The Theory
I use three interrelated approaches to find out what is going on with the activity you are involved in. I am seeking to gain insight into how you can increase the levels of success you can have with your biggest challenges. In addition I use the concepts of level of system at which people operate (individual, pair, group or organisation) and the idea of a unit of work (start, pursue and complete). The body of knowledge is wrapped up in The Gestalt Organisation and Systems Development theory and practice.
The approaches are summarised as follows;
- Raising awareness of what is going on with your biggest challenge. Highlighting positive and negative influences, emotional commitments, behaviours and the different views of reality that are in play. Being aware of these attributes is a first step to making real progress.
- Understanding with you which phase of activity you need to be in for your biggest challenge. We call all the phases combined the cycle of experience. The phases are data collection and preparation, mobilisation of energy for action, taking action to make something happen and finally completing and closing out. Real success comes when you are in the right phase at the right time and you flow in the right sequence.
- Considering the status of all the building blocks that need to be in place prior to taking action for you to be successful. The building blocks together are the input side of the ‘Successful Action Model (SAM)’. They comprise the way you tell the story of you, your values, the system of relationships around you, your context and your goals. We also consider together your confidence, the full range of possibilities you have and your level of commitment to possible actions. The output side of SAM are your results. We consider these as well as a learning for future action.
- See separate tabs for further descriptions of each approach.