Developing Capability
Capability is about managing oneself coherently, with integrity and in alignment with one’s environment.
It requires powerful observation and internal awareness to know what skills and knowledge are needed to deliver a desired result. It’s about being conscious enough to bring order to our thinking to gain a coherent understanding of what is going on around us and to make insightful and creative choices.
CAPABILITY FRAMEWORK
Carol Sanford suggests a “capability framework” to develop human capability.
Seeking to understand by considering multiple perspectives to explore creative possibilities for transformation.
Having a calm demeanor and knowing where you stand.
Undo a problem step-by-step by working backwards from its effect.
1. MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES
Seeking to understand a situation by considering multiple perspectives, to gain a profound insight and explore creative possibilities for transformation.
Think of a team having one mind, capable of being conscious of the need to achieve increasing levels of insight.
The process starts by identifying the issue and associated events.
The team then observe what is emerging from the relationships and energy flows, noticing anything that has the potential for improvement.
Creativity and inquiry then support the possibility of introducing something new that could energise and regenerate the system to express its intrinsic nature.
Explore ways in which the whole system can evolve by observing the relationship with its environment and extracting any underlying principles at work.
We must go through the first three levels to find the essence of the systems and how its growth potential could be realized. This could mean a deeper inquiry:
Facing Facts – by questioning our beliefs and ways of thinking.
Exploring Possibilities – by challenging our limitations to find alternative perspectives.
Embracing Uncertainty – by wondering about our doubts and accepting our fears as a test of our courage and resilience.
Seeking Growth – by looking for potential to create new ways of being and doing.
If we make statement that is not accepting of the facts we are in a state of denial. We can find ourselves in a mood of resentment. But if we can accept the facts, even though we may not like them we can find enough freedom of thought to find peace and explore alternative ways of being. If not we feel unable to even consider any possibilities for change and live in a mood of resentment. This can lead to moods of anxiety and regret.
BASED ON THE WORK OF PROFESSOR ALAN SIELER.
2. CALM STATE OF MIND
Having a calm demeanour and knowing where you stand when facing breakdowns in the flow of life.
Carol Sanford talks about “imperturbability” when we are faced with challenges that could disrupt the normal flow of our lives and yet work confidently with the uncertainty it brings.
This is a state of mind advocated by Taoism and the teachings of Lau Tzu. The capability is to maintain stability, avoid reactive decisions and make more thoughtful choices by noticing what is happening at that moment. Thereby, not allowing anxieties from the past or worries about the future to disrupt how we think when in a calm, clear frame of mind.
3. WORKING BACKWARDS
Undo a problem step-by-step by working backwards from its effect.
This approach allows us to put new ways of understanding to work. We start with the desired result, but before we choose the actions needed to achieve it, we must be known how we, the observer, are thinking about the result.
As human observers, we have the capacity to change our minds. This enables us to regenerate our thoughts, expectations, assessments, values and how we feel about the result.
An evaluation is needed before we choose the actions to deliver the result we want. The result then becomes something we care about because its essence has integrity. For example, we are more likely to trust someone who has demonstrated their capability as being reliable and sincere.
