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Productive dialogue will accelerate business performance

Good business dialogue cannot be underestimated: it encourages collaboration and creativity and opens up individual and organisational learning and innovation. Dialogue, by definition, is obviously two-way, in that it is between one person and another, but it is also two way in that there is an inner dialogue that has to happen for the overall output to be effective. 

The human brain does not like ambiguity or conflict.  It naturally moves to make a choice: black and white. But often this leads to less effective ‘single loop’ learning, Chris Argyris in his various models of double loop learning, including ladder of inference and high advocacy/inquiry, encourages an internal challenge (an inner mental dialogue) to encourage us to constantly challenge the unconscious processes generate the conclusions and short cuts that our normal reasoning makes.

For example, you get into the office early to get on with some work and find your boss already there.  You try to make conversation, yet your boss is surly and abrupt.  You draw conclusions (in NLP this is part of the meta model ‘complex equivalent) about the ‘facts’ at hand – i.e. boss is surly=I have done something wrong. So you spend the rest of the day worrying and trying to figure out what it is that you have or haven’t done. Suddenly, through your interpretations and inferences about your boss’s behaviour, you are working on a different set of ‘facts’ altogether. And, in actual fact, the boss just feels poorly because he or she has a cold coming on; it is nothing to do with you at all.

This is a very simple example but shows how, with lightening speed of reasoning, the brain automatically makes these conclusions that end up running our lives.  Making us less effective and giving us less freedom of choice. So we need to train our brains to hold the ‘deep structure’ of meaning without running away with the wrong conclusions.

F. Scott Fitzgerald said: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” And he has a point.  It is ‘painful’ for our brains to hold different, possibly opposing, ideas about the same fact without jumping to one ‘right’ conclusion.  But by looking closely at the information on which we have built our ‘house of conclusions’ will help us to be more accurate and structured in our thinking and then our dialogues and conversations will be very powerful.

So this requires some detective work.  Much of our thinking is based on the conclusions we have drawn (as part of this automatic and unconscious process). Chris Argyris in his ‘Ladder of Inference’ recksons it goes like this:

1. We have ‘data’ presented to us – statistics, a reaction, words, expression
2. We select the data to use as part of our thinking – a comment, information etc
3. We interpret this data and add meaning to it
4. We draw conclusions from these interpretations – this helps our brain to put a label on what is happening (and boy, do our brains like labels!!), which helps to explain it and propose action from it

This is a ‘pattern’ that we do subconsciously, with lighting speed.  But if we can learn how to slow this process down, break it up and do some detective work so that we use the right data, make sure we have all the data we need and then draw the most useful conclusions, our lives will be so much better!

The other day I had a client say to me: “We need to do more online PR and focus on improving SEO”.  I took this as a criticism that we weren’t doing enough and the client was unhappy.  However, after a couple of days and another conversation I realised that the client was so delighted with what we are doing that they want more of it; and after reading our blog posts they are keen to move into blogging and other social media to improve their online marketing!

Here’s what to do to be a ‘thinking detective’:

1. Put your ‘critic’s’ head on and retrace your thinking steps.  What data did you select? What caught your attention? What are you considering unimportant here?  Quite often we focus our attention on what is wrong rather than what is going well!
2. Then retrace your thinking: how did you interpret the data you selected? What filters did you put on it (i.e. a negative one?)? What assumptions and presuppositions did you make?  i.e. in the example above I assumed the client was unhappy, and I presupposed that we weren’t doing enough online work.  That clouded the rest of my entire thinking processes.

Related posts you may enjoy reading:

• Accelerate your business through conversation
• Communication boosts learning and innovation
• Good communication or 41 years of mistruths?
• How to accelerate behavioural change out of recession

Robert Dilts, one of the co-founders of NLP, has recently posted an informative article on the topic of modeling.  Dilts says in his article, “Anyone who claims to know or care about NLP is aware that the process of modeling is the life blood of the field. The origin of NLP and its continued evolution come from the ability of NLP practitioners to model the verbal, cognitive and behavioral patterns (the “neuro-linguistic programs”) of exceptional people. It is frequently pointed out that the basis of NLP is modeling and not the “trail of techniques” that have been left in its wake.”

Within the realms of NLP there are two ‘schools’ of modeling – two distinctions – as prefered by the likes of John Grinder. Like Dilts, I tend to use the analytical modeling framework; although I have a passion for what I refer to as ‘implicit modeling’ and actually use a combination of both in my work. Yet there is also what Dilts refers to as ‘pure NLP modeling’ – this is the implicit or non-impositional form of modeling.

The difference resides principally in the degree of imposition of the perceptual and analytic categories of the modeler during the modeling process. – in the case of NLP modeling, the imposition is minimal; in the case of Analytic modeling, the imposition is maximal.

Read Dilts A Proposed Distinction for Neuro-Linguistic Programming article here.

Listen to our podcast to hear about our approach to modeling:

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Found out more about Changeworks Communication on our revamped website.

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In the final part of my interview with David Gordon, he talks about the application of this phenomenal technique in organisations. What are the characteristics of good modelers? Modeling is both art and science (in my mind).  This requires a level of skill and training (in particular a high level of expertise in NLP and questioning/listening (coaching helps too).  So it is quite an investment in learning that many are not willing to take. Creating the case for modeling in the corporate arena is not straightforward, however once they get involved they see the vast benefits and rewards that this technique offers for organisational learning.

flyer_jan_event_leadership_comms

Click on the link above for a flyer detailing speakers and agenda for this exciting event.

I work on the Chartered Institute of Public Relations’s Internal Communication group and we are running the following event in London. Changeworks will be there to record the event and post an update and outline of key points on this site … but it would be great to see some of you there:

Do leaders really understand internal communication? Do internal communication practitioners really understand the challenges that leaders face? Do we even speak the same language?

As we face a dramatic economic downturn – with many organisations restructuring, consolidating their operations and laying people off – what role will internal communicators play in helping their leaders respond to these difficult challenges?

If you happen to be in London on Thursday 22 January and are free during the late afternoon/early evening, why not come along to our next CIPR Inside event to find out the answers?

Organised and hosted by my committee colleague, Hill & Knowlton’s Scott McKenzie, ‘Leadership Communication and Authenticity’ aims to explore the role leaders play in creating a conversation culture inside their organisation, how they establish an authentic voice internally, and the nature of their relationship with professional communicators.

This will be a free-ranging session with experienced practitioners and business leaders on our panel. A facilitated discussion will draw out key themes and issues, before these are hotly debated in open forum. The debate will be followed by a Panel Q&A and then networking drinks.

The event will take place at Hill & Knowlton’s offices (20 Soho Square, London W1A 1PR) from 1600-1830. Tickets cost just £25 + VAT (£28.75) for CIPR members; £35 +VAT (£40.25) for non-members. To reserve your place simply email ciprinside@ntlworld.com now.