many about fascist tendencies in America as I write this! Ramon Stade, a high school teacher who knew and taught me well, brought his students. In the speech I identified the John Birch Society as the neo-fascists about whom I was speaking. Prominent citizens, like the physician who had delivered my daughter, immediately resigned from the board. I was kicked off. Staying true to their naïveté they asked my senior pastor, Justus (Jay) Olsen to join the board. Big mistake! In less than a year there no longer was a Birch Society in Wausau! Social Security, Roosevelt’s W.P.A., which hired my dad during the depression for a dollar a day, and Medicare were dubbed Socialist/Communist and, therefore, anti-American. Jay Olson was a teenager in 1936 and attended his local 236 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Methodist youth group called Epworth League. Youth staff from many organizations, including churches, sent people to a national conference for staff of youth organizations. The national Methodist youth staff attended. The American Communist youth staff also participated. Thus all attendees were dubbed communists, including the millions of youth who attended their local youth group! He was listed as a communist in a book sold by a local pharmacist and advertised on the local radio. At the back of the booklet explaining the communist connections of each person listed, the text actually read, “Rev. Justus Olson, Epworth League!” Apparently the board members didn’t study it closely before inviting him to replace me. I wasn’t listed because I was only eight in 1936 and not old enough to have been in the teenage Epworth League! So the Brotherhood Committee of the three clubs was concerned about what I would say. Defying the hopes of a pleasant Brotherhood luncheon I mentioned, among other comments that, “Fair housing is not a black problem— it’s a white problem!” Actually, defying the then common belief, home values went up when an area became available/ competitive to new ethnic groups. That is fundamental free market economics and it was so then! My statement was not applauded. Title Vlll of the Civil Rights Act in 1968 was yet to be. Soon thereafter I would live in Nashville, the national headquarters of the Epworth League. The John Birch Society was a successor of McCarthyism. McCarthy spoke of an ‘enemy within.’ This conspiracy theory is alive today in accusations against a ‘deep state’ and immigrants as criminals, once again, without evidence! Like McCarthy and his attorney Roy Cohn (who later was Donald Trump’s attorney for 13 years), the John Birch Society accused clergy, liberals, State Department staff, etc., and certainly Martin Luther King Jr., of being communists. To understand our moment in time, we must know our history! CHAPTER 14: THE OD SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPERATIVE | 237

“Poverty is not knowing your history” -Samish Indian Nation

What follows is our humankind history. There is only one race—the human race! Yes—that’s modern science. It even fits ancient creation stories of many cultures such as the familiar Adam and Eve story in the garden of Eden in the second chapter of Genesis in the Hebrew Scriptures. Some object, even strenuously, to people of my skin color saying, “There is only one race” as if I am saying, “Get over it—we’re all in the same boat!” If it is said to whitewash the huge inequalities in our culture, then I don’t like the statement either. In particular, most African Americans left slavery penniless and without property. Some did get their 40 acres and a mule. Thousands of these farms were lost due to grossly unfair Jim Crow practices over the decades since. Many had to work for people who had previously enslaved them and gained their wealth on the backs of slaves. They have never received (nor have Native Americans) full compensation for their losses. After the Civil War they were harassed for a century by the KKK and by every method people with my color of skin could devise to keep them dispossessed. Darker brown United States residents do not yet have equal opportunity or education, and they control a disproportionate amount of assets in comparison to the population per capita. One hundred years ago former slaves and their heirs owned 15 million acres of land, mostly used for farming. Today they own 1 million mostly by being forced off their land. Today they are incarcerated for the same actions that leave many lighter skinned people untouched. Native Americans are also stopped simply for their ethnicity at about the same rate per capita as African Americans. 238 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

To deny the inequalities between ethnic groups in America today is to be on the side of the white supremacists with their roots in Nazism and the KKK. That does not mean that people of my skin color should wallow in guilt. Rather it means that we should do everything in our power to address these social justice crises. My social justice roots expanded towards gays and lesbians later in the 1960s and 1970s. Another Nashville Methodist staff member, Ted Mcllvenna, had earlier produced the Glide Memorial Methodist films on Human Sexuality. Being a clergy, and affectionately known both as Dr. Ted and The Night Minister, his close association with the San Francisco Gay community confirmed his belief that people’s sex drives were as individual as fingerprints, and impervious to change. I treasured my time with him as a fellow staff member from whom I learned much. In the 1970s, in Spokane, I rented to gays before laws demanded such. I remember a wonderful party at one of my rental homes sitting among beautiful queens about to march in a gay parade. My membership in Human Rights Campaign dates through its predecessors (National Gay Task Force and Washington State’s Dorians) back to the 1970s. I co-founded The New School, an elementary and secondary school, and founded LIOS, which became a graduate school. Both became a haven for gay and lesbian students. Other sexual identities reflected in the broader expression “LGBTQA+” were not in my awareness in the 70’s. I want every human to be able to live joyfully in their, may I say, “God-given” sexual orientation and sexual identity! In the 1980s I moderated a series of public sessions across the State called, Gay Rights and Discrimination. More than half of the attendees walked in the room with their beloved black bound King James Version of the Bible. My task was to enable a civil conversation between these fundamentalist Christians and proponents of Gay Rights and CHAPTER 14: THE OD SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPERATIVE | 239 to not let anyone dominate or succeed in turning this into a shouting/blaming match. I insisted on specificities or the acknowledgment that their were none. I interrupted to push for paraphrasing. My rule which I enforced was that, if you wanted to respond to someone, you must first demonstrate that you know what the other had said and meant! The stronger one holds an opinion the less likely it is that they know what the other with whom they disagree even said, let alone what that person meant. In short, I used skills of conflict management that hopefully OD practitioners have and are constantly honing. I accomplished this teamed with an Assistant Secretary of State who had hired me for this series of meetings. And I held my tongue from telling the black bible folk that their beloved King James was gay! Whether moderating black-white confrontations, a session with gay and straight clergy or a water rights issue between farmers and developers, my OD skills and smarts did me and the clients well. Smarts refers to my understanding systems issues that informed me of what had to be in place before the sessions in order to achieve success. On the water issue I interviewed most citizens involved prior to a general community meeting attended by nearly a hundred who were supposedly hopelessly divided. When one looks behind the curtains of supposed locked in points of view one finds much less dogmatism. Usually a few extremists are holding the others captive! At the meeting citizens were put in groups of four or five. Each group combined farmers deeply concerned about water resources and citizens who favored selling their farms for housing development. I had prepared them for these groupings in the interviews. Early in the meeting I shared a film that the county staff had found at my request in their search for another very similar situation faced by citizens in a Midwest community. I followed the KRID process by first having the citizens 240 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT demonstrate understanding of the successful practices they viewing. I assured them that this practice was, of course, not an exact fit for their situation and shared another film of a different successful practice. Showing two different solutions reassures people that you are not trying to push either. After the Knowledge Retrieval (KR) we proceeded to Implication Derivation (ID). As always, KRID opened the door for collaboration and the eventual resolution of the water issues. KRID was developed by Ronald Lippitt and Charles Jung and is applicable in a wide variety of situations. Rather than have experts make recommendations and then have people respond that, “You don’t know our situation,” it puts both knowledge and creation in the hands of those who do know most about their situation and who will be applying the new practices. When lean manufacturing (European award) practices at the Fusina, Italy plant was put in place, I used KRID early in the process with the workers. David Helwig at PECO energy demanded that any new practice be KRIDed. As written prior, in 1962 I spoke out for fair housing in the white community of Wausau, Wisconsin. I was criticized for not sticking to a religious topic! Apparently they never heard of Amos and the other social justice leaders in the Bible! Or when reading the Bible they somehow missed the 225 references to the poor and admonishments to those wealthier to share their resources. My bottom line is that I resist the idea that there are races. Race is a social construct. The idea was invented in Europe in the 15th century to justify colonialism and, therefore, the slave trade. The so-called superior race therefore was helping the so- called inferior races by enslaving them. Previously cultures with slaves allowed them to eventually purchase their freedom. In 1942 Ashley Montague wrote, Man’s Most Dangerous Myth: The Fallacy of Race. Different shades of brown are a result of the journey of we homosapians as we migrated from Africa and CHAPTER 14: THE OD SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPERATIVE | 241 populated the planet. Evolving in the search for Vitamin D those who slowly moved north became light brown (white?). Those who stayed close to the equator remain darker! Certainly, in the American culture people of light brown skin (called white) have privileges from birth which most darker skin people do not have! That there are different ethnic groups-yes of course! That in the migration from the Rift Valley in Kenya across the planet different characteristics and skin colors evolved- absolutely! My National Geographic DNA indicates that I (like everyone else on the planet) came out of Africa 55,000 years ago from Kenya. I am proud that my ancestors lived for 20,000 years in Ethiopia and were possibly members of the Amhara tribe, one of the nine ethnic divisions in that country. I was proud when a Seattle cabdriver from that tribe looked at me and said, “You look Amhara!” I had asked him, “Where are you from?” And Patricia is proud that one of her three lines from Kenya led to West Africa which therefore means that likely some of those descendants were brought to America as slaves. Her major line led to Norway where the facial bone structure of her tribe is remarkably similar to some West African tribes. 15,000 years ago my ancestors were in Italy before they traveled north and eventually settled in Scotland, England, and Ireland while responding to the climate by getting lighter brown skin. I am incredibly curious about ethnic background. It would be very hard for me not to turn to someone (like the cab driver above) and ask, “Where are you from?” which is called a racial microaggression in a document about discrimination. The concept of micro-aggression is positive when it raises our consciousness about statements casually made that may be received by some as offensive. However, when it supports a notion that if you think I did something that you call offensive then you must be right, it is divisive. Given the complexity of communication, it is likely that 242 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Wallen’s Interpersonal Gap is at play. If I’m feeling irritated and judge that you are offending me, then I need to verify with you that I know what you said. As tension increases, people usually do not know the words the other says, let alone what they meant. Verification, through use of the skillsparrot or paraphrase, allows the other to clarify their words and intentions. It also allows the person paraphrasing to clear their own filter. That is as long as they are willing to hold loosely their original interpretation or judgment. Without such interactions to heal and close the interpersonal gaps, micro-aggressions can be seen as absolutes and become destructive. Literalists about micro-aggression maintain that the one who judges that they were offended is right and the other wrong. Quoting Haidt and Lukianoff, “This is the triumph of impact over intent.” Context is important. Dialogue is critical if civility and a relationship is to be kept alive. I have experienced being the one accused. Confused, I asked, “What have I said or done.” The answer, “You know perfectly well and you did it deliberately—apologize!” No further dialogue. No exploration. No chance to restore the relationship. They were right. I was wrong! Miller and Katz describe 4 Keys for enhancing difficult interactions: ▪ Lean into discomfort: Encourage yourself and others to speak up and be big. ▪ Listen as an ally: Work to understand and build on others’ ideas instead of judging them. ▪ State your intent and intensity: Let people know how committed you are to your ideas and what you need from them. ▪ Share your street corners: Actively seek out others’ perspectives to see all sides of the situation. I can understand the objection to the question “Where are CHAPTER 14: THE OD SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPERATIVE | 243 you from?” if it is asked in a way that suggests to anyone that they don’t belong here. My experience, however, is different. Recently, when back East, I asked a woman in a colorful gown that question. She replied, “Sierra Leone.” I mentioned my Otterbein College friend Max Bailor (who went home with me for Thanksgiving during college). She immediately embraced me and was excited because of her love for Max Bailer and what he’d done in his adult life for her country. Here’s what I found online about his passing: “...the passing away of former Albert Academy principal Max Bailor has sent shock waves through hundreds of thousands of Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad.” When Max came home with me for Thanksgiving, the woman who shared our five room apartment, her having two rooms in the front and us sharing the bathroom, protested his presence. I will forever remember my mother’s very firm stand with that neighbor! “Max can come anytime he wants,” she said with her hands firmly placed on her hips! I’m proud of what I’ve done in my life to oppose bigotry. I’ve worked for equity for people of different sexual orientations and ethnic backgrounds. Our 1960 years in Nashville (on the Methodist National Staff), included my marching to the Courthouse steps and singing, We Shall Overcome among many other actions in Nashville such as organizing and leading interracial day camps. My children were being told by their Methodist Sunday school teachers that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a communist. When, after talking to the pastor even he could not stop this, I pulled my children from the church. We had 42 staff members at the National Methodist Board of Education. I was the first National staff to have pulled my children from a Methodist Church and to start attending a church of another denomination. This new northern based church, the United Church of Christ, was the church for which I created and led the interracial day camps 244 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT with an African Methodist Episcopal Church. During that time I faced confrontations throughout the south. African American males often had facial hair. European- Americans decidedly did not! I did. This led to some explosive confrontations. My Methodist National Staff work took me to every state in the south and southwest except Florida. Earlier in my story of the young Navajo student who did serious FOO work, I illustrate the power of dealing with authority issues in the T-group. Richard Walton and Edgar Schein found another powerful route towards helping participants be aware of others who may seem very different. Walton and Schein co-trained together and were close friends. Called the Empathy Walk, here are the steps: 1. Toward the end of the first day we told the group that they should pair up with someone that they did not know very well. 2. Once in a pair, they were to discuss what they thought they had in common in terms of background, social class, and experience. 3. Next, they were to think of what category of person would be most different from themselves in terms of occupation, status, life style, ethnicity, or any other category that occurred to them. 4. They were told that on the next day they would have the afternoon and evening off to find such a person, make contact, interview them about their life situation, and bring back a report of what they had learned. 5. At the next group meeting each pair was to report on the whole exercise. Edgar Schein continues, “I introduced the Empathy Walk into my seminar on Influence and gave students several weeks to do it. They routinely found it to be a high spot because it allowed them to design much more elaborate outings to find people CHAPTER 14: THE OD SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPERATIVE | 245 different from themselves—a trappist monk, a local celebrity, a young man dying of AIDS, and a young man in prison for life because he had been present at a robbery where a clerk was killed. This last case illustrated the power of this kind of exercise because the student team got to know the prisoner very well, decided that a life sentence under the circumstances was not just, launched a program to get him paroled and eventually after several years of effort succeeded in getting his sentence reduced to make him eligible for parole.” Fundamentally, in the parlance of modern scientific research, we all come from the same source. As I said to the cabdriver I mentioned above after he identified the Amhara tribe, “We are cousins.” He looked at me as he stretched his arm towards me to shake hands while saying, “Thank you— cousin.” That’s my deep belief!

CHAPTER 15: THE EMERGING WORLD COMMUNITY | 247

Chapter 15 The Emerging World Community and The Role of the Organization Development Practitioner

Think of World Community as a more intimate world increasingly bound together through the internet and modern travel. This is a poetic piece inspired and written one afternoon while Patricia and I were visiting Dr. William Richter and his wife in Hawaii. Dentist Bill had been a student in our first LIOS class in 1973 at Whitworth University where he was a trustee lending credibility to our new contract grad program. I want OD practitioners to be moderating conflict and helping with clarification about the numerous confusions written about in this book. Published in the ACC Journal and OD Practitioner, it is a summary that is still relevant. The gods have fallen The world is round The faithful listen There is no sound But the evershifting ground And it is shifting. If I (the poet) put my ear to the ever shifting ground, sounds indeed are heard: ▪ World travel time continually decreasing; ▪ Nearly instantaneous electronic satellite communication around the world; ▪ Increasing awareness that the nation-state nuclear defense has alarming suicidal consequences; 248 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

▪ A world-wide sense of having reached the moon, and explored space (rather than a belief that one nation can claim ownership of space); ▪ Planet-wide sharing of staggering food and energy dilemmas; ▪ The growing political clout of developing nations; ▪ Rapidly growing economic interdependence, including multi-national corporations that transcend nation-state interests. These are the sounds of change. These sounds are the emerging community which will come in one of three ways: The first scenario is a gradual evolution in which we quietly slip over the edge from a nation-consciousness to a planetary consciousness. We will wake up one morning and realize that a world consciousness serves us best. We ourselves are in space! It will be apparent that the old nationalism was itself restrictive. As they did in the 15th and 16th centuries, established values and economic/power arrangements are again shifting. As was true in the Renaissance these changes are also marked by upheaval. Nationalism rises and falls. As then, with the Reformation, Counter-Reformation, Civil Wars, and revolutions—new human systems emerge. This is now happening. We are in the midst of this change on a world scale. There is a second way that the emerging world community might come. As more realize that such a shift is happening, strong reactionary ultra-nationalists will emerge. It seems accurate that the two present super-military powers (40 years ago—the USA and Soviet Union) are controlled by reactionary forces. Few think that Eisenhower’s warning about the military industrial complex has stopped that duo from wielding enormous influence. CHAPTER 15: THE EMERGING WORLD COMMUNITY | 249

Still living with the nation primacy idea, it is possible that someone (in the military?) will ignite the war to end wars. Thus we will be a planet with no or few survivors and no government. If the future is that bleak, our role may be to bury our best wisdom six feet under for future discovery, dance to the gods as in the rain dance of old, move to (our best guess of) where the radiation will be least, or simply live it up at a Mediterranean resort while we wait for the apocalypse. There is a third way in which the emerging world- consciousness might come with the forces of conservation and moderation prevailing. A new confederation of nations must emerge. Try Mexico/Canada/USA/Japan. Why not? They are already incredibly interdependent economically and militarily. The USA and Japan are dramatically living out Teilhard’s words, “Every new war embarked upon by the nations for the purpose of detaching themselves (from) one another only results in their being bound and mingled together in a more inextricable knot. The more we seek to thrust each other away, the more do we interpenetrate.” The common market is soil for increasing the probability of a confederation of Western Europe. Imagine a move from our many nations today to a dozen regional entities scattered about the globe! And now, with the above scenario (or possible scenarios): Enter the Applied Social Scientist. Given any option short of total planetary disaster, we can assume key roles: ▪ Role 1: The sage with an overview ▪ Role 2: The person with an awareness of body, emotion, mind and spirit ▪ Role 3: The Applied Social Scientist with skills 250 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

The Sage With An Overview: We know about processes. We know about change. We know that however painful the moment, joy comes to those who go into the pain. We know that resurrection follows death—that Spring follows Winter! We know that systems are both good and evil. Thus we avoid the dogmatism of the left or right. We know that nations are not the highest form, but rather a more inclusive form than a tribe. Forms are transient. We believe that institutions are made for people, not people for institutions. We also know that the manifest statement about a system (i.e., all men are created equal) and the way a system operates are often blindly opposite. Says William Erwin Thompson, “... every institution must subvert the values for which it was founded. Every vision must be routinized to survive the death of the visionary, but every routinization of vision is only a bureaucratically disguised form of death, and so death is unavoidable.” We know these things. Therefore, we also know that when the ground is shifting, whatever essentially matters will likely both benefit and suffer. But as social scientists who know about change and shifting and the transient nature of form, we may choose to live in a state of hope and expectancy. Whatever is passing is not of as much concern to us as what is emerging. Therefore our energy is not wasted in lamenting the dying old forms; rather we have that energy available for this incredible moment of planetary renaissance. Thus, our first gift is our spiritual overview, which frees us from being time-bound, system-bound, or concept-bound. To be living surrounded by magnetic change, While watching and being in midst of a storm. To know that at center of life is a sigh, That sustains and renews—never mind the world’s form. CHAPTER 15: THE EMERGING WORLD COMMUNITY | 251

The Person With An Awareness of Body, Emotion, Mind and Spirit: We know that to be human means all of the above—and much, much more. We know that when anyone tries to formulate what life is, or truth is, or person is, or whatever is, their formulation must take the mortal form of words. We know that formulations are not to be confused with reality. Theories are transitory myths—passing ways to order or organize our world. Thus we know that to be human means more than we know. It certainly means more than our rational world has taught us. We learn with a start that our history’s contrived And the myths, oft-discounted are life’s truest song, For the universe breathes psychedelic delight With visions and healing that didn’t belong In the proper, sophisticate world, oh so couth, Where science, we thought, could validate truth. We are the people who can join east and west, north and south. We can read Edgar Cayce and we can read Herman Kahn. We can do Tai Chi and yoga and dig Alan Watts and attend Shabbat services, Hindu Puja, a mosque or Mass or other expressions of faith. We can synthesize a tender human touch with critical scientific observation. We are not polarized. We feel and think. We intuit, we sense. We know about ambiguity and bring to this moment an openness of all our senses. We can touch. We can be in-touch. We are human. The Applied Social Scientist with Skills: Ironically, as we move toward world consciousness, local autonomy will increase. The move toward centralization is also a move toward decentralization because the larger the governed area the less the centralized state can govern the common affairs of everyday life. 252 | MEMOIRS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Local areas need people with skills in problem-solving, communication, conflict utilization, knowledge retrieval, intuiting, community development, psychic reading, holistic health, integrating assumed polarities, and on and on. Applied Social Scientists are general practitioners—the Jacks and Jills of all trades. OD practitioners are the synthesizers and integrators desperately needed in the emerging world. Local areas need people who are alert to discrimination and other social justice issues. Needed are people who in simple coffee-shop conversations and/or planned conflict management moments can help people move from blaming to specificity. Then they are needed to help with some sort of compromise or, in sharply polarized times, at least an agreement to continue civil dialogue. Also, needed are those who can bring clarity about distinctions such as between socialism and capitalism. We are the ones who are informed about fascism with its extreme nationalism and xenophobia and alert to how it is manifested in each generation! In short, needed are people who bring self-differentiation and clarity to the world. And we don’t need to go anywhere to be where we are needed. This future is coming to our favorite neighborhood theatre. It is already previewing. A world community—a new design Emerging as consciousness cosmic unfurls Electronic media—satellite—space We celebrate life—the planet one race. We will wake up tomorrow—a nightmare away And wonder why ever we feared such a day When the nationalism like the city state old Would crumble its walls as fresh forms unfold. BIBLIOGRAPHY | 253

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Crosby, G. & Lippert, T. K. (2018). Transforming ADHD: Simple, Effective Skills to Help You Focus and Succeed. Oakland, CA. New Harbinger. Crosby, R. (1992). Training for Authenticity: Readings in group leadership. Maple Valley, WA: School For Innovative Leadership. Crosby, R. P. & Crosby, P. N. (2010) A Month in Medieval Volpaia. Seattle, WA. Vivo! Publishing Co., Inc. Crosby, R. P. & Schmuck, R. (1969). Transfer of Laboratory Training. NTL: Training News, 13(2). Crosby, R. P. (1992). Walking the Empowerment Tightrope. King of Prussia, PA: Organization Design and Development, Inc. Crosby, R. P. (2006). Get Unstuck from Fundamentalism. Seattle, WA: Vivo Publishing Co., Inc. Crosby, R. P. (2011). Culture Change in Organizations. Seattle, WA: CrosbyOD Publishing. Crosby, R. P. (2015). The Cross-Functional Workplace. Seattle, WA: CrosbyOD Publishing. Crosby, R. P. & Scherer, J. (1981). Diagnosing Organizational Conflict Management Climates. La Jolla, CA: University Associates Publishers. Crosby, R. P. & Scherer, J. (1989). People Performance Profile. Dewey, J. (1938) Experience & Education. New York, N.Y. Macmillan Publishing Company. Emory, R. Quoted in unpublished paper, Training for Authenticity by Robert P. Crosby Finkel, E. (2014) The All-or-Nothing Marriage. NYTimes Sunday Review. Fox, M. (1983), Meditations with Meister Eckhart. Bear and Company, VT. Friedman, E. (1985). Generation to Generation. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Gallup Inc. (2017) State of the American Workplace. Wash, DC. Glasser, W. (1972) The Identity Society. New York, NY. Harper & Row. Jung, C. & Lippitt, R. (1966) Study of Change as a Concept in Research Utilization. Theory Into Practice, Feb. 1966, 5(1), 25-29. Published by the College of Education, Ohio State University. Jung, C, A. & Jaffe, Aniela. (1963).Memories, Dreams, and Reflections. Waukegan, IL. Fontana Press. Lewin, K. (1997). Resolving Social Conflicts & Field Theory in Social Science. American Psychological Associates. Lewin, K., Lippitt, R. & White, R. K. (1939). Patterns of Aggressive Behavior in Experimentally Created Social Climates. Journal of Social Psychology, 10, 271–299. Lieberman, M. A., Yalom, I. D., & Miles, M. B. (1973). Encounter Groups: First Facts. New York, NY. Basic Books Inc. Publishers BIBLIOGRAPHY | 255

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Schumpeter, J. A. (1949). Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy. 3rd Ed. New York, NY. Harper Collins. Short, R. (2011) The Eye of the “I”. Seattle, WA. Saybrook University. LIOS Linkage Magazine Smith, L. (2006). The Mystic as Prophet. 3rd, Ed. Richmond, IN. Friends United Press. Starr, A. (1983). The Essential Jung. New York, NY. Harper Collins. Thompson, W. I. (1971) At the Edge of History. New York, NY. Harper & Row. Thurman, H. (1976)Jesus and the Disinherited. Boston, Beacon Press. Thurman, H. (1979)With Head and Heart. San Diego, California and New York, NY. Harcourt Brace & Company. Thurman, H. (1942) The Negro Spiritual Speaks of Life and Death. Boston, Beacon Press Tillich, P. (1957). The Dynamics of Faith. Harper & Brothers, New York, NY Wallen, J. For an excellent telling of his Interpersonal Gap theory see: Crosby, G.L. (2015). Fight, Flight, Freeze. Seattle, WA: CrosbyOD Publishing. Walton, R. E. (1987). Managing Conflict. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc. Watts, A. (1951) The Wisdom of Insecurity. Pantheon Books, Random House, Inc. White, R. K. & Lippitt, R (1960) Autocracy and Democracy. New York, NY. Harper & Brothers. Williamson, D (1991). The Intimacy Paradox. New York, NY: Guilford Press. BIBLIOGRAPHY | 257 Other books by Robert, Gilmore, and Chris

Robert P Crosby Walking the Empowerment Tightrope: Balancing Management Authority & Employee Influence Culture Change in Organizations The Cross-Functional Workplace A Month in Medieval Volpaia, Tuscany: Dairy of a “Temporary Citizen” Get Unstuck from Fundamentalism: A Spiritual Journey Living with Purpose when the Gods are Gone I Always Walk Right Next to Death and Other Poems of Life

Gilmore Crosby Fight, Flight, Freeze: Emotional Intelligence, Behavioral Science, Systems Theory, & Leadership Leadership Can Be Learned: Clarity, Connection, and Results

Chris Crosby Strategic Organizational Alignment: Power, Authority, Results Strategic Engagement: Practical Tools to Raise Morale and Increase Results - Volume I Core Activities Strategic Engagement: Practical Tools to Raise Morale and Increase Results - Volume II System-wide Activities