Shelley: Metaphor Behaviour and Projects

1© Arthur Shelley 2009 under Creative Commons License. Available for public use provided source is acknowledged. Permission of the author required for commercial use.

PhD Completion Seminar

Metaphor as a means to influence behaviour and knowledge transfer in projects for

enhanced outcomes

Arthur ShelleyMarch 7 2012

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Context• We all know behaviour has an impact on how

we interact with others. • History shows many team projects fail to meet

their objectives and behaviour is part of this problem.

• We also know these failures cost millions of dollars, not to mention the stress and emotional consequences.

Despite these facts, very few people attempt to proactively manage the behavioural environment.

© Arthur Shelley 2009 under Creative Commons License. Available for public use provided source is acknowledged. Permission of the author required for commercial use.


Original Research Proposition

Specific behavioural interventions*, can enhance project performance and outcomes.

* Designed to engage project team members and stakeholders in constructive dialogue around behaviour and relationships, based on the animal metaphor characters from The Organizational Zoo (Shelley 2007).


Research Questions

Is the stakeholder engagement process enhanced through the use of metaphor tools?

Can project team members influence outcomes more effectively by better targeting stakeholder behaviours?

Does the team operate more effectively by using metaphor to help align roles or tasks to team member.


Original Research Plan


Key characteristics 4 research organisations, 3 Action Research cycles 1 “project” per organisation 51 research subjects total (7-22) Base Interview (Jan 2010)

2 Interventions/ Org (Mid Jan 2010)

Data validation forum (Late 2010)

Project end interviews (Early 2011)

Findings validation (2011)

Practitioner reflective interviews (2011)


Research Interventions & DataBaseline Interview

Project Selection

RelationshipsIntervention

(Kickoff)

Focus Group

Feed

back

Practitioner Selection

Reflective Interview

Focus Group

StakeholderIntervention

(2-6 Mths)

Focus Group

Feed

back

Indi

vidu

al

Inte

rvie

ws

Indi

vidu

al

Inte

rvie

ws

As is State

Perceptions of potential to change state

Perc

eptio

ns o

f ch

ange

d st

ate

4 x Project Environment

(12 Mths)

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The reality check• Half of the organisations who opted in originally, did not participate –

new organisations engaged• All 4 organisations in the research went through significant

restructures during or immediately after the research that had a direct impact on some or all research participants

• Several research participants left the organisation during or not long after the research was done, making any longitudinal study impossible

• Difficult to get specific times agreed to do agreed interventions, and almost impossible to get any additional time or activities done (despite significant interest in the techniques)

• Hard to achieve consistency when only have such sort time with research subjects (limited mindshare and competing with tasks)

• Challenge of balancing learning activities with research data gathering (they want to learn and do, researcher wants to gather and reflect)


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The final path


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Philosophical Aspects


Dimension Aspect Elements and perspectivesOntology The nature of reality

or beingSubjectivist (Interpretivist) Participative in that the reality is subjective-objective, co-created by participants’ mind and context.

Epistemology The nature of knowledge, its origins, nature and limits

Subjectivist (Interpretivist) Participatory in acknowledgement of practical knowing, critical subjectivity and living knowledge.

Methodology How we come to know?

Subjectivist (Interpretivist)

Axiology What is intrinsically worthwhile?

Constructionist in that propositional, transactional knowing is instrumentally valuable as a means to social emancipation, which is an end in itself and is intrinsically valuable.

VoiceWho contributes to the knowing and learning?

The researcher’s voice manifests through creation of awareness of the metaphors and the behavioural environment.Research subjects actively participate the generation and validation of the findings through self-reflections on their actions.

LearningThe nature of the activity through when learning (new knowledge) is created.

Participatory in that researcher subjects are initiated into the inquiry process by the facilitator/researcher and learn through active engagement in the process. Facilitator/researcher requires emotional competence, democratic personality and skills to create the appropriate environment to foster such development.

Adapted from table structure of (Heron & Reason 1997)

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Data Interpretation Approach


Collect data Observations notes, Surveys, Interviews recordings/Transcripts.

Scan dataGet “sense” of contents, patterns, consistency and range of responses. Initial reactions fuel “margin notes”

RereadRevisit the data to verify initial notes and “suspected patterns”. Use coloured highlighters to colour code what appears to be emergent themes.

AggregateThemes

Create “bodies of evidence” to support the key themes via quantitative classification/reduction or qualitative categorising to form nodes or patterns.

Interpret Meaning

Validate and support interpretation

Reflect on the meaning of the patterns and contrasts in data. Verify impact and support for themes & findings.Verify with participants. Transform data into information statements & formats others can intuitively understand.

IterativeCycles

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Interpreted data formats: quotes


Answers: interviews/surveys

Categorised responses

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Interpreted data formats


Reflections Summarised Reflections

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The big picture• In all four organisations there was far more supportive

evidence than neutral or negative• There were many reflections collected that showed

evidence of impact when the methods were applied• Typical categorising of statements shown below:


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Summary: Key Questions


Question Org How is the stakeholder engagement process enhanced through the use of metaphor tools?

A 7B 8C 11D 22

767

18

0103

0101

How can project team members influence outcomes more effectively by better targeting stakeholder behaviours?

A 7B 8C 11D 22

758

20

0200

0000

How does the team operate more effectively by using metaphor to help align roles or tasks to team member.

A 7B 10C 11D 22

569

15

0205

0001

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Summary: Additional insights


Question Org How do our behaviours benefit us and create limitations for us, as a group? Did the metaphor characters assist this understanding? If so, how?

A 7B 10C 11D 22

--8

15

--07

--00

Can the metaphor characters assist me to develop better relationships given my behavioural preferences? If so, how might I do that?

A 7B 10C 11D 22

--8

14

--06

--02

Do you believe that the model combining reflective practice, conversation, and metaphor will be useful for your own thinking and behaviour?

A 7B 10C 11D 22

---

11

---

10

---1


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Thesis output


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Outcomes and other Outputs


ImpactReflectionDiary

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Chapter 1

Chapter 5

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Key personal learning• The PhD process is an emergent process that probably

can’t be planned in advance• It stimulates significant growth professionally and

intellectually• You can view situations form many aspects and

metaphor assist creative perspectives• Metaphor operates like a language- a structure through

which people can simplify reality and understand and communicate it better

• It is definitely worth doing, but I am glad I started 26 years after I was first asked to - richer experience!

• Action research is awesome- you make a real difference!© Arthur Shelley 2009 under Creative Commons License. Available for public use provided source is acknowledged. Permission of the author required for commercial use.

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Research Proposition Answered?

YES, this research has generated a body of evidence that supports the proposition that…Specific behavioural interventions*, can enhance project performance and outcomes.* Designed to engage project team members and stakeholders in constructive dialogue around behaviour and relationships, based on the animal metaphor characters


Research Questions answered? Is the stakeholder engagement

process enhanced through the use of metaphor tools? Yes!

Can project team members influence outcomes more effectively by better targeting stakeholder behaviours? Yes!

Does the team operate more effectively by using metaphor to help align roles or tasks to team member?

Probably yes, but further research needed.

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Contributions to knowledge• Evidence that behaviour can be actively

managed to achieve desired outcomes• Show metaphor can stimulate appropriate

conversations and develop trusting relationships• Methods and techniques to be used in project

environments to enhance outcomes and team dynamics

• Research tools to enhance qualitative methods in project management research – RPC, Interventions, metaphor games, reflective diary,

Trust to performance model © Arthur Shelley 2009 under Creative Commons License. Available for public use provided source is acknowledged. Permission of the author required for commercial use.

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Metaphor works because it…• Simplifies reality into familiar patterns and images

that are more easily understood• Stimulates creative conversations and engages

people to continue them• Creates synergies between behaviour, reflection

and context through richer conversation cycles• Assists communication and knowledge flow

If we proactively used metaphor tools more in projects, we would achieve better outcomes



Conversation?Ideas?

Thoughts?

Challenges?

Heckles?

Metaphor GAME?

Shelley: Metaphor Behaviour and Projects

Education

creative commons

enhance project

targeting

metaphor characters

team member

team operate

align roles

constructive