The whole and its parts

The whole & its parts

Getting to the ability to see

“Something that cannot be explained cannot be seen.” – Heinz von Förster

Sometimes, when I can’t see what I’m going to write about, I’ll be relying on Bernadette Jiwa’s Story Scaffold. It’s an easy to use framework describing 5 key elements of a story: Context, Catalyst, Complication, Change, and Consequence. To see a story I’ll just write down the details I can connect with either of the C’s. From there a story usually emerges.

Working with teams, we’ll regularly encounter situations that aren’t clear and can’t be explained. One of the frameworks I’ll regularly be coming back to is the BART Framework. It’s a framework that highlights four fundamental features of any work organization. These are its boundaries, how authority is put in place and experienced, the roles people occupy, and the primary task that defines the work people do. By simply starting to describe these four elements, ambiguities will appear. They in turn give an idea of what might be affecting the team’s performance. Making ambiguity visible helps to see where people might be stuck.

There is no magic there. It takes time to learn to explain things.

Frameworks are there to learn and find out how to see. They are tools allowing to move with and beyond instinct. They give you the words you’ve been looking for.

Use, see, cycle.

 

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