The 5 Monkeys Metaphor & Lessons in Personal Leadership

This morning I woke up thinking about the 5 Monkeys metaphor, the leadership style of Gandhi and Hitler and how the combination of both might just hold some very powerful leadership lessons. For those unfamiliar with the 5 Monkeys metaphor, follow this link: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=five%20monkeys

So where does Hitler's leadership style fit with the metaphor of the Five Monkeys? I am here introducing the 6th Monkey ...

At the bottom of the ladder there are 5 monkeys who have learned to depend on others for the provision of bananas and have learned to fear the consequences of the actions of others. The monkeys start from the expectation that the cage is inescapable and that the bananas need to be provided by a more powerful other who is to be feared and who sets the rules of engagement and what behaviours earn bananas. Each monkey who is brave enough to reach for the bananas is perceived as a threat to the 'status quo' by the other monkeys and pulled back into line through discouraging words and restraining actions, but also potentially - given the right circumstances - being attacked with weapons.

In steps a 6th monkey who supports the majority's believe that the cage is inescapable and that the unknown more powerful someone/something needs to be distrusted/feared. The 6th monkey offers themselves up as the 'rescuer' of the situation (please refer to the definition of rescuer as described by Stephen Karpman*). At first the 'rescuing' leader is welcomed. It gives the rescuer the status/popularity they crave and the followers are happy that someone other than themselves is willing to take accountability for all that is bad in the their experience of the world.

However when the rescuer struggles to rescue and starts losing control (as is inevitable as one person cannot solve all problems), the majority start to distrust the 6th monkey, however due to the power and status awarded to them by the majority when things were going well, the 6th monkey can now become the powerful someone to be feared and in turn is the one who sets the rules of engagement, with due punishment for those who are resistant, step out-of-line or those who are different. And so the cycle continues ...

So how would the 6th monkey act differently Gandhi-style (not to be confused with Gangnam-style)?

Gandhi trusted in the belief that even in the most appalling of situations someone can create their own freedom by accepting their situation and living a simple life (high resilience). His only focus in life was humility, being non-judgemental and continuously seeking self-improvement (personal leadership). 

In this case the 6th monkey looked at opportunities beyond the cage (innovation) and did not start from the believe that you need to rely on others to provide. The 6th monkey made self-determining choice, thought positive and committed to living self-sustainably.

By showing his simple successes, the 6th monkey led by example. When the other monkeys started to follow the example, the ladder, bananas provided and the powers previously feared became less of a focus, which in turn created a more trusting and peaceful environment to live in, where collaboration and sharing wins over power and status.

So in summary, embrace personal leadership by being more self-aware, trusting of yourself & others, and unleashing your creativity by thinking differently! ... and we might just be making our way to world peace (Gandhi-style)!

REFERENCES AND FURTHER RELATED SUBJECTS

Test your resilience (FREE Resilience Self-Assessment Questionnaire) - https://www.testyourrq.com/

Transactional Analysis - http://www.businessballs.com/transact.htm

* Karpman's Drama Triangle - http://coachingsupervisionacademy.com/thought-leadership/the-karpman-drama-triangle/

Transactional Analysis: Getting off the Drama Triangle - http://www.melmenzies.co.uk/blog/transactional_analysis_getting_off_the_drama_triangle_part_1

Learned Helplessness, Rats, and People Power - http://codecraft.co/2012/11/26/learned-helplessness-rats-and-people-power/

The truth about dishonesty - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBmJay_qdNc

The Power of Outrospection - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG46IwVfSu8

Understanding conflict in the workplace

When dealing with conflict, it is important to understand the reasons why relationships get stuck into ‘playing games’ from a Neurlogical and Psychological perspective. It is all to do with our Fight, Flight and Freeze (survival) responses, as in essence we are primitive beings living in a sophisticated society. In our pre-historic environments, treats came in the form of lions and wolves etc. which triggered our survival responses. Today it is often these neurologically-driven responses have that makes us, as human beings, distrust others’ actions and take them to heart.

As we all are driven by our neurological survival responses, it has a major impact on how we communicate and form relationships. Stephen Karpman suggested that, due to the way our brain functions, every person plays a number of roles. Linking my perspective with that of Stephen Karpman, it appears that the fight response in us brings out a ‘persecutor’. In the Culture Continuum model this is presented on the left-hand side as the ‘under-protective parent’/judgemental role. The flight response appears to bring out, what Karpman refers to as the ‘rescuer’. On the Culture Continuum this is represented as the ‘over-protective parent’/putting others first role. The freeze response brings out a ‘victim’, represented as the ‘dependent’/learned helplessness role in the Culture Continuum.

In relationships with others, these roles ‘feed’ each other into a vicious circle of distrust and paranoia, always leading to LOSE-LOSE situations. Example – a teenager lacks confidence to do something (victim), a parent may step in and do it for them (rescuer). The parent may feel overwhelmed and resentful (LOSE) and the teenager never learns and gains confidence (LOSE).

Some more details on Karpman’s Drama Triangle and examples of interactions:
http://coachingsupervisionacademy.com/thought-leadership/the-karpman-drama-triangle/

How to move to WIN-WIN communication and relationships by being more aware of our brain neurological responses:

• The key – make time to REFLECT on your own neurological survival responses. In any given situation, are you in Fight (judgement), Flight (overprotective) or Freeze (dependent) mode?

• Treat others as adults and trust them to make their own decisions and cope with the challenges they face, including mistakes

• When you feel your FIGHT responses kicking in (e.g. being defensive, judging the actions/behaviours of others, feeling frustrated, anger etc), step back, reflect and when ready acknowledge how the other person is feeling and responding (according to their survival response), separate the behaviour from the person and constructively challenge without judgement. Be a constructive, but critical friend and offer some 'tough love' where needed.

• When you feel your FLIGHT responses kicking in (e.g. feeling sorry/pity for others, indulging others in their poor judgements, wanting to step in to take over from others etc), step back, reflect and when ready acknowledge how the other person is feeling and responding (according to their survival response), ask coaching-style questions that help you understand them better and empower the other person to find their own solutions.

• When you feel your FREEZE responses kicking in (e.g. not knowing where to turn, requesting others to step in, pushing others away and help/problem-solve etc), step back, reflect and when ready take control and create a plan of action. PLEASE NOTE - This does not mean you have to be eternally independent. Instead focuss on inter-dependency. It is ok to ask others for their views as long as there is no expectation for being ‘rescued’ and you recognise you are equal in presenting your views. This sets the basis for mutual respect and collaboration with others.

It is important to acknowledge that we are driven by our neurological pathways and that in stressful situations it takes extra effort to challenge yourself into making time to reflect on how you communicate with and respond to others. The reassuring bit is that we are all wired in the same way and all fall into these ‘survival’ patterns.

I personally find it helpful to use Karpman’s Drama Triangle and reflect on the role I play in any interaction to ensure my actions and communications don’t ‘feed the game’.

Innovation Series - An Anthropological Reflection of Organisational Culture & Transformation

Anxiety and uncertainty are common realities in the current climate. This is not helped by the often complex nature of decision-making, the range of uncertainties and the extensive scrutiny. This cannot be eliminated through procedures or training, so the question is: how do organisations effectively address anxiety and uncertainty? 

The impact of Psychology on Organisational Culture

It is important to acknowledge that organisations are not machines but human systems, which succumb to the same neurological and psychological behaviour patterns as a single individual. The neurological 'survival-mode' reactions, namely the ‘Fight/Flight/Freeze’ response has allowed us to survive many threatening and challenging situations. These three survival patterns unlock three behaviours which can be recognised in the workplace where culture is left unchecked. 

Fight may translate into frustration, impatience, anger, blame and even aggression towards others. Flight translates in denial ('head-in-the-sand' response), avoiding conflict and even isolation from others  in the form of silo-working. The Freeze response leads to feeling overwhelmed and paralysed, ruled by feelings of total powerlessness. In highly controlled and standardised organisational environments, the Freeze response becomes the order of the day and creates a high dependency culture, where the paralysed front line become overly dependent on those in power. As with any interaction, the behaviours of both parties are strengthened by the behaviour of the other. (The same can be observed in societies where control through rules is held by those in power)

A culture of blame, silo-working and high dependency often go hand-in-hand and lead to the believe that more control is needed to readdress this culture. As such, organisations who aim to move away from these cultures tend to employ/hold on to command-and control leaders and unwittingly create a vicious cycle of distrust, negativity, fear and low productivity, which in turn strengthens the culture they so desperately are trying to move away from. 

Other observable behaviour patterns may include low motivation, moral and engagement levels. Because as human being, we can only take so much negative pressure, organisations start to see patterns of people leaving 'en mass'. More worryingly this includes some professions, such as teachers, nurses & social workers, who are taking career breaks or are leaving the profession all together.

Changing from Blame to Learning & Innovation

So if our organisational cultures are driven by human psychology, how then do leaders influence a different culture. Today there is much more talk about a need for leaders to be self-aware and emotionally intelligent. They need to be more familiar with human psychology and become 'orchestrators' or 'facilitators' of healthy organisational environments where our humanity, our uniqueness and our relationships are acknowledged as key ingredient to maintaining the health & sustainability of the organisation. Organisations need no longer be seen as machines to fix, but as communities to be brought together for the greater good.

The leaders role lies therefore in connecting people and ideas to encourage collaboration and innovation, rather than being the producers of the rules and standards with which people should unquestionably comply. 

Leadership - Position or Mindset?

In today's highly complex world it may be required to take leadership one step further, driven by the question: 'Is leadership a position or is leadership a mindset?' 

When - with bravery & confidence - the 'fences' are removed the potential exists that it will unleash leadership in everyone as it restores people's ability to choose and take control over their own surroundings. In actual fact, as adults we are all motivated by autonomy, mastery & purpose (Dan Pink). While some may think that this will lead to chaos, there is much proof that this self-organisation actually lead to further empowerment, quicker better-informed decisions and an improvement in service quality as they become more responsive to need. 

The idea of self-organisation however is perceived as threat to certain positions of power within traditional hierarchies. The exploration of delegated powers and decision-making - unless 'taken with confidence by the frontline' - is only half-heartedly explored as a viable way forward by those whose positions feel threatened. 

The truth is in organisations where organisational energy is spent on celebrating uniqueness, encouraging autonomy and collective intelligence (as opposed to being spent on creating uniformity, dependency and functionality) a culture of learning & innovation flourishes. The challenge often lies not in creating an Innovation Culture afresh, the challenge lies in the transformation of blame culture into innovation culture when working with people unwilling to delegate power and sacrifice the known for the unknown. Ironically, those people who are willing to sacrifice the known for the unknown are often those who end up on the outside building the new. 

A summary

So, if Socrates was right when he said 'The Secret to Change is to focus all your Energy, not on Fighting the Old, but on Building the New' organisations need to take this into their stride when planning for the future. The cultural transformation & innovation they are looking to achieve may need to be supported beyond the boundaries of the organisation through support, collaboration and investment!