Now consider the events
you have marked. They are likely to be interactions where
you experienced yourself as...
- less effective
- less satisfied
- less supportive, or
- less helpful to
yourself or others
than you would have
preferred.
From these events choose
one which you found difficult or challenging in some significant
way -- that you would like to handle differently if it occurred
again.
It will be most useful
if it is an interaction of a type which has happened more than
once. The insights you gain will therefore have more
application. However, it is also important for the following
analysis that you analyse one specific instance of it. This
gives you specific behaviour to analyse.
3 Recollect
and describe the interaction
Reconstruct the event in
your mind. Recall... where it was... what time
it was... who was there... what were the
surroundings... how did it begin... Recall it in as
much detail as you can
Write a paragraph which
describes the situation and what happened...
- the setting
- the other people
involved
- your own actions
- others' actions
- and other general
information
Now write a few
paragraphs about what you thought you were doing at the
time. Focus on the most critical part of the
situation.
Describe yourself as
"A" and the other people as "B", "C", and so
on.
In particular...
At the time, exactly what did you do and say? What were the
actions and words which you would now like to perform or say
differently?
At the time, what did
you expect these actions or words to achieve, for yourself and
others?
Be as detailed and
specific as you can
4 Interpret
the interaction
Your task now is to
achieve a deeper understanding of your own actions and thoughts,
basing your analysis on what you have just written.
This is
important... Imagine that you are not the person described
as A in the dialogue. Read through the description as
if it is new to you. You have never seen it before.
You are someone other than A, and you do not know A
or any of the other people involved.
In addition, just for
the purposes of this exercies, imagine that the behaviour of
person B, and other people present, is entirely a response
to A's behaviour and the material outcomes it causes for
B and others.
Write down the actions
by A which may have triggered B's (or others')
behaviour.
For each, offer an
explanation of how this might have come about. In
particular, what misperception may B (and others) have
developed of A's motives? Which of A's actions
might persuade B (etc.) of the correctness of her
(B's) assumptions?
Take into account that
B (etc.) may be acting out her feelings at what has
happened, rather than reacting directly to A's
behaviour:
A's
action --> material outcomes for B --> B's
assumptions --> B's feelings --> B's
reaction
There may be a number of
explanations of how B's behaviour might be triggered by
A's actions or their
consequences.
5 Develop
one explanation in more detail
Choose the most likely
of the explanations from the previous step and develop it in more
detail
Continue the analysis to
take into account the actual or likely reaction of A to B
(remember: this isn't you that you are analysing)
A's actions towards B
-> Material outcomes for B -> B's assumptions about A ->
B's feelings towards A -> B's reaction toward A -> Material
outcomes for A -> A's assumptions about B -> A's feelings
towards B -> A's reaction toward B
Identify other ways in
which you might have acted
6 Explain
the interaction to the group
Explain the interaction,
in detail, to the other members of your group. Give the
description as if it were A and B, whom you don't know, not
yourself and people you have interacted with
At this stage, don't
give them your hypothetical explanation of B's reaction or A's
further reaction, or discuss the alternative ways you have now
identified
7 Group
members develop and exchange their analyses
Group members take five
minutes or so, working individually, to prepare their own analysis
of the interaction
The group then
reconvenes, and each member in turn describes her hypothetical
explanation. As each explanation is given it is recorded on
butcher paper headed...
- A's
action
- outcomes
- B's
assumptions
- B's
feelings
- B's
reaction
- outcomes
- A's
assumptions
- A's
feelings
- A's
reaction
Finally, A adds her
hypothetical explanation to the bottom of the
list
8 Individual
reflection
Each group member,
including A, takes some time to reflect on the situation and the
hypothetical explanations, and any insights drawn from the
analysis...
If you were A, what
other actions could you take to try to achieve the outcomes that
you hope for?
In what situation do you
sometimes find yourself where your behaviour triggers unwanted
reactions similar to those of B?
Notes
- Thanks to Tim
Dalmau, whose influence here is apparent to those who know of
his work, and our work together, applying Argyris'
concepts.
_____
Copyright (c) Bob Dick
1995-2000. May be copied provided it is not included in
material sold at a profit, and this and the following notice are
shown
This document may be
cited as follows:
Dick, B. (1997)
The effective practitioner: a workbook.
[Available online].
http://www.uq.net.au/action_research/arp/valwb.html
