It’s a joy when self-organization works well. It’s a drag when it doesn’t. The gap between how it can be – or should be – and what it is can sometimes be too big. That’s especially true when individual team members lack flexibility and self-reflection, when decision making by the team is driven by hidden power games and not-so-hidden rigid and defensive behaviour, and when there is a lack of openness. These create frustration, distance, demotivation, powerlessness, and other symptoms indicating that collaboration is not as effective and joyful as it can be. It reduces the quality of work.
Experts show you a piece of the puzzle of what self-organization can be like. Most of them offer an inspiring glimpse of what is possible. But when the gap between their vision and your day-to-day reality is too big, you might get frustrated. You may even doubt your capability to make self-organization work well within your team or organization. Vision without a direction is like hearing someone speak about Paradise, without showing you how to get there and providing tools to accelerate your journey. So, how do you get there?
- Declaration of Responsibility
The first step you all take is to sign the declaration of responsibility. You declare that you are willing to take full responsibility for yourself, the team (the collaboration), and the quality of the service or product that your organization provides. You never relinquish that responsibility.
- Responsibility for yourself
To take full responsibility for yourself, you need self-awareness. You need to know who you are and what drives you, the purpose in your life, and you need a healthy mind-body balance to convert the signals your senses give you into actions that allow you to take good care of yourself and others.
- Responsibility for your team (collaboration)
To take full responsibility for your team, you need insight into the invisible forces that influence everything you do. Compare it to the operating system of your computer or tablet. If that doesn’t work, no software will work well, and you won’t achieve the desired outcome. The Periodic Table of Radical Respinsibility is a learning tool to help you build a solid operating system.
- Responsibility for the output
To take full responsibility for the quality of what you as a team deliver, you need an instrument to ‘measure’ the level of trust in your team or organization. After all, trust determines what you can achieve. A profound tool for measuring the state of trust in four dimensions is the Power of Connection model (image). You can use it both as a reflection and feedback tool.
For over 30 years, Norbert Netten, founder of The Power of Connection method, has worked with teams to provide insights and tools they need to strengthen their collaboration. Norbert is a strong advocate for self-organization. When it works well, it supports people to take responsibility for themselves, the team, and the quality of their work, without compromising on any of those factors, which is what usually happens.
Webinar series
Norbert Netten, founder of the Power of Connection, is organizing a webinar series on how to bridge the gap between vision and reality. In five webinars, starting April 6th, you will explore the Declaration of Responsibility and Transactional Analysis. You will also learn to use the Periodic Table of Radical Responsibility learning tool and the Power of Connection model reflection tool to bridge the gap between vision and reality. This is a great opportunity to reflect on the quality of collaboration within your team or organization. And when you do recognize a gap, you can immediately start closing it and use your power to reach your goals.
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