The unconscious at work How hidden patterns in organisations may hamper KM

1. The unconscious at work How hidden patterns in organisations may hamper KM The Henley KM Forum 10th anniversary conference 'Celebrating Connections: evocations and provocations for the future' Prof. Dr. Daan Andriessen INHolland University of Applied SciencesAmsterdam, The Netherlands

2. KM often addresses the wrong problem

3. In many organisations… …this is the real problem …or this… • Underbelly: • the lower abdomen; posterior ventral area, as of an animal's body. • the lower surface of an object; underside • a dark, seamy, often hidden area or side • a vulnerable area; weak point

4. What we want to achieve with KM Enable Empower Organize Seduce Coordinate Facilitate Incentivize Stimulate • professionals to share knowledge Youcanlead a horse to water…

5. David Gurteen’s view on incentivising KM • “So, if traditional incentives can have a negative impact, what's the workaround? • First stop using them; they don't work and do great harm. • The problem with using traditional incentives (…) is that this approaches the situation from a mindset of "doing things to people". It says "they are lazy people; we know best and we will find ways of manipulating them to do what we would like them to do". (…) • Here is my answer "Stop doing things to people and start to work with them!" Rather than "Hello I am here to help you!" (Oh yea!) Take the attitude "Hello, lets talk and see how we can better work together.“ Its that simple! • But there is secondary issue here. Asking "how do we incentivise people" - makes the big assumption that they need to be incentivised. Yes, they may not be doing what you would like them to be doing but how do you know that the reason is lack of motivation. You don't. If there are problems then you will only find them out by sitting down and talking with them!” Source: Gurteen Knowledge-Letter Issue 115 – January 2010

6. What makes people do the things they do?

7. Surface - current & Undercurrent SURFACE - CURRENT: Structure, targets, goals, planning & control, budgets, implementation, incentives, accounting, knowledge management: efficiency and effectiveness OBJECTIVITY Reason paper UNDERCURRENT: The human need for attention, independence, belonging, recognition, security, safety, and intimacy Based on intuition, instinct, emotion, creativity en respect REALITY Culture Feeling SUBJECTIVITY

8. Meet your knowledge management team! (1) Librarian • Dominant working style: Be Perfect • Dominant emotion: Anger • Preferred ego-state: Critical parent • Allergy: sloppiness Anita

9. Meet your knowledge management team! (2) ICT specialist Librarian • Dominant working style: Be Perfect • Dominant emotion: Anger • Preferred ego-state: Critical parent • Allergy: sloppiness • Dominant working style: Try hard • Dominant emotion: Fear • Preferred ego-state: Adaptive child • Allergy: laziness Anita Arjen

10. Meet your knowledge management team! (3) ICT specialist Librarian • Dominant working style: Try hard • Dominant emotion: Fear • Preferred ego-state: Adaptive child • Allergy: laziness • Dominant working style: Be Perfect • Dominant emotion: Anger • Preferred ego-state: Critical parent • Allergy: sloppiness Anita Arjen • Dominant working style: Please others • Dominant emotion: Happiness • Preferred ego-state: Adaptive child • Allergy: impersonality HR specialist Henk

11. It is a miracle that organisations function at all…

12. “Sticky" organisations • Organisations with highly evolved "consent and evade" approaches to change (where top leaders agree to change and then return to their business units to block it), • Organisations with a history of shooting the messenger and announcing victory before the implementation can be measured. • Source: Victor Newman • http://the-knowledgeworks.blogspot.com/2009/09/process-leadership-first-discipline.html

13. Under current • Undercurrents are oceanic currents that flow beneath and usually independently of surface currents. Most are very deep, and as such, very little is known about these currents. • They include a broad variety of currents, from thermohaline currents to turbidity currents. These varying currents have an equally diverse number of functions and causes. • Source: Wikipedia

14. Carried away by the metaphor… • Thermohaline circulation refers to the part of the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients (…). The adjective thermohaline derives from thermo- referring to temperature and -haline referring to salt content Source: Wikipedia • What is the temperature of your organisation? • What is the salt content of your organisation? • Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by individual particles (…) These small solid particles cause the liquid to appear turbid. Source: Wikipedia • Which “particles” in your organisation determine the under current?

15. More and more literature on the undercurrent • The Shadow Organisation (Bowles. 1990, 1999) • Unconscious life in organisations (Mosse, 1994) • The unconscious at work (Obholzer & Roberts, 1994) • Dark side of organisations (Vaughan, 1999) • Toxic emotions at work (Frost, 2003) • Working below the surface (Huffington, Armstrong, Halton, Hoyle, & Pooley, 2004) • Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work (Babiak and Hare, 2006) • Destructive leaders (Padilla, Hogan, & Kaiser,2007) • Undercurrent is not only a negative thing!

16. Pay attention to the undercurrent • SURFACE - CURRENT: • “Conscious” patterns: • Intentional • Goal oriented • Plans, procedures, etc. • Undercurrent: • “Unconscious” patterns: • From the past • Based on human needs, desires, intuition, emotions • Aimed at survival (now or in the past) • Includes: withdrawal, complaining, cynicism, say yes, act no

17. You cannot control the undercurrent

18. Recognising patterns in the undercurrent (1): Unfulfilled basic needs (Maslow, 1943) Knowledge management Maslow’s hierarchy of needs Most organizations think they are more mature then they actually are What about yours?

19. Recognising patterns in the undercurrent (2): The drama triangle (Karpman, 1968) Kees Anton Ben PERSECUTOR RESCUER Mirjam Arjen Carla VICTIM Rutger

20. Recognising patterns in the undercurrent (2): The drama triangle (Karpman, 1968) Anton Kees Ben PERSECUTOR RESCUER Mirjam Arjen Carla VICTIM Rutger

21. Recognising patterns in the undercurrent (2): The drama triangle (Karpman, 1968) Kees Ben PERSECUTOR RESCUER Etcetera… Do you recognize the drama triangle pattern in your organization? VICTIM Rutger

22. Recognising patterns in the undercurrent (3): What drives a person? (Kahler (1975) 2. 1. 3. 4. 5. • Be perfect Be strong Please others Try hard Hurry up What is the dominant driver in your organisation?

23. Recognising patterns in the undercurrent (4): The role of emotions • Angry Afraid Happy Sad Body feeling • Which emotion is well known in your organization? • Which emotion is not allowed in your organization?

24. Recognising patterns in the undercurrent (5): How healthy is the stroke economy (Steiner, 1974) A stroke is a unit of attention which provides stimulation to an individual Positive Negative

25. Recognising patterns in the undercurrent (5): How healthy is the stroke economy Strokes Positive Negative Conditional Unconditional

26. Recognising patterns in the undercurrent (6): The neglected organisation (Kampen, 2007) • High turnover among management • Business processes never seem to function properly • New plans die before they are executed • The appointment of people in management positions always creates a lot of turmoil • People that under perform in the main business processes are moved to support -staff positions • A lot of complaining and cynicism on the work floor • Group sentiments dominate the atmosphere on the work floor • Roles, responsibilities and tasks remain unclear even though they have been put to paper

27. Recognising patterns in the undercurrent (6): The neglected organisation (Kampen, 2007) • Managers are never there when you need them • Retribution happens secretly, you never know where it comes from… • In some departments there is a despondent atmosphere • People don’t stick to their roles. Everybody interferes with everything • Every manager has his or her own little shop in the organisation. There is not much cooperation. • Employee meetings are avoided by most employees • Strange behaviour on the work floor is not noticed

28. Leadership stylesBased on Maccoby and Martin (1983) Demanding Setting firm limits Supervision Repair style: risk of fake adjustments Curing style, but only if used on case by case basis Authoritarian Authoritative UnresponsivenessNo involvement Responsiveness High involvement Attentive to needs and concerns Uninvolved Permissive Inherently neglecting style Risk of spoiling neglect Undemanding No limits No supervision Source: Kampen 2008, personal communication

29. Possible reasons why knowledge management does not work • Basic needs (safety, belonging, self-esteem) of people involved have not been fulfilled • People are caught in games like the drama triangle • People suffer from suppressed emotions that have become a toxic mixture • Not enough positive and negative conditional strokes are given or the two are not in balance • Employees have been neglected because of uninvolved, permissive or authoritarian leadership • …………other illnesses in the underbelly of the organisation

30. Thank You! • Dr. Daan Andriessen • Professor of Intellectual CapitalINHOLLAND University of Applied Sciences • Amsterdam/ Hoofddorp The Netherlands • Daan.andriessen@inholland.nl • www.weightlesswealth.com • +31-652375658