polarity mapping identifying and managing unsolvable problems
TRANSCRIPT
Polarity Mapping
Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems
Problems
• Red Car, White Car• What movie to see• Which restaurant to go to• Which pump to buy• What kind of band aid
Problems without solutions
• Times of rapid change• Complex environments• Dilemmas in culture, leadership, strategy and
daily living• Energies sparring off• I have 2 dogs – compact vs SUV
Why are we doing it? Why should I care?
• Helps to achieve your changes• Speeds up the process – works through
resistance• Sustainability• Manages change• Stay in positive energy states to be
indestructible and unstoppable
Leaders and Managers that manage their polarities well out-perform those
that don’t
How do you know when you have a polarity to manage?
• Is the difficulty ongoing?
• Are there two poles which are independent?
Examples
• System centered/client centered• Centralization/decentralization• Top down/bottom up• Cost/Quality• Short term/long term• Tradition bearers/Innovators• Competition/Collaboration• Directive leadership/Flexible leadership
Tradition Bearers Innovators
Either/ Or
Clear Leader Flexible Leader
Polarity Two-StepStarts in either quadrant
RigidImpractical“He won’t listen”“It’s my way or the highway”
Clear DirectionsClear GuidelinesClear visionClear expectations
FlexibleListens to ReasonWilling to adjust to situationsEasy to work with
AmbiguityLack of Direction“Too wishy-washy”“You never know where she stands”
The Misunderstood Leader
Tradition Bearers Innovators
POLARITY MAP
BOTH / ANDBOTH / AND
Clear Leader Flexible Leader
Stay in the positive
RigidImpractical“He won’t listen”“It’s my way or the highway”
Clear DirectionsClear Guidelines“She let’s us know what she is expecting”“He has a clear vision and sticks with it!”
Flexible“Listens to Reason”“Willing to adjust to new circumstances”
AmbiguityLack of Direction“Too wishy-washy”“You never know where she stands”
Avoid the negative – these are warning signs.
PAUSE FOR QUESTIONS?
Practice Time
Examples of groups
• Nurse and Physicians• Surgeons and Anesthetists• LPNs and Health Care Aides• Quality Improvement and Risk Management• Many, Many others
CBODN Presented by: Barry Johnson and Cliff Kayser April 30, 2010 This book belongs to _____________________This material is based on work by Barry Johnson and Polarity Management Associates
Tapping The Infinity Factor™ Within Yourself, Your Family, Country, Humanity, Nature, and Spirit
Focus on the ‘anatomy’ of change
The structures, levers, systems, and process to drive
change
Focus on the ‘physiology’ of change
The ‘life forces’ that create energy, engagement,
confidence, mobilization for change
Polarities to manage for change at scale – NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement – Leading Large Scale Change – 2011 – Bernard
Crump/Helen Bevan
ComplianceHierarchies, systems
and standardized procedures for co-
ordination and control
CommitmentCo-ordination and
control mechanisms based on shared goals,
values, and sense of purpose
2 examples at scale
Polarity Mapping is NOT:
A few resources
Johnson, Barry, Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems. Amherst: HRD Press, 1992, 1996.
Johnson, B., Kayser, C. Tapping the Infinity Factor PPT 2010 (Tons of resources in a Bibliography here)
Bevan, H., Crump, B. Polarities to manage for change at scale – NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement – Leading Large Scale Change. 2011
Katie Procter – Quality LeaderBC Patient Safety and Quality [email protected]: 778.480.5620BB: 250.575.4770