Herman Wittockx, Franke Jongsma, Bert Overlaet Presentation at the #2012waic Conference - Ghent, Belgium

1. “And so, without further ado, here’s the author of
‘Mind over Matter’…”

2. Organizing(Mirrored(in(Nature(
The(genera2ve(power(of(A/I(and(guided(contact(with(nature(
- Context: My history with outdoor & AI
- Part one: Kema case
- Lecture: Generative features
- Part two: Results
- Reflections: Connecting strengths &
Generative power
Herman Wittockx

3. Organizing(Mirrored(in(Nature(
The(genera2ve(power(of(A/I(and(guided(contact(with(nature(
1989: A/I & Outdoor with S. Srivastva
1991: PhD at CWRU
1993- 2000: Open workshops
with S. Srivastva
1993- 2012: Change projects (duration
6 months- 5 years) 2007-2011:KEMA
Herman Wittockx

4. Genera2ve(
“ That which has the capacity to challenge the guiding assumptions
of culture, to raise fundamental questions regarding contemporary
social life, to foster reconsideration of that which is taken for
granted, and thereby
furnish new alternatives
for social action”
(Gergen, 1982, p 109).

5. “Organic(system”(

6. “Mechanis2c(system”(

7. Man and organizations as
Mechanistic Systems
Sender Receive
r
Problem
Solving
Herman Wittockx

8. The(Apprecia2ve(KEMA(
Creating a Shared Vision to energize
Self Propelling Execution.

9. The$apprecia*ve$KEMA$
• 2007 – 2011: Why:
“The future is causing the
present”
• 2008 – 2010: What & How:
“Leadership is a relational act”
• 2011: Results!

10. KEMA$profile$in$2007$
• Incorporated in 1927
• Headquartered in NL
• Offices in ca. 15 countries
• Customers on all continents
• More than 1350 employees
• Turnover in 2007: € 180 M
KEMA customers
• Energy supply industry • Rail companies
• Energy intensive users • Authorities and regulators
• (Power equipment) • Financial institutions and development
manufacturers banks
• Retail companies

11. Mintzberg((1979)(“Professionals(can(hardly(
be(managed(by(enforcing,(opposing(rules,(
regula2ons(and(procedures.”(

12. The$future$is$steering$the$present!$
KEMA((Leadership(
Leadership(Program(

13. The$apprecia*ve$KEMA$
• 2007 – 2011: Why
“The future is causing the
present”
• 2008 – 2010: What &
How: “Leadership is a
relational act”
• 2011: Results!

14. What(did(we(do(at(KEMA?(
KEMA
Leadership
Strategic Summit
Alignment
2011
KEMA Business
Appreciative units
Leadership
KEMA Workshops
Leadership
Summit
2008

15. KEMA(Apprecia2ve(Leadership(Workshops;(
Crea2ng(a(Shared(Vision(to(energize(Self(Propelling(Execu2on(
Leadership is a “relational act”, so develop:
1. Trust
2. Shared Vision
3. Generative coaching
15

16. Outdoor(Apprecia2ve(Inquiry(in((
Leadership(Development(

17. Program(to(develop(leadership(capabili2es.(
• 10 Groups of 20 participating managers
• Executed from July 2008 to 2010
• Facilitators: Prof. dr. H. Wittockx (Belgium), François Héon
MSc (Canada) & Drs. Franke Jongsma (Netherlands)
• An international and cultural mix of participants over
Business Units and Regions to:
– Create space for development of relationships
• Limited history of existing working relationships
• Focus on process of relationship building
– Reinforce Global Network in KEMA
17

18. The(outdoor(assignment:(‘The(Bridge’(
Build(a(Bridge(across(the(river(and(cross(the(river(with(
the(team.(Team(is(split(on(both(sides(of(river.(
(
Criteria:(Everyone(is(on(the(other(side,(dry(and(safe.(

19. The(quality(of(the(process(defines(the(quality(of(
the(result.(

20. Making(sense…(crea2ng(shared(meaning(

21. The(Vision(assignment:(‘Fes2ve(dinner’(
Prepare(a(fes2ve(dinner(for(KEMA(Board.(The(dinner(
reflects(the(leadership(development(that(has(taken(place.((
Execu2on(in(three(teams:(Cooking,(Decora2on(&(Hos2ng.(

22. (Network(of(Leaders(as((
‘Spokes(of(a(wheel’(

23. WONDER
Appreciate the
Unique
Comfortable feeling
of no need for
explaining
Herman Wittockx

24. Nature has no meaning

25. Nature stimulates the discovery of
human nature

26. Nature stimulates the discovery of
human nature: Meaning
Habit of imagination
interaction through
meaning making
Habit of the mind Habit of the heart

27. The rock is your friend
Common fate
Stimulates a
Shared belief
in the future
and transcends
problem
solving
thinking

28. Connecting
present - past - future - present
Improvisation! Vision &!
values!
-
Causes Problem
+
Imagination!
Wonder!
Pas t Presen t Fut u re

29. In nature people are open books to
each other
Inclusion Influence Intimacy
• Interdependent • Abundance • Physical proximity
activities • Beliefs
• Feelings • Playfulness
• Unequivocal • Thoughts
Physical • Holistic relations
feedback • Common fate
• Egalitarian

30. Theory in use
• Espoused theory: sharing stories about success
• Theory in use: the experience of success

31. Nature brings out Human nature
meaning & indeterminism
Meaning is a relational act
Knowing is doing: power of theory in use

32. Organizing mirrored in nature
From Subject Intersubjectivity
Object
To Subject Intersubjectivity
Nature as a source of organic concepts about organizing

33. The$apprecia*ve$KEMA$
• 2007 – 2011: Why:
“The future is causing the
present”
• 2008 – 2010: What &
How: “Leadership is a
relational act”
• 2011: Results!

34. KEMA$profile$end$2011.$
• Offices from 15 to 23 countries
• From 1350 to 1850 employees
• Turnover from € 180 to € 260 M
Actions
• New KEMA companies
• > 600 fte new (direct) hires in
acquired in NL, Germany &
KEMA over the last years
USA
• New matrix structure in 2011
• New offices established – e.g.
Beijing, Dubai, Hamburg,
Portugal, Rotterdam & Spain

35. KEMA(Execu2ve(Board(observa2ons.(
• Management Teams of Units develop
themselves now more as a team.
• Overall: Budgets that Business Units proposed
were beyond expectations. Trust is there to
reach for challenging targets even
in challenging worldwide economic
circumstances.
• Employees are invited to work in the KEMA
organization as well as on the KEMA
organization: Meaningfulness of work
increases.
35

36. Remarks(at(the(KEMA(summit(2011(
“I have regained
“This group has
trust in our success,
observing how our emotional
managers respond to intelligence and a
Change.” high level of coping
with ambiguity.”
Thijs Aarten - CEO
Frank Barrett
Summit
Strategic
Alignment 2011
Program Business
units
Summit
2008

37. The(Apprecia2ve(KEMA(
Creating a Shared Vision to energize
Self Propelling Execution.

38. How(does(this(work(for(the(
organiza2on(?((
Lecture 3

39. • The participants’ experience in the A/I
based outdoor learning proces helps them
to deal with their organizational challenges
• Organizing is not about structure, it is
about creating a shared future in a
particular (business) environment

40. 1.(Strengthsebased(
• Nature helps you to connect to your inner
self and to remain confident in the face of
work challenges
• It generates trust
• This allows organizational arrangements
to remain more flexible and equivocal
• Arrangements can shift in action and be
renegotiated upon the occasion

41. 2.(Connectedness(
• The A/I based outdoor experience improves
relational quality and demonstrates the power
of interpersonal relationships in dealing with
organizational challenges
• In organizing, developing trust in the
relationship is more important than defining
roles or elaborating clear job descriptions
• The experience creates a living network of
connectedness within the organization

42. 3.(Genera2ve(power(
• Throughout the A/I based outdoor
experience powerful metaphors and
stories develop that are shared through
the organizational network
• These shared metaphors and stories are
then useful as prosthetic device in the
proces of elaborating and enacting new
organizational arrangements
• This shows the true generative power of
the A/I outdoor experience

43. Genera2ve(capacity(
… is the capacity to challenge the guiding
assumptions of the culture,
to raise fundamental questions regarding
contemporary social life,
to foster reconsideration of that which is
“taken for granted”, and thereby
to generate fresh alternatives for social
action.
Ken Gergen,1982

44. Organizing(mirrored(in(nature(
• From its embeddedness in nature, the
outdoor experience introduces the
participants to systemic and autopoetic
conceptions of organizing, as a “natural”
way of dealing with the complexity of our
environment
• Because nature has no meaning of its own,
the experience also introduces them to the
social constructionist nature of
organizations

45. “And with these words, I can see”
Pink Floyd, The division bell