Covert Processes at Work

Covert Processes at Work
Author: Robert J. Marshak
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2006-08-13
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1609943341

The first and only guide to diagnosing and dealing with the hidden or covert factors that can ruin even the most meticulously planned change processes. Organizational change initiatives often fail because they focus exclusively on the rational, overt aspects of change, overlooking the powerful role played by concealed or irrational factors. It’s well known that these covert processes—such as hidden agendas, blind spots, office politics, tacit assumptions, secret hopes, wishes and fears—frequently sabotage change efforts, but up until now nobody has offered a rigorous, consistent way of identifying and dealing with them. Drawing on over thirty years of experience as an organizational change consultant to global corporations and government agencies, Robert J. Marshak shows precisely how to bring these hidden processes to light and deal with their negative impact. Marshak identifies five different dimensions of covert processes, presents an integrated model to explain the ultimate source of all of them, and shows how to diagnose whether any covert processes might be at work in your organization. He then offers specific tools and techniques for engaging and managing these “under-the-table” processes and for creating the kind of organizational environment in which such hidden dynamics are unable to flourish. Covert Processes at Work is a comprehensive and practical guide that managers, leaders, and consultants can use to deal with the hidden dynamics that are often at the root of many organizational problems. “Adding these tools…will take both your practice and your clients to a whole new level of capability and impact.” —Karen Boylston, PhD, Managing Director, Duke Corporate Education

Covert Processes at Work

Covert Processes at Work
Author: Robert J. Marshak
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2006-08
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1576757951

Outlines methodologies for diagnosing and dealing with the "hidden" or covert factors that can subtly sabotage even the most meticulously planned change processes.

COVERT Processes at Work

COVERT Processes at Work
Author: Robert J. Marshak
Publisher:
Total Pages: 412
Release: 2008-12-23
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780369322999

This is a book about powerful processes that impact organizations but usually remain unseen, unspoken, or unacknowledged. Collectively called covert processes, they include hidden agendas, blind spots, organizational politics, the elephant in the room, secret hopes and wishes, tacit assumptions, and unconscious dynamics. Although covert in their workings, these processes can be insidious in their impacts, often shaping outcomes without our fully realizing it. In some ways this book can be seen as an extension of the pioneering work by organizational psychologist Ed Schein on process consultation, especially on the importance of being able to decipher hidden forces. ''One of the most important functions of process consultation is to make visible that which is invisible'' (1999, p.84). Toward that end, this book provides frameworks, principles, and practices that will be useful in diagnosing and addressing the hidden dynamics that can impact what you are doing and how it gets done. Although the ideas are grounded in a wide range of social science research and theory, there is little attention to definitions and literature reviews of specific theories or types of covert processes. A thematic bibliography is included for readers interested in exploring the ideas that helped shape the book. Finally, the book integrates all hidden dynamics instead of focusing on one or two. It asks and answers the question: What do all types of covert processes have in common and what can you do about them?

Dialogic Organization Development

Dialogic Organization Development
Author: Gervase R. Bushe
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Total Pages: 455
Release: 2015-05-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1626564051

A Dynamic New Approach to Organizational Change Dialogic Organization Development is a compelling alternative to the classical action research approach to planned change. Organizations are seen as fluid, socially constructed realities that are continuously created through conversations and images. Leaders and consultants can help foster change by encouraging disruptions to taken-for-granted ways of thinking and acting and the use of generative images to stimulate new organizational conversations and narratives. This book offers the first comprehensive introduction to Dialogic Organization Development with chapters by a global team of leading scholar-practitioners addressing both theoretical foundations and specific practices.

Reworking Authority

Reworking Authority
Author: Larry Hirschhorn
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 148
Release: 1998-09-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780262581738

One critical change in how people work, argues Larry Hirschhorn, is that they are expected to bring more of themselves psychologically to the job. To facilitate this change, it is necessary to create a new culture of authority—one in which superiors acknowledge their dependence on subordinates, subordinates can challenge superiors, and both are able to show their vulnerability. For many companies, the past decade has been marked by a sense of turbulence and redefinition. The growing role of information technologies and service businesses has prompted companies to reconsider how they are structured and even what business they are in. These changes have also affected how people work, what skills they need, and what kind of careers they expect. One critical change in how people work, argues Larry Hirschhorn, is that they are expected to bring more of themselves psychologically to the job. To facilitate this change, it is necessary to create a new culture of authority—one in which superiors acknowledge their dependence on subordinates, subordinates can challenge superiors, and both are able to show their vulnerability. In the old culture of authority, people suppressed disruptive feelings such as envy, resentment, and fear of dependency. But by depersonalizing themselves, they became "alienated"; in the process, the work of the organization suffered. In building a new culture of authority, we are challenged to express these feelings without disrupting our work. We learn how to bring our feelings to our tasks. The first chapters of the book examine the covert processes by which people caught between the old and new culture of authority neither suppress nor express their feelings. Feelings are activated but not directed toward useful work. The case studies of this process are instructive and moving. The book then explores how organizations can create a culture of openness in which people become more psychologically present. In part, the process entails an understanding of the changes taking place in how we experience our own identity at work and that of "others" in society at large. To do this, the book suggests, we need a social policy of forgiveness and second chances.

Facilitating the Process of Working Through in Psychotherapy

Facilitating the Process of Working Through in Psychotherapy
Author: Patricia Coughlin
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 174
Release: 2022-12-16
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1000773396

Facilitating the Process of Working Through in Psychotherapy provides a detailed understanding and de-mystification of the concept of "working through" in dynamic psychotherapy, the most vital but neglected aspect of the therapeutic process. Just as there are multiple factors responsible for the creation and perpetuation of symptoms and suffering, multiple interventions are frequently required to work through and resolve them. This volume spans topics such as multiple causation, repetition compulsion, and the polarities of experience, while emphasizing the importance of providing a corrective emotional experience, recognising and repairing ruptures to the alliance and facilitating a positive ending to treatment. Verbatim transcripts of the author’s therapy sessions illustrate the factors responsible for working through toward enduring change, and readers are taken through theory, research, and practice. This book is essential reading for all psychotherapists who are committed to increasing therapeutic effectiveness while enhancing their own personal and professional development.

Managing Professionals

Managing Professionals
Author: Hans de Bruijn
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2012-09-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1136947205

Managing Professionals deals with the tensions between managers and professionals within organizations, such as hospitals, universities, banks and judicial organizations. Often managers rely heavily on the skills and expertise of the professionals in their organizations, yet these professionals consider management a source of bureaucracy and paperwork. This tension is explored head on in order to answer the question of how to manage an organization effectively. With numerous real-world examples, the book analyzes the problems and complexities of management in professional organizations and makes recommendations on how to manage professionals. The book focuses on a number of key issues, including: Management as a problem Management as a solution Knowledge and innovation Strategy Cooperation Performance Managing Professionals presents an empirical analysis of the problems and offers solutions to the tension between management and professionals and will be of interest to managers and to students of management, organizational behaviour and business administration.

Organization Development

Organization Development
Author: W. Warner Burke
Publisher: FT Press
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2015-01-13
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 013389262X

Master the modern discipline of Organizational Development (OD), and use it to plan and drive effective change. Organization Development, Third Edition is today's complete overview of the OD discipline for managers, executives, administrators, consultants, and students alike. Fully updated to reflect major changes since the classic Second Edition, it explains how OD is now practiced, and how it is continuing to evolve. The authors illuminate each key theory in the field, giving readers the background they need to translate theory into action, make key choices, help organizations learn, and lead change. Coverage includes: What OD is, where it came from, and where it is headed Understanding OD as a process of change Defining the OD client (why your client may not be who you think it is) Diagnosing organizational problems Applying the Burke-Litwin model of organizational performance and change Assessing how well OD techniques work Working as an OD consultant, and much more

Mindful Co-Working

Mindful Co-Working
Author: Clark Baim
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2013-11-21
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 085700803X

Transform and enhance your working relationships through mindful co-working. Are you making the most of your co-working relationships? Most of us work with others and spend as much time with colleagues as we do with our families - so it's important our working relationships run smoothly. By helping workers become more attuned to their colleagues, mindful co-working removes the pressure and stress of competition from working relationships to make them both more enjoyable and more effective. Author Clark Baim shares the secrets he has learned with co-workers and co-trainers during more than 2,000 training workshops. He also includes practical exercises and useful tools to help you perfect the art, whatever field you work in. This indispensable guide to co-working is required reading for anyone who wants to work confidently with colleagues - and enjoy it!

Rethinking Leadership

Rethinking Leadership
Author: Annabel Beerel
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2021-07-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1000402541

This book provides a detailed review of the key leadership theories and skills required during times of crises and radical uncertainty, how these can be developed, and how they can be applied in practice. Written over the course of the 2020 pandemic, the book highlights the immense lack of leadership competencies required for effective leadership in times of radical uncertainty and provides in-depth insights into the capacities and skills that should be part of all leadership development. The latest leadership theories, as well as existing key styles, including mindful leadership, the neuroscience of leadership, and transpersonal and adaptive leadership, are discussed and critiqued along with their potential contribution to developing effective leaders. Each chapter concludes with a convenient executive summary and questions that can be used for teaching purposes and class discussion. This is a comprehensive book about the interdisciplinary and multifaceted requirements of leadership and how to attain those capacities to develop effective leaders. It will be valuable for advanced undergraduate as well as postgraduate courses as a foundational resource on leadership theory and its application in practice.