Appendix 1

This story is an example of how a community practitioner might use the PSOC theory and its decision tree.

Carroll Retail is a family-owned business. They were having trouble attracting and holding senior executives. They had lost four CFO’s in three years, among other exits of senior corporate staff. The chairman of the board, Sam, was the company founder. He wanted to be seen as an approachable leader who would open his door to all employees from janitor to senior sales manager. He thought of himself as a trouble shooter.

One of his sons, Tom, was the CEO. He was a dedicated hard worker, who was trying to help the company transition from a small business to a publicly traded company. He wanted to have a structured business bureaucracy with delegated authority and clear lines of direct reports. He tried to develop employee manuals, job descriptions and company policies and procedures without success. 

The Sales Manager was a “wunderkind,” Randy, who had developed a company internet presence that was making the most sales and revenues the company had ever seen. And because of this, Randy thought he had the answer for everything, including, for example, how to save money on the light bill, not part of his job description.

The remainder of the Senior Management Team consisted of Barbara, the new CFO, Carl, the head of IT, and Charles, the HR Director. We, Jerome Burt and I, asked to add Dot, Tom’s Executive Assistant, to the group of people I would interview.

To develop consultation ideas, I used a Sense of Community decision tree evaluation (see attached) process that I developed from my SOC theory. Remember, there are four elements to the theory. The first has to do with what I first called “Membership” and later called “Spirit.” Essentially, it is about developing a safe place to speak one’s truth, feelings and ideas, believing that because one belongs, one will be heard and cared about. Boundaries creating emotional safety is the theme of this element.

The second element I called “Influence” and later “Trust.” This element is about how decisions are made and how power is used. And the theme here is building and developing trust.

The third element I called “Reinforcement” or “Integration of Needs” and later referred to as “Trade.” This is a community’s economy. Of course, it is a social economy with four types of trade. Here the theme is how well does a community value and use differences.

The fourth element I called “Shared Emotional Connection in Time and Space.” Later, I termed it “Art.” This is about community events and stories. The question posed by this element has to do with the quality of the community’s life events. Are the stories told in a positive light so that symbols, rituals and traditions emerge from the stories? Or do the stories create humiliation and dishonor fragmenting the community’s and injuring its pride?

One’s first stab at using the SOC decision tree evaluation is to focus on the four elements. Once an element has been identified as a problem area, refocus on that element and its sub-elements. (See the decision tree map attached).

So, we begin with the first element and the first question and ask the question of chosen participants. Remember, the first element has to do with belonging and attachment.

The first question is: Do you care about this company and how much or how little?

The answer from Sam was “Yes, I care about the company. It’s part of who I am. I belong here. It’s mine. I want everybody who works here to feel like I do. But clearly, they don’t. I want everybody to know that they can come to me and be heard and I will do something. But my son says we can’t run the company that way anymore. We are too big.”

The answer from Tom was, “Yes, my daddy built this company and I’m proud to have his legacy, but he won’t let go. We’ve grown beyond his ‘I can handle everything’ attitude. I want to put my stamp on this organization. I want to build a culture where people have clear roles that they enjoy playing. That’s not happening here now.”

The answer from Randy was, “Yes, I put this company on the internet. I quadrupled sales. We still have box stores, but they are dinosaurs. People here don’t get that and it’s frustrating when I’m not listened to. I don’t believe in silos. I think everyone should contribute what they know. When you have the right answer, I think you should tell people.”

The answer from Barbara was, “No, not yet, but I hope to grow to care about this company. I want to feel like I belong here.”

The answer from Carl was, “This place is a pay check for me. I’ve got four more years until I can retire and I’m working for that day. No, I don’t belong here. I’m marginal, like almost invisible. I get called when something breaks and blamed when people don’t know the right button to push.”

The answer for Charles was, “No, I don’t belong here. I’m a silly bureaucrat to Sam. He doesn’t want to have anything to do with me trying to institute policies and procedures. My voice is not welcome. I can’t feel much passion about the company. That would be too disappointing and painful.”

The answer from Dot was, “I feel sorry for Tom. I’m loyal to him, but I don’t fit here. I get coffee and I keep my mouth shut. I try to help Tom, but his father undercuts him. Randy won’t take his direction and others, except for the new person, Barbara, feel demoralized. I hope you can help. I don’t think Tom will stand up to his father or to Randy. It’s not safe to tell the truth about how it feels to work here. Sam always says, ‘I’m always willing to hear anyone out’ and when you tell him how you feel, he disapproves of you and says, ‘You shouldn’t feel that way.’”

The first element has to do with a safe place, a place where you believe your emotional truth will be heard and valued. From these answers, one can tell that there is work to be done on the first element. Our work moved to Element One’s decision tree.

In general, the answer to the first question is “No.” People on the Senior staff, except for the father and son, didn’t feel committed or that they belonged.

As to the second question inside Element One’s decision tree, are people aware enough of how they feel? The answer is “Yes.” Then the next question is: Is the truth told? The answer is “No,” So we worked here.

Sam means well but he so wants people to be happy and to appreciate what he tries to do for them that he won’t hear their real feelings. We taught Sam how to listen and value someone telling him their truth more than he valued being affirmed.

When he listened, he heard his son tell him that he had to step back and stop trying to make everybody happy; that his attempts to please everyone created chaos in a growing company; and those rules, norms and policies would create clear expectations and help people avoid conflicts just like knowing to drive on the right side of the road avoids wrecks.

Sam got that, but he needed a task, something he could do to contribute. He understood he needed to back off, but he wasn’t ready to be put out to pasture. Sam had to think of something that he could do that would be helpful.

Sam’s leaving the management to Tom helped some, but Tom had some managing to do. He had Randy, who thought of himself as the unappreciated God’s gift to the company. His insistence or knowing and being right sucked the air out of every working relationship he had. And to others, he seemed to have Tom’s permission to fire his loose cannon whenever.

We suggested to Tom that he rein in Randy and let him know that his contribution of bringing on-line retail to the company was appreciated, but that’s done now and he no longer has the company’s magic bullet; and that Randy’s “right answer” was only one answer and many answers might work when there is buy-in from the whole team; and now, when ideas came from Randy, everyone else was suddenly opposed because Randy made no room for the ideas of others. Tom told him that if he persisted to disempower others, as he often did, he would be fired. When this conversation was leaked to the other team members by Dot, the morale of the management group began to rise.

Still, this did not yet make the answer “Yes” to the first question concerning Element number Two, “Trust/Influence” which was: Do you trust the Company and fellow staff to value your opinion?

The answer from Sam was, “Well, I did until I was told that I had to shut my door and stay in my office. Now, I’m not sure I’m respected here. I founded this Company and that doesn’t seem to count for much.”

The answer from Tom was, “I’m beginning to feel more effective here. My dad has agreed to let me make the decisions. I think Randy got my message and already, I think people are feeling better. What I did with Dad and Randy were two the hardest conversations I have ever had. Being in charge is no fun sometimes. I have to get comfortable with my role.”

The answer from Randy was, “I’m thinking about quitting. I’m not sure they appreciate me here. No one here knows what I know and Tom says that me being smart is a problem. I’m sending out my resume.”

The answer from Barbara was, “I think I can work for Tom. I wasn’t sure at first. Randy was so intimidating and Sam was changing my budget everyday with another unbudgeted purchase order or overtime to be authorized. Tom has made my job easier now.”

The answer from Carl was, “In a Senior Staff Meeting yesterday, someone asked me what I thought. That’s a first. Things are better, but Randy still wants to tell me what computer servers we need.”

The answer from Charles was, “What Tom did was good and all, but we still don’t have a playbook for how people who work here are expected to act. I have written three versions of a policy and procedures manual. We are a self-insured company. We pay our employee medical expenses out of the company’s pocket. We have rules of what we covered until Sam sends a note down telling me to break the rules for this person or that person. We had a late to work policy but Sam acts like a school principal and writes excuses for anyone who asks him. I don’t know how to do my job and it’s been frustrating. Maybe that will stop now.”

The answer from Dot was, “I’m proud of Tom. He stepped up and did what needed doing. It was hard for him, but he finally claimed his place. We needed him to lead and he is doing that. I don’t like people coming into my office and stealing office supplies. I wish we had a better system for knowing where things were and how to access them.”

So, in general if trust means knowing what you can expect and believing that you have influence, the answer to whether or not Senior staff trusts this company the answer is more “no” than “yes.”

This throws us into the decision tree for the Second Element, Influence or Trust. This element is about fairness and respect. The next question: Do you do your part for the company and does the company pay you for what you do with money and respect?

Sam feels disrespected but feels compensated. Tom feels compensated and is beginning to feel that he has influence. Randy feels well paid but disrespected. Carl feels well paid and hopes to have influence and respect. Barbara feels well paid and is hopeful that the management group dynamic will improve. Charles feels well paid, but still doesn’t think his voice is heard or that his concerns matter. Dot does not feel well paid, nor does she feel that her opinion matters.

We recommended to Tom that he support Charles in his attempt to develop Human Resources policies and procedures and to finalize a manual to be given to all employees. We recommended that Dot be given permission to lock the door to her office when she’s not there to keep people from taking supplies from her office and to have the office supply vendor deliver supplies directly to other offices and that she receive a raise.

They did those things. Norms at the company became clearer. Conflicts were reduced because people knew what to expect and what not to expect. Now that Sam had stopped using his authority, it became clear that Tom was the ultimate decision-maker around the daily running of the company.

Trust among members of the Senior management team improved. But the flow of information and the connections between and among team members had not. The team still didn’t know what to do with Randy and Randy didn’t know what to do with other members or with his own energy and ideas. He was not likely to remain still for long. If he didn’t get positive attention for his ideas and his contributions, he would likely settle for getting attention in negative ways. And Randy was right about one aspect of himself. Though he wasn’t indispensable, he was smart and creative and he generated ideas like he was flipping burgers. And Sam, too, was unhappy and felt lost in the company he founded. He spent a lot of time in his office sulking.

This brings us to the Third Element Trade or Reinforcement/Integration of Needs. This element primarily concerns differences and whether or not differences are valued and integrated within the community. This is about whether trades build value or merely feed egos.

While others feel they are treated fairly now, Sam and Randy don’t. Sam wants all the management team to think like he does and allow him to “fix” things as he once did. He, more than anyone, understood the company’s values and he could implement them. For him, these values were to treat everyone with compassion and be flexible and treat every problem differently. This had worked for him as he built the company. He wished everyone would see things as he did.

He wanted to make what the SOC theory called “consensual trades.” These trades feed one’s ego and confirm the status quo, but they don’t facilitate change and growth. If the company was to survive, it had to adapt, change and grow.

This comes only from complementary trades that appreciate and recognize differences and find ways to use people’s various talents and interests to build a team. Tom needed to recognize that his father had special value to the company. He had the ability to pass on the company’s story and its values of caring about its customers and employees. He, more than anyone else, was capable of making generative trades within the company. And Randy, the man full of ideas and imagination, would be perfect at making transformative trades. He could be a scout, like Kit Carson or John Bridger, looking for new ideas and holding seminars for company employees interested in helping the company expand its vision and reach. Perhaps, he might be interested in learning about Chinese culture and expanding the company into the Chinese market, for example.

Tom quickly saw that each of the senior management team had very different personalities and talents. His father was in a position to give his blessing to others and to pass on the company’s values and legacy. Carl was a detached objective person, quiet and sometimes withdrawn, but with a talent for designing systems and fixing things. He didn’t need much attention. For him, a little attention went a long way, but he needed a little. When he talked he needed to be listened to. Dot could talk to a frog. She was a talented communicator. She could get the word out. Barbara was a neat, careful, detail-oriented person, master of the spreadsheet. Charles was good with people and building personnel structures. He liked writing manuals and developing rules. He loved order and respected precedent.

Tom decided to meet with each member of his team sharing with them how he saw their special strengths and talents fitting into the management team. Each of the team members appreciated being known and valued in this way. Sam and Randy were excited to have new assignments within the company. Tom had helped create a better Person/Environment fit or (Person/Role fit) for all members of his management team.

While this helped integrate company differences and make complimentary trades, including transforming trades (Randy teaching and exploring new ideas) and generative trades (Sam finding ways to give his blessing and pass on his legacy), we still have the ghost of the company dysfunctional story hanging in the atmosphere of the company. 

This is where the Fourth element is important. This element has to do with the company’s story. How does it tell its history? SOC theory projects that a community’s story can harm the community in two ways. If its history shames and humiliates the community and its members, the community will fall apart. If the community’s story has an ambiguous outcome, the community will not become close and connected. But if the community’s story honors the community and its members, the community will develop symbols, rituals and traditions from its story.

The first several questions have to do with time spent together, whether its enough time and whether the time is quality time.

Sam consulted with us about his new role. He has the idea of a company newsletter. He would edit this. In it, he would showcase company activities, achievements and employees. The company had awards, like employee of the week. Sam decided to write articles about the award winners. These articles would offer a biography of the winner and highlight their families. He would interview each winner and write the article himself.

Each newsletter would feature an article about one of the company’s past events, giving readers an historical perspective. He would personally write a feature article concerning something the company was doing that made him proud.

He did this and the newsletter became an important company organ. He became the company High Priest offering his blessings to the company’s ventures and to the achievements of the employees.

He was careful to tell old company stories of failures redeemed, mistakes made and lessons learned. When he told these stories, he made his character in the story the comic fool. He laughed at himself and in so doing, suggested that mistakes were to be learned from, not avoided and that laughter and learning could be the product of mistakes, not ridicule and punishment.

            Barbara. The new CFO has remained with the company. Sam, the founder, has become comfortable in his role as elder statesman mentor. Carl, the head of IT did not take early retirement and seems to feel wanted and appreciated. Randy has enjoyed his new role as company education director. Tom, the CEO, has become more comfortable with his authority and seems comfortable captaining his ship. Perhaps Dot is the happiest with our work. She got a raise, a bonus and more formal authority as gatekeeper to the CEO.