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Invitation: "To discuss and reflect on our concepts of organisation as SF organisational developers in the future."
Response by Jenny Clarke
The case studies presented in this article make good reading and I would describe them as recognisable pieces of SF work. However, the introduction and conclusion confuse me, especially as I read the article with Occam's Razor close at hand. I do not understand the importance the authors give to the distinction between the organisation and the people in it - nor what implications they see for SF organisational developers in the future.
Perhaps this goes to the heart of what is radical about the SF way of thinking, stemming from the interactional view pioneered by Gregory Bateson, John Weakland and the Mental Research Institute.
In keeping with the interactional view, I challenge the premise that the organisation is "in part independent of the people who are working in it ... People are relevant for the organisation not only as specific individuals, but also as representatives of their specific roles. The consequence of this description is that individuals are interchangeable." In SF-land, we take the position that every case is different - and so is every Finance Director! Introducing the idea of the organisation as a separate entity adds an unnecessary element of complexity to our work, one that can be shaved away with benefit to clients and practitioners. People and the way they act and interact ARE the organisation, and the procedures and processes people have devised to further their aims can be changed when they are no longer effective or efficient.
The literature now contains many cases and descriptions of OD work using SF - see for example previous editions of InterAction, Solution-Focused Management edited by Günter Lueger and Hans-Peter Korn, Daniel Meier's book Team Coaching with the SolutionCircle and Solution Focus Working edited by Mark McKergow and me.
In the cases presented by Christine Kuch and Susanne Burgstaller, the authors were asked to help their clients with mediation or conflict resolution. What characterises the SF consultants' approach is to turn the focus away from what is wrong (interpersonal conflict in these cases) towards what is wanted. Naturally the participants are preoccupied with what is wrong and the shiftin focus can...