Dialogue: The Key to Innovation & Cultural Transformation

How effectively do your people communicate with one another? Is this a question you have considered or pondered? Like the important capability of (active) listening, I find most companies I visit exhibit poor OR mediocre communication patterns, practices, and protocols.

This is troublesome as our ability to bring about innovations, real change, transformation in a company is predicated on people engaging in effective communication patterns. In his book Theory U, Dr. Otto Scharmer (MIT Senior Lecturer and Founder, The Presencing Institute) states there are (4) different types or levels of communication patterns that both individuals and teams often exhibit.

• @ level 1 – we do not listen at all. Instead, we ‘download’ our mental models, beliefs, and assumptions as ‘unbreakable certainties’ that shape our reality

• @ Level 2 – we engage in a debate-like style advocating for our position while dismissing all else except that which is disconfirming to what we already know

• @ level 3 – we ‘open up’ to consider other points of view; to practice empathy, walking in the shoes of another

• @ level 4 – we are most 'awake', most aware of our senses participating in a flow-like experience. At this most mature stage of listening, we wait patiently for what wants to emerge to guide and inform the way

Most companies exhibit, toggle between, levels 1 and 2 listening in their daily conversations; so...either we are not listening at all (our default mode of operating) OR we are only listening to that which is new, disconfirming in some way. Now, to operate at just these levels is both problematic and highly dysfunctional. Why is this so?

It is because staying ‘stuck’ at these levels denies a company from ever making any real progress with its change efforts. Worse, it will stunt a company’s innovation engine, it will result in sub-par decision- making and resource allocation, and it will alienate your workforce, among many other things. In short, it will prevent a company from EVER becoming world-class.

So, what is the answer? In a word – dialogue. Dialogue (representing levels 3 and 4 above) is a special form of communication pattern whereby people embody listening first, speaking last; where suspending one’s mental models, practicing courageous speak, and being vulnerable are not only encouraged but also represent core elements to bring about a dialogic state.

You see, there is a different ‘spirit’ to engaging in a dialogic-based conversation. In a dialogue, nobody is trying to 'win'. Instead, we are trying to learn - to understand others' perspectives leading to a broader, shared understanding amongst all. And from a shared understanding it leads to creating shared intentions and later to aligned actions.

Know this: If you want to outperform, out-innovate your competitors, and succeed with your operational and/or cultural transformation efforts it is necessary to initiate, facilitate, and sustain levels 3 and 4 dialogue (conversations) within your company. Without deepening your communications to this heightened level of discourse, you will not possess the KEY to catalyze, ignite, and elicit step-level, transformational change and/or innovations from your workforce.

Related Reading

• The Keys to Innovation: Dialogue & Diversity

• Cultural Transformation: 4 Levers for an Industry of One

• Strategic Listening: The Secret Sauce of Innovation

Facing a complex change challenge in your organization? Book an OD consultation with Henosis Partners.