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Introduction toTransformational Thinking in Business

New Concepts and Avenuesfor Business Leadership

IDM TeleseminarNovember 21, 2008,

11 am ET641.715.3200 x 262360#

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AgendaA. Introducing IDM (Interdevelopmental Institute)

• Brief overview of IDM• The IDM Associates

B. Theoretical Foundations of Transformational Thinking1. Business Thinking at a Crossroads2. Western vs. Asian Thinking: Three Principles of Dialecticism3. A tradition hailing from Plato, Hegel, and the Frankfurt School4. The Quadrants of Dialectic5. Four Phases of Dialectical Thinking7. Table of Dialectical Thought Forms8. The Feedback Loop between Stance, Tools, and Experience

C. Practical Applications1. The Constructive-Developmental Framework (CDF)2. Cognitive Behavior Graph3. IDM Capability Management Hypothesis4. Practical Applications in Business

D. New Offerings1, The IDM Transformational Thinking Seminar2. Measuring Hidden Dimensions of Human Systems (December 08)3. Highlights of volume 2 of MHD (December 2008)4. Website Resources5. Selected Bibliography

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Introducing IDM

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Brief Overview of IDM

• Founded by Otto Laske in 2000.• A leading provider of research-based adult-developmental education

for consultants, coaches, HR strategists and generalists, facilitators,mediators, social workers and psychologists.

• Since 2002, Distance Learning Institute with an international studybody teaching 2 instructional programs (certification; prof. dev.).

• A publishing house of textbooks on adult development (IDM Press).• Mission: To apply adult developmental research to organizational

and institutional practice through CDF, the Constructive-Developmental Framework (see below).

• Hallmark: Use of a ‘dialectical’ assessment methodology makingcognitive assessment an equal partner of social-emotional andpsychological assessment.

• Philosophy: Changing others begins with changes in yourself.

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The IDM Associates• IDM Associates is the IDM Consulting Group whose members come

from the US, UK, Switzerland, Germany, Mexico, and France.

• All Associates are certified through Programs One and Two of the IDMCertification Track.

• All Associates use the Constructive Developmental Framework (CDF),a tripartite psychometric tool for assessing the cognitive, social-emotional, and psychological profile of clients.

• The team has prepared a Transformational Thinking Seminar ready tobe offered to the public, of which more below.

• Recently, the team has published an article on TransformationalThinking in the Integral Leadership Review. The paper will be sent toparticipants together with a recording of this teleseminar.

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Theoretical Foundations

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• We believe that business thinking on this ‘hot, flat, and crowded’ planet(Thomas L. Friedman) is at a turning point, and a lot of smart peoplehave to be taught how to save the Earth.

• It seems natural to start with ‘thinking’.

• While you cannot change your social-emotional level or psychologicalprofile, you can change your thinking.

• As shown in the upcoming second volume of MHD, this ‘change ofmind’ in the direction of more holistic and systemic thinking is built intothe development of consciousness over the life span.

• Business managers, leaders, and consultants can be taught to applytools of transformational, “dialectical” thinking.

Business Thinkingat a Crossroads

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• In his book The Geography of Thought (2005), R. Nisbett presented acomparative study between Asian (especially Chinese) and WesternThinking that showed the limits of formal logical ‘Aristotelian’ thinking.

• Nisbett empirically demonstrated the difference in perception and thinkingof Asian and Western – European and American – individuals that hingesupon three ‘principles’ of dialecticism:

• of holism: the real world consists of organized wholes.• of change: change is the rule, not the exception.• of contradiction: expect conflicts and contradictions to emerge naturally.

• Nisbett pointed to Western dialecticism as researched by Basseches (1984)and suggested that the Western reduction of the ‘real world’ to a set ofobjects with attributes demonstrates ‘smart’ but impoverished thinking.

• Nisbett seems to be unaware of the Western dialectical tradition datingback to Plato, Hegel, and the Frankfurt School which is central in IDMteachings, but his empirical findings speak for themselves.

Asian vs. Western Thinking: ThreePrinciples of Dialecticism

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A Tradition Hailing from Plato, Hegel and theFrankfurt School: The Opposable Mind

• The Western dialectical tradition is not in conflict with, but rather isbased on, Aristotelian logic, and thus at a level beyond Common Sense.

• However, this tradition is a ‘counter-cultural’ one – as shown by theFrankfurt School – since it is not part of mainstream Western culture.

• This tradition is based on Plato’s principle of the Other (heteron) thatshadows every real thing in the world, a ‘non-A’ for each ‘A’.

• Plato, Hegel, and the Frankfurt School use ‘preservative negation’ ratherthan flat logical negation. Rather than declaring the antithesis to be ‘false’and dismissed, they use it to broaden mental space and make discoveries.

• Western thinkers have elaborated 4 distinct dimensions of dialecticalthinking, called Process [Motion], Context [Form], Relationship, andTransformation [Metaform] making up the Quadrants of Dialectic.

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The Quadrants of Dialectic

Process [P] Relationship [R]

Context [C] TransformationalSystem [T]

• Process: unceasing change based on negativity, preservative negation,composition by interpenetration, patterns of interaction.

• Context: organized wholes of transitory stability; requiring multiple perspectives.

• Relationship: diverse elements/entities share a common ground.

• Transformation: complex ‘living’ systems maintain their identity only throughunceasing transformation, by way of assimilation and accommodation.

Upper, ‘critical’ quadrants

Lower, ‘constructive’ quadrants

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Four Phases of Dialectical Thinking

Development of Logical Thinking (10-25 y)

Development of Dialectical Thinking (18 years f.)

Development of Reflective Judgment (6 years f.)

4 stages [Piaget]

4 phases [Basseches]

7 stages [epistemic positions]

Understanding

Reason

Practical Wisdom

Epistemic Position

Start Finish

Transition from purely logicalto dialectical thinking after 18years of age

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28. Integration of multipleperspectives in order to definecomplex realities; critique offormalistic thinkingContrast: 2, 6, 16

21. Constitutive, intrinsicrelationships(logically prior to what they relate)Contrast: 2-3, 15-20

14. Multiplicity of contexts (non-transformational)Contrast: 25, 28

7. Embedding in process,movementContrast: 3-4, 6

27. Open, self-transformingsystemsContrast: 2, 22-24

20. Patterns of interaction inrelationshipsContrast: 4, 21

13. Intellectual systems: frames ofreference, traditions, ideologiesContrast: 9, 28

6. Critique of arresting motion(reification)Contrast: 7, 28

26. Process of coordinatingsystemsContrast: 15-16, 25

19. Structural aspects ofrelationshipContrast: 4, 15-17, 20-21

12. Stability of system functioningContrast: 9, 22

5. Practical, active character ofknowledgeContrast: 23

25. Evaluative comparison ofsystems in transformationContrast:10, 14, 26, 28

18. Relatedness of different valueand judgment systemsContrast: 20

11. (Emphasis on the) hierarchicalnature of layers systems compriseContrast: 9

4. Patterns of inter-actionContrast: 2, 19-20

24. Value of developmentalpotential leading to higher levelsof individual and socialfunctioningContrast: 1, 23

17. Critique of reductionism and‘de-totalized,’ thus isolated,entities separated from theirshared common groundContrast: 18-21

10. (Description of) structures,functions, layers, strata of asystemContrast: 8-9, 11-13

3. Composition byinterpenetrating opposites,correlativityContrast: 19-22

23. Value of conflict leading in adevelopmental directionContrast: 1, 22, 24

16. Value of bringing intorelationshipContrast: 15, 17

9. Equilibrium of a whole;emphasis on wholeContrast: 10-13

2. Preservative negation, inclusionof antithesis (non-A)Contrast: 27

Limits of stability, harmony,durability (incl. quantitative intoqualitative changes)Contrast: 3, 12, 23

15. Limits of separa-tion. Focuson existence and value ofrelationshipContrast: 16-21

8. Contextualization of part(s)within a whole; emphasis on partContrast: 10-13

1. Unceasing motion, negativityContrast: 22

Transformational (Meta-systemic) TFs

Relationship TFsContext TFsProcess TFs

The Table of Dialectical Thought Forms (TFs)

13Change your Stance and your Tools and thereby your Experience!

The Feedback Loop betweenStance, Tools, and Experience

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Practical Applications

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Constructive Developmental Framework(CDF)

• CDF is a tripartite psychometric tool for assessing three dimensionsof clients’ profile:– Cognitive profile (cognitive interview; Laske 1999)– Social-emotional profile (subject-object interview, refined from Kegan)– Psychological profile (Henry Murray; focus on self conduct, approach to

tasks, interpersonal perspective (emotional intelligence)

• CDF is taught in all IDM classes of the Certification and ProfessionalDevelopment Track. It is used in all case studies for getting IDMcertified.

• The hallmark of CDF is equal attention to all three dimensions ofclients’ profile noted above (like complementary colors)

• Volume 2 of Measuring Hidden Dimensions introduces a newnarrative of adult development based on cognitive developmentsourcing social-emotional development.

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Cognitive Behavior Graph[resulting from cognitive interview scoring]

10%29 %43%14%

Total = 2Total = 7Total = 9TOTAL= 3

………… rest of interview

TF 16

TF 20

TF 13

TF 26

TF 19

TF 10

TF 5

TF 8

TransformationRelationshipContext/FormProcess/Motion

Fluidity Index = 21; Cognitive Score = [14, 43, 29; 10 (%)]Phase 2 of dialectical thinking showing predominance of contextual thinking.

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IDM Capability Management Hypothesis

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EpistemicPosition

[& Fluidity Index][King & Kitchener;

Laske]

OrganizationalStrata *[Jaques]

Phases ofDialecticalThinking

[Basseches]

Social-EmotionalStage

[Kegan]

7 [>50] VIII 4 5

VII 4 5/4 – 5(4)

6 [>30] VI 3 4(5) – 4/5

V 3 4

5 [>10<30] IV 2 4/3 – 4(3)

III 2 3(4) – 3/4

4 [<10] II 1 3

I 1 2/3 – 3(2)

* Typical organizational job titles are, from top to bottom: Board Member, CEO, EVP, VP, GeneralManager, Unit Manager, First Line Manager, Operator/Staff.

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Practical Applications in Business

• One on one: using Thought Forms as Mind Openers in coaching, leadershipdevelopment, management education.

• Individual or Team: assessment of cognitive profile, stand-alone or as part of acomprehensive developmental assessment (CDF).

• Entire groups or echelons: Capability Metrics showing distribution of fluidity indexand systems thinking index over a representative sample.

• Talent management: matching complexity of work to cognitive and social-emotionalprofile (Jaques’ Capability).

• Individual & team coaching: supported by insight into balance or imbalance ofcognitive, social-emotional, and psychological profile.

• Leadership development retreats: transformational thinking seminars.

• Succession Planning: finding high cognitive profiles for developmental grooming.

• Decision theory for organizational human resources.

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New Offerings

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Structure of the IDMATransformational Thinking Seminar

• The IDM three-day seminar has the following structure:– Day 1

• Theory: The core of dialectics explained.• Practice: Participants offer problem presentations typical for their organization, and

these are submitted to dialectical scrutiny by the instructors.

– Day 2• Theory: Introduction to the four classes of dialectical thought forms.• Practice: Business problem formulations are critiqued by participants based on their

present understanding of thought forms.

– Day 3• Practice: Group discussion of a shared problem in the manner of action learning.• Practice: Participants explore personal and/or professional issues they are presently

working on.

– Knowledge Transfer Paradigm:• [1] Seminar is followed up by individual coaching/mentoring (either optional or

mandatory), according to company preference.

• [2] Seminar is followed by a Retreat on Human Capital Strategy from the perspective oftransformational thinking.

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Measuring Hidden Dimensions of Human Systems:Foundations of Requisite Organization

Table of Contents

• Section I: Cognitive Foundations of Work and Work Performance [3chapters]

• Section II: The Opening of Adults’ Mental Space across the Lifespan [5chapters]

• Section III: The Three Houses of Work [5 chapters]• Section IV: Entering the Hidden Dimensions of HumanSigma [2

chapters]

• Appendix: Manual of Dialectical Thought Forms• Cognitive Interview Scoring Supports• Bibliography• Glossary of Terms• Index

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Highlights of Volume 2 MHD• The book is written for leaders, managers, and process consultantsworking with individuals, groups, and organizations.

•The book addresses issues of business leadership for an evolving planet and theneed for transformational thinking in intercultural and international environments.

• It is the first book making dialectical theories of knowledge useful for day-to-dayproblem solving, updating Frankfurt School insights for the 21st century.

• The book introduces a cognitive theory of work and of organizations. It unravels thecognitive dimension of human work.

•The book lays the foundation for requisite organization of companies and publicinstitutions through capability management, broadening common sense practice.

• It is a Handbook of Transformational Thinking that addresses the most recent toolsin management thinking, and contains case studies, examples, and exercises.

•As a reader of this book, you will acquire new cognitive tools and a more maturestance toward change, complexity, and uncertainty.

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IDM Website Resources

• The IDM website, www.interdevelopmentals.org, comprises a richcollection of developmental resources in the form of articles andpresentations, including a newsletter one can sign up for on thehome page.

• Resources comprise two volumes entitled Measuring HiddenDimensions, one on social-emotional and one on cognitivedevelopment, the second appearing in December of 2008.

• These resources are largely free, except for large presentations, asseen at http://www.interdevelopmentals.org/publications.php

• Discounted prices for advance orders of volume 2 are in effecttil December 31st, 08; go to:http://www.interdevelopmentals.org/publications-idm-press.php

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Selected Bibliography• Adorno, Th. W. (1999). Negative Dialectics, New York: Continuum.• Ahrendt, H. (1971). The Life of the Mind. New York: Harcourt Brace.• Basseches, M. (1984). Dialectical Thinking and Adult Development.

Norwood, N.J.: Ablex.• Bhaskar, R. (1993). Dialectics: The Pulse of Freedom. London:

Verso.• Jaques, E. & K. Cason (1994). Human Capability. Falls Church, VA:

Cason Hall & Company.• King, P. M. & Kitchener, K. S. (1994). Developing Reflective

Judgment. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.• Laske, O. (2008). Measuring Hidden Dimensions of Human

Systems: Foundations of Requisite Organization. Medford, MA: IDMPress.

• Nisbett, R. (2005). The Geography of Thought. London: NicolasBrealey.

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Interdevelopmental Institute

© 2000 Laske and Associates

Otto E. Laske Ph.D. Psy.D. M.Ed.

51 Mystic StreetMedford, MA 02155 USA

781.391.2361

www.interdevelopmentals.orgotto@interdevelopmentals.org, admin@interdevelopmentals.org

A Branch of Laske and Associates LLCA Branch of Laske and Associates LLC

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