For what?
The "tetralemma" tool (Sparrer/Varga von Kibéd 2000) helps us to get out of a dilemma by bringing other possible courses of action into the field. The tool simply brings more color into a black and white world. The scope for decision-making and action is expanded. The tool can be used both individually and in teams. In our case - located in the second quadrant - it serves to gain new perspectives.
The tetralemma helps us to leave the purely rational level and opens up our intuitive intelligence by exploring alternative positions.
- Recognizing thoughts, feelings and your own attitude
- Developing your own thoughts, feelings and attitude
- Gaining new perspectives, achieving clarity about personal needs
- Dissolving blockages and breaking through patterns
Example
For what?
Complex situations are characterized by cause-and-effect relationships that are almost impossible to understand. It is therefore a question of making sense of an apparent confusion. If you want to understand the movements in a living organism, you should immerse yourself in it and try to look behind the scenes. Only by exchanging ideas with others do you begin to understand their perspectives and have the chance to put yourself in the shoes of complex contexts. This is how "warm data" is created - numbers that come to life and are enriched with meaning and stories. This search for meaning cannot be outsourced to committees and expert panels, but takes place in direct exchange, in direct communication between those who come together in a virtual or physical space. The meaning of complex issues is not found in a quiet room, but in the communication itself. This is the purpose of our sensemaking sessions.
Example
As part of a semester project, a team of students has set itself the goal of creating a greater awareness of ecological sustainability - using the example of packaging waste.
Motivated by the individual purpose of the participants, the decision was made to bring together various stakeholders on this topic in a communication space. This should become more than just a space for communication and offer the opportunity for meaningful encounters between people. In a virtual exchange, the opportunity for dialogue and discussion should be opened up and at the same time a creative moment should be created from which all event participants should recognize a potential for their own effective action.
What matters
Sensemaking sessions are simply structured, but require attention. In particular, it is important to move away from the approach that passing on information is enough to have communicated.
Many management information, press releases and social media posts continue to follow this pattern: a few experts prepare factually correct information that others essentially only consume. The interpretation of the information is left to the reader.
While this is certainly the case with simple cause-and-effect relationships
efficient way of disseminating information, it leads straight to nirvana when it comes to complex topics and issues: employees feel lost. Customers lose trust. Climate activists go on the barricades. This is because there is no exchange between people in which observations are shared and cold facts are illuminated from different perspectives.
Sensemaking sessions require us to let go of the privilege of disseminating information - and instead immerse ourselves in a lively search for meaning involving various stakeholders.
Step by step
Step 1
Choose a complex topic for the sensemaking session, such as
for example "ecological sustainability".
Step 2
Invite a group of approx. 20 - 40 interested parties to this topic.
physically at your premises or as part of a video call.
Step 3
Prepare either tables or breakout rooms for 4 - 6 participants.
Step 4
Introduce the topic in plenary and start the discussion with a question. Samples of suitable questions can be found below in the templates. Example: "What is essential for ecological sustainability?"
Step 5
Three rounds of discussions then take place at the tables or in the breakout rooms with alternating participants (optional: assign employees familiar with the method to the groups as moderators):
- Round 1: 20 minutes of sharing stories and observations on the respective contexts
- Round 2: 15 minutes with a different cast/new contexts
- Round 3: 10 minutes discussion
Step 6: Free, open-ended sharing of observations from the tables or breakout rooms.
Framework
Duration: 90 minutes with stringent preparation and moderation in online format
Format: virtual or in person in a suitable room
Participants: approx. 20 - 40 diverse stakeholders on a business-relevant topic
You can find more information on this and other tools for overcoming business challenges with communicative means in the book
