Working Together

Organizational Transactional Analysis and Business Performance

Chris Davidson, Anita Mountain

• Publisher: Gower
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781134783533
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business Communication
• Index: Business

Organizational Transactional Analysis is a discipline whose focus is on enabling effective communication at all levels of the organization. It looks at development and change from the individual, team, department and organizational levels. This book, and Organizational TA as a whole, operates from an assumption of health - this is a very different approach from other communication methodologies which tend to focus on the problems. TA focuses on building on what is already working, rather than what isn't. From their many years of experience, Anita Mountain and Chris Davidson are convinced that TA offers everyone within the workforce different options on how to relate. Working Together offers up-to-date theory developed by the authors through their extensive knowledge of TA and of the business world. The clear explanations and diagrams in the book outline how you can develop and maintain effective communication and be aware of the processes involved in carrying out decisions and strategies. With chapters on how to apply TA in the workplace Working Together is a down-to-earth yet intelligent read and an important resource for those who wish to improve the quality of relationships and improve productivity. It will be of value to individuals, leaders and managers at all levels. Whether the issue is emotional intelligence, stress, poor communication or different departmental/regional perspectives, this book offers a toolkit of resources to support the people processes aspects of the business.

CHAPTER 1 Introduction

Why You Should Read this Book

This book offers a different approach to the usual business books. We do not use techniques or gimmicks. The approach is pragmatic because it deals with the process of relationships and is about common sense. This book will provide everyone within the workforce – from the shop floor to the MD – with different options on how to relate. Whilst written for the workplace, those who read it will gain new insights that will also stand them in good stead in all areas of their lives.

The reader is offered an opportunity to expand their awareness of themselves and others in a matter-of-fact way so that relationships will be enhanced. Part of a larger model on the structure of organizations (see the concluding chapter), this book puts work relationships in a context. We offer a powerful combination of theory and application enabling the new MD, trainer, consultant or HR executive an opportunity to gain in-depth insight into using Organizational Transactional Analysis.

Transactional Analysis is a social psychology, a theory of human personality and a systematic approach for growth and personal change in individuals, groups and organizations. It promotes and improves communication, thereby enhancing relationships. We use clear explanations with diagrams to outline how to develop and maintain effective communication. Since its development in the 1950s, TA theory has developed and changed and is currently used worldwide in a range of organizations, both large and small.

With chapters on how to apply TA in the workplace this book is a down-to-earth yet intelligent read and a must for those who wish to improve the quality of relationships and improve productivity. It will be invaluable to individuals, leaders and managers at all levels. Therefore whether the issue is emotional intelligence or different departmental/regional perspectives, this book offers a toolkit of resources to support the people side of organizations. It offers up-to-date theory developed by the authors through their knowledge of TA and of the business world.

Organizational TA falls within the generic term ‘Developmental TA’, which covers educational, counselling and organizational specialties. This term was developed by a well-published organizational transactional analyst in order to differentiate these fields from that of psychotherapy (Hay, unpublished).

The Approach

We have kept the style as conversational as possible. Each chapter includes a small vignette or case illustration which is then explored using TA theory. These composite illustrations are based on our experience and are designed to enrich understanding. At the end of each chapter there are exercises for the reader to undertake so that learning can be reinforced and enhanced.

Aim

We aim to:

1. Offer those in business an overall guide to increasing productivity through developing and enhancing workplace relationships.

2. Enable the reader to develop an understanding of themselves and others so that they can be aware of the processes involved in carrying out decisions and strategies.

3. Give some clear how-tos for those who require extra tools for developing effective communication.

4. Offer a way of understanding the relationship between people, processes and productivity.

How this Book could Specifically Help Organizations

Studies of work related absences through stress demonstrate that this is a major problem (MacKay et al., 2004). Since this study, the estimated number of days lost due to stress has increased with the Health and Safety Executive quoting 11.4 million working days lost with a further 19,000 people who reported ‘work-related heart disease’ due to work stress in 2008/09.

If people understood how to communicate effectively and relate to others, one major source of stress would be eased. Communication often goes awry due to assumptions and a lack of clear agreements about how to proceed. Get these things right and we enable workforces around the world to be clear about the task, feel good about themselves and others and be conflict-resolving rather than conflict-avoiding.

Further, self-understanding means that individuals are more likely to develop good relationships. They will be able to recognize when difficulties may be occurring and be able to deal with these early on, rather than waiting for things to fester.

Naturally, stress is not the only reason to read this book, but it is certainly a compelling one. Other factors include the need for effective leadership at all levels so that productivity is enhanced. When relationships are not working many people can become passive, and in the workplace these behaviours are counterproductive at best and destructive at worst.

This book offers a comprehensive look at a whole range of aspects that enhance and support relationships. It covers everything the reader might need to develop and maintain effective communication including practical ‘how-tos’.

Implementation in Organizations

We, the authors, are implementing Transactional Analysis within organizations in a variety of ways; for example, working within one of the military services undertaking direct teaching of TA for their leadership instructors and trainers. We have also worked with an advertising company running management programmes and offering short seminars for the 200 staff on a variety of aspects of TA applied to their work in their own organization. Team development has been a major part of the work of Mountain Associates and we have undertaken programmes for a variety of different organizations including the NHS, a Pension Service and an IT department providing support for schools. We work nationally and internationally in a diverse range of organizations such as an international logistics company where we taught communication skills. We undertake coaching and supervision of coaches with a variety of organizations including non-departmental government bodies and other organizational development and coaching consultancies. It is this range of experience, as well as our expertise in TA, on which we draw to write this book.

This book is filled with practical ideas linked with sound theoretical information. It is not just a ‘talk shop’, nor is it about a ‘quick fix’. Developing the use of TA throughout an organization can enable the improvement of the organizational culture – promoting a healthy environment in which to work, where people feel respected and valued, with the space to be creative as well as the skills to set and maintain boundaries and social control.

This unique balance between theory and practice gives TA a primary position in the development of organizations, offering as it does the ability to consider both the micro and the macro – the individual, team, department and the larger organization. It enables those who use and integrate the approach to consider themselves in relation to those with whom they work and develop the skills to communicate effectively. Further, these skills are underpinned with a philosophy and value base about the worth of ourselves and others.

As with any theory, TA can be applied mechanistically. This can occur if those who use it have not taken on board the holistic nature of the approach or perhaps are unable to use it to develop personal awareness. TA needs to be applied to self and others and undertaken with thoughtfulness and ‘heart’ without losing any of the structure and precision.

Transactional Analysis is used worldwide. Because of this there is greater opportunity for the development of international understanding as members regularly interact with each other and write articles for the Transactional Analysis Journal. This interaction offers the opportunity to develop greater understanding of different nationalities and how to deal with diversity as our frames of reference are frequently challenged and updated.

Many people, when exposed to the ideas in this book, find them immensely helpful. This includes an owner/MD of a family-owned company who wanted to develop a different leadership style, one which recognized the knowledge and skills of his workforce. This went against the approach traditionally used in the company but was one he wanted to adopt. Having learnt TA he recognized what he needed to do and how to do it and went on to increase productivity and profit. There have also been those who did not know how to make and set clear boundaries between themselves and certain members of their team, which created difficulties with other members. Again, having understood the issues their teams have improved communication and are now thriving.

Organizational TA

We use the term Organizational TA – not ‘TA in organizations’. Whilst this might seem to be playing with language, there is an important distinction here. ‘TA in organizations’ implies that there is a single body of knowledge that you carry with you whether it be into a therapy room, a school or an organization. Organizational TA more accurately conveys the message that there are specialist branches of TA – of which organizational work represents one. Whilst there are concepts that the Organizational TA field shares with the other TA applications it also has a body of theory and practice which is particular to the Developmental fields of TA.

This is akin to specialisms within any profession. There is a common body of knowledge shared by all those specialisms, and the specific knowledge and practice particular to each field of application.

We hope that this book will promote awareness of Organizational TA and the breadth and depth of this approach for those who wish to develop themselves and others and take the organization on to greater heights.

The Underlying Principles and Values of Transactional Analysis

At work how often do you hear people saying that they don’t trust someone because ‘they say one thing and do another’? Such statements bring into question someone’s value base and their lack of consistency. The development and congruence between the individual and organizational value base is crucial if productivity is to be maintained and increase. Trust needs to develop between people, supported by the organizational processes.

The principles and values of TA highlight the underpinning and foundations of the approach. We hope to encourage those of you who read this book to not only understand some of the TA theories but also to embody them in how you are, thus developing a greater congruency between what you say and what you do.

Organizationally, ethical behaviour relies on a congruity between philosophy, values and behaviour, without which there will be little trust and empathy or understanding between the workforce. Through adopting a human-based philosophy you will not only be able to think about the TA concepts and apply them, but that application will be congruent and therefore trust is more likely to be forthcoming.

TA is not just a set of techniques but a comprehensive structured set of concepts offering a holistic framework leading to development and change. It offers concepts for assessing and understanding organizations, situations which arise in them, as well as making sense at an individual level.

The development of an ethical organizational culture is to move away from the ‘dog-eat-dog’ mentality, and instead is a move toward a socially aware and responsible organization. This in itself instils pride and hope within the workforce. New employees coming into this environment are more likely to adopt positively the views and attitudes of the organization.

The specific philosophical bases of TA can be outlined as:

• We all have the ability to think

• We make decisions about ourselves and others as we grow up. Many of these decisions are not helpful to us as adults and these can be changed

• We all have the right to be in the world and to be treated well and should treat others well (or as TA puts it, ‘people are OK’)

The above philosophical points lead to the further basic principles of open communication and to a contractual method.

We All Have the Ability to Think

Organizations are susceptible to ‘groupthink’ which will influence the consideration of values. Groupthink was a term coined by Janis (1972) when he identified that in some groups people do not consider alternatives, thereby placing limits on decision-making. In such groups, he argued, there is pressure for everyone to agree with each other. This might mean that individuals are conflict-avoiding rather than conflict-resolving (Peck, 1987). When people are conflict-avoiding it means that the preservation of superficial harmony is given precedence over critical evaluation of ideas and values. This in turn might mean that an option is given the go-ahead even though the outcome might be the exploitation of others (for instance the use of child labour to produce garments for the clothing industry).

The value base of an organization runs through all aspects, from the product or service being offered to marketing, accounting and management style. These in turn affect the loyalty, honesty and integrity of the employees. For example, employees may be dismissed or have legal action taken against them for stealing. The other employees will take note of this and recognize that boundaries have been created and reinforced. These actions need to be congruent throughout the organization so that when a director has been dishonest and it is sufficiently serious, they do not get a ‘golden handshake’, but instead are similarly dismissed. This will engender a sense of fairness amongst the workforce and loyalty and commitment will be maintained.

Decisions are Made in Childhood and these Decisions can be Changed

Most people are able to develop sufficient thinking ability to be able to make decisions and in the workplace this translates into each individual’s abilities being recognized. However, sometimes this is not always consistently carried out as each leader or manager has their own style and may believe that only they can make decisions.

New decisions can be made by updating old ways of thinking. Particular decisions made in childhood may need updating as the person may still be acting on some decisions as if they are facts, which often leads to complications in the work place. For example, a manager may have grown up with a parent who was particularly severe and punitive. That manager may then decide that, in order to have some control as a grown up, they themselves have to adopt the same behaviour. Alternatively, they may have become used to sorting out problems on their own and then, at work, instead of being a team player, they go off and make decisions without reference to anyone else, yet at the same time feel isolated and without support. These sorts of actions emanate from the early decisions they made about how to be with other people. Whilst it is not the job of the organizational consultant or manager to delve too deeply into why a person acts in a particular way, it is sometimes helpful to understand our own, and others’ behaviour and explore if it is relevant and appropriate today.

People are OK

One of the basic tenets of TA is that we are all OK. OK in this instance is a basic philosophical stance meaning that everyone has the right to be in the world and be safe. The concept of OKness is therefore important in relation to diversity as well as personal growth and development. After all, it is a contradictory position to hold that others are OK but that we are not, or vice versa. Further, we cannot hold everyone to be OK and yet exploit others. This will have implications for those whom we work for (or with), as well as what we buy and from whom. We will look at the concept of OKness in more detail in Chapter 2.

At the philosophical level this statement is about everyone having the right to be in the world and be treated equally. Their behaviour may not be acceptable but their rights are nevertheless recognized. Alternatively, if someone has taken an action that annoys you and you believe that the person, rather than their behaviour, is the problem then it is unlikely that discussion will be possible in a way that moves to a resolution. In contrast, keeping the other person OK and concentrating on their behaviour will ensure that there are opportunities to understand all parties.

Open Communication

Open communication means that we believe in sharing as much information with others as we can. In the work place this means being open and not having unnecessary secrets. It also means dealing with conflict with the person or people concerned, rather than gossiping and not resolving issues. We teach people how to improve communication so that if there are conflicts they can be resolved.

Contractual

In the workplace there needs to be agreement about how people will work together and who is responsible for what. In TA we teach people how to make contracts that are specific and without assumptions. Often when things go wrong they can be traced back to a lack of clarity in the contracting process. For example, a meeting is held and a working group is set up to undertake some research into a particular issue and then report back. One of the team members, James, could not be at the meeting and is given a job to do because of his particular expertise. James is, however, on overload and is unable to take on this task. No one follows this up and the working group does not fully complete its task. Clear contracting entails clarifying assumptions and ensuring that everyone expected to carry out a task is involved in the decision-making process. This is an area we will explore further in Chapter 6.

Competency

In order to undertake anything we do, we need to ensure that we are competent, that we know the limits of our skill and knowledge and that we get supervision and perhaps coaching so that w...