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Exploring the FOX Diagram in 3D page 1 Bruno BOLLE-REDDAT - june 2010

Exploring the FOX diagram in 3D

Bruno BOLLE-REDDAT, in contrat CTA-O ITAA Conference, August, 12th 2010

About the Author I am a Transactional Analyst in the field of Organizations, under contract since 2 years. I am a coach and a consultant supporting organizations and management teams to help them manage change. I have been doing this job for the past 8 years. I have been trained on Transactional Analysis, on Berne's Theory of Organisations. and on the Systemic Approach. I am also an associated teacher at the Cohéliance Coaching School, where I teach individual and organizational coaching to managers, teachers, and consultants. Before becoming a coach, I was manager for 7 years in a start-up company

in the field of Information Technology. I have had the chance to experiment a system at the different stages of its development lifecycle, from the moment it was created until it disappeared. It is then that I realized that I was much more interested in the human dimension and the complexity of the system rather than the purpose and technical aspect of the business itself. Before becoming a manager in IT, I was a sound engineer for 7 years. I worked with artists both on stage and in studios. Already then, intuitively, I realized the different dimensions of a group, and the power that it can generate: seeing a crowd of individuals unifying as a result of the energy generated by 3 or 4 individuals on stage ; I felt then that there were cues there that could help me for my future career….

Introduction The work of Eric Berne (1963) on the structure and dynamics of groups and organizations 1illustrates the behaviour of groups of human beings and help understand the different elements that are in play. The article of Elliot Fox2 provides a representation of the concepts and show how they can be related one with another through the so-called “Fox diagram or model”. That model has been re-used by a number of Transactional Analysts, and I have had the chance to study it with Gilles Pellerin (TSTA-O), Jacques Moreau (TSTA-O), and Patrick Fosset (CTA-O). From the first time I was exposed to it, I realized how incredibly powerful it is and I have been impressed by the synthesis of systems that it offers. After 5 years using the Fox diagram in my practice, I wanted to share my experience using this model in establishing diagnostics and conducting interventions to support change within systems. My working hypothesis is that there are multiple phenomena taking place at the same time within a group, which makes their observation and the intervention of external consultants and/or by group members quite complex. I therefore propose to visualize these different levels, starting from the Fox Diagram, and adding a perspective in 3 dimensions, integrating the work of Madeleine Laugeri (PTSTA-O) and of Jacques Moreau (TSTA-O). The system then becomes multi-dimensional.


The first dimension – the structural view A fundamental concept from Eric Berne and re-used by Elliot Fox : every system strives to survive as long as possible until its mission is accomplished. Elliot Fox describes 5 constitutive elements of the structure of a group that are required for its survival:

1. The external environment Every system exists and takes a position within a given environment. Its survival heavily depends on the pertinence of its responses to the stimuli coming from its environment. Traditionally, the environment of a company is made of its clients, suppliers, competitors, partners, the law, the state/government, its market… All these elements influence and act upon the structure in order to obtain responses from it (products, services)

2. The group authority : the leadership

The set of functions having the decision-making power and the ability to influence the life of the system. This leadership takes multiple forms and can be carried out by one or multiple individuals.

3. The group authority : the canon

The set of norms and rules orchestrating the life of the group and structuring its organization. The culture is also part of the canon, and provides a reference point to the group for what is allowed or not, the practices and traditions from the business and the values that are carried by the group.

4. The group membership The human beings constituting the group, the ideology shared between them as well as their degree of cohesion and engagement.

5. The group work

Through the group work, group members produce output, which is delivered to the environment. Another part of the group work is all the processes that are in play in order to ensure the survival of the group and the energy invested by the group members.


FOX diagram (original version)

For more information, please refer to the article of Elliot Fox in reference. This first view allows us to define structural elements that are necessary for the proper functioning of the group. From this first dimension, it can be useful to verify:

• That each element are present within the structure • That each of them are properly energized and personified • The coherence of all elements between themselves

Example below : this structure contains more members in the leadership part than in the production team. The canon is almost inexistent (absence of rules and objectives) whereas the work to be performed is large in size. The incoherence between the 4 pillars of this structure leads to a real production issue, no precise framework and an obvious lack of resources. The survival of this structure is at stake.


The second dimension – the dynamic view I felt the need to add an additional perspective to the Fox diagram to highlight the multi-dimensional aspect and the notion of flow of energy (that Fox represents with arrows across the columns).

In this first version of the dynamic diagram, the 4 columns are viewed as 4 pillars supporting the structure. This allows to show the flow of energy from the outside (the environment) towards the inside (the group or organisation), going through the 4 pillars and transforming itself to be given back to the environment. This cycle represents the life of the system, based on the laws of elementary physics of energy transformation:

Input >> Process >> Output Each pillar can facilitate the transformation and circulation of energy, or on the contrary, slow it down or block it, depending on its own coherence. Another element that can impact this energy is the distance between the 4 pillars themselves and between them and the environment. The challenge for the system is to establish the appropriate distances that are necessary to ensure its survival against the environment. The right balance is specific to each system, and can be found in the distance between each pillar that is adequate to appropriately respond to the pressure from the environment.

Too remote Too close

Waste of energy Excess of energy (symbiosis)


I propose to observe 10 keys distance metrics to analyze the coherence of a structure :

Nr Description Example

1

Leadership remote from its environment : disconnect with the strategic elements of the environment, leading to a poor or inexistent vision. Absence of a strategy and roadmap to address the demand of the environment

The Managing Director of a company, exhausted by a career long of 40 years, spends all his time playing golf. It has been a year since he met clients, and he has lost sight of the evolution of his market. His strategy has become passive, the survival of the system is at risk.

2

Leadership remote from the canon : objectives are inexistent or unclear, with no link to the strategy, lack of rules, organization not formalized. The leader either does not take the culture into account, or does not leverage it

The director of an Association does not want to be perceived as autocratic, and therefore does not set rules and objectives. He believes that people are adult enough to work together without being given a framework to operate within, as he fears this framework might be too rigid. Rapidly, the functioning of the Association turns into anarchy, and tension appears between voluntary workers.

3

The canon remote from the members : there is a gap between the group authority and the group members; there is no transfer of energy between the 2 , which leads to rules not being known or followed by the members. The organization chart remains theoretical and is not followed by the members. Individual and collective behaviours are not based on the culture

A new industrial director has just taken his position. He put a new organization in place, and wants to impose a culture of excellence. After 2 months, members continue to work as they used to, without taking into consideration the repeated injunctions from the new director. Members don’t feel concerned with the change requested by the industrial director, because they don’t see how it would help to better respond to the environment

4 Leadership remote from the members : individuals holding the decision making

Members of a commercial team are left by themselves and haven’t had any contact with


authority are too remote from the individuals performing the activity. The absence of bound causes breakdowns in the flow of information and of strokes, which directly impact the level of engagement of members in the activity

their commercial director for more than 3 months. Everyone has organized his work his own way, and only does what he likes. Eventually, everyone has lost all motivation because of the lack of feedback on his work, and feels less and less committed towards the objectives. Results are falling drastically

5

Members remote from the work : members are laid back and are not really engaged in getting the work done. They don’t feel they have a role to play in the proper functioning of the activity nor the functioning of the group (no implication in the processes)

A team in charge of quality control carries out limited controls and follow-ups on production quality. Members of this team think that in any case, with or without quality, this will not change anything in the life of the company, they will not receive more strokes, and their pay checks will stay the same. They are dis-engaged.

6

Leadership remote from the activity : The leadership is not engaged in the work being carried out and in the processes on the 3 boundaries, and does not play its role of providing regulation and security

Conflicts exist between two teams in a small family business. The managing director and founder let it happens and does not play its role of regulation and authority. 15 days later, during a violent argument between two members of the teams concerned, one of them is seriously injured in a work accident. The director still does not intervene…

7

Work remote from the canon : The work is carried out without taking the rules, the objectives or the traditional business practices into consideration. The canon does not play its role of providing a framework in which the activity can take place

It has now been 1 year that no objectives nor rules have been set by the new leader of a team of 20 people. Everyone works according to his/her own rules and objectives, the activity is carried out without any technical, regulatory, nor security framework. Everyone does what he likes.

8

Canon remote from the environment : the rules, objectives, as well as the culture are no longer in sink with the evolution of the legislation and the new constraints imposed by the state / government. The objectives are not realistic when compared with the pressure from the demand of clients and with the competition

The new ruling on the environment (la Grenelle) in France drives significant changes on the energy sector. A company in heating equipments is not aware of the modifications and opportunities this new ruling creates on its own market. One year later it has lost 30% of its clients base because it no longer meets the necessary environmental quality standards.

9

Members remote from the environment : members are no longer in touch with the elements of their environment (clients, suppliers, competitors) and no longer make the link between the value added delivered and the purpose and “raison d’etre” of the structure

A manager from a supply firm in the car industry has tried so hard to protect his colleagues from the ups and downs of the market that he created a watertight boundary between them and their clients. Today, his colleagues no longer fully understand the demand and needs of their clients because contacts and communication with them over the last several months have been too limited

10

Work remote from the environment : the products and services offered do not meet the demand from the environment. The value add produced is limited or inexistent.

A company has been selling cars for a century. It did not understand the evolution of the needs of its clients base. All its competitors developed a service component in their offering, but it didn’t. One year later, it is taken over by a European competitor because it could not keep its position in the market due a product offering not meeting today’s needs


The balance of the system is thus to be found in the coherence of the distance between the 4 pillars. Thanks to a systemic diagnostic, the consultant can propose a modeling of the key distance metrics to allow the system itself to become conscious of its current situation and to give it the opportunity to check whether this is adequate for what is at stake in the environment The objective is therefore to find the right distance to allow for an optimum fluidity in the flow and transformation of energy, in line with the requirements of the environment. When integrating the work of Madeleine Laugeri on Emerging Change3, this gives the following representation of the flow of energy between the pillars in 2 dimensions. This representation highlights 3 touch points or zones of contact (the 3 contracts of Madeleine Laugeri) that are necessary for the survival of a system :

Ref : Madeleine Laugeri – PTSTA-O

A. The energy of Planned Change. Coming from the authority of the group, it stems

from a mental representation of the environment, the identification of the figures of authority and of the strategic element4. The Responsible Leader creates a vision to respond to the strategic element and formalizes it in a set of requirements that is then communicated to the Effective Leaders and the members. In the structural diagram of boundaries, according to Eric Berne, the touch point is the external boundary. This energy is under de responsibility of the Leadership pillar (the vision contract according to Madeleine Laugeri).

B. The zone of dialogue. This is the point of contact between the Planned and the

Emerging, and allows the exchange of information and strokes. In the structural diagram of boundaries, according to Eric Berne, this corresponds to the major internal boundary. This zone is bi-directional; energy flows from A to B, from B to A, from B to C and from C to B. This energy is under the co-responsibility of the Leadership and the Membership pillars (the mission contracts according to Madeleine Laugeri).


C. The energy of Emerging Change. Coming from the members and the activity, it stems from the operational reality and the strategic elements of the activity. This is the area where the energy comes out of the system, delivering products and services to the environment. This energy is under the responsibility of the membership pillar (the cooperation contracts according to Madeleine Laugeri).

Integrating the Fox diagram with the flow of energy from Planned and Emerging change and the 3 touch points, this provides the following view in 3 dimensions:

The third dimension – the “iceberg” view I make the assumption that every system, as every human being, has a level of self-consciousness at each moment in time T. That state of consciousness can be represented by the group imago (mental representation that everyone has of the group, of his position within the group, and of his position within the imago of the leader).I propose to represent this dimension using the image of an iceberg (20% visible, 80% not visible) :


The area in blue can represent the level of consciousness of the system : all elements of each pillar that are underneath are invisible to the system (ignorance), and all elements in each pillar that are above are visible, and therefore can be mobilized and leveraged. That state of consciousness exists at a moment in time T. It is stored in the group imago. It can then be modified by acting upon individual and collective representations and making visible what is invisible. Representation of a low level of consciousness:


This third dimension also allows to highlight the foundations of the system: the initial impulse that gave birth to the system5. The pillars rest on it, often in an unconscious manner. Jacques Moreau defines the founding myth as “the initial intention of the founder (individual, family or group) that constitutes the genesis of the creation of the system. This initial impulse, never will we find it again, even if the founder is still present : it is the legend of the lost word”. The founding myth is like the roots of a tree : invisible but nevertheless essential to its survival. Becoming conscious of the founding myth of a system is sometimes difficult, but often necessary. When the founding myth no longer works, it cannot be changed but it is vital to re-interpret it in the context of the present moment, the current environment and the ongoing projects. The founding myth provides inspiration to the 4 pillars because it is the DNA of the system. The leadership in place must be able to discover it because it drives unconscious behaviours of the members. It can be found in the culture, in individual representations and shared values. It is the essence of the system itself. By becoming conscious of it (the area in blue becomong as close as possible from the founding myth), the system will be able to transcend it and through that, leverage all hidden resources It responds to the existentials questions of the system :

• “who are we ?” • “Where are we become from ?” • “Where are we going to?” • “What are we responding to in our environment ?” • “What is our added value ?” • “Just do it, but for what ?”

Conclusion Structure coaching enables systems to introduce more coherence between their 4 pillars, to facilitate the circulation of energies and bring visible what is invisible. In my practice, I make use of 3 steps to carry out this type of intervention :

1. Diagnostic : make the system visible and audible by the system, facilitate jumps in consciousness so that it can realize the gaps existing between the different perceptions coming from its elements

2. Contact : allow the leader and the members to think the system, feel it and share the emotions that emerge. This step directly drives adjustments to the group imago which in turn enables stronger coherence in the system

3. Contract : Facilitate the cooperation between the leaders and the members to help themput together organizational, relational and operational solutions that will ensure the survival of the system together (convergence)


CONSISTENCY + EMERGENCE = CONVERGENCE

The solution to the crisis experienced by systems, large or small, is therefore to be found within themselves : bringing the blue area down as close as possible to the foundations to become awakened systems mobilizing and leveraging all their resources. This is the challenge of the managers and consultants of the second millennium.

Bruno BOLLE-REDDAT +33 650 39 90 24

[email protected] www.quintessence-coaching.com

English traduction from Serge Simonet (a great TA friend of mine)

Copyleft Bruno Bolle-Reddat - http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/ - 2010

1 Berne Eric Structure and Dynamics of Organizations and Groups. J.B. Lippincott, Philadelphia 1963 2 Fox Elliot, Eric Berne’s Theory of Organizations, T.A.J., October 1975 3 Laugeri Madeleine, Changement Emergent, January 2006 4 Pellerin Gilles, Diagnostic rapide des organisations, AAT, July 1994 5 Moreau Jacques, AAT n° 130, April 2009

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