Prioridades para la implementación

The need to notice weak signals is similar in many ways to the need to detect small failures in high reliability organizations. People in high reliability organisations are mindful: they are aware of the constantly changing nature of organizations and the emergent nature of outcomes set in motion by actions. Although their attention is rather on failure than success, they shine the penlights of attention on detail in order to detect weak signals of failures, rather than simplifying and categorising.

Mindfulness is a state of conscious awareness, being present in the moment and being open to novelty. Mindful attention focuses on detail, and on being sensitive to small changes. Rather than categorising detail mindful people explore the detail to understand its nuances, creating new categories if necessary to make sense. In many ways being mindful is revealed in the manner in which sense is given: when the leader or the stakeholders in a strategy making session gives sense to the stakeholders, they reveal their awareness of the context and content of their environment.

Mindful leadership is the first critical factor as mindful leaders are not autocratic in their sensegiving but at all times hold an awareness of the impact of the sense they give, tailoring their sensegiving to encourage stakeholders in turn to be mindful, to use their intuition, focus on the detail of content and context and ensure that when conflicts take place as they inevitably will, that they are quick and productive. The mindful leader articulates strategic

visions and ways of working to the team, through the creative use of words, stories and conversations to help others be mindful, see things in different ways, managing the process to stimulate exposure of intuitive knowledge, creativity and arguing to make sense. Without mindful attention from the leader and from the stakeholders themselves to the context and content of the sense that is made, weak signals will be overlooked and opportunities missed. Mindful leaders are aware of the innate tensions that exist in strategy making teams, caused by cynicism, stress and divisiveness, taking active steps to alleviate the tensions, although their guidance is with an invisible hand by giving sense to the team throughout the strategy making gathering. Leading in a strategy making environment implies personal awareness: of the personal expectations and beliefs held by the leader; awareness of the stakeholders and their expectations and beliefs, and awareness of the pivotal role which the leader in a strategy making session plays in the sense that is made by such a group.

Leaders of strategy making groups are both sensemakers and sensegivers: making sense of the organisational and environmental cues in order to give sense to the group. Sensemaking by both leader and stakeholders, when coupled with animation will stimulate sensemaking in the group. Control in the form of guidance by the leader plays a role in the sense that is made, but excessive control stifles sensemaking, introducing guardedness among stakeholders who seek to satisfy the leader’s wishes rather than applying their intuition and exploring creative options.

Leaders who practice mindfulness aware of the impact of their sensegiving, are open to adapting to new information uncovered in the strategy making process, actively encouraging the finding of new information in their stakeholders. They are aware that human behaviour is stimulated by creating a desire for learning, positive emotions, and a safe platform to explore. As Plato notes: “Human behaviour flows from three main sources: desire, emotion and knowledge.” Where there is the freedom and desire to learn, people will explore; where there is trust, knowledge and experience people become creative; where the cognitive emotional process of intuition is allowed to notice weak signals, an arguing process will draw in alternative viewpoints to reach consensus. The mindful leader pays attention to situations and contexts, welcoming new information, and in turn encouraging mindfulness in those who are led. There is an awareness of views other than their own, with an orientation towards process rather than outcome.

When the focus shifts to process rather than outcome, participants become more focused on the content and context, noticing more cues than when they focus on outcomes. Leader sensegiving which provides guidance, encourages creativity and develops an environment of trust, creates positive energy, and allows for creativity. The non-judgemental encouragement of intuitive concepts and ideas, with a free-association and scenario approach, which is then followed by a structured argument to debate concepts and ideas has been shown by the research to be likely to identify and amplify weak signals.

Stakeholders in a strategy making group are those other members aside from the leader who give their own form of sense to the group, and to the leader as they share intuitions and knowledge related to their particular area of expertise. Stakeholder sensegiving has been found by this research to be as important to the strategy making process as leader sensegiving as it focuses the attention of the leader and other members of the group on important issues and weak signals. Stakeholders are the members of the strategy making group who the research shows should be a balanced mixture of individuals broad experience and multiple identities, deep experience and knowledge, and those with creative identities as well as those who operate on the periphery of the organisation. The research has shown that mindfulness in stakeholders will ensure that they notice more cues and hold an awareness of their own expectations and those of the group throughout the strategy making session.

The manner in which sense is given by the stakeholders and the leader to the group, colours the sense made by the group. Leaders guide mindfulness by encouraging stakeholders to be aware and giving stakeholders the freedom to express mindful thoughts, thereby setting the scene and ensuring a trust environment for sharing of intuitive knowledge, and arguing to make sense. Stakeholders offer viewpoints and share insights with the group, employing the environment of trust created by a mindful leader to present weak signals and associative thoughts.

Cognitively people are trained to be rational and to consider a logical flow to everything. When people become mindful, and open their minds to the philosophical concept that things can emerge from nothing, they become aware (mindful) of the small and subtle discontinuous changes that exist on the periphery of chaos, and open their minds to the understanding that there is no complete knowledge, that things can appear from nowhere and ambiguity and uncertainty will always be present. This openness creates a less guarded approach to applying intuitive thinking in groups, which can be enhanced by explicit support for intuitive

thinking from the leader of the group. Being mindful means setting aside the pressing issues of self to address the more important issues of the collective.

Weak signal identification in strategy making needs mindful attention in order to be effective; the research indicates that mindful leadership is pivotal to guiding the successful identification of weak signals. When mindful attention is paid by stakeholders in a strategy making group, the intuitive-rational process model presented as part of these findings (Figure 6) can be applied to identify and then amplify weak signals.