Paradox of Accepting and Striving

Work is the expression of human creativity: which is why it is so essential for personal and societal health.  Employment in organizations is the source of life-giving work for many.  So the way achievement is pursued within organizations is of the greatest significance for us all.

The hierarchy for achievement, organizational or personal, reveals opposing states in the odd and even levels: these define the oscillating duality. It points to something rather basic in our existence—the human defiance of chaos and the way we strive against seemingly impossible odds.

The Levels for organizational achievement correspond to moves around the Spiral, with the initial re-entry to the Pragmatic Mode ignored. So when we plot the even and odd levels on the Spiral to see them together better—and include the final pragmatic state resulting from dynamism—we find two diamonds.

► Odd level choices—adaptation and acceptance
i.e. these demand recognition of an unknowable & often unmanageable empirical reality.

► Even level choices—clarification and formulation
i.e. these permit creation of a unique & often controllable psychosocial reality.

THEE Observation: The majority of levels in the hierarchy, including the highest and the lowest, demand adaptation and acceptance (i.e. submission).

It's Your Turn: Get clear in your mind what each of the levels demands of us in regard to the oscillating duality.

CL1: Pragmatic Action

Accept the intrinsic unpredictability of all action, and adapt to the situation at the moment of action:
i.e. the Pragmatic Mode bows to the uncontrollability of reality.

CL2: Structuralist Accountability

Clarify required accountabilities and formulate roles and requisite authority:
i.e. the Structuralist Mode permits creative definition and specific assignation of work and work relationships.

Note: If Odd-level limitations are denied, excesses of paranoid control or futile micro-management are likely at CL2.

CL3: Dialectic Issue Resolution

Accept the need to compromise with power and adapt to personal and group interests:
i.e. the Dialectic Mode bows to the ubiquity of self-interest.

CL4: Rationalist Values & Goals

Clarify values and formulate goals:
i.e. the Rationalist Mode permits a creative direction of events.

Note: If Odd-level limitations are denied, goals become grandiose, plans become excessively detailed, and controlling attitudes disrupt progress.

CL5: Empiricist Information

Accept there are limits to knowing and adapt to the knowledge and facts at your disposal:
i.e. the Empiricist Mode bows to the complexity and ever-changing nature of work-related realities.

CL6: Imaginist Aspirations

Clarify commitment and formulate aspirations.
i.e. the Imaginist Mode permits a creative release of human potential both individually and within groups:

Note: If Odd-level limitations are denied, aspirations can degenerate into management denial or visionary delusions.

CL7: Systemicist Co-evolution

Accept the strength and impersonality of forces affecting the organization, and adapt to the relevant environment:
i.e. the Systemicist Mode bows to the power of context and social change.

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Originally posted: 29-Sep-2011