Transformational Change in Organizations

In Masterful Coaching Robert Hargrove distinguishes between "incremental learning" (single-loop), "reframing" (double-loop learning), and "transformational learning" (triple-loop). These distinctions (based on the original work of Gregory Bateson, and extended by Chris Argyris and Peter Senge) are important in business settings.

Executive coaching takes place mostly at the incremental level (embody new skills and capabilities), sometimes at the level of reframing (reshape patterns of thinking), but seldom at the transformational level (a shift in context or point of view). Hargrove articulates the goal of transformational learning:

"...empowering people to transform who they are and reinvent themselves by helping them to see how their frames of reference, thinking, and behavior produce unintended consequences... to surface and question the way they have framed their points of view about themselves, others, or their circumstances with the idea of creating a fundamental shift" (p. 22).

While change at the incremental and reframing levels is quite common, I've found transformational change to be more of a challenge. Among the many reasons,

it's difficult to see implicit patterns that underlie our human systems,

seeing these patterns "unmasks" us, shows how what we've been doing isn't working, and

we resist facing up to anything at odds with our self-image.

The Enneagram is a powerful tool to help people break through their own resistance to change and open themselves to transformational learning. The following explanation of the three levels of learning is illustrated with an Enneagram Six, Three, and Nine at each stage of potential change (new skills, shift in attitudes/behavior, shift in point of view):

Incremental (Single-Loop) Learning refers to learning new skills and capabilities through incremental improvement, doing something better without examining or challenging underlying beliefs and assumptions.

Let's say a Six is concerned because his boss sees him as "negative," and he agrees to practice a creative problem-solving technique. Instead of saying, "That won't work because it will take too long," he learns to incorporate his concerns into a solution statement such as "I think that could solve our problem. Let's talk about how we can shorten the production time." His boss compliments him on being more "positive" and the Six is glad he's no longer being criticized. He may still tend to look at the negative side of things, but he knows how to cope with that behavior in a way that keeps him off the hook in his job.

Or a Three might seek a coach because she's seen by peers as "going for the glory." She get spectacular sales results and is in line for the Presidency, but she makes deals with customers that are counter to the team's agreed-upon strategies. She also fails to share credit with team-mates for their behind-the-scenes contribution to the bottom line. She might agree to present changes in strategy to customers as tentative, and she could learn collaboration skills to improve relations within her team. This could earn sufficient respect to support her promotion, even if she uses the skills only to meet her career goals and still sees her peers as less accomplished than she.

A recently promoted Nine might seek coaching because he's nervous giving presentations in the Board room or speaking to the press. Though aware he's always disliked "tooting his own horn," this hadn't been a problem until he took this visible role. He's well-liked by peers (who seek him out to bounce their ideas around), and by his somewhat opinionated boss (who finds him supportive and easy to get along with). He could be taught desensitization to allay his performance anxiety, creating an increasingly anxiety-producing hierarchy of situations, then using relaxation and visualization to gradually increase his comfort level. He might still feel unsure of himself but appear unruffled to others.

Reframing (Double-Loop Learning) occurs by fundamentally reshaping the underlying patterns of our thinking and behavior so we're capable of doing different things. This level of learning often enfolds single-loop or incremental learning, but goes beyond it. This is the level of process analysis where people become observers of themselves: "What's going on here? What are the patterns?" We begin to see we're part of a system of interaction, and we can impact the system by our own behavior. We become aware of what Argyris calls our defensive routines, previously below our level of awareness, self-fulfilling, and self-defeating. In reshaping our thinking and behavior, we learn to be less defensive, more open, and increasingly self-aware. This is where the Enneagram can provide a powerful roadmap for what to observe at individual and interpersonal levels.

Our Six, for example, might become aware of his tendency to anticipate what could go wrong, to look for hidden agendas. In addition to learning how to approach problems with solutions, he begins to see how his pattern of thinking has left out "what could go right." Now he's able to step outside of himself a bit and see how he'd typically filtered out the positive, hadn't even considered it. He's no longer defending himself from his boss's criticism. He "gets it" that he's had a negative focus, which has invited and reinforced his boss's response. When he finds himself focusing only on the negative, he might write down all the negative possibilities in a left-hand column and counter these with positive possibilities in a right-hand column (a "single-loop" skill applied in a "double-loop" context).

With reframing, the Three begins to notice how competitive she is and understands how this behavior is driven by her fixation on achievement. She explores the possibility that others may be as competent as she, or at least have complementary capabilities that could make them stronger team-mates. She sees how her own achievements have kept others from achieving, which reinforced believing only she could accomplish the desired results. She learns to use Focusing to stay with her impatience (a "single-loop" skill in a "double-loop" context), and gradually gets in touch with her feelings.

The Nine can become aware of his self-forgetting fixation and see how his behavior invites others to provide structure, especially his boss, thus reinforcing the underlying belief he's not free to make choices. He could learn assertiveness techniques ("single-loop" skill, "double-loop" context), beginning to loosen up a bit and expressing opinions more openly and directly. At first he'll feel anxious doing this, but reframing has put a new light on why he feels anxious, and he doesn't let his discomfort stop him from speaking up.

Transformational (Triple-Loop) Learning involves transforming who we are by creating a shift in our context or point of view about ourselves. I refer to this as "stepping into a parallel universe." Something we thought and felt (and had manifested in our behavior) has come into question. We may feel exhilarated, stunned, shocked, humiliated, disoriented, and/or depressed at points during this process. The change may happen gradually or all of a sudden. But in this particular context, we will never be the same (there are other contexts still to be explored). The Enneagram can play an extremely helpful role in transformational learning. Because it's difficult to see ourselves as we really are, the generic descriptions provide a template for the coach to help clients gain awareness of gifts and dysfunctional motivations and behaviors.

The Six may feel embarrassed to "own up" to his negative focus because he's always seen himself as a good contingency planner, almost psychic at times. He might worry about it for days, putting himself in a tailspin because his self-image is suffering. If he can't pull out of the tailspin, he won't make the shift from reframing (double-loop) to transformational (triple-loop) learning. He might conceivably even deny the validity of the feedback he's been given and shift back to the level of single-loop learning, still able to use the new techniques he's learned, but accusing his boss of being unfair, or defending himself from the possibility there may be chinks in the armor of his self-image. But if he notices and responds to his behavior consistently over time, he'll find he spontaneously notices both sides of the equation and this, in turn, shows up naturally in his language and in problem-solving capabilities. If so, the experience of reshaping his thinking and behavior has automatically taken him to the next level of learning: the "transformational" or "triple-loop" level. Visually, you can imagine him "stepping aside" from the current system of interaction. In this one respect he is no longer the same person that he was. He now experiences himself and his environment differently. In this way he is transformed.

As she gets in touch with her true feelings, the Three may feel humiliated at how dependent she's been on recognition, in part because she's always been impatient with feelings and with group process when they got in the way of the task at hand. She might find herself becoming more emotional than she bargained for. If unprepared for this, she could resist a self-image so incongruent with one she's held her whole life, and convince the team she's collaborating, while working deals to her advantage -- thus reinforcing her unconscious Enneagram strategy. Only if she can maintain her focus on authenticity will she be able to tolerate the transitional period of discomfort, and transform this aspect of her personality. Then she begins to spontaneously access her feelings and ask directly for what she wants from her team-mates.

The Nine may not want anyone to know his personality style because he believes it confirms his deepest fears that he's a wimp. He may consciously want to change but still experience himself the same old way, and he may ask the coach to tell him how to overcome his own resistance to change. If he can stay centered on having opinions and making choices, even if it means choosing arbitrarily (just for practice), and if the coach gently but firmly guides him to choose for himself, he'll discover he does care passionately about some things. When he continues to hang in with what's important to him, allow himself to be "visible," he no longer needs to use techniques to diminish his anxiety because he feels less anxious. Eventually he may even be energized by public speaking, especially when he's passionate about the topic.

The nature of the helping relationship makes all the difference in reinforcing transformational learning. Thoughtful coaching at the single- and double-loop levels of learning (skill development and reframing) can automatically evoke transformational change (shifts in point of view). In addition to the suggestions above, other skill strategies, other "reframes," and other methods of reinforcing transformational learning could be useful. But single-loop and double-loop strategies could hinder deeper learning if they reinforce the underlying fixation:

The Six above was given a technique (creative problem solving) that targeted his fixation on accusation (what can go wrong and why others are wrong), so the practice of focusing on solutions would shift him away from his habitual perspective and enhance the possibility of transformational learning through self-empowerment. But if he used techniques such as responding to criticism to bolster believing he needs to defend himself, this would reinforce his habitual powerlessness.

It would be vital to "short-circuit" the Three's habitual methods of achieving recognition. Assuming she's developed a positive, caring relationship with her coach (a necessary ingredient for transformational change), reinforcement for feeling failure could be created in her double-loop process. In contrast, a coach who praises her for becoming more effective, even in her response to the coaching process, would reinforce the Three's drive for achievement and unwittingly block transformation.

It's important to frame the Nine's incremental work so he's developing self-knowledge and choosing what he wants. If the consultant totally provided the structure, and the client just followed directions, this could reinforce the Nine's fixation of self-forgetting and make transformational change less likely. Also, as Nines become more assertive they express annoyance and even anger more openly and directly. This wouldn't go down so well with his boss (except when it's directed toward others, which the boss would applaud). Our Nine may need continued rehearsal and debriefing, lest he timidly retreat when others up the ante in a direct confrontation (a likely consequence in many corporate settings).