Change is very much in the news this week as the UK approaches a general election. The opposition Labour party’s slogan, after 14 years of Conservative government, is one word …
Change.
Politically it works. But from a learning & change perspective, it’s lazy and sloppy. Just saying stuff will change tells us nothing about –
🍄 How much?
🍄 In what direction?
🍄 How deep or lasting will the change be?
🍄 How will we change how we change things, in response to what actually happens?
***
Different levels of change
45 years ago Gregory Bateson described different levels of change:
Learning 0 –> things remain exactly the same. Literally nothing changes.
Learning 1 –> what we do, our action, choice or decision, changes.
This is the level that most politicians argue about. It is change, but at a pretty superficial level. Which is why people get disillusioned when it feels like nothing is really changing.
Learning 2 –> the assumptions, values and beliefs that underlie our actions, choices and decisions, change.
This feels more like deeper change. For example, we might question how and why we do politics, and whether it could become kinder, more transparent, beautiful or soulful etc (Learning 2). Then we’d introduce systems and policies that support that to actually happen (Learning 1). Politicians rarely talk about challenging and changing their own beliefs, assumptions and values.
Learning 3 –> this is the hardest, most elusive level of change. But it’s one that has the most leverage. It is where our identity – our actual experience of who we are changes.
It’s subtle but very powerful. Our very sense of who we are as a politician, (or a citizen, or even a whole nation) transforms.
The great political visionaries did not just change policies, but transformed the identity of whole nations. Think Lincoln at the Gettysburg addressreminding his audience about the core identity and founding principles of the US. Or Mandela at the Rugby World Cup elegantly transforming a hated symbol of the old apartheid system into a new image of unity and peace.
Level 3 learning changes ‘who we are’, not just ‘what we do.’
***
The importance of reflection in leading deeper change
So how can we access these deeper levels of change?
Research repeatedly shows that the leaders who create deeper change typically engage in structured, regular self-reflection, linked to experimenting with new approaches.
Reflection by itself becomes naval gazing.
Action by itself becomes endless, repetitive activity lacking real depth, learning or change.
Combining the two in a structured, regular way leads to genuine impact.
***
Free webinar - Reflective tools for managers and leaders
I’ve started running regular free webinars on Reflective Tools for Managers and Leaders. These introduce key principles behind this reflective practice for managers, leaders and professionals.
You’ll learn about:
- The different types of reflection
- When, why and how to do it
- And have a go at 2x reflective techniques you can take away and keep using
In my coaching and change work, and as I look at society today, I see how in a world addicted to relentless activity and frenetic doing, the encouragement and support to stop and reflect makes all the difference.
Do join us. Details here.