July Blog Feature - OD Practitioner Journal

Jesse Sostrin just published his article "A Conceptual Framework of Barriers to Workplace Learning and Performance" in the OD Practitioner Journal vol. 41 No. 3.

To read the full piece anytime this month, send a comment and request a PDF. Here is an excerpt:

“Considering the changing nature of work and the mandate for continuous learning and performance,it is no longer an option to endure barriers. A new system for accurately identifying and broadly addressing barriers to workplace learning and performance is required.”

Introduction

The workplace has changed dramatically over the last 50 years. This evolution is marked by significant and wide-sweeping trends, including accelerating technology,
increased global competition and movement toward a service-driven economy. Collectively, these and many other imposing changes require a new approach to defining and measuring the effectiveness and overall success of not only individual productivity at work, but also our collective human capital—I call it continuous workplace learning and performance. I define continuous workplace learning and performance as the consistent acquisition and application of the attitudes, values, knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully fulfill specific job functions that are consistent with the organization’s desired business outcomes.

Moving beyond this technical definition,continuous learning and performance is a recognition that each day in the workplace presents the critical choice to innovate or decline and to learn or lapse. Developing a discipline of continuous workplace learning and performance is not only the competitive advantage of the 21st century—it is a matter of survival for individuals,teams, and organizations competing
in the modern workplace.

Unfortunately, barriers to continuous workplace learning and performance are everywhere, all the time. Some barriers subtly impact everyday communication and decision-making, while others are more systemic and have adverse impacts on things like workforce selection and retention. Regardless of the nature and impact of specific barriers, they undermine our ability to learn and perform. In many cases barriers are often sustained in the workplace because they are elusive and difficult to address. Considering the changing nature of work and the mandate for continuous learning and performance,it is no longer an option to endure barriers. A new system for accurately identifying and broadly addressing barriers to workplace learning and performance is required.

For Organization Development (OD)practitioners and their clients, acknowledging the presence of barriers is not a novel concept. The premise of most OD interventions in fact is to either react to or proactively intervene against some kind of barrier. However, the ability to successfully resolve issues related to barriers relies exclusively on our ability to accurately identify the barrier and its root causes, as well as its interdependent parts. The fact is, each year billions of dollars are spent on training and development programs,expensive consultants and change initiatives within organizations of all types. For organizations and their leaders to fully maximize these types of investments it is critical to accurately identify the specific barriers to learning and performance experienced by both individuals and teams in the workplace.

After working as an OD practitioner for more than 10 years, I became increasingly frustrated by the lack of a comprehensive model that could help identify and provide context to the many recurring barriers experienced by clients across industries. From a practical standpoint, I was also concerned by the lack of a reliable assessment tool that could help to effectively “connect the dots” and identify the intertwined, systemic barriers experienced by my clients. In time, I resolved to channel my frustrations into academic research that could potentially add benefit to both scholars and practitioners working in the field of OD. The specific goal of my research was to identify and organize a wide range of barriers to workplace learning and performance into a conceptual framework that illuminates this phenomenon in the context of the changing demands of today’s work environment. This article presents a summary of my research, including a description of the model and a discussion concerning implications for OD practitioners.

“What’s Your Emotional Bottom Line?”

In business we pay attention to the bottom line as a measure of net income and as an indicator of the health and potential of an enterprise. But in our own lives, what helps us gauge our current health and potential for success? Our emotional bottom line can be an enlightening interpersonal benchmark of what’s working and what’s not working for us.

An emotional bottom line is the difference between what you need and what you are getting. A healthy emotional bottom line means that in general you are getting your needs satisfied more often than not. For example, if a person has an expressed need to feel challenged in their position at work, a healthy emotional bottom line would indicate that in general they enjoy a sense of challenge on most days at work. This can be measured by identifying and reflecting on his or her various roles and responsibilities and documenting what aspects provide reasonable degrees of challenge.

Similar to a businesses’ bottom line, our emotional bottom line can help us to be reflective about a given situation to determine whether or not we need to address any gaps. While working with a client recently, I had the opportunity to help them articulate their emotional bottom line related to a contentious issue in the workplace. My client explained that she had repeatedly felt “shut out” and “undermined” by a dominating colleague. During meetings, she was unable to present her own ideas without fear of being interrupted or sidetracked. This led to anxiety and an ever-present, underlying sense of worry. I asked the client what she needed in this situation. She explained that she desired mutual respect with her colleague and wanted the freedom to express ideas on her own terms, without fear of sabotage. When asked where her emotional bottom line was right now, she explained that in general, most days left her feeling frustrated and unable to meet her needs.

As we probed on the related issues more deeply, the realization of an unhealthy bottom line helped the client to assess how important these emotional and psychological needs were, what negative effects their absence were having on her life inside and outside of the workplace and, most importantly, what assertive action she was willing to commit to in order to improve her emotional bottom line related to these particular needs.

Walking yourself through this type of reflective exercise to measure your own emotional bottom line can add a lot of value at both a personal or team level. It helps to put something very subjective into a more objective framework, making it easier to talk about difficult interpersonal issues. The New Year is often a time to create resolutions for future changes in our lives. Rather than updating our 2006 New Year’s resolution lists for 2007, imagine what’s possible if we took an honest look out our emotional bottom lines?

"Paradise Found: Dealing With Noisy Vacation Rentals Next Door"

A friend who lives next to a vacation rental asked me for some advice in dealing with difficult, short-term neighbors. I shared this with him - perhaps it can help you or someone you know.

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When you love where you live, it can feel like paradise has been found. Unfortunately for some neighbors and residents, it feels like paradise lost when the peace, quite and continuity of daily life are interrupted by the commotion from nearby vacation rental properties. The central coast has been, and hopefully always will be, an attractive destination for visitors. This means local residents need constructive strategies to successfully address concerns that may arise from the numerous vacation rentals in our area.

The dynamic between locals and visitors is a classic example of converging expectations that couldn’t be more diverse. Local residents tend to value the ownership and pride they have in their community. They have come to expect their neighborhoods and communities to look and feel a certain way, including the pace of daily life and the peace and quiet that small communities enjoy. Vacationers on the other hand - while seeking some rest and relaxation - are looking for a break from their day-to-day routines. They are more likely to stay up late, listen to music and enjoy outdoor barbecues and social events as they make full use of the their (expensive) rental house. Neither local residents nor vacationers are necessarily more or less justified in their expectations than the other. However, when there is a clash of expectations hurtful conflict can erupt.

Whether it is a concern about yard maintenance, property lines, or traffic safety, part of the solution lies in forming collaborative relationships with property management companies who are responsible for enforcing rules. These property management companies are accountable to the property owners for generating rental income and keeping the units intact. In addition, proactive communication with the actual renters and home owners can give you the opportunity to air out concerns. If you are struggling with these issues, the following tips may help you navigate your way through the conflict:

Remember Things Aren’t Personal – Imagine a typical vacationer; they can’t wait to truly get away for the weekend with a few close family friends at a beach house. They’re ready to get some much needed rest and relaxation as they pick up their favorite meat and plan a BBQ out on the deck for the entire group, including some time in the hot tub on the deck! The property manager made it clear that dogs are not allowed inside the home so they set up an area in the backyard for their three dogs…If you are the next door neighbor who is bothered by the noise and the constant commotion; it’s helpful to remember that the vacationers are doing exactly what vacationers do. They are not necessarily intending to keep you up late or to disrupt the neighborhood.

Take Initiative to Talk to Your Neighbors (Vacation Renters and Home Owners) – While it can feel really stressful, the cost of living with unresolved conflict can hurt more than the challenge of addressing the issue head on. If you experience concerns of any kind, make an effort to talk to your neighbors, the home owner or the property management company directly. Use the following roadmap as a guide:

1. First, agree to have a conversation to explore the issues, assumptions, feelings and potential next steps.

2. Next, take time to clarify the situation to get both perspectives squarely out in the open. Try to focus attention on identifying the substantial issues and then break those down into separate pieces (remember, be hard on the problem and easy on the people).

3. For each issue, generate options that can potentially satisfy the underlying needs of both people.

4. As agreements begin to form, commit to a resolution and discuss how the solution can be implemented successfully.

"Playing Nice" - Another Pattern That Sustains Barriers

Last week I reviewed a pattern of thought and behavior that can really hurt a team's ability to perform at optimal levels. Here is another team dysfunction that I see play out across industries. I call it "Playing Nice," and here's how the cycle goes:

A) The team establishes a non-hierarchical (flat) mode of decision-making where everyone feels welcome to speak their mind and voice their opinions;

B) Maintaining this apparent harmony becomes an unwritten goal of the group;

C) As barriers or issues emerge within the team, the team makes no room for making waves when unpopular choices might be required to fix things;

D) As a result, accountability for addressing problems decreases and team members do not have an outlet for their concerns;

E) Over time, the implicit rule of “playing nice” outweighs incentives to address barriers and the dysfunctional pattern is sustained...

This pattern of "playing nice" can easily erode confidence in and capacity for learning and performance. A way to avoid this is to separate the person from the problem and when issues arise - attack the problem, but not the person. This can preserve a respectful tone in the group, but not at the expense of having tough conversations that lead to better decisions.