Escaping the Drama Triangle to deliver change

I run a number of facilitation workshops for different organisations to help unblock the path to success

In many cases this isn’t about introducing new initiatives but actually just removing blockers.

What is interesting is the Drama Triangle that often provides a THEM and US story and why people are POWERLESS and NOTHING EVER CHANGES

1. The Victim: The Victim's stance is "Poor me!" The Victim feels victimized, oppressed, helpless, hopeless, powerless, ashamed, and seems unable to make decisions, solve problems, take pleasure in life, or achieve insight. The Victim, if not being persecuted, will seek out a Persecutor and also a Rescuer who will save the day but also perpetuate the Victim's negative feelings.

2. The Rescuer: The rescuer's line is "Let me help you." A classic enabler, the Rescuer feels guilty if they don't go to the rescue. Yet their rescuing has negative effects: It keeps the Victim dependent and gives the Victim permission to fail. The rewards derived from this rescue role are that the focus is taken off of the rescuer. When they focuses their energy on someone else, it enables them to ignore their own anxiety and issues. This rescue role is also pivotal because their actual primary interest is really an avoidance of their own problems disguised as concern for the victim’s needs.

3. The Persecutor: (a.k.a. Villain) The Persecutor insists, "It's all your fault." The Persecutor is controlling, blaming, critical, oppressive, angry, authoritative, rigid, and superior.

It is really important to listen to the Drama Triangle and help people break-out. Once you have escaped the trap you have a new path. My role as facilitator is to help them blaze a new trail to examine people, process and technology to think about policy and practices, structure and culture to build a new set of circumstances.

As a former athlete and now coach I love the aim: We create the environment where success is inevitable, which is based on Lane4

I am also a fan of Team Sky “Rules of the Bus” which I adapted for the World Champs Rowing Squad to be Rule of the Boat

1. We will respect each other and watch each other’s backs
2. We will train hard but sensibly and responsibly to drive performance and avoid injury
3. We will be honest, but fair with each other
4. We will be on-time
5. We will communicate openly and often
6. We will put aside any personal preferences to make the boat go faster
7. We will debrief after every race
8. We will maintain a log of training and Personal Best milestones which we will be available for everyone in the team to see
9. We will always wear team kit
10. After every session every team-member will shake hands – ritual is important to trust
11. We will respect the boat
12. We will be professional when racing: We will respect our opponents and be magnanimous in victory and gracious in defeat.
13. We will request any changes to be made to boat set-up the day before a race and not on race day
14. These rules (and any that are added, amended or deleted) will be agreed and followed by us all.

I feel this approach to taking ownership and managing behaviours make a real difference

See great video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_XSeUYa0-8

More Information
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karpman_drama_triangle
https://www.lane4performance.com/insight/blog/creating-an-environment-where-success-is-inevitable/. 
 
Feedback and comments always welcome


@TimHJRogers +447797762051
https://www.linkedin.com/in/timhjrogers/
MBA (Management Consulting) Projects & Change Practitioner,
TEDx & Jersey Policy Forum, Public Accounts Committee,
http://www.timhjrogers.com

Reflections on Public Accounts Committee

MOTIVES FOR JOINING PAC

When I joined the Public Accounts Committee as an independant-member (Not a Politician) I did so because I understand a bit about the challenges of government, governance, projects and change that Jersey is currently contemplating.

For better or worse I was project manager for the successful incorporations of the Post Office, Harbours and Airport and have a good understanding of the public and private sector and the process and challenges of moving from one to the other.

I have also a chunk of experience in finance, commercial and retail through business change projects for NatWest and RBSI, working with SMEs, and with what was Le Riches Group and now Sandpiper.

So my motives are based interest and experience and a desire to listen, learn, and contribute based on experience and expertise.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

I started with the idea of blogging and tweeting a lot. But now feel that to make personal comments on people in a public forum rather than factual comments on processes in a professional forum is perhaps not the best approach.

I think it is better to focus on the process, standards, data and facts than focus on the people. By citing recognized standards we perhaps have a better chance of motivating the right behaviors than if our comments appear as personal criticisms.

Frankly this can be hard because at times the frustration is personal (and sometimes passionate). However the professional thing to do is be objective and precise with facts, figures and processes.

In a small community it is inevitable that personalities dominate, because they are colourful and more interesting than the dull elements of operational change. The problem however is when challenge over process becomes criticism of personality.

We need to be careful to avoid people defending their position rather than advancing the objective. A stronger focus on process and outcome rather than person and responsibility is more likely to yield success.

CHALLENGES FOR 2019

I having experienced public sector change I have both sympathy and empathy for those involved.

There is a quote by Churchill "When going through hell, it is important to remember to keep going"

The most important initial step therefore is to listen and learn, to understand and appreciate. People are more inclined to be honest about challenges and accepting of suggestions when they don't feel threatened.

My aim for 2019 will be to be a critical friend, to help with observations and comparisons, contributions and ideas that will provide us the government and public sector that we want, and our politicians have promised us.

The Public Accounts Committee runs for the period of the Assembly. That's 4 years, and 16 quarterly updates from States Chief Executive and his Team.

There is no doubt that this will be a challenging period but we should not judge too soon, but instead examine the process. If we see 16 quarterly updates of incremental improvement based on process then we have hope that change is both positive and sustainable.

Athlete and High Performance Testing

I have retired from competitive sport (Triathlon - Commonwealth Games and Rowing - World Champs) but because I get involved in business, projects and change management get asked about helping with High Performance initiatives.

To be fair there are plenty of athletes, mentors and coaches so my work tends to be business related: helping businesses perform like athletes rather than coaching for athletes.

I have however been asked this..... (and am curious if there is a market for this in Jersey)

We are putting together testing services for athletes which include online monitoring and high level reporting of body competition, endurance testing, power testing and movement efficiency. We are consulting with international organisations who offer world class services in these areas. One of the objectives in addition to the use for our athletes is to open up a testing and evaluation centre in Jersey for non- high performance based athletes (i.e. enthusiasts, good club level and Island Games level). This will be conducted by our lab trained staff, providing reliable and cost effective approaches to monitoring. 

I have been given these.
1.     Example Metabolic Profile Report
2.     Suggested cycling battery
3.     White paper on VLMax (the new VO2).
4.     White paper no 2 on VLMax
5.     Load Characteristics in INSYD 

I am already flat-out with a range of interests including Jersey Charities, Jersey Policy Forum and Public Accounts Committee. However I know that the above would really have benefitted me when I was an athlete and I suspect there might be interest to others.

I'd value feedback either via comments or direct (timhjrogers@gmail.com or 07797762051)

Thanks

My book for the year has been The Phoenix Project

The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win6 Feb 2018
by Gene Kim and Kevin Behr

I loved this book because the story was so real to so many projects that I have managed. The people, problems, technologies are typical as are the outputs, outcomes and frustrations. What has been great is realising that these are real-life issues with practical real-life solutions that can be applied.

As a troubleshooter often involved in project rescue it is always great to have insights from other people's experience that you can apply to your own circumstances.

I like this book so much that I am prepared to buy a copy for anyone who works with me and whats to understand what we can achieve together.

What book would you recommend to me?

The books that might help you in 2019, and your recommendations?

A BIT OF MENTAL STIMULATION

At the end of 2017 I stopped competitive sport and sought a new outlet. Having pushed my body to its limits I am now stretching my mind and am very grateful to a few good people who have suggested some wonderful books.

This blog is part an acknowledgement and thank you to the people who have really made an impact on me either directly or for the recommendations they have made.

I am therefore sharing a list of what I've read and why, just in case people have similar interests and would like to read the same books. It is also a great opportunity to canvas recommendations.

It is true that my physical fitness is not what is was when I was 30 or even 40, but there is no reason that my mind shouldn't go from strength to strength and I am grateful for any ideas that may improve me or my business in 2019.

READING LIST

This is a small subset, I think I may have read 50 books. I have attempted to put them in the order I would recommend with the best at the top of each list. I greatly value people's recommendations in the comments.

IMPROVING PROCESS AND SYSYEMS THINKING

The Phoenix Project, A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win 5th Anniversary Edition, By: Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford

The Goal, A Process of Ongoing Improvement - 30th Anniversary Edition, By: Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Jeff Cox

Critical Chain,Project Management and the Theory of Constraints By: Eliyahu M. Goldratt

The DevOps Handbook, How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, and Security in Technology Organizations

The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership, Achieving and Sustaining Excellence Through Leadership Development

Thinking in Systems A Primer By: Donella H. Meadows

UNDERSTANDING POLITICS AND SOCIAL CHANGE

The Cold War, A World History, By: Odd Arne Westad

The Great Economists, How Their Ideas Can Help Us Today,By: Linda Yueh

Misbehaving, The Making of Behavioral Economics, By: Richard Thaler

Red Notice, By: Bill Browder

A History of Russia: From Peter the Great to Gorbachev, By: Mark Steinberg, The Great Courses

Willful Blindness, Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril, By: Margaret Heffernan

The Secret Barrister By: The Secret Barrister

Inside Story: Politics, Intrigue and Treachery from Thatcher to Brexit

MANAGING A BUSINESS

The 12 Week Year, Get More Done in 12 Weeks Than Others Do in 12 Months, By: Brian P. Moran, Michael Lennington

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life By: Mark Manson

Key Person of Influence, The Five-Step Method to Become One of the Most Highly Valued and Highly Paid People in Your Industry

Summary of Algorithms to Live By by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths By: Instaread

UNSURE WHICH CATAGORY

Bad Blood By: John Carreyrou

Conspiracy, Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue, By: Ryan Holiday

Hitch-22, A Memoir, By: Christopher Hitchens

Sapiens and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Humankind and A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari

THANKS

I would like to thank Tom Hacquoil for a number of books: Zappos, The New New, When Breath Becomes Air, and a bundle of books on cryptocurrency

I would like to thank Jane Frankland for her book INsecurity

I am also mighty impressed by my Commonwealth Games Team Manager, Gary Jones who has published Evidence Based School Leadership and Management. Although written for schools the idea of doing anything based on data is a good idea!

I am also grateful to Gailina Lieu for the work of the Jersey Policy Forum and some great books: The Road to Somehere and Utopia for Realists. This opened a really interesting trail which included Andrew Keene's book How to Fix the Future and another breath taking look into the future with Life 3.0.

FOR 2019

I greatly value people's recommendations in the comments and am curious if there is a book club in Jersey for either Business Topics or Social Change.

GDPR PHASE 2 – DATA PROTECTION AND INFORMATION SECURITY ARMS RACE

I have worked with a number of organisations this year and my experience has been that May 25 presented a deadline and scramble to pull together the minimum requirements for a Data Privacy Notice.

In the period that has followed attention has turned to comparing hastily revised policies and procedures with real-life practices. As more than one wise person has said, it takes a long time for new ways of working to become habit.

There is a lot of work underway reviewing Contracts, Data Sharing Agreements and Processor Controller Agreements, in response to data protection and information security concerns.

The States of Jersey, JFSC and GFSC championing of Cyber Essentials as a minimum standard for information security and ISO27001 as a more respectable goal I anticipate that 2019 will be regarded as GDPR Phase 2 – putting theory into practice.

The Regulators of all jurisdictions have been clear that GDPR is not a once-only-event like Y2K but instead an ongoing process.

My view is that it has the makings of an arms race and to fall behind presents real difficulties being able to catch-up as each requirement piles upon the previous and makes basic assumptions about your start-point.

For many organisations this is just another step in the journey, but for some 2019 will see more challenge and more change than they were able to accommodate in 2018 and there may be consequences.

LINKS

https://www.jerseyfsc.org/the-commission/cyber-security/

https://www.gfsc.gg/news/article/cyberinformation-security-information-pack-boards

https://www.gov.je/StayingSafe/BeSafeOnline/ProtectYourBusinessOnline/pages/cyberessentials.aspx

AUTHOR

Tim HJ Rogers

https://www.linkedin.com/in/timhjrogers/

TRANSACTIONAL VS TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

TRANSACTIONAL VS TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT

At the turn of the millennium I was doing my MBA (Management Consultancy) and chose Transactional vs Transformational Leadership in Change Management as my dissertation topic. I was fascinated by the what I saw as the hype of charismatic leadership versus the more operational and steady approach to process improvement. I saw it as a battle of style over substance.

I have learned a lot since then and having been part of the team leading the Incorporation of Jersey Post Office from government department into company, been Operations Change and Sales Support for RBSI and NatWest and then again having led Incorporation of government department into company: this time Ports of Jersey.

I have had the opportunity to see, use and learn from both Transactional and Transformational Leadership in Change Management.

So it is with this interest, knowledge and experience that I am very interested in the SoJ Chief Executive plans to transform Jersey’s Government.

Below is a nice summary (by someone else) of Transactional vs Transformational Leadership in Change Management. I don’t actually agree with everything in the article, but in the interests of balance it is important to acknowledge different views.

My reservations include

1. I disagree that a Transactional Leader is not concerned about the futuristic vision or strategies. The difference in my experience is that the Transformational Leader exerts change by charisma (often lasting only as long as their tenure) whereas the Transactional is more systemic (with the result that the Leadership element may be difficult to discern.)

2. I would contend that a Transactional Leader is very capable of “the key functions” list outlined below. Indeed the whole idea of having a systemic list of how to go about change is Transactional.

3. Finally I’d say the “best practices of transformational leaders in business” are actually Transactional tasks (driven by the head) rather than charismatic persuasion (engaging the heart)


What do you think?

TRANSACTIONAL VS TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Original Source

https://www.managementstudyguide.com/transactional-versus-transformational-leadership-in-change-management.htm

Leaders play a crucial role in steering organizational change and inspire or stimulate people for achieving excellence at work by realizing the pre-defined goals. Effective leadership provide a direction and vision to the people from top to bottom, develops a conducive culture, climate and values for enabling certain expected code of conduct or behaviour out of employees.

Leaders conceptualize and administer suitable strategies for driving continuous improvement in the existing processes, motivating employees for superior performance and facilitating change across various functionalities.

Leaders play both transactional as well as transformational roles depending upon the organizational context, environmental factors and the long term objectives.

TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP

Transactional Leaders work in accordance with the predefined modes of operation and are more concerned about ensuring a continuity in the day to day functioning, ensuring seamless operations by establishing systems and processes in place and focused towards achievement of set targets. Such leaders can enforce disciplinarian actions, establish a systemic framework and define a road map of action, formulate & implement policies and motivate superior performance through a systems of rewards and incentives.

A Transactional Leader is not concerned about the futuristic vision or strategies for acquiring market leadership, but is more concerned about ensuring that the tasks assigned are completed on priority by meeting the quality benchmarks.

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

It would be more appropriate to say that the Transformational Leaders are the real champions of change. They are the visionaries who influence or motivate teams for achieving excellence in business performance. Transformational leaders give more importance to the development of cohesive teams and facilitate an environment of collaboration for achieving the next best level of performance, instead of ensuring the completion of day to day organizational duties/tasks. The focus is more on team building, empowerment of employees, alignment of individual-organizational goals and culture building for motivating individuals to embrace the change for the better.

Given below are the key functions performed by the Transformational Leaders:

1. Creating a Vision: Transformation Leaders are responsible for envisioning and ensuring that the vision is shared and communicated across all the levels to inspire and motivate people for driving excellence at work.

2. Setting Examples or Modelling: Transformational Leaders inspire employees through Modelling or exemplification of good behaviour or a desirable code of conduct.

3. Establishing Standards: Well defined standards and norms, guide the employees in following a desirable pattern of behaviour and working towards the fulfilment of common goals through a collaborative approach.

4. Culture & Climate Building: Building a facilitating climate and a culture of mutuality, interdependence and flexibility are the major functions of Transformational Leaders. A conducive organizational culture can motivate individuals for delivering performance excellence and exceed expectations by achieving newer milestones at work.

5. External Communication and Liaising: Transformational Leaders establish a connect with the external world and are the main point of contact for communicating with the key stakeholders for the resource support, technological assistance and acquire knowledge regarding the best business practices of leading organizations. This function essentially involves strengthening relationship with the stakeholders or business partners.

6. Team Building or Synergy: This is one of the most important functions of leaders who follow transformational leadership style by building a motivational climate and creating a positivity in the work environment for completing tasks collaboratively.

7. Talent Acquisition & Development: This is the key responsibility of the transformational leaders, which involves identification of the best of the talent pool and nurturing them with adequate training & development support.

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP: ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES AT WORK

Advantages:

1. Transformational Leadership style encourages innovation and creativity in the workplace by creating an enthusiastic and a challenging work environment. This kind of leadership provides ample opportunities to the individuals for growth and achieving newer performance milestones.
2. New Leaders may evolve out of a several followers.

3. Transformational Leaders are visionaries and they possess an extraordinary capability of communicating the vision to the followers. Since, such leaders are more skilled in visualizing the bigger picture, they can address challenges much efficiently.

4. The team members work for the achievement of a common goal or vision by being influenced or inspired by their leaders, thus driving excellence at work.

5. Transformational leadership encourages mentor buddy relationship between the leader and the follower, thus creating a conducive environment for innovation and improves organizational preparedness for any kind of change process.

6. Transformational Leadership brings reforms in the existing processes, creates higher expectations in followers and motivates the followers to deliver beyond the pre-defined expectations or the set framework.

7. Transformational Leadership surely guarantees high performance of the teams as well as superior productivity and growth.

Disadvantages:

1. Though Transformational Leaders can see the bigger picture, but they lack detailed orientation for which they require the support from the transactional oriented people who are more organized and detailed oriented. Lack of detailed orientation may result in a major oversight, which may ultimately affect the organizational interests in the long term.

2. Transformational Leaders rely too much on inspiration, passion and emotional aspects, which may lead to a neglect of the facts or realities through research, investigation or information gathering.

EXAMPLES OF BEST PRACTICES OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERS IN BUSINESS

Transformation in Technology: Various Technology giants like Apple, Microsoft, Intel, IBM and many others, revolutionized the computing world through technological innovation by introducing state of the art quality software applications and microprocessors. Even the world of internet has witnessed a change in the contemporary scenario with Google enjoying its leadership as the most effective search engine and Amazon & e-Bay leading the e-commerce platform.

Transformation in Financial Services Industry: Due to the internet revolution, the financial services industry is undergoing a sea change with the availability of online platforms for the investors for planning their investments independently, researching, trading stocks and investing in various financial products by being in any part of the world. Pioneers like Peter Lynch, proponent of Mutual Funds and John Bogle, proponent of Index Funds, changes the attitude and preference of the investors on various financial portfolios. Today, Mutual Funds and Index Funds have become the most preferred choices for the investors because of the low costs involved and diversified benefits.

Diversification: In the era of globalization and liberalization, the organizations follow diversification strategy for business expansion across the globe and maintaining a leadership edge in the competitive market. Leaders like Jack Welch, the CEO of General Electric during 1980s, restructured the entire organization from the traditional bureaucratic set up to a more agile and lean framework.

Other Examples include Business Process Outsourcing and Knowledge Process Outsourcing which has resulted in generation of cost advantages for the organizations and enhanced business efficiencies, increased job opportunities for millions of people across the world and revolutionized organizational functioning as a whole. Again quality tools and processes like TQM, Kaizen, Six Sigma, etc have led to continuous improvement in business operations and achievement of superior quality benchmarks in manufacturing practices.