Don’t blame the lettuce
For a long time now I’ve been fascinated by Restorative Justice, a Western term for an indigenous tradition that dates back centuries. At its core is a deeply-held belief that healthy communities provide the prevention and the cure for situations where relationships are strained by disruptive acts.
The colonized Western world appropriated the term Restorative Justice in the 1970’s as an experimental alternative to a judicial system that is focused mostly on what to do about the wrong-doer. In contrast, the Restorative Justice approach involves a facilitated dialogue among members of the entire community that have been affected – the perpetrator(s), the victim(s), their supporters, and their detractors – all facing each other, together, in a circle.
I recently had the opportunity to learn the techniques associated with Restorative Justice circles and their impact on the participants, especially when young adults are involved. Through their direct involvement in a process that produces new insights, understanding, and (sometimes) agreements, these junior members of the community are effectively participating in their own growth. When the opportunity for learning and growth is not available, change within the individuals and restoration of the community will be hard to realize. As an analogy, think of a vegetable garden that is lacking in water, sun, and nutrients - would you blame the lettuce for not growing?
Don’t blame the lettuce.
I observed a similar dynamic during my two decades as a consultant leading innovation initiatives for Fortune 500 companies. Innovation writ large is essentially an investment in making change happen. But change will be limited, as noted above, if insights and understanding are missing from the design process. So instead of just handing our clients a solution to their innovation challenge (like handing down a judgment of what they should do), we invited them to participate in the discovery process, form insights for themselves, and actively engage in designing the next step. When those insights were lacking, many clients developed an overwhelming sense of risk and pulled back support (and resources) for the project.
Don’t blame the lettuce if it doesn’t grow.
The same holds true for many kinds of conversations in the modern workplace. The most ineffective of these often center around feedback (an evergreen topic in my coaching and L&D practice) because instead of viewing feedback as an opportunity for mutual learning and growth through dialogue, it is often delivered (if it is delivered at all) as a referendum on the individual’s capabilities.
Don’t blame the lettuce if it doesn’t grow.
Of course, human beings are not lettuce – we are capable of making a deliberate choice to grow and change, or not. But change is hard because we are human. It doesn’t just happen because someone asks for it or demainds it. Change is facilitated through thoughtful dialogue that can support multiple perspectives or truths. Which brings us back to the Restorative Justice process, a process that proactively nurtures trusting relationships, enhances community (organizational) health, and fortifies it to withstand future disruptions.
What would be possible if challenging conversations in your organization were viewed as an ongoing activity and not a one-off event? What would it take for your leaders to engage in conversations that build trust instead of eroding it? What’s at stake if you don’t?
Just don’t blame the lettuce.